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  • McDonald's cleaning fluid Latte.

    Heavily pregnant woman orders latte at McDonald's and is given cup of cleaning fluid
    by: Christina Caron, Independant

    A McDonald’s franchise in Canada has apologised after serving a pregnant woman a cup of cleaning fluid instead of coffee, a mistake the company said has occurred in the past with other customers.


    Sarah Douglas, 31, who is eight months pregnant with her third child, ordered a medium latte at a McDonald’s in Alberta, Canada, on the way to her son’s baseball tournament.


    Driving on the motorway shortly after, she flipped open the spout on the lid and took a sip and immediately, she knew something was wrong.


    “It just felt like my mouth was burning,” she said.

    Ms Douglas pulled over to a ditch on the side of the road and “immediately spat all of it out,” she said. Then she pulled off the lid and realised “it wasn’t a latte at all”.


    The cup was about three-quarters of the way full with a “murky brown” liquid, she said. “You could tell that it had kind of been eaten away at the seam.”


    She quickly drove back to the restaurant and told the supervisor that she had just drank a chemical.


    “He asked if I wanted another latte,” she said. “I said, ‘Absolutely not.’”


    Another worker soon discovered that the latte machine was hooked up to a cleaning solution used to remove milk residue.


    Dan Brown, the owner of the franchise, later called Ms Douglas to apologise and issued a statement on the matter.


    “McDonald’s is renowned for its food safety protocols and I am sorry that this happened in my restaurant here in Lethbridge,” Brown said.

    “What happened is that the machine was being cleaned – as it is every morning. Unfortunately, the milk supply line was connected to the cleaning solution while this guest’s drink was made,” he said.


    “We have taken immediate action to review the proper cleaning procedures with the team and have put additional signage up as an added reminder.”


    Ms Douglas asked to photograph the cleaning agent, and an employee brought her the jug. He was wearing rubber gloves, she said, and for good reason.


    The chemicals cause “serious eye irritation” the label warned, and “may cause an allergic skin reaction.”


    Ms Douglas called poison control and learned that this particular cleanser was acid-based, she said, but she didn’t have any symptoms that would require a trip to the hospital.


    She had a fuzzy, burning sensation in her mouth that didn’t disappear for at least 45 minutes.


    “It took a couple of days for the smell and the taste to even leave my mind,” Ms Douglas said.

  • #2
    Very unfortunate for the customer and it shouldn't happen and I shouldn't laugh but there are so many gems in this story.

    "The cup was about three-quarters of the way full with a “murky brown” liquid, she said"

    So funny.

    Comment


    • #3
      She did well to taste the difference between the cleaning solution muck and their regular blend.

      Comment


      • #4
        “immediately spat all of it out,”
        “It took a couple of days for the smell and the taste to even leave my mind,”


        Hardly the best cupping review I've read.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Andy View Post
          “immediately spat all of it out,”
          “It took a couple of days for the smell and the taste to even leave my mind,”


          Hardly the best cupping review I've read.
          Talking about Maccas, have you heard their latest radio ad? They praise their new blend which now is supposed to be really good. But if you don't like it, they will make you another one for free.

          ???

          Why would I want a second if I don't like the first??

          Mike

          Comment


          • #6
            It's probably not impossible to train 16yo part-time workers to make good coffee using indifferent bean, but it is fairly unlikely.
            Before the owners wife insulted me for expecting to get what I ordered, I occasionally went to a cafe that used Merlo bean and had a very experienced Barista.
            The coffee was mostly ordinary and only occasionally good. That's with an experienced Barista and half-decent bean.
            Maccas caters to people who drink their coffee supersized with milk and sugar and don't know much about it and don't care.
            It will be interesting to see how far they are willing to go to convince us that they have good coffee. What's next, actual trained F/T Baristas?

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Rocky View Post
              Maccas caters to people who drink their coffee supersized with milk and sugar and don't know much about it and don't care.
              It will be interesting to see how far they are willing to go to convince us that they have good coffee. What's next, actual trained F/T Baristas?
              I agree. But as always 50% of the coffee quality is depending on the Barista. I have been to Maccas where you could get a reasonable coffee. And it was a teenager about 16 - 17 years old. