Restaurant Flies In Bigwigs After Man’s Snarky Letter, He Ends Up With A Hilarious Pitch And Patent

It’s easy to feel powerless after having a bad experience with a big brand. We’ll complain to friends and family, sure, but actually hunting down the CEO’s email address and putting your feelings into words? Why bother, right? 

Well, it could be worth your time, as one guy told an online community after his sarcastic complaint letter got the attention of the higher-ups at a fast-food chain. What followed left his jaw on the floor, but his surreal story had an even more unexpected ending. 

More info: Reddit

When you complain to a big brand, you’re seldom more than another ticket in their overworked and underpaid customer support system

Young man enjoying crispy chicken wings at a restaurant, highlighting a unique dining experience and food innovation.

Image credits: senivpetro / Freepik (not the actual photo)

One guy, who noticed standards slipping at his favorite fast-food chain, decided he’d had enough and sat down to pen the most sarcastic letter of complaint he could

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Alt text: Snarky letter about restaurant food presentation leads to a hilarious pitch and patent from bigwigs.

Sarcastic complaint letter with humor and criticisms leads to restaurant pitching and patent discussion.

Excerpt from a man's snarky letter that set a restaurant's bigwigs in motion with a hilarious pitch and patent.

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Image credits: dragonimages / Freepik (not the actual photo)

When he read it to his sister, she thought it was hilarious, so the guy mailed it, certified, not thinking he’d ever get a response

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Text on a paper describing the Divi Dish, a paper plate with a fold-up picket fence to keep wings off the boneyard in a restaurant pitch.

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Man presenting a hilarious pitch during a restaurant meeting with business executives after a snarky letter discussion.

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To his surprise, he got invited to a meeting with the top 8 executives, so he and his sister prepared a full pitch, going so far as to even get one idea patented

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Man delivers a humorous pitch to restaurant bigwigs after sending a snarky letter, leading to a patent opportunity.

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Text excerpt from letter showing humorous exchange related to a restaurant's funny pitch and patent idea.

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As it turned out, the big bosses weren’t looking for ideas from them, but rather wanted the guy and his sister to best the test audience for some of their own innovations

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Alt text: Snarky letter leads to restaurant flying in bigwigs, resulting in a hilarious pitch and an expensive patent license displayed.

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Sarcastic letter leads restaurant to fly in bigwigs, resulting in a hilarious pitch and a new patent opportunity.

Text excerpt from a man’s snarky letter about a restaurant pitch causing awkwardness and panic during the meeting.

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Image credits: WordJauntSiblings

While none of their ideas landed with the CEO, the meeting sparked an entirely new career in creativity for the siblings, even if it meant having a useless patent

A sarcastic complaint letter meant to amuse the original poster’s (OP) sister accidentally hijacked his life. His family practically lived at a major chicken wing chain. Everyone loved it, but he had some issues. He slowly unraveled over one detail: wings served on flimsy cardboard boats instead of real plates – at a sports bar, no less.

He finally snapped and wrote a joke-filled, sarcastic complaint with real criticism inside. His sister laughed so hard she insisted they mail it certified, forcing corporate to read it. Weeks later, headquarters called requesting a meeting. Assuming they wanted help, the siblings wildly overprepared a full pitch, patents included.

Two months later, they walked in to face eight top executives, including the CEO. Panic followed. Then came the twist: OP’s letter had already reshaped the company. They weren’t there for new concepts. The bewildered siblings were a test group, awkwardly pitching ideas that were already obsolete, including their patented “wing separator”.

The night ended with laughter, the revelation of mutual meeting safe words, and a Vegas invite later wrecked by Covid. But something bigger stuck. A creative switch flipped. OP and his sister started inventing, writing, and building strange worlds together. The sarcastic letter hadn’t launched a product, but it did spark an exciting career in creativity.

Let’s be real: complaining to a big brand can seem pointless when you’re treated like just another ticket in a system stuffed with them. So, how do you make sure your complaint makes its way to the right people? We went looking for answers.

Patent drawing of a divided restaurant plate with labeled sections for wings and a boneyard separator fence.

Image credits: WordJauntSiblings

The pros over at The Washington Post interviewed Carol Edgar, a public relations veteran specializing in customer service, who has successfully tracked down the higher-ups at IBM, Xerox, Alaska Airlines, Travelers Insurance, DirecTV and, most recently, Les Schwab Tire Centers.

Edgar says, “It’s not about threatening a lawsuit but trying to help a company know they have a problem and how they can learn from it.” Now, that’s a win-win and no-brainer at the same time. As it turns out, customer complaints can be a goldmine.  

Experts at Forbes say that, if one customer is unhappy, it’s likely others feel the same way, but will just switch brands instead of telling you. When a customer complains, they’re basically providing helpful insights – the kinda stuff that could help fix your brand’s blindspots.

Marketing gurus, Breakthrough, say the trick is to see complaints not as criticism, but as real-time feedback. If you’re only measuring success through glowing reviews, you’re leaving something on the table. Complaints are basically friction, and friction sparks ideas.

So, the next time a brand grinds your gears, make the effort to track down the CEO and let them know. Who knows? You could be sitting on their next big idea… and the paycheck that comes with it. 

Have you ever complained to a brand and gotten satisfaction, or are you still a disgruntled customer waiting for an answer? Tell us all about it in the comments!

In the comments, readers were surprised the guy got a patent as quickly as he did, and even responded with their own complaints against big brands

Comments discussing the timeline and cost of obtaining a patent after a restaurant's bigwig responds to a snarky letter.

Alt text: Online discussion about a restaurant addressing customer concerns with a humorous pitch and invention patent.

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Screenshot of a humorous online exchange referencing a restaurant flying in bigwigs after a man's snarky letter.

Comments discussing frustration with digital rotating menu screens slowing drive-thru service and costing fast food restaurants money.

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Screenshot of a Reddit comment thread discussing a restaurant's wings and a customer’s humorous pitch leading to a patent.

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Screenshot of an online comment thread about a man’s snarky letter leading to a restaurant pitch and patent.

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Screenshot of an online comment thread reacting to a restaurant's bigwigs responding to a snarky letter.

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