No Shoes. No Hands. No Service… At McDonald’s
(FranchisePick.Com) I’m a compassionate person. I really am. So why do I feel like callously making fun of this brave handicapped woman?
The Chicago Sun Times reports that Dawn Larson, a woman whose birth defect left her with tiny hands about six inches from her shoulders, is suing McDonald’s Corporation because she grossed-out the drive-thru window staff so bad they handed the food to her son (who has one full-sized arm).
According to the Sun Times:
On Nov. 3, Larson pulled up to the speaker at a McDonald’s in Rockford and ordered food for her and her boys totaling $23.59. She drove to the first window and passed them her credit card, gripped with the toes of her left foot. The cashier took the card, processed her payment and handed the card back to her.
Imagine working the drive-thru window for minimum wage (or close to it). You’re already suffering from depression brought on by one-too-many McNuggets, by the likelihood you’ll soon be replaced by a call center in India, by wearing a paper hat and by having paychecks signed by Mayor McCheese. Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, there’s a bare foot outside your window waving a credit card between it’s toes. You have to take it and handle it.
According to a lawsuit Larson filed against the restaurant’s owner last week in Winnebago County, when Larson pulled up to the second window to get her food, an employee said “with a tone of disgust and repulsion,” “What’s the matter with you? . . . You ain’t got no arms. … Let me see your arms,” and drew back the bags of food from Larson’s outstretched foot. After making more allegedly rude statements, the employee closed the window and went to consult a manager, the suit states.
Some might think this is a bit exaggerated for monetary effect, but as one who has been to Rockford, I can attest to the authenticity of the dialect. It rings pretty true with my experience with a certain segment of the fast food workforce as well.
The manager appeared at the window and likewise stared in disgust at Larson while her children watched from their seats in the car, the suit states. Larson suggested that they hand the bags to her son, who has one full-size arm. He reached over and took them.
Larson later called a manager at McDonald’s to complain and was told “corrective action has been taken” against the employees, the suit says. McDonald’s sent her $10 in gift certificates.
This is a terrible situation for a handicapped woman to have endured, especially in front of her children. Why am I not feeling sorry for a woman who had to drink her baby bottle with her feet, who can ride a regular 10-speed bike, and who managed to raise four boys and “never dropped one of them”?
Top Ten Reasons I Can’t Feel Sorry for Dawn Larson:
1) The pictures. Dawn got all dressed up and posed for a Sun Times photo shoot, even reenacting how she flashes the plastic when it’s time to foot the bill. She’s embarrassed? Hear all about her private humiliation… next week on Oprah!
2) The toes. Shouldn’t she have some disposable latex footies for such transactions? Yikes. What if you’re the next up in the drive-thru? You want toejam on your McMuffin?
3) $23.59. What the heck were she and the boys ordering?
4) McDonald’s. These poor guys get sued if they do, sued if they don’t. They give you your food, you sue’m for making your kids fat and lazy. They don’t give you your food, you sue’m for “Denial of Service.”
5) Society. Do you think Hamburger U actively trains workers to be crass, uneducated, insensitive idiots like those quoted in the lawsuit? To the contrary. McDonald’s has probably taught more kids to say “Please” and “Thank You” than all American parents combined.
6) Immigration. You think service is bad now, wait ’til they build that big wall and deport our only polite and/or competent foodservice workers.
7) Us. We all feel “discriminated against, harassed, embarrassed,” when we go to McDonald’s (or any other retail establishment with employees). Why should she get $50,000 for it?
8) America’s Got Talent. (I admit, I watched it. But only for David Hasselhoff). There was an amazing break dancer who had no use of his legs. He is getting recognition through accomplishments. It sounds like Dawn was similarly inspiring prior to this. Now she seems to be headed for America’s Got Litigation.
9) Randy Newman. I really can’t get that damn “Short People” song out of my head. He had a hit with lyrics about short people with “little baby hands” that “got no reason to live.” Why not sue him?
10) Toejam. If I were the defense attorney in this case, my entire closing argument would be a single word: Toejam.
And if Top 10 Lists were allowed to go to “11″ I might add “Handicapped Employees” and pose the question: How many people with disabilities does McDonald’s employ worldwide? But I only get ten, so I’ll have to end with Toejam.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS THIS DISCRIMINATION? SHOULD MCDONALD’S HAVE TO PAY? LEAVE A COMMENT & BE HEARD!
