Everyone has heard that fast-food is bad for you. I am just as sure that everyone has heard lectures about how unhealthy it is to eat at restaurants like Burger King, Dairy Queen, and McDonald’s. Movies like Super Size Me really put a spotlight on chains like McDonald’s, and chronicled how it can be a horrible experience for your body to just eat these types of foods. Despite all of these warnings and knowledgeable people telling us one thing, we still continue to go to these restaurants because it is quick, easy, and above everything else; cheap. Well I have finally reached my threshold with McDonald’s, but it wasn’t a decision that can quickly for me.
I have been a long-time fan of McDonald’s because of such menu items as their french fries, chicken nuggets, and hot fudge sundaes. It always seemed like a nice snack to have, and when I was really hungry, I could just order a 10-piece nugget (420 calories) with a large fry (570 calories) and consider that a good meal. Well over the years I have come to realize just how bad that combination of fried food is for my system, but could never really convince myself that I should stop frequenting the drive-thru. Well that all changed when several experiences over the span of a month completely turned me off to the franchise.
Late one night my finance’ and I decided to make a McDonald’s run to pick up some food on a Sunday night. She decided to go with one of those new walnut/fruit salads that sounded good, and I decided to just go with a couple of the chicken wraps. As we were pulling out of the drive-thru, she glanced at her salad only to realize that the lettuce had turned. Not only that, but the fruit was spoiled, immediately sending her to the conclusion that we should exchange the salad. Well she ran back in to get a new one, and we were off to the house to eat our dinner. A simple mistake it must have been, and the replacement salad was going to be much better right? Wrong.
Pulling the salad out of the bag, it was quite obvious that this was a sub-par selection, and that it was as bad (if not worse) that the first salad. Glancing at the expiration date on the top, we suddenly came to the realization that we had been given expired foods. Unacceptable in my opinion, I immediately got on the phone with the McDonald’s 1-800 number to try to register a complaint about this unsatisfactory food. The man on the other end was polite enough, but he couldn’t do anything about it, nor could he approve a refund for one of the stores. The only thing he could do for us was to send us two free salad coupons in the mail. A good deal under normal circumstances, this wasn’t quite solving the problem of the inedible food. Fast-forward two days later, I get a call from the assistant manager at the McDonald’s we went to, apologizing for the food, and offering a refund. That could have been o.k., but he didn’t stop there. He went on to say that he double-checked the salad before it went out, and was sure that there was nothing wrong with it. He went as far as saying that my fiance’ made up the whole thing, and that the salad was just fine. I vowed that I wouldn’t go back to that store in that instant.
My boycott of McDonald’s ended a short time later, as we both figured that it would be o.k. to try a different place. Well we went in our late-night jaunt as we always seen to do for dinner, and she ordered a quarter-pounder with cheese. I went with just a sundae, and everything seemed fine. She got home, took a big bite out of the sandwich, and suddenly her face turned from enjoyment to utter distaste. She spit out the hamburger, and I could see right away that it was raw. I don’t mean undercooked. I don’t mean lightly cooked. The burger was raw. Pink. Disgusting. It was at this point that my disdain for McDonald’s and everything they have to offer came to a head.
The biggest problem that McDonald’s has, is that there is no quality control when it comes to their franchises, and it doesn’t matter how many times they mess up, they can still remain open. Did you know they have a policy that states how many rat droppings each store is allowed to have found on the floors and still remain open? Yes that’s right. Just because there are droppings and mice running around, as long as they are within the threshold of acceptable in-store standards, the store will stay open. This is in accordance with their own policies, as well as many states. Unacceptable. Corporate doesn’t seem to care about what their franchises do, informing them of the complaints, and even revealing the name and phone number of those who would take the time to voice a complaint to the 1-800 number of the BBB. I now no longer have a reason to go back to McDonald’s, as they have tarnished my junk-food need, and have relegated themselves to the bottom of the barrel when it comes to my opinion on fast food restaurants.
