Complaint Review: McDonald's - Indian Trail North Carolina

Raw McNugget!  Luckily she is 7 and knew enough to spit most of it out when it didn't taste right!  Keeping our fingers crossed she doesn't get sick. 

As this was a drive-thru situation we didn't realize there was a problem until we were well down the road.  My wife pulled into the next available McDonalds and they didn't care, and even charged for a replacement.  I know they are individually owned, but protection of their brand reputation should have meant $.99 to the manager of the second McDonalds!

Ashley and Susan- I appreciate your feedback. I believe by now we are out of the "scare" of getting food poisoning. I spoke with the Lead Manager by phone today. She was apologetic and dinner will be on them next time. She admitted that the manager at the time had made a mistake letting untrained staff into the kitchen as she was advised not to do so. This particular McD's is not a franchised owned location. It is owned by McD's corporate. Again, thank you for your feedback, all are appreciated. Jeff

Jeff, I had a similar incident a few years ago at a McDonalds in Fitchburg MA. My daughter's cheeseburger was very pink in the middle and cold. We did not discover it until we got home. I called the manager, and she took my name and address and promised a coupon for a free Happy Meal. Never received it. I wrote out a complaint to McD's corporate HQ, and they stated there was nothing they could do about it..that it was the franchise owner that needs to be contacted. I gave up at that point, but you may wish to call the franchise owner. Their telephone #'s are usually posted near the drive-thru window.. Good luck! Susan

Write a letter to McDonalds Corporate Headquarters, explain your complaint and let them know everything you would like them to do to make you satisfied. Send it certified mail. You should inspect everything your child eats. Yes,its inconvenient,but look what can happen if you don't. Also train them about proper safety procedures. Virtually all chicken, beef and pork is contaminated. That's why it is important to cook it thoroughly. Proper cooking kills bacteria and parasites. Some beef and fish can be eaten with less cooking but you have to follow proper safety procedures. The first thing you should do,upon walking into a fast food restaurant,is to carefully observe the people working there. If you do not feel confident that they are following proper procedures,LEAVE IMMEDIATELY! That is exactly what I do about half of the time.I think that about 50% of the time,there are obvious things that should make you decide to leave. You even admit that the place was obviously not being operated at a very professional level. It is very difficult to get qualified workers who will work for minimum wage. If you ever suspect that your child may have ingested something dangerous,call a poison control center immediately. You could have given you kids ipecac to make them vomit. Not exactly a pleasant thing but it would have been the safe thing to do. Also consider reducing the amount of fast food you get for your family. When you feed your young children this food, they are altered and programmed, almost genetically, to be addicted to it. Try to find an episode of the TV show called "Honey,we're killing the kids". You have a right to expect that the food you receive will be safe and good.You have every right to be upset if you feel like you were given bad food,made by people who didn't care. Good Luck.

Hey Steve- I appreciate your comments, but if I have to check my kids food everytime they sit down at the dinner table or elsewhere for the rest of their life I ought to plan for the next asteroid impact and keep one eye pointed toward the sky as well. With that comment, I will assume you don't have any kids. You may be wondering why I'm getting cranky here, well, you commented on the fact that you think it may have been simply an over-reaction. Thats a subjective statement, but I do realize that you're entitled to your opinion. Let's stick to the point of the matter...... You don't expect to get served raw chicken when you go to a restaurant, right? You do make some good points, however, that it is not specifically the uncooked meat that makes you sick, it is the bacteria or contaminate(s) that are present on the uncooked meat. I agree, but chances are that there is a high correlation between raw chicken and getting food poisoning vs. cooked chicken and getting food poisoning. And also, it is not the vehicle that kills people in highway accidents, it is the driver. As far as your description of Nuggets being pre-cooked, well, you're somewhat right. It all depends on the supplier, batch, etc.. In fact, some were spongy and some were fleshy. Only problem is the ones that were fleshy and uncooked were not the "spongy" variety- again, I agree w/previous response that it is a supplier/distributor issue. And yes, McD's screwed up royally again by not recalling or checking the other nuggets they were serving or seeing if the "teahcer" was cooking them long enough. The good news is that all is well so far- no symptoms. However, McDonald's is going to have to do a lot of convincing to get me to go back w/my kids and get a Happy Meal. And the saddest part of this whole ordeal is that so far I have called McD's corporate back and they still have not contacted me with their findings of this matter. Pretty sad for a multi-billion dollar company not to be able to efficiently resolve their issues and I'm sure mine is not the only one. Thanks For Your Comments

