The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

I have a new favourite hated customer type in fast food land: the bad parent.

As a unique example, we recently had a family come through the drive-thru. They had a young toddler, maybe two years old, in the car seat with a small microwave pizza on a plate while they drove through to get McMeals for themselves. Now any parent knows you don't go to the land of McMeals with your very young children without them expecting McMeals for Kids all their own. The kid was crying because she wasn't getting a McMeal and she wanted one (now let me interject--I am fully behind the idea that a child behaving inappropriately needs discipline, but I think disciplines need to be appropriate as well). The parents, getting frustrated with the child's crying, grabbed her pizza, threw it out the car window and made it clear she wouldn't eat at all then. In a year of extreme asshole customers, this is the first and only one whose meal earned itself being messed with as we then set out to short serve them old fries, soda that was 90% water, etc.

As a general example, working the night shift, we invariably get an average of 15 or so families who come through between the hours of 10pm and midnight to buy happy McMeals for their kids. Now some have pointed out that these could be people stopping in off the highway on their travels, or coming home extremely late from an event of somesort (usually something sporting and involving older kids). To the latter, while it could be possible at times, not for all of them and not for every night (and if I know I'm going to be unable to pick up food for my kids 'til after 10 I pick something healthier up before the event and bring it along for them to eat at a reasonable hour). To the former, our McBurger is not located right off of or very near a highway exit, while there are McBurgers located at both the northmost and southmost highway exits in our town, much more easily accessible and visible to any people travelling through.

So no, predominantly this is a group of people who just seem to think that after 10pm is a good time to feed their kids. I guess they should be applauded for remembering to feed their kids at all.

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My week has been riddled with a few bouts of annoyances, disappointments and aggravations, but I don't want to air them out all that much. Moving on, that's my motto for the day.

Summer vacation for Lash and Aeia is almost over and I am so very ready for it.