Writing Assignment 1: Basic News Story

Katelyn Ingram
COM 3330-05
Writing Assignment #1: Basic News Story
February 8, 2011

A male employee was scammed out of $150 at a Chick-fil-A in Vinings according to shift supervisor Katelyn Ingram. Ben McFee, 18, was the victim of a scam aimed at confusing him into giving the suspect more change than he was owed according to Ingram.

Around 9:30 p.m. a customer gave McFee a $50 bill to pay for a $3 Chick-fil-A Deluxe chicken sandwich and the man received $47 in change, said McFee. Then McFee recalls him saying “wait, let me pay with this hundred, and I want the change in five-dollar bills.”

McFee says he did not have enough $5 bills and the situation continued to get more confusing. According to another Chick-fil-A employee, the customer had not given back any change he had received, but McFee had handed him back the $50 bill.

McFee says he then handed him back the $100 bill and told the man he was going to get his supervisor, a comment overheard by two employees and another customer. The customer had $47 in change, the initial $50 he paid with, and the $100 bill says McFee.

Upon returning from the back office with the supervisor, the man was gone according to Ingram. A fellow employee saw him walk out of the door, get in his car and drive away.

“The man took more money than he was owed. He tricked me. I was so confused,” McFee told local police that were called to the restaurant by Ingram.

“This is one of the oldest scams in the book. We see it all the time and unfortunately there isn’t really anything we can do about it,” said Police Officer Joe Campbell.

McFee described the man as African American, medium build with wavy black hair cut close to his head. He also recalled the man’s car as an older model SUV that was either dark blue or green, but he said the darkness made it difficult to determine.

“This guy knew what he was doing. He had probably been scoping us out, saw the young kid and knew it was about time to close. He struck at the perfect time,” said the Chick-fil-A Vinings owner and operator Jason Bilotti.

Employees are instructed to get a supervisor or manager when they receive a bill over $20, according to Ingram. McFee did not do this.

“Having an authority figure check large bills not only ensures they are not counterfeit, but also shows customers that we are serious about business and not being scammed,” said Bilotti.

According to McFee, he rarely gets a manager when he receives a large bill. He said the customer had probably noticed this, and targeted him for that reason.

This is not the first time a scam like this had occurred at this location according to Ingram. A few months prior, another employee was scammed out of $50 in a similar situation.

“Things like this happen, unfortunately. At the end of the day it doesn’t kill us, but we want to send the message out that it will not happen again,” said Bilotti.