McDonald’s Workers Sending Death Threats To Customers?

Workers a one McDonald's location are being investigated for allegedly passing death threats onto a customer.

By Kristi Eckert | Published

The number of alarming incidents taking place at fast-food restaurants has been on the rise for some time. Unfortunately, it has become all too common to hear about violent and oftentimes fatal altercations that have taken place between customers and staff. For instance, there was just recently a fatal shooting at a McDonald’s over a discrepancy involving cold French fries. McDonald’s has once again become the topic of conversation after workers at one location were accused of passing a death threat onto a customer. 

Bernie Bowles, a McDonald’s customer who had visited a location in Hampshire, England told the Daily Mirror that she received a note that said “fuck off and die” after she inquired about potential allergens in a Caramel McFlurry. 

Bowles said that because she has Celiac disease it’s very important for her to know whether there is gluten in anything that she eats. She explained that when she inquired about the McFlurry a McDonald’s worker begrudgingly handed her an allergen list. She couldn’t tell what was written on it at first, and when she tried to tell the worker that there was writing on it they just said they didn’t know what it was and told her to keep the sheet. “There were figures on the back and some writing on the front, but I hadn’t actually read the cover because I’d just opened it,” said Bowles.

Bowles said that when she got home she was able to identify what was written. She referred to it as “very inappropriate” and “quite offensive.” She was bothered enough by the experience to complain to McDonald’s. The company compensated her with 15 euros for her experience, which is approximately $18 in the United States. Bowles conveyed that she feels that McDonald’s did not take this matter seriously enough. She expressed that she was “really annoyed,” according to Business Insider

In response, a McDonald’s spokesperson highlighted that they absolutely are taking the matter seriously. The spokesperson referred to the entire situation as “completely unacceptable” and highlighted that McDonald’s takes matters involving allergens “very seriously.” The representative noted that they are treating what happened to Bowles as a “matter of urgency.” They are still investigating the incident, however, the company did confirm that they were able to identify the employee in question and that appropriate action was taken. McDonald’s also relayed that their customer service team would be reaching out to Bowles. 

Incidents like the one that happened to Bowles at McDonald’s are nothing new. Unfortunately, rude customers and employees are one of the innate flaws present in any retail or customer service setting. That being said, those types of incidents have been on a steady incline over the past couple of years. An article published in Time detailed how the pandemic has shifted public behavior. The psychology behind that shift is complex, multi-faceted, and not fully understood yet. Regardless, it is frightening to think that as a global populace we now all live in a world where the act of simply going to get something to eat could turn lethal in an instant.