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Not-so-Happy Meal as cyclist refused service at drive-thru McDonald's

Fast food chain cites health & safety - but customer certainly isn't lovin' it ...

A cyclist who was refused service at a McDonald’s drive thru has taken on the burger giant, demanding to know why staff wouldn’t serve him.

Alistair Thompson, a councillor on Portsmouth City Council, was out riding with his four-year-old son when he decided to pop into the drive thru at the Pompey Centre for a happy meal.

He told the Portsmouth News that having placed his order at the speaker, he was told he couldn’t pay for his order at the next window.

Even when the driver of a car in front offered to pick up his meal for him, the member of staff serving wouldn’t allow it. He added that as there are cycle lanes in the area, including towards the restaurant, it seemed counter-intuitive to ban cyclists from the drive thru.

"I got to the pay window and I was told 'you can’t stay here,'" he said.

"I had been queuing just like everyone else. The worker was a jobsworth. A woman in the car in front said she would buy the Happy Meal for me but the worker said “no, you can’t do that”. It was complete nonsense.

"I was told I had to park up and pay in the branch.

"I have written to McDonald’s headquarters and I am awaiting a response. I wouldn’t have minded so much if the food was for me, but it was a treat. It was the attitude which I didn’t like."

He said that he wasn’t able to park and go inside, because the trailer on his bike would have blocked traffic.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said: ‘McDonald’s supports the health and environmental benefits of cycling. However it is our policy not to serve cyclists through the drive-through lane.

‘The Highway Code, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and our own hygiene and safety department were consulted when forming this policy.’

The incident comes a few weeks after a woman was fined after taking her horse into a McDonald's restaurant in Greater Manchester.

She was refused service in the drive thru in Whitefield, so led the animal into the main restaurant where it defacated on the floor.

A statement posted on the Facebook page of Greater Manchester Police's Whitefield Division read: "The staff refused to serve the women due to company policy.

"The woman then took the horse into the restaurant, who ended up doing his business on the floor. The sight and smell of this caused obvious distress and upset to customers trying to eat, as well as staff members."

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71 comments

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Critchio | 10 years ago
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Devils Advocate time...with the acceptance that McD's policy is not applied at every store (brain dead staff)and is probably not legally compelling or competent in all areas...

If you go through the drive-thru on your bike and staff take money upon an order being placed then a contract has been entered by both parties willingly.

If you then have your £5k road bike squashed by a car then McD's could be held accountable and liable as most cyclists (read cyclists, not roadies) do not have insurance that protects the bike or the rider. Cars (or most of them) do have cover which also provides personal injury protection and satifies the 'bean counters' at the McD corporate office.

McD's are also somewhat regulated by the HSE rules so maybe redirect your anger towards them? Even if miniscule there is still an increased risk if a cyclist uses a drive-thru.

There is also public interest to consider. McD's dont want bad publicity if a cyclist (oe pedestrian for that matter) got injured, killed or their ecpensive bike got trashed.

All these things and more need to be considered when coming up with a policy. I personally think the furore over things like this is daft... They are called "DRIVE THRU" for a reason.

I am not affiliated to McD's in any way. I now think their food is shite but used to eat it when I was younger, regrettably. McD's load their burger rolls or buns with sugar to make kids like them, in fact they load everything with sugar to make your children love what they sell and craze you to go McD's.

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Al__S | 10 years ago
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Oh my, just read the Space for Cycling page on it. The RoSPA response is entertaining. Appears "consultation" means "look at websites with no specific advice regarding drive throughs".

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PhilWalker | 10 years ago
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So whats the policy with motorcyclists?

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Simon E replied to mattsr | 10 years ago
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mattsr wrote:

I'm so annoyed by the food snobbery displayed in these comments that I'm off out tomorrow for a McDonalds. Yummy!

My comment may be taken as snobbery but it's a fact - stuff like McDonalds is junk food.

It's a bit like a Sun reader complaining when someone says it's tripe written for someone with a reading age of 8.

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NeilXDavis | 10 years ago
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Jesus what the problem with the odd McDonalds every now and again?...some of us have kids and you know what sometimes we just think sod it I need a rest lets have a drive through....

