This picture was uploaded anonymously Monday on 4chan, proclaiming, “This is the lettuce you eat at Burger King.”
These Burger King employees might be good at balancing themselves on buckets of vegetation, but they’re not very good at removing Exif data from their photos. The denizens of 4chan were quick to notice, and the lettuce-stepper was fired they very next day.
The original post went live on July 16 at 11:38 p.m.
At 11:47 p.m., another 4chan user noted that the photo’s Exif data pointed to Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
At 11:50 p.m., just 12 minutes later, someone posted the address of the Burger King branch in which the lettuce-stepping occurred, wishing the OP a happy unemployment.
At 11:55 p.m., someone contacted the news.
At 11:58 p.m., someone posted the link to Burger King’s Tell Us About Us form, with the photo attached.
And things happen fast these days on the web. (Just check out this thread.)
The next morning, Cleveland Scene Magazine contacted the Burger King establishment and talked to the breakfast shift manager, who, upon seeing the offending photo, said “Oh, I know who that is. He’s getting fired.”
Shortly after, Fox 8 News received this statement from Burger King’s Manager of Global Communications, Denise Wilson:
Burger King Corp. has recently been made aware of a photo posted on a social networking site that allegedly shows a Burger King restaurant employee violating the company’s stringent food handling procedures. Food safety is a top priority at all Burger King restaurants, and the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy against any violations such as the one in question.
The restaurant where this photo was allegedly taken is independently owned and operated by a Burger King franchisee. The franchisee has taken swift action to investigate this matter and terminated the employee involved in this incident.