# McDonald's out of McNuggets so woman calls the police **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554 "2009-03-06T17:51:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/81 "2009-03-10T16:49:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > So you’d solve an act of thievery by becoming a thief yourself? Is it worth carrying a criminal record over $4? I meant work the system by ASKING to be reimbursed. Of course, if by working the system, you automatically thought of stealing, that says more about you than me. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/82 "2009-03-10T17:01:51Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Of course, if by working the system, you automatically thought of stealing, that says more about you than me. Oh, bullshit. Besides, at the time I was young, poor, and eager to stick it to the man. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/83 "2009-03-10T17:52:43Z")
> [@Tamex](#): > > You would think that, in this economy, you would get better customer service, but it seems to be having the opposite effect. If companies were truly interested in serving customers, they would hire employees who had the skills necessary to know when policies should be rigidly followed and when rules should be “bent” in the interests of retaining a customer. However, most companies are interested in filling their “customer service” positions with warm bodies who do nothing but toe the party line whether it serves the customer or the company or not. Know what? I know all about customer service. I’ve been working in food service since I graduated high school. There are rules that can be bent, and there are ones that can’t. I won’t bend a rule that might wind up in myself or another employee being accused of theft. The owners LIKE me because I don’t bend that rule. If they want to bend that rule themselves, that’s up to them, but I and my employees have to follow it to the letter, period. It’s got nothing to do with customer service, it’s got to do with holding on to your job. If it comes down to a choice between a happy customer and my job, screw the customer. I’m following the rule I get paid to follow and I don’t give a crap about your McNuggets. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/84 "2009-03-10T17:57:13Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I meant work the system by ASKING to be reimbursed. > > Of course, if by working the system, you automatically thought of stealing, that says more about you than me. A girl did this once at my store. She shut her register without giving a guy back $2 so rather than waiting and getting a manager to open her till she gave it to him out of her pocket. Then she came up to me later and said, quote: “When you count the registers two of those dollars are mine because I gave a guy change.” And you know what I said? Hell no. “But I gave it to him out of my own money! You owe it to me!” No, I don’t. You should have come and got me to open your register. Now you’re out two dollars, and I won’t be seen on the cameras giving you money out of the registers. You can talk to the GM about getting it straightened out next week. I don’t know that she ever got it back, and I don’t care. It was a stupid thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/85 "2009-03-10T21:11:22Z")
Starwarsfreek42, you seem to be happy as the petty king of a franchise shop. But I hope that young lady found employment elsewhere. You do not sound very understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/86 "2009-03-10T21:16:23Z")
I was just about to say that giving a customer your own money can cause a whole new set of problems. “Why can’t you just give me $2 of yours and get it out of the register later?..Well, that little blonde girl did it a couple weeks ago!” And then he’ll keep pounding away on that. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/87 "2009-03-11T03:39:52Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Starwarsfreek42, you seem to be happy as the petty king of a franchise shop. But I hope that young lady found employment elsewhere. You do not sound very understanding. Actually she was observed stealing on camera and fired by the GM the next week. As \*\*Rilchiam \*\*says, doing this opens up a whole new set of problems and the girl was stupid. And no, I’m not very understanding with stupid people. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/88 "2009-03-11T03:46:45Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Starwarsfreek42, you seem to be happy as the petty king of a franchise shop. But I hope that young lady found employment elsewhere. You do not sound very understanding. But how was he supposed to know if she was lying or not? What if he gave her two dollars out of the register and then HE got fired? I don’t see why he should be understanding when someone else screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/89 "2009-03-11T04:28:36Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I believe it’s called “fraud”… You may believe what you like, but I don’t think you are correct for reasons I’ve already given. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/90 "2009-03-11T04:51:31Z")
