A McDonald’s customer has come under fire after posting a video criticising the state of one of the fast food giant’s locations in Queensland.
The woman, known only as Zoe, shared footage of the Hervey Bay restaurant to social media in which the floor of the dining area – both inside and outside – was covered in discarded food wrappers, straws and drink lids.
She showed the bin overflowing along with spilled food and liquids on the service counter and many of the seats, making finding a place to even sit down hard.
There did not appear to be any staff cleaning up the mess in the video.
‘DO BETTER! I can NOT believe how you are still open and running a place in such filth,’ she captioned the video.
But, rather than agreeing the condition of the outlet was unacceptable, Zoe’s post sparked a wave of backlash from viewers, with many rushing to defend the staff who work at fast-food business and placing blame on customers instead.
‘Why are we just blaming the restaurant? Why aren’t the consumers cleaning up after themselves?’ one person said.
Some labelled the TikToker a ‘Karen’ with one viewer telling her that ‘if you think you can do better then go do it’.
Several commenters, who said they were current or former fast-food workers, argued that Zoe’s criticism was unfair and failed to acknowledge the realities of the job where workers had to serve customers in a rush.
‘As a fast food worker, we literally never get time to change bins or clean,’ one person explained.
‘There is always something else that takes first priority. People don’t seem to comprehend how demanding our managers are.’
‘Hey, so McDonald’s actually provides bins! And staff do clean the restaurant and toilets, when they have time,’ someone else said.
‘It’s not fair on us if we are mid-rush and have people complaining about a mess that other customers have created.’
Some said she was being too harsh on young employees ‘who can’t win cause they also cop abuse from people for taking too long to make their food’.
Other people pointed out the video was filmed during school holiday time, blaming school kids for being messy.
However, not everyone disagreed and many offered support for Zoe’s message.
The McDonalds dining room and outdoor area were both covered in rubbish from customers
The footage was captured at the McDonalds in Hervey Bay, south of Bundaberg in Queensland
‘I’m a customer that will always tidy up after myself, but it is difficult to do so if the bins aren’t emptied, that comes down to staff and manager responsibility,’ one said.
‘Unfortunately that’s always been Hervey Bay Maccas for you, it’s never changed.’ another added.
‘Yup its getting worse. Almost [every McDonalds], KFC, Hungry Jacks I’ve been to is just horrendous with dirty tables, toilets, floors.’
‘It’s disgusting and the smell was horrid’ Zoe replied.
A YouGov survey conducted last year revealed that more than a third of Australians (37 per cent) have personally witnessed hygiene or safety issues at their local fast-food outlets.
The findings came in the wake of a viral incident involving a McDonald’s store in Queensland, where staff were filmed drying a mop under the same heat lamps used to keep fries warm.
The footage also showed workers standing on food preparation surfaces while wearing work boots.
McDonalds Australia was contacted for comment by Daily Mail Australia.
