Every time I read a story that surprises me, the first thing I think is, “I wonder if this is another fake internet news story”. The fact that it’s in the Guardian makes me think it might be legit.
Anyway, the story goes that if you use the drive thru at McDonalds at some UK locations and stay longer than 45 minutes, you could be fined up to 125 pounds. If it’s true, I would certainly never go to McDonalds again, just on principle. Sure, there are probably people that abuse the parking there, but to use cameras and take away the human judgement for issuing the fines seems like a very poor business practice.
The Guardian quoted a customer:
“One motorist, Jamie Thomson, told the Guardian of his experience at a McDonald’s near Gatwick: “I ordered a burger, chips, a doughnut, coke and coffee. I sat in my car eating my lunch, and listening to the radio. After eating, I continued to sip my coffee for a time, and ate my doughnut. Then I left. All perfectly normal.” He says he was in his car for about an hour.”
Wow, that’s a lot of food. Maybe if she gets upset about the fine and quits going there, her health will improve too. Make no mistake, I could knock back a burger, fries, a donut and coke in about 10 minutes, but I’m not sure it would be the best thing for my diet………
So, as I read articles like this, I wonder what has happened to the idea that businesses should treat their customers with respect so that they return? Everywhere I look, companies are treating me less like a loyal customer and more like a circus monkey that they are afraid is going to just come in to the joint and wreak havoc.
“I wonder what has happened to the idea that businesses should treat their customers with respect so that they return?”
Apparently the author does not work retail. Obviously business give customers poor service all the time (especially my employer), but trust me, customers give us crap all the time too and they abuse every allowance you give them.
I’m cynical about the public, and I think I’ll side with McDonald’s on this one. People are probably eating lunch and then walking to work to save on parking.
It could be a bigger problem in the UK than in the US to have people sittint in McD’s parking lot, eating.
Look at it from the store’s perspective: for each drive thru costumer sitting in the parking lot, taking up a space, that’s one less customer that can come in and buy food. I’ve been known to forego some eating places simply because I can’t find a place to park; usually then they’re crwoded and I wouldn’t want to wait anyway, but if it were indeed drive-thru people, then they just lost me as a customer.
I really do not see the big deal with this…what is the difference between this and having your car towed from many fast food joints in busy locations with time limits? If you give people an opportunity to park for free, they will. I had my car towed across from a major university when I was a youth b/c I thought I was smart in avoiding paying to park when I toured the campus. I was mad at first but in hindsight, I deserved it.