I believe it’s called an “accident”. The customer over-reacted, the manager failed to handle the situation appropriately. McDonald’s coughed up the money and some coupons. No big deal. Thanks for backing me up a bit, **Freudian Slit**. For the peace of mind of those who seem to think I’m an overbearing Tyrant Fast Food Lord who shouts at cashiers and denies dissatisfied customers free food, I’d like to point out that I’m a skinny 5 foot tall white girl. [Cite](http://www.flickr.com/photos/12165188@N08/2250213012/). If I was really as bad and scary as you guys think I am, I wouldn’t still have a job. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/91 "2009-03-11T15:44:25Z")
My Gawd, people need to relax. I’ve had stuff similar to this happen to me and when I contacted corporate they’ve always been good for it. Heck, one time I even contacted Pepsi about a soda that was essentially colored water. I worked at Coke during college and I know that it was just a ‘bad’ batch…and they made it up for me. I didn’t storm back into the convenience store demanding my money. Relax people…breathe. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/92 "2009-03-11T15:54:30Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Starwarsfreek42, you seem to be happy as the petty king of a franchise shop. But I hope that young lady found employment elsewhere. You do not sound very understanding. Sounds to me like she understands all too well what it’s like to work in retail. The “It’s so simple, just give the money back” mindset is pretty naive. People asked me to do stuff like that all the time when I was a bank teller. To them, it was simple. The the government, it was a felony. Sorry, but sometimes the answer has to be no. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/93 "2009-03-11T16:03:54Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > Heck, one time I even contacted Pepsi about a soda that was essentially colored water. I worked at Coke during college and I know that it was just a ‘bad’ batch…and they made it up for me. I didn’t storm back into the convenience store demanding my money. Whaaa!!??! You mean you didn’t call 911 multiple times and cry, “THIEVERY!” to anyone who would listen? You know you’re just letting those big corporations get away with ripping off the little guys. How exactly did you think they got so rich? Seriously. Stand up for your rights, man! Disclaimer: For those whose sarcasm meter is broken, I’m not really serious. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/94 "2009-03-11T18:22:36Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > I believe it’s called an “accident”. The customer over-reacted, the manager failed to handle the situation appropriately. McDonald’s coughed up the money and some coupons. No big deal. > > Thanks for backing me up a bit, **Freudian Slit**. For the peace of mind of those who seem to think I’m an overbearing Tyrant Fast Food Lord who shouts at cashiers and denies dissatisfied customers free food, I’d like to point out that I’m a skinny 5 foot tall white girl. [Cite](http://www.flickr.com/photos/12165188@N08/2250213012/). If I was really as bad and scary as you guys think I am, I wouldn’t still have a job. No problem, **starwars** – sorry I referred to you as a guy up thread. Mixing personal money with the money in the register just seems like asking for trouble. I don’t think McD should take people’s money without giving them what they paid for, but I still can’t fathom calling 911 over this. A non-emergency line after I’d talked to the manager, maybe, but 911? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/95 "2009-03-11T19:24:12Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > No problem, **starwars** – sorry I referred to you as a guy up thread. Mixing personal money with the money in the register just seems like asking for trouble. > > I don’t think McD should take people’s money without giving them what they paid for, but I still can’t fathom calling 911 over this. A non-emergency line after I’d talked to the manager, maybe, but 911? Seriously? Here’s the thing, anymore 911 is on every police car - Dial 911 for police - is everywhere in the media - Quick, whats the number for 911? - its not a stretch for people to believe that is the best/quickest method for contacting them. Even less a stretch for someone that may/may not be up the educational ladder, put in a situation where, if the role was reversed and she had taken 5$ out of the till, that 911 would’ve been used to report a robbery in progress. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/96 "2009-03-11T21:18:39Z")
