Local Man Admits He Gaslights Fast Food Workers “Just To Introduce Narrative Complexity Into Their Shift”

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Area resident Tyler Gibbons, 34, admitted that he sometimes lightly manipulates fast food workers into questioning reality "in a fun way" because he believes modern service jobs lack creative stimulation.

Gibbons, a freelance graphic designer and self-described agent of harmless chaos, says the behavior began after he realized most drive-thru interactions had become identical to airport announcements.

"I'm not trying to hurt anybody," he explained while eating fries in a Wendy's parking lot. "I'm trying to create lore."

According to Gibbons, his techniques include confidently ordering discontinued menu items, insisting restaurants used to have a basement, referring to employees he has never met by name, and occasionally asking whether "the incident happened again."

He stressed that the key is gentle sincerity.

"You can't overplay it," he said. "You casually ask if the night manager is still forbidden from touching the ice machine. Then you leave."

Former friends describe Gibbons as deeply committed to the bit.

One recalled a Taco Bell visit where Gibbons calmly informed a cashier, "This location has incredible energy now. Completely different since the flooding."

"There was no flooding," the witness clarified. "But the cashier immediately looked toward the kitchen like she wasn't fully sure."

Another incident reportedly involved Gibbons entering a McDonald's and quietly asking whether the location was "still one of the test stores." When the employee asked what he meant, Gibbons lowered his voice and replied, "So they didn't tell you yet."

Then he ordered a McChicken and left.

Psychologists remain divided on the ethics of the practice.

Dr. Alicia Moreno, a behavioral sociologist at Ohio State University, described the phenomenon as service-sector mythmaking.

"Retail and fast food environments are repetitive and flattening," Moreno explained. "People like Tyler introduce temporary uncertainty into these systems, which can make the workday more memorable in the worst possible way."

Moreno compared the behavior to urban folklore speedrunning.

Others were less charitable.

"He's obviously a menace," said Burger King shift lead Amanda Holtz, who believes Gibbons may have visited her store last year.

"There was this guy who asked if we still did the old birthday procedure," Holtz recalled. "Then he looked genuinely disturbed when I said no."

She added that several employees spent the rest of the night wondering if Burger King once had a secret birthday thing.

Gibbons insists he follows strict personal rules to keep the encounters harmless: never target overwhelmed workers, never create fake emergencies, never imply criminal activity, and absolutely never mention tunnels.

"The tunnel stuff spreads too fast," he admitted.

Still, the long-term effects appear significant. Employees across several chains described lingering moments of confusion tied to customers who may or may not have been Gibbons.

A Subway employee in Indiana spent three weeks believing her location once had a jukebox after a man asked if corporate finally made them remove the music machine.

Workers at a Chipotle outside Cleveland reportedly became convinced the building was haunted after a customer casually asked whether "the whispering problem" had stopped.

One employee quit two days later.

Experts say fast food environments may be uniquely vulnerable to this kind of disruption because employees already exist in a semi-dissociative state caused by fluorescent lighting, headset static, and hearing "lemme get uhhhhhh" approximately 900 times per shift.

Under those conditions, even small falsehoods can flourish.

"You tell a tired Arby's employee the roast beef slicer used to be downstairs and suddenly there is a 40% chance they believe the building has a downstairs," Moreno explained.

Social media has embraced the concept, with TikTok users sharing their own low-stakes gaslighting techniques: asking Starbucks employees if the location still closes during thunderstorms, thanking grocery cashiers for "being brave after everything," and confidently stating "this used to be a Pizza Hut" inside buildings that absolutely were not Pizza Huts.

One viral video featured a man entering a Panera Bread and quietly asking, "Did they ever catch the guy?"

The employee reportedly replied, "What guy?"

The man simply shook his head sadly and walked away.

Despite criticism, Gibbons maintains his actions improve morale.

"Nobody remembers a normal shift," he said. "But they'll remember the guy who asked whether the freezer was still making that noise."

At press time, several employees at an Indianapolis-area Dairy Queen were reportedly trying to determine whether they had once offered something called the Patriot Melt or if a customer had simply looked them directly in the eye and lied with complete confidence.