MIAMI (WSVN) - An employee at a Miami Taco Bell was caught on cellphone video berating and trying to punch a customer who complained that his food was not cooked properly.
The incident happened at the restaurant along Northwest 37th Avenue, Wednesday.
The video captured the female cook screaming at customer Francisco Hernandez in Spanish before taking a swing at him.
Hernandez said the incident started after he said his food was not cooked properly.
“I felt like I was violated as a customer ’cause the customer is always right,” he said. “The chalupa was very hot, overcooked, but again, I was so hungry I ate it, and all the stuff just fell on the paper.”
Hernandez said he wanted to let the staff know he wasn’t happy with their service or the food he ordered.
“I just claimed that the items were not prepared correctly, and then I mentioned my waiting time was past normal,” he said.
Moments later, Hernandez said, the cook came out of the kitchen and went into the restaurant’s lobby.
“Dropped the box there, and then she went back to my table and threw the box at me,” he said. “Retaliation, so I was like, ‘I have to get myself out of here.’”
However, Hernandez said, the employee followed him to his car.
After he went back inside to get a receipt to complain, Hernandez said the employee swung at him.
“She followed me in the store, and in the video, you can see she swung at me,” he said, “and then she was pushed into the bathroom.”
Wednesday’s incident was not the first time a Taco Bell employee has made headlines.
In a viral September 2018 video, the company fired an employee from one of its Hialeah locations after a customer claimed the worker wouldn’t serve her because she couldn’t speak Spanish.
Miami Police said they are looking into this latest incident.
Hernandez said he is filing a police report with one simple goal.
“I just don’t want this to be repeated and someone else to be in my shoes because it was not easy,” he said.
A Taco Bell spokesperson told 7News that they do not tolerate this type of behavior and they welcome everyone in their restaurants.
Taco Bell officials said the employee seen in the video has since been fired.
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