Ok, when I hydroplaned on the highway last Christmas eve and hit a truck, I called 911. When my dog got stolen, I called the local station’s number. Incidentally, 911 put me on hold and transfered me hither and thither while I stood out in the pouring rain and sleet in the middle of a busy intersection with the owner fo the truck, who was uninjured but screamy hysterical. The local station said, “Someone will be there in a minute.” 911 is for EMERGENCIES. Someone is bleeding profusely. Someone is in labor, someone is having a heart attack. You just saw a camaro get mowed down by a semi. You just heard someone break into your downstairs bathroom and have locked yourself in your closet. Those things are emergencies. McDonald’s won’t give me back my $3 till I talk to corporate is not an emergency. If someone died from a stroke while she was tying up their lines I hope she gets her ass sued off. ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/97 "2009-03-12T15:48:48Z")
> [@Tamex](#): > > I have a coworker who will never shop at Target again over a two-liter bottle of soda. She bought the wrong kind and wanted to exchange it. She lost the receipt, so Target said no. She tells everybody about this. Everybody. It happened several years ago, and I think she still brings it up occasionally. She took the soda to a different store and exchanged it there. Did she commit fraud? Perhaps. But that store has a customer now that Target does not. I don’t see fraud here. Your friend bartered a perfectly good bottle of soda for another perfectly good bottle of soda. Nobody was hurt here but Target, and they deserved it. Your friend’s" other store" sounds like WalMart, which does have some evil corporate policies and does sell a lot more Peoples Republic of Poison and Junk-originated goods than I’d want them to, but has its good points,too. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/98 "2009-03-12T16:46:14Z")
> [@zenith](#): > > I don’t see fraud here. Your friend bartered a perfectly good bottle of soda for another perfectly good bottle of soda. Nobody was hurt here but Target, and they deserved it. > > Your friend’s" other store" sounds like WalMart, which does have some evil corporate policies and does sell a lot more Peoples Republic of Poison and Junk-originated goods than I’d want them to, but has its good points,too. Actually, it was Cub Foods, which is a regional chain that I didn’t think most people here would be familiar with. I’m sure she shops at Walmart, too, though. Target used to have very generous return policies, which was one of the reasons that they were so popular around here. It was a bit of a shock for many of us when they started clamping down so severely. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/99 "2009-03-12T17:20:16Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > If I thought he didn’t deserve a refund, and that was the only reason I had, I’d have told him that. The bit about ordering his food wrong came in after the fact so it wasn’t a factor at the time. The policy is no recipt, no refund. Yes, I could have rolled the cameras back to when he came in, watched him get rung up, and left a note for my boss that the recipt was missing. Could I have been written up or fired if I did that? Yes. Probably not, but yes, I could have. The guy admitted he tossed it out his car window–littering! Should I risk my job for his eight dollars? Which he could have had back the next morning if he’d had the patience to be calm and wait and call the GM, who could have fixed it all for him and given him a free pizza for his trouble? For anybody living paycheck to paycheck with no savings and no family to help you out if you fall on hard times the answer is No. I follow the rules the owners laid down for me to follow. Would I have done it for someone who ordered something we’d just run out of? Probably, but it’s also probable that they’d still have their recipt. If they didn’t I’d probably be inclined to call the GM at home and have him give me permission to void the order. I wasn’t in this case because the guy started yelling before it crossed my mind, and by the time it did I was pretty pissed off. I don’t wonder why he got mad, I wonder why he couldn’t be a calm rational human being and call the GM in the morning. Beyond all that, you have no way to print a second receipt? What if the printer jammed and you had to reprint the sale. Not an option here? Also, if a costumer mis-orders or doesn’t like the item he correctly ordered, I think it’s in your best interest to make it right. Repeat business and all that. Plus the further you go out of your way to smooth out situations like this the more good word-of-mouth you’ll receive from that costumer. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554/100 "2009-03-12T17:23:23Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > No, I can’t. We don’t have a touch screen system or thermal printers or even a reprint function. We have hundred year old registers that look like typewriters. Once the transaction is over, that’s it. The register adds it to the total sales for the day and then forgets. (Have I begged for a new POS system? Yes. I’ve also begged for a radio and an air freshener in the bathroom but nobody listens to me.) Then your company needs to be more lenient with their rules. It’s a restaurant for cripes sake, not a gun shop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-out-of-mcnuggets-so-woman-calls-the-police/488554.md?page=6)