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27 opinions for No Shoes. No Hands. No Service… At McDonald’s
No Shoes. No Hands. No Service… At McDonald’s at PIGASYS
Jul 4, 2007 at 5:09 pm
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Susan
Jul 5, 2007 at 5:05 am
Thanks for your note. :)
I do see some of the points you make here (and admittedly, they do make me chuckle).
When I read the story initially, the first question that popped into my mind was, “Did she warn the person at the drive-through first?” I understand it could be startling, I’m wondering if she gave them a heads-up (I could totally make that a bad pun, but I’ll refrain) that she has to use her feet.
Were you able to find anything that answered that question?
sean
Jul 5, 2007 at 5:17 am
I don’t think so. Though if she had, I’m sure the lady at the payment window would have gone on break pretty quick. There were two incidents at two separate McDonald’s… Both of them owned by the company.
Seems logical that she’d be used to getting the shocked reaction and could anticipate it. Maybe this time she was recounting it within earshot of a lawyer… who then started making that “cha-ching” sound in her ear.
Alexander
Jul 5, 2007 at 9:38 am
OK…so, you had fun with this story. I just don’t see this incident as one that is supposed to be a test of HER character. Sure, she may be milking it…but so what! The story pretty much stands alone…we don’t need to embellish it with “poor McD’s employees” add ons….unless of course, you are just having fun with it.
Alexander
TheScroogeReport.com
sean
Jul 5, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Well… I admit to fun as a motivator, but also empathy for an employee who is suddenly, without warning, confronted with having to take a credit card from someone’s toes and then being scorned for being shocked by what must be an anticipated reaction.
The other employees are reprehensible and should be publicly humiliated and have to apologize on National TV, YouTube. They should be publicly skewered by Oprah. But why should McDonald’s be held responsible? McDonald’s trains employees to be polite & courteous. They can’t help it if some people are cretins.
But McD’s is successful so it’s ok to sue the crap out of them, no matter what. What’s the difference between her claims for millions and the lady who stuck the thumb in Wendy’s Chili? Both are going for six digits… so to say.
Holly
Jul 5, 2007 at 5:50 pm
obviously McDonalds has no option but to control every aspect of their employees at all times!
apologys not being good enough is not a culture I like.
I feel suing is as far away from your recognition through accomplishment example as possible.
this lady has as little empathy for mcdonalds as their staff had for her. but of course they’re a corporation.
the employee could have been plain ignorant,
but this is where perception comes in
as also rudeness can be prompted by shock,
and some people have a real thing about feet.
I have sympathy with the lady having to constantly deal with these reactions.
now I’ve changed my mind about her just accepting the apology! sounds like the manager and the $10 didn’t make her feel they were taking her complaint seriously, which is fair enough.
I don’t think this is going to educate people who genuinely mean to cause her offence though, not teach consideration, just create inhibitions (not actually the word I want, something to do with covering disgust but not eradicating it) which will blow out of cover with more attitude.
hopefully the staff member has personally learnt they can’t react to people like that. I feel slightly sorry (slightly) for them for the over-reaction they probably got fired from their mcjob, and from the sound of the script was having a bad day and on their final straw anyway.
dammit. nope. I’m giving sympathy to the wrong people. just, what does suing acheive? rise above it was the advice I was given as a child. maybe what that means is keep your expectations low and accept any old excuse for being objectionable, be a victim and don’t expect respect…
suppose the option to sue is due to lack of ways to cast a spot of shame for the mcdonalds employee - some way to force them to understand this ladys life. some people can’t learn, though I think suing makes that less likely.
Karen Marie Knapp
Jul 5, 2007 at 6:52 pm
So this lady had the temerity to buy food while disabled. Our country, thank God, has laws to make businesses treat us disabled people’s money the same as ablebodied people’s money. If at least some of us don’t defend ourselves, even in court, how will businesspeople learn to behave themselves?
sean
Jul 6, 2007 at 3:27 am
I work with franchise companies. Companies like McDonald’s spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year just trying to train employees to be nice, polite and treat customers with respect. Not because they’re saints, but because it’s good business. Suing them does nothing except line the lawyers (and maybe Dawn’s) pockets.
Karen: Everyone citizen has the right to buy food and be treated with respect. If Dawn’s motives are pure, why not sue the individuals involved? Repossess their cars, freeze their bank accounts? Put their names - not McDonald’s - in the headlines? Don’t you think this would make every fast food worker in America rethink how they treat their disabled customers? None of them cares if their employer gets sued.
What ever happened to personal accountability?
Channel BF » Blog Archive » No Shoes. No Hands. No Service… At McDonald’s
Jul 6, 2007 at 5:02 am
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jenna
Jul 7, 2007 at 3:57 pm
haha i cant believe you said “foot the bill”
BC!
