McDonalds

taytoRking?

We recently brought a one and 5yr old to McDonalds on their so called "FUNDAY". Our 5yr old was enjoying colouring when we took her from the table to eat her food. After she finished her food she returned to get her face painted and the McDonalds employee told a 5yr old girl that the child before her would be her last. Her mother went up and again was told that she couldn't get her face painted. The end result??? A 5yr old girl leaving McDonalds crying.. Their customer service was terrible and when the manager did email(not even a phone call) he made excuses about the employee working 10mins past her shift. His solution??? bring the girl in and remind us, we'll give her a happy meal and icecream.....

I went every week without fail as a treat, spent just under 36euro that day, but will never return again... I wonder have McDonalds made it so so much that they would rather lose a weekly customer for years than to have thought of a better way to resolve what happened and to at least make us feel like they gave a damn about our kid.... for the record her mother took all of about 30 seconds to draw 2 love hearts on her face when we got home....

SoftMicro

Might be a 'Work/Jobs' topic more than a 'Food' topic.

It very well might be that staff don't get paid past their shift and the employee was doing 10 minutes of their own time. I'm not familiar with the McDonalds rostering etc. so I'm only guessing.

I agree it was bad customer service on the part of McDonalds, however the offer of the meal may be an ok peace offering.

SoftMicro

Actually... I'm not sure we should name the establishment. I can't edit posts yet so i'm sure a mod would let us know if that's ok or not.

taytoRking?

My point was really that rather than leave a 5yr old girl crying a 30 second job would have kept her and ourselves happy... not that they will be bothered but the last two weeks we went to Supermac's beside them....emails rather than a phone call is bad customer service regardless....

i have all the emails which show that they said sorry for what happened and admitted it was wrong of them...but it didnt seem like they cared at all

Penny Tration

taytoRking? wrote: »

My point was really that rather than leave a 5yr old girl crying a 30 second job would have kept her and ourselves happy... not that they will be bothered but the last two weeks we went to Supermac's beside them....emails rather than a phone call is bad customer service regardless....

You don't know that a face paint job would take thirty seconds. And then, if the girl did do it, more kids might queue up in the meantime, who would have to be disappointed instead of your kid. The girl's shift was over, you cannot reasonably expect her to do unpaid overtime just to keep your child happy.

As for the email - it's actually better. You now have it in writing that she will receive a free meal if she returns, so they can't backtrack on it.

Grays Sports Almanac

And sure what's another 30 seconds after your kid? And another after that?

It's unreasonable to expect staff to keep working past their shift to humour your child. And while McDonald's could've handled it better perhaps, you're the parent and if the child is upset, it's your job to get them past it - you're responsible for your child's behaviour.

taytoRking?

we are all paid until we clock out, and i do know it took 30 seconds because my partner done it when we returned.....

They should have had a time shown that said it was finished, plus i can only speak for myself but i would not send a 5yr old back crying just so i could clock off...isnt that what McDonalds pride themselves on ????

taytoRking?

And sure what's another 30 seconds after your kid? And another after that?

It's unreasonable to expect staff to keep working past their shift to humour your child. And while McDonald's could've handled it better perhaps, you're the parent and if the child is upset, it's your job to get them past it - you're responsible for your child's behaviour.


Our childs behaviour ??????? since when is a 5yr old girl crying a behaviour problem at a fun day when refused something so simple????? also as parents we did get her past it, hence her mother doing it herself when we returned home....

The Hill Billy

Not relevant to Food & Drink. Moved to Consumer Issues.

tHB

thelad95

I think you're being a tad over protective here. There has to come a point when the staff member can end her shift and go home. You're being completely unreasonable if you're expecting them to stay on past their shift and a 30 second job may have meant others would cue up behind again. Knowing most kids, I bet your child had completely forgotten about the incident five minutes later.

Arbitrary

taytoRking? wrote: »

Our childs behaviour ??????? since when is a 5yr old girl crying a behaviour problem at a fun day when refused something so simple????? also as parents we did get her past it, hence her mother doing it herself when we returned home....

Your child was taught a valuable life lesson, you don't always get what you want. You should be reinforcing this instead of directing your anger at McDonalds.

Perhaps the employee had somewhere important to be, whatever the case it's irrelevant, it's unreasonable to expect them to go beyond their shift to facilitate your child. You're over reacting imho.

The only point I agree with you on is that it would be a good idea to have the face painting times sign posted to avoid future disappointment.

ScouseMouse

I am with most of the others here. If someone is paid till 5pm, its unfair to expect them to carry on working for free. It may be only one more, but what happens if another child does the same, then another.....

Its one of those things. Unfortunate, but you cannot please everyone.

Kinet1c

taytoRking? wrote: »

We recently brought a one and 5yr old to McDonalds on their so called "FUNDAY". Our 5yr old was enjoying colouring when we took her from the table to eat her food. After she finished her food she returned to get her face painted and the McDonalds employee told a 5yr old girl that the child before her would be her last. Her mother went up and again was told that she couldn't get her face painted. The end result??? A 5yr old girl leaving McDonalds crying.. Their customer service was terrible and when the manager did email(not even a phone call) he made excuses about the employee working 10mins past her shift. His solution??? bring the girl in and remind us, we'll give her a happy meal and icecream.....

