A Stoke cyclist has accused McDonald's of 'discrimination' after he was turned away from one of its drive-throughs.
The firm’s customer service team told James Owens its drive-through layout was “unsafe” for him – although apparently it’s okay for motoryclists.
The Stoke Sentinel reports that Owens was told he could not be served at the Meir Park branch at the end of a long warehouse shift.
In a letter of complaint, Owens wrote: "The main part of the restaurant was closed so I queued in the line of traffic waiting to be served in the drive-thru.
"When my time came to be served, I was shocked and embarrassed to be told that because I was riding a bicycle, I would not be served.
"I believe this is highly discriminatory against young people or anybody trying to do their bit for the environment by riding a bike. If cyclists are not welcome, why is this not made clear at the entrance to the drive-thru?
"Cyclists and motorists manage to share every other part of the highway so why does McDonald’s think they cannot negotiate a drive-thru together?”
Owens said he felt this was a “completely outdated and unacceptable position to take,” adding: “I should be grateful if you would please justify your company’s position towards cyclists.”
McDonald's apologised to Owens, but then restated its policy that cyclists cannot be served at drive-throughs.
"We are offering a drive-thru service only due to the Covid-19 situation, and restaurants cannot serve pedestrians and vehicles at the same point,” said the firm’s customer service team.
“By the very nature of a drive-thru layout, vehicles need to pull up close to the service points and as there are no specific pavements or safe areas for pedestrians to use at the same time, safety becomes a concern.
"We are unable to permit pedestrians, bicycles and class-one mobility scooters to use our drive-thrus for these reasons. We are able to serve customers on motorcycles or those using a class-two or class-three mobility scooter."
Last month Costa Coffee’s Twitter account manager received a fair bit of backlash after claiming that the reason cyclists weren't allowed to use their drive-through service was because they aren't "taxed and insured to be on the road".
Costa Adam later admitted he got it wrong by assuming this was the reason why. He later said he believed it was because of "strict health and safety guidelines".
He later claimed that the drive-through lanes are "designed for motor vehicles", and that the speaker to place an order is somehow triggered by a motor vehicle when it pulls up.