Burger giant McDonald’s is causing a huge stir after one of its deliverymen texted a customer claiming he spat on the burger. The controversy was further fueled by the “inappropriate” way an apology was made to the disgruntled customer.
A local newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, reported Tuesday that a graduate student surnamed Kim ordered two burger sets to be delivered to his school lab on Aug. 8.
Delivery usually takes 20 to 30 minutes from a McDonald’s branch in Mapo District, western Seoul, where Kim ordered the burgers.
However, the deliveryman struggled to find Kim’s location, calling him over four times, and his burgers took some 40 minutes to arrive.
While Kim and his friend were devouring the burgers, he received a text message sent from his own number that read: “How was your spit-on burger?”
Suspecting it was the deliveryman, Kim made a complaint about the incident to McDonald’s call center.
The call center put the Mapo branch through, and a manager there asked Kim to check the sender’s number again. Kim also complained about the deliveryman, but this was also dismissed.
A day later, Kim asked a mobile carrier to identify the sender and the real sender was found to be the deliveryman, who manipulated the number in order not to be caught.
Kim said, “It is unacceptable for the company to treat a customer who has done nothing wrong in such an indifferent way. What is more disturbing is the attitude of the branch manager who did not accept the customer’s complaint as a valid one until I said I had evidence.”
As Kim showed the evidence, the manager said: “I would like to apologize to you in person,” according to the newspaper.
On Aug. 12, McDonald’s Korea admitted in a statement the employee’s misconduct. They said that the deliveryman did not actually spit on the burger.
An official at the company said the part-time worker quit his job on Aug. 10.
The manager at the branch and an official from the company’s headquarters visited Kim on Aug. 13 and offered some vouchers redeemable for McDonald’s burgers “as an apology.”
However, Kim reportedly rejected the offer saying, “I am still shocked about the text message. How can you offer coupons for your burgers? Do you want me to eat more spat-on burgers?”
Apologies from the company continued throughout the day, but all that was offered to Kim were vouchers, which Kim said was “insulting, as if I had made the complaint only to get these coupons.”
According to McDonald’s Korea, the company tried to apologize to the customer by all means, and offering vouchers was one of those means. “We are weighing measures on how to deliver an apology to the customer.”
A local newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, reported Tuesday that a graduate student surnamed Kim ordered two burger sets to be delivered to his school lab on Aug. 8.
Delivery usually takes 20 to 30 minutes from a McDonald’s branch in Mapo District, western Seoul, where Kim ordered the burgers.
However, the deliveryman struggled to find Kim’s location, calling him over four times, and his burgers took some 40 minutes to arrive.
While Kim and his friend were devouring the burgers, he received a text message sent from his own number that read: “How was your spit-on burger?”
Suspecting it was the deliveryman, Kim made a complaint about the incident to McDonald’s call center.
The call center put the Mapo branch through, and a manager there asked Kim to check the sender’s number again. Kim also complained about the deliveryman, but this was also dismissed.
A day later, Kim asked a mobile carrier to identify the sender and the real sender was found to be the deliveryman, who manipulated the number in order not to be caught.
Kim said, “It is unacceptable for the company to treat a customer who has done nothing wrong in such an indifferent way. What is more disturbing is the attitude of the branch manager who did not accept the customer’s complaint as a valid one until I said I had evidence.”
As Kim showed the evidence, the manager said: “I would like to apologize to you in person,” according to the newspaper.
On Aug. 12, McDonald’s Korea admitted in a statement the employee’s misconduct. They said that the deliveryman did not actually spit on the burger.
An official at the company said the part-time worker quit his job on Aug. 10.
The manager at the branch and an official from the company’s headquarters visited Kim on Aug. 13 and offered some vouchers redeemable for McDonald’s burgers “as an apology.”
However, Kim reportedly rejected the offer saying, “I am still shocked about the text message. How can you offer coupons for your burgers? Do you want me to eat more spat-on burgers?”
Apologies from the company continued throughout the day, but all that was offered to Kim were vouchers, which Kim said was “insulting, as if I had made the complaint only to get these coupons.”
According to McDonald’s Korea, the company tried to apologize to the customer by all means, and offering vouchers was one of those means. “We are weighing measures on how to deliver an apology to the customer.”