Uncooked chicken in itself is not dangerous. And fully cooked meat does not guarantee anything either. People get food poisoning and other diseases every day from fully cooked meats that were contaminated before cooking. People also eat raw and undercooked meats everyday without any problems. What we are talking about here is contamination. That is what causes illness. FYI..These alleged nuggets are not solid pieces of chicken breast as some people think. They are ground up and formed pieces of chicken scraps. They are like a sponge if you look at one close up. Three minutes in 450 degree grease would cook them to a safe level to eat. I think there was some over reaction here. You do not get salmonella from undercooked meat, you get it from contaminated meat. I would personally inspect any food being given to a 2 year old before they started eating it, not after. Even a 6 year old would get the food AFTER I opened it and looked at it. Even if the school teachers were cooking, there should have been a manager checking quality.

Jeff from Monroe, your welcome. Still back you up on what you say.

Ignorance. That's what. Do you know anyone who lost a toddler to food poisoning??? Think about it, before, you get so high and mighty Lisa. 300 bucks is nothing compared to losing a child. Google results of children and raw chicken. Some people.....

Hey Tony- You sound a bit skeptical of my character, or at least that's the way I'm interpreting your response... Here's one for you to ponder... I am a demolition consultant and regional manager with one of the country's largest environmental remediation and building demolition firms. I also consulted at the World Trade Center disaster in 2001. I am also an expert witness. If in fact your rebuttal was an attack on character, do you believe me now?? I have better things to do than waste my time with creating a story for amusement. Call the manager at the store (phone number posted) and ask her about it- maybe she can help you. However, yes I agree w/you it is processed chicken...the parts that are NOT actual meat (coating, fat, cartiliage, beaks, talons and God knows what else that are ground up) were not fleshy. Of course not, right?? The term "fleshy like at the supermarket" was used as a description for description purposes only. McDonalds does not buy their McNuggets from the grocery store either. Thanks for your feedback.

Lisa- Thank You, my thoughts exactly...let alone the $300.00 out of pocket cost and possibly a trip to hell and back for my kids when it may not be necessary yet.

... how the chicken nuggets in question were "raw pink and uncooked" when in fact they arrive to the restaurant pre-cooked and frozen, and are simply tossed in a fryer before serving ... ... and how they appeared "fleshy" when they are in fact made of processed chicken parts and by-products, meaning that there isn't a solid piece of chicken "flesh" to be found. ... and how these supposedly "raw" chicken nuggets were just like those "found at the supermarket," as I have NEVER seen anything BUT pre-cooked chicken nuggets sold at stores anywhere. Care to elaborate?

To the father of the precious girls, your doing just what you should do. Are you suppose to take them to the ER and say, my kids may have food poisening and may not so can you go ahead and treat them. They would look at you and say "What?????"

Remember that McDonalds rarely 'cooks' anything. The McNuggets are pre-cooked and putting them in the grease for 3 minutes just basically brings them from frozen to thawed and 'golden brown'.. So, odds are this is a flaw in the cooking processes at their supplier.. Not to defend the manager's handling of the incident, as at the least he should have inspected and disposed of the rest of the batch. AND.. Not that you have an invalid claim or that McDonalds is 'off the hook' on this.. Even though it is their supplier who screwed up first, making further mistakes by not pulling the product doesn't solve the problem. Just pointing out where the root of the problem is.

I appreciate your feedback, although Health Department says 12 hours w/no symtoms, diarreah, vomiting, we should be OK for Salimonella. Still praying and keeping my fingers crossed. Yes, my daughters are precious- Thank You

Why would you wait for food poisoning symptoms to appear on such young, precious girls??? This is very very serious. You should not wait for them to get sick, take them to the emergency room now.