The McDonald brothers would turn in their graves if they read the damning reviews of a McDonald’s in Leeds.
Customers have slammed the American fast-food outlet in Oakwood with a torrent of criticisms.
It has a poor two-star score on TripAdvisor with 32 customers calling it “terrible” out of 64 reviews.
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“Absolutely disgusting customer service!” roared one disgruntled customer, claiming a member of staff was on their phone and being sarcastic towards her.
“Totally awful,” snapped another, complaining about the “cold and horrible” food.
The overwhelmingly negative reviews all follow on in a similar fashion (“avoid at all costs!”), with complaints branching out to the car park.
I was asked to investigate – but not just on any day. I was asked to go there on the week of my 30th birthday. So, armed with birthday candles and a party hat, I ventured over there on the eve of my birthday.
I pulled in to the McDonald’s from the busy Easterly Road, which is next to a major roundabout. Blimey, it was busy. There were lots of cars in the car park, queuing up to order at the drive thru.
I remember visiting the drive-thru when I was younger, in my early twenties. It was late night, a group of children in tracksuits came over to our window as we pulled in and asked that we order them five dozen chicken nuggets. When it came to making our order, with the massive addition of nuggets, staff requested that we not order for them. They claimed the teens were making trouble and intimidating them. That’s just something I think about whenever I pass the Oakwood McDonald’s.
The exterior of the McDonald’s had changed vastly since I had last visited.
I noticed there was now a big sign up, warning people not to park for longer than 90 minutes. This seemed like a fair and generous amount of time if you were visiting for a meal – perhaps not so fair if you were there hosting a birthday party, however. Fortunately, I wasn’t having a party, I was just there for a quick bite.
As I mentioned, it was busy with cars entering so I was really relieved to see lots of zebra crossings scattered around the large car park. It made me feel a lot safer.
When I entered, I was met with disappointment. I wanted to experience the customer service, an element of the Maccies which had come under fire online. When I approached the counter, there was no one stood behind the service desk.
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One member of staff however was slumped with her back over the counter, scrolling through her phone. I asked her if I could be served at the counter. Her eyes darted in panic across the McDonald’s, looking for another member of staff.
“You can wait here but you’ll be waiting a while,” she said.
I accepted this and went over to one of the digital display counters. There were a couple dozen of these dotted around the venue.
I ordered a Big Mac meal (£5.79), a Filet-O-Fish (£3.59) and an apple pie (£1.09).
I really wanted a milkshake to go with my meal – perhaps even a McFlurry but this wasn’t possible. I was told the ice cream machine was broken. Utterly typical. So I went for the Apple Pie instead, it wasn’t quite as fitting for a birthday treat but it would have to do. I picked table service and wandered away to find somewhere cosy to sit.
It is quite a large space in the dining are and I managed to find a seat tucked away in the corner. The uncomfortable wooden bench happened to be opposite a small children's play area.
While I felt this was quite innovative for a Maccie D’s, it was cordoned off with bright yellow tape. It felt like I was sitting opposite a McCrime-scene.
My fast-food took 11 minutes to arrive, fortunately I wasn’t in a hurry but usually McDonald’s arrives within five minutes of an order. Perhaps it had something to do with requesting table service, who knows.
I wasn’t the only person feeling impatient for my food. A pair of rowdy teenagers with their hoods up and wearing tracksuits were asking the cleaner angrily ‘where’s our food?!’
I felt sorry for the cleaner as he was in a precarious position. He politely told them that he’d check on the status of their meals. I felt like this whole interaction put customers in the venue on edge. I also started to feel a little silly, clutching on to my 30th birthday candles and my party hat.
As the clock was ticking, I began to think about my life. The series of decisions and events which had led to this moment. This moment on the eve of my birthday - hours before I progressed into the next decade of my life - as I waited for my food. I thought about the successes and mistakes I had made in my life. It’s at moments like this when the cold hand of existential dread sends shivers down my spine. I began to lose my appetite and feel a little sick.
After my meal arrived, I inspected the food. The Big Mac and fries looked all well and good. The Filet-O-Fish was disheartening, however.
The tartar sauce was sprayed across the corner of the burger and was smeared across the box, plus the cheese had been slapped beneath the burger. The fish burger clearly hadn’t received the care and attention to detail I was expecting. I had to scrape the burger bun across the cardboard box to collect the contents back into the sandwich.
The rest of food was up to an adequate standard which was consistent with all the other McDonald’s I had visited. The Big Mac with its famous sauce was blissful. The fries were crunchy and delicate, although they became cold as I was eating which dampened my spirit during the meal. The apple pie only remained slightly warm when I dug into that.
As I departed, carrying my tray over to the bins, I bumped into the cleaner once again. An elderly gentleman, he looked about 60. He took the tray from my hands and said he would sort it.
I still felt sympathetic towards him, after having to deal with the nuisance teenagers.
“I had a great time. Pass on my compliments to the chef," I joked awkwardly.
He looked at me and gave me a nervous smile.
“I will, I will,” he promised, reassuringly.
As I walked out, I thought about how I’d probably made little difference to his day. I doubted he’d pass my compliments on. I thought about how our lives were a series of ever spinning cogs, totally separate yet overlapping and meaningless in the grander scheme of things.
I turned around as I was leaving to take one last look at the venue. People eating their meals in the ultra clean, soulless fast food diner. The cleaner marched past and I caught his eye.
"I'm going to tell them, I'm going to tell them," he beamed.
I smiled back, perhaps life wasn't so meaningless. Sometimes it's about the small things, cheering someone up - making that minuscule difference which could potentially cause a whole butterfly effect of change.
It was probably the most disorganised McDonald’s I’d ever visited but I’m not blaming the staff, and especially not the man just mopping the floor or the woman scrolling through her phone at the counter.
I reached out to McDonald’s head office. I asked them if they were aware of the Oakwood McDonald’s disreputable reputation and if they were taking measures to improve it.
A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “Customer satisfaction is a priority of ours and we’re always disappointed when we hear of any experiences that fall short of our customers’ expectations.
“However, the reviews referenced make up a tiny proportion of the thousands of customers served each day. If any customer does have a complaint, we encourage them to either speak to a member of the crew in the restaurant or get in touch with our customer services team."
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