As for people saying its poison etc. just f**k off - its about balance we cant all always give our kids or ourselves the ideal healthy food...

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jollygoodvelo | 10 years ago
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What is this, gastrosnobs.cc?

I bloody love a McDonalds at times, and have ridden through a drive-through on my bike before (many years ago). My reason? Because they didn't have anywhere to lock my bike.

The woman who took her horse in was clearly a completely separate matter: even bore it sh#t on the floor having animals in restaurants is unsanitary.

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farrell | 10 years ago
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You can't beat a double sausage and egg McMuffin, sugary chemical ridden crap but they are bang on.

I'm also a big fan of their lard filled milkshakes.

I've been stopped a couple of times from riding through the drive through on my bike, didn't feel the need to contact the press about it though.

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sihall34 | 10 years ago
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I like a McD's now and again, I like Big Macs and it's quick and easy.

I haven't been through a drive-thru on a bike but have been through on foot, 4 of us lined up as though we were in a car and moved in position from window to window. I even pretended to wind the windows down. We were quite drunk and thought this was hilarious, the women behind the window did not but did serve us. I'm sure we weren't the first to do this and we won't be the last!

Maybe next time I'll try it with 3 mates on bikes as though we were in a car.

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hampstead_bandit | 10 years ago
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nothing new about this news

12 years ago riding on City Road in London, cycled into the drive-thru MC'D to get a vege burger

was strictly told "no service unless in a motor vehicle due to H&S concerns"

was then told "you can use the restaurant but you cannot take your bicycle inside". When I pointed out I was not leaving a £3,500 mountain bike unlocked they had no answer.

complained to the company itself, and was told it was a franchise and the franchisee can do whatever they like basically

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TeamCC | 10 years ago
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Most likely an issue of insurance, covered for vehicle use only in the lane.

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martin | 10 years ago
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I worry that sometimes cyclist just want an argument

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Strathlubnaig | 10 years ago
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Christ there are some right snobby ba****ds out there.

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downfader replied to Simon E | 10 years ago
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Simon E wrote:

You are what you eat. McD is junk.

I've no problem with people eating the occasional MaccyD. It takes the human body about 8 weeks to break down and remove transfats/hydrogenated fats. The other additive stuff will probably break down and exit your body in about 4 weeks...

However I know a local MaccyDs nearly got shut down by the health inspector after a Gentleman (very loose association with one tbh) added his own special sauce and was caught on CCTV.

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hairyairey | 10 years ago
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I've been served in a McDonalds drive-thru on my bicycle before. In my defence I was young and didn't realise what rubbish it was that they are serving. I now usually just buy coffee as I can handle their simple choice - black or white.

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Skylark | 10 years ago
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For next time, he should plan to walk up to a Drive-Thru on foot and order there.

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bike ie | 10 years ago
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I assume there is not a "no cyclists or horses allowed" signage, so I can assume their drive thru facility is an invitation to all road users. As has been previously mentioned, the cyclist is not informed of the rules until they are at the serving window; that is to say, until they are in a position that McDonalds considers to be dangerous for cyclists.

As cyclists (and horse-riders) are legitimate road users, this means that McDonalds have lured them into a place where they consider them to be in danger due to the inadequacy of the design of their drive thru facilities. Does this not mean they are admitting liability for any injury that may occur? Even without a cyclist being there is this not negligence and a Health and Safety issue?

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Skylark replied to PhilWalker | 10 years ago
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PhilWalker wrote:

So whats the policy with motorcyclists?

So long as you're carrying a number plate it ought to be ok I guess.

To the next guy planning a Walk-Thru, I suggest a plate with your Roadcc avatar, just for posterity.

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daddyELVIS replied to mattsr | 10 years ago
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mattsr wrote:

I'm so annoyed by the food snobbery displayed in these comments that I'm off out tomorrow for a McDonalds. Yummy!

It's not food, so can't be food snobbery.

BTW, the 'jobsworth' is the councillor for actually giving a sh*t. He should put it down as a close-call and be thankful he had to get his sustenance elsewhere.

