Taco Bell fires worker who denied service to deaf customer

KETTERING, Ohio – Taco Bell has fired an employee who refused to serve a deaf customer and called police on the man.

Using a phone that described his order, Brandon Burch, who is deaf, attempted to order in the drive-thru late at the Kettering (Ohio) Taco Bell on New Year's Eve.

The employee at the drive-thru was caught on video saying, "No, we can't do that" and then slamming the window on Burch.

Burch says he usually drives straight to the payment window and ordering on his phone, but this time he was denied service by the man who claimed it was against company policy.

This is my Deaf son getting discriminated against in the Taco Bell drive thru on Dorothy Ln in Kettering. He was trying to show them his order and they told him it was against company policy to take his order that way. Really?? Pretty sure the ADA would say otherwise. Uneducated people.

Posted by Becky Rosemont Burch on Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Despite being refused service, Burch remained in the drive-thru lane and continued to show his phone order to employees who, he says, mocked him. 

Burch's mother posted the confrontation to her Facebook account.

WABC reports Taco Bell fired the employee and issued a statement about the incident.

“Taco Bell has a fundamental policy to respect all of our customers and employees, and we are committed to maintaining an environment free of discrimination or harassment. The franchise owner and operator of this location has investigated this situation and the team member no longer works for their organization. All team members at this restaurant are being retrained by the franchise owner on their policies.”