Jul 7, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Real number one reason why you can’t feel sorry for this woman?
You’ve never been handicapped, don’t know what it’s like to be handicapped, and have no sympathy or respect for those who are handicapped.
sean
Jul 8, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Sorry, BC, but that’s BS. I invite you to address this issue, rather than invoke a pity party.
Anyone who can defend this woman’s lawsuit is handicapped with either a lack of brains or a lack of integrity. What did McDonald’s Corp. do wrong that they deserve to be sued in this instance? Do they encourage employees to demean the disabled? No. Do they forbid it? Of course they do. They are one of the largest employers of the handicapped. The only reason to sue McDonald’s rather than the individual employees is greed.
Why not hold the employees who did the deed responsible?
IMHO, the American Public needs to start using the body part they DO have (the one involved with thinking) instead of going along with the PC viewpoint. If they don’t, we may find ourselves invading one country because we were attacked by an entirely different one…
BC!
Jul 8, 2007 at 9:17 pm
I don’t think Miss Larson was looking for anybody’s pity, she just wanted to be treated like a person, and not a freak of nature.
However, I accept your invitation. Allow me to address your points in the order they were, ah..pointed…
What did McDonald’s do wrong? There’s this thing called the Civil Rights Act. It’s up to a judge to determine if McDonalds broke this law by refusing to serve this woman, not once, but TWICE, and by more than one person, one of which was a manager.
And the law states that a business is responsible for the actions of the employees just as well as the employee represents that business while they were at work. This woman can’t sue the individual, according to the law, the employer is responsible. That has nothing to do with greed.
As for the amount she’s suing for, I doubt she will get the 4 million, not because she’s not entitled to it, because I believe she is. But because this case will ultimately most likely be settled out of court, and she’ll probably settle for a lot less than what she originally asked for. In negotiations like this, it’s standard procedure to start off with a larger amount.
I will agree with you that there’s too much PC Policing going on these days, but there’s being PC, and then there’s treating someone like a human being.
sean
Jul 9, 2007 at 6:45 am
Empathy for Dawn Larson does not equal culpability by McDonald’s.
“…It’s up to a judge to determine if McDonalds broke this law by refusing to serve this woman, not once, but TWICE…”
She wasn’t denied service. She received her food in a timely, if humiliating, manner. She just was treated disrespectfully by two insensitive individuals who should be publicly shamed. Why would McD’s deny service? They spend millions on ads to get people there. They don’t dislike anyone if they’ve got $$ to spend.
“…This woman can’t sue the individual, according to the law, the employer is responsible. That has nothing to do with greed.” Wrong and wrong. Of course she can sue the individuals. Being employed is no shield for criminal OR civil liability. They were acting contrary to McD’s explicit policies. Why sue McD’s and not those responsible? One reason: $$$$$.
“… this case will ultimately most likely be settled out of court, and she’ll probably settle for a lot less than what she originally asked for. In negotiations like this, it’s standard procedure to start off with a larger amount.”
Exactly. That’s what this is all about. It’s extortion. Force McD’s to settle to minimize bad press. They get sued continuously by opportunists like Dawn Larson who slip on floors, spill coffee on themselves, plant foreign objects in their meals, and blame McD’s for making them fat. The lawyers are lovin’ it.
“…then there’s treating someone like a human being.” I agree. But think about it. What can McD’s do differently? They already train their people to be respectful, treat customers nice, etc. If this isn’t about money, Dawn shouldn’t settle behind closed doors. She should go after the individuals. Win a judgement against them, then offer to forgive it if they’ll go on Oprah and apologize during “Respect for All” week. Sponsored by McDonald’s.
I admire your compassion, but your blame is misplaced.
BC!
Jul 9, 2007 at 9:36 am
You say McDonalds wouldn’t refuse to take her money? You’re right! They did take her money, they just wouldn’t hand her the food she’d already paid for. But they would give it to someone who didn’t have “gross, dirty feet”.
“Employees act as the agent of their employer”, “The corporation is responsible for the actions of its employees”, this is the legal precedent that protects the individual from being sued.
Also, her rights weren’t violated by any single employee, management apparently backed up the actions of the employees involved.
Companies have policies against discrimination, but without proper training these policies are meaningless to the customer.