I went every week without fail as a treat, spent just under 36euro that day, but will never return again... I wonder have McDonalds made it so so much that they would rather lose a weekly customer for years than to have thought of a better way to resolve what happened and to at least make us feel like they gave a damn about our kid.... for the record her mother took all of about 30 seconds to draw 2 love hearts on her face when we got home....

This is the first of many disappointments your children will experience throughout their respective lives. You should use it as a learning experience for the eldest.

slimjimmc

taytoRking? wrote: »

They should have had a time shown that said it was finished, plus i can only speak for myself but i would not send a 5yr old back crying just so i could clock off...isnt that what McDonalds pride themselves on ????

What time of day this this occur? Most Fundays are advertised as running from 12-6pm.

OP, what time was it?

Greenmachine

Thank god some other poster have said, what I was thinking.

corkonion

I think it's great that you will no longer be spending €36 in a fast food place, giving a message to your child that crap junk food is a weekly treat and something to be savored. Take your child to a park and have a picnic. Just hope you don't replace this weekly "treat" with Supermacs or Burger king instead. This is an opportunity for you to become a better parent to your 5 yr old, Take it,.... never again see them cry over an incident in a fast food dump.

coffee_cake

Well it wouldn't do any harm to stop going every single week anyway

Plus she's not obliged to stay past her working time just to save your temper
Maybe you should have taken the approach to explain to your child that the lady had to go home instead of blaming mcdonalds who have offered you a free happy meal and icecream

Tokyo

Being blunt, I'd be far more concerned about a parent who brings a 1 and 5 year old to McDonalds on a weekly basis for €36 euros worth of junk food, than I would be about an employee who decided to clock out when they were entitled to. You'd be doing them both a favour by not returning to McD's again, the way I see it...

goz83

corkonion wrote: »

I think it's great that you will no longer be spending €36 in a fast food place, giving a message to your child that crap junk food is a weekly treat and something to be savored. Take your child to a park and have a picnic. Just hope you don't replace this weekly "treat" with Supermacs or Burger king instead. This is an opportunity for you to become a better parent to your 5 yr old, Take it,.... never again see them cry over an incident in a fast food dump.

Already done

taytoRking? wrote: »

My point was really that rather than leave a 5yr old girl crying a 30 second job would have kept her and ourselves happy... not that they will be bothered but the last two weeks we went to Supermac's beside them....emails rather than a phone call is bad customer service regardless....

i have all the emails which show that they said sorry for what happened and admitted it was wrong of them...but it didnt seem like they cared at all

Thegalwayman

i'm sure if you had offered the employee a fiver they would have done it as a favour for you.

ben.schlomo

taytoRking? wrote: »

we are all paid until we clock out, and i do know it took 30 seconds because my partner done it when we returned.....

They should have had a time shown that said it was finished, plus i can only speak for myself but i would not send a 5yr old back crying just so i could clock off...isnt that what McDonalds pride themselves on ????

Ehhh, no we're not my friend, many lower paid workers within sectors such as retail and hospitality are paid by the shift, they dont get paid for staying on after hours.

Jade2015

If you didn't want them to contact you by email, then why give them your email address in the first place. It's normal business. Fast food is muck. I wouldn't feed a dog it yet alone my kids it once a week

bjork

They have apologised and offered a free happy meal and ice-cream as compensation.

What more do you want them to do?

Sam Mac

bjork wrote: »

They have apologised and offered a free happy meal and ice-cream as compensation.

What more do you want them to do?

Exactly. Get over it. As said a million times already, fast food is junk anyway - spending €36 a week on it is madness.

dudara

Posters - enough of the high horsing. We are not commenting on the negatives of eating at McDonald's. The thread is about the issue at hand.

Any more "lifestyle" comments will get an immediate infraction. Lets also keep it civil and stick to actual advice.

dudara

rayfitzharris

They are a multi billion dollar operation and they don't give a flying <SNIP> about your child. Cop the hell on, maybe your kid will grow up to appreciate that now and be all the better for it, it might be too late for you I'm afraid.

As for the poor employee painting faces, give them a break, they're only trying to earn a crust, who's kid do you think they should disappoint instead, the one after yours or the one after that? You think I would be best if you could choose?

Let's asume that you're not that bad of a person to feed mcDs to a 1 year old, how the hell do you spend 36eur on a five year old and yourself?

TheChizler

OP honestly what did you expect the manager to do here? The child was told in advance that they wouldn't be able to get it done, but it seems like the adults involved wouldn't accept this. You can't always have everything your way, something every child needs to learn.

syklops

Thegalwayman wrote: »

i'm sure if you had offered the employee a fiver they would have done it as a favour for you.

But she's entitled to her free face painting! Did you not read the original post?!?

uck51js9zml2yt

OP if the free meal and the email aren't sufficient for you,what do you now want MCDonalds to do?
They obviously can't go back in time and paint your daughters face.

syklops

Niamh1993 wrote: »

And the worker is ENTITLED to clock out when she/he is finished work.

Don't shout. Do you not know sarcasm when you see it?