And McD's respecting health and environment....  24

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hiplainsbrifter | 10 years ago
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I had a similar experience at a McDonald's in Boston, up in Lincolnshire a couple of years ago. When I stopped to photograph the entrance to the drive through, which did not indicate a ban on cyclists in any way, the teenage "manager" came out and threatened to call the police if I didn't vacate the premises. Annoyingly, it was the only food available near where I had to catch my train back to London, and I didn't have a lock, so I went hungry instead. I didn't alert the media, but I do think about it every time I see a McDonald's ad.

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Pjrob | 10 years ago
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This happens in Australia too as some friends have just pointed out to me so it is some kind of policy.
My friends were at Lakes Entrance in Victoria and rode their bikes through the Macdonalds drivethrough. They were refused service no matter how hard they argued.

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jazzdude | 10 years ago
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The McDonalds in Camberley has a pedestrian serving hatch for night time use, like they have in petrol stations although I wouldn't eat that shit if you paid me to.

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PhilRuss replied to giff77 | 10 years ago
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giff77 wrote:

I had this on way home from work after night shift and was refused at the window.
Ironically the same drive through has a line of drunken pedestrians at 2am in the morning at the hatch. A greater risk than a sober cyclist I would have thought.

[[[[ But not as great as a pooping horse....which may have thought it was among friends. Ba-boom!
P.R.

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PhilRuss replied to farrell | 10 years ago
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farrell wrote:

You can't beat a double sausage and egg McMuffin, sugary chemical ridden crap but they are bang on.

I'm also a big fan of their lard filled milkshakes.

I've been stopped a couple of times from riding through the drive through on my bike, didn't feel the need to contact the press about it though.

[[[[ "No horses", eh? But do they mean in the restaurant or in the kitchens? Just askin'.
P.R.

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PhilRuss | 10 years ago
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[[[[ Nah...McDonald's probably thought that if there were any horses around the gaff, they'd take one look at the would-be customer's luminous pantaloons and freak out, causing "evacuations" all round. Nay,nay! The customers, I mean!
P.R.

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fuzzywuzzy | 10 years ago
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McD don't use trans-fats/hydrogenated fat in their stuff - so many ill-informed muppets making comments. Is it healthy? Not really, it's mostly med-high GI empty calories but then so is a lot of food we consume.
If you don't like it don't eat there but trying to take any high ground against people that do is laughable.

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Colin Peyresourde | 10 years ago
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Hmmm, this happened to me on the RAB last year. We arrived in Glasgow on Day 7 and needed to get some plastic bags and things (we'd been shat on the day before).
I went to the local retail park and spotted McDs. I'd come up on my bike, walked around Sainsbury's with my bike (security guard got a bit narky, but no one else said a word) and decided a Big Mac would be just the ticket.

I went through the drive-thru and promptly got into an argument about whether they could serve me. I told them I couldn't leave my bike outside for fear of theft and what I was doing, but still no dice. They did let me take the bike into the restaurant and purchase the burger inside so it was a concession of sorts. But their statement was the same, no bikes in case their was an accident. Though from what has already been said above I understand why now, except I was fully insured....ironic.

There are definitely worse things you can eat than McD's. All things in moderation, though if you're burning 9,000 cals a day you're more likely to need the food than worry about its long term effects of eating it as part of a stable diet.

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Matt eaton | 10 years ago
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Leaving aside the arguments about the nutritional value of McDs there really should be clarity on what type of vehicles they want/don't want in the drive-thru. It would seem perfectly reasonable to me to ride through to pick up a meal so some sort of signage would seem sensible.

The fact is its actually easier to park and secure a car (get out and press a button on your keys) than it is a bicycle (carry a lock, remove QR front wheel and seatpost, detach trailer and panniers etc.) so you could argue that this sort of facility is better suited to cyclists than drivers!

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andyp | 10 years ago
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'It's not food, so can't be food snobbery.'

oh, ffs.

Of course it is food. Not very healthy, granted. But it is food.

remove head from arse before posting again, please.

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farrell | 10 years ago
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What about an E-Bike?

Or have we covered that?

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Matt eaton replied to farrell | 10 years ago
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farrell wrote:

What about an E-Bike?

Or have we covered that?

Good point. What about pedal cars? Or BMX's with sidehacks? Or Side-by-side tandems?

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