People sue for frivolous reasons all the time, I just don’t believe this is one of them.
sean
Jul 9, 2007 at 11:14 am
Hypothetically, if McDonald’s had extensive training regarding discrimination, clearly written policies prohibiting discrimination and a signed agreement from the employees stating that they would adhere to those policies, would you still contend a multimillion dollar discrimination lawsuit against them is justified?
BC!
Jul 9, 2007 at 6:58 pm
If, after all of that extensive training, policy reading and agreement signing, their employees and manager still discriminated against a handicapped person-Yes.
sean
Jul 10, 2007 at 8:31 am
BC: Here is how your, and Ms. Larson’s, anti-business attitudes will likely INCREASE the discrimination against the handicapped.
You contend that even if a company does all it can to fight discrimination, and even if is 99% successful in reducing discrimination and increasing sensitivity among employees, they deserve to be sued for millions of dollars because they couldn’t wipe out the ingrained social attitudes, learned over a lifetime, in every single one of their hundreds of thousands of employees.
Will this encourage business owners to continue to prioritize anti-discrimination practices? Not a chance. It will lead them to the inevitable conclusion that even when they did all they could, they still got sued. So why bother? Discrimination lawsuits are just another cost of business. Might as well put the training dollars into the litigation budget, since the other side will never reward their efforts anyway.
Fast food is ultra-competitive and they seek to attract every type of profitable consumer they can. When they see the growth of the Hispanic market, they cater to its needs with bilingual menus, ads and products. Your attitude encourages companies to consider handicapped customers a liability, an undesirable consumer group not worth attracting. Public companies are legally bound to maximize profits for shareholders. They will not prioritize meeting the needs of the handicapped if their best efforts are rewarded by unwarranted, frivolous and unjustified lawsuits.
BC!
Jul 10, 2007 at 10:21 am
Because a person sues a business, doesn’t automatically make them ANTI-business, but in this case it makes them anti-DISCRIMINATION.
When Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on that bus, did the bus company, or the country, for that matter, just jump to the conclusion that black people were a liability?
If an office worker is shown an instructional video, and signs a paper, and then sexually harasses a co-worker, is the co-worker is supposed to just accept it?
What I “contend” is, that a business should be held accountable for the actions of their employees. This is what motivates them to do the best job they can in hiring the best people for the job. Maybe the problem isnt the training or the
signing of agreements. Maybe its who is being trained.
It’s in a business best interest to treat all of their customers with respect. But when someone’s rights have been violated, the business needs to be held accountable.
I guess what Miss Larson should have done is just give up her right to eat at or go to whatever restaurant she wants. Maybe she should start going to Taco bell or Dennys instead. They certainly don’t discriminate there.
I realize your little article was meant to be humorous, but several points made were quite unfair, which prompted me to respond in the first place. It’s up to a judge to decide now if Miss Larson’s lawsuit is frivolous or not, and I for one
will be waiting to see how this turns out.
Frank
Jul 10, 2007 at 10:23 am
Feet are incredibly dirty parts of your body. Health departments would have a field day with someone putting their naked smelly foot up to the window.
Also, how is this driving safe? I can’t see how you could cover all of the aspects of driving in such an awkward position. I mean, what if it rains? Stop and go traffic? Accident? You can’t tell me that this is safe. Did she eat and drive? Hand food to her kids while driving with her feet?For the record, I’m all for helping the handicapped, but not at the sake of public safety.
FredUp
Jul 10, 2007 at 10:25 am
It is awful that she has this disability, but the amount of money being pursued is quite ridiculous. Four million dollars won’t give her arms and it certainly isn’t restitution. Unfortunately, American “justice” will most likely grant it just because she is disabled.
sean
Jul 10, 2007 at 11:19 am
BC! said: “If an office worker is shown an instructional video, and signs a paper, and then sexually harasses a co-worker, is the co-worker is supposed to just accept it?” Absolutely not. The creep who harrassed the employee should be held responsible, not the employer who tried to keep it from happening.
“When Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on that bus, did the bus company, or the country, for that matter, just jump to the conclusion that black people were a liability?”
Did Rosa Parks sue for $4M then settle behind closed doors? No, because she attacked a misguided system and enacted change. Larson doesn’t attack the those who caused the problem, she attacks those she can extort for money.
BC: If you had a party at your house and a helper that you hired made a racist or discriminatory comment that offended a guest, I’m sure you’d encourage the offended person to sue you for all you had… perhaps settling for several years income at least… because, after all, people should not be accountable for their own actions. Because it happened at your place, you must be treated as a racist, right?
BC!
Jul 11, 2007 at 11:12 am
Your party analogy makes no sense in this situation. Because if I was throwing a party, I’m not a business and not required by law to treat my guests fairly, nor am I responsible for the actions of my employees. In the scenario that you have presented, you are entering into civil suit territory, and that isn’t what Miss Larson’s case is about.
That said, I will leave you with a link to an article that further explains what happened to Miss Larson, and her motives behind the lawsuit. Although I don’t expect you to sympathize or understand, because as I said in my very first comment, you appear to not understand, nor care, what it feels like to be discriminated against.
http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070707/NEWS0107/107070047
sean
Jul 12, 2007 at 8:55 am
BC:
If you must nitpick, then change it to a Tupperware party. The point is personal responsibility. Are you willing to be be sued for the actions of someone whose actions you disagree with and prohibit? Why shouldn’t that person - not you - be held responsible?
Just because it’s a corporation doesn’t mean that real people don’t pay. People who have invested their savings in McDonald’s stock pay the bill, employees are affected and costs will be passed on to consumers. It’s estimated the average consumer pays over $3000 per year for frivolous lawsuit costs companies pass on to them.
I would submit that this kind of lawsuits hurts the disabled more than anyone. Lawsuits like this make companies and employers LESS sympathetic to the plight of the disabled because it shows that no matter how hard they try, no matter how many handicapped employees they train, no matter how many programs and charities they support, some opportunist and her lawyers will still take a run at them for millions of dollars. And all of those who are looking for someone to blame for their misfortunes will cheer them on.
Franchise Pick’s Most Volatile Posts of 2007: A Wrap-Up
Dec 11, 2007 at 6:36 am
[…] No Shoes. No Hands. No Service… At McDonald’s July 4th, 2007 - 24 Comments […]
Tiffany
Aug 13, 2008 at 7:48 am
Yes, this is discrimination; they did not serve this woman. They serve everyone else, but not her! that is making her not feel normal like most people. they DID take away her rights due to her needing to use her feet because her arms are small. how would other people feel if they were just like her with a genetic disease and were denied service. Yes the world would be awful and it already is. She ain’t a Muslim or anything like that, so why is she denied her order for her and her kids? She ain’t a danger or any threat to us. She is just a very kind and good mother to kid(s) who enherited her birth defect. They are just like us; human beings. As i always say, all of gods children, with disabilaties or none at all are still brothers and sisters of gods kingdom. So everyone is normal, they are just differint. That woman at the window should of been ashamed of herself, what is SHE was her and she wasn’t denied service? This woman was hurt badly, so i hope this don’t happen in thje future. We all should have our own rights.
sean
Aug 13, 2008 at 8:45 am
Tiffany said: She ain’t a Muslim or anything like that, so why is she denied her order for her and her kids? She ain’t a danger or any threat to us.
Are you saying that it would be OK to discriminate against her if she were Muslim? Do you believe that all Muslims are a danger to us, and therefore should be denied service?
McDonald’s has been sued for making kids obese and having unhealthy food that gives us high cholesterol and raises our chances for a heart attack, right? If that’s true, didn’t the girl at the drive-thru do this nice mother a favor? Shouldn’t we happily serve those dangerous Muslims you refer to? Maybe even give them a discount? Put up Taliban Eat Free! banners?
Don’t you think if bin Laden had been eating at McDonald’s regularly, he wouldn’t be nearly so hard to find?
Tiffany said: That woman at the window should of been ashamed of herself, what is SHE was her and she wasn’t denied service?
I agree, Tiffany. I don’t think Dawn should sue McDonald’s because they are letting that rude drive-thru lady off the hook. I think Dawn should sue that minimum wage toejam hating drive-thru worker for everything she’s got.
Tiffany said: She ain’t a danger or any threat to us.
She is if you’re a business owner. How would you feel if you saw a handicapped person coming up to the business you’ve worked your whole life to build, and know if one of your idiot employees looks at them the wrong way or gags because they’re handed money between two toes that you could lose everything?
Think about it, folks. What if you leave Tiffany here in charge of your business while you go to lunch and she makes a face because one of them dangerous A-rabs wants to buy something?
Go after the bigots, not the poor business owners who are stuck with the meager pickings of our workforce. You won’t let them hire the good workers cuz they’re illegal immigrants, and then you penalize them for hiring ignorant U.S. citizens who don’t follow company non-discrimination policies.
Well, don’t come running to me when you’re buying your $5 cheeseburgers from a drive-thru McDonald’s vending machine. Or when McDonalds continues to outsource their drive-thru order-taking to them muslim call centers across the world.
You’ll have brought it on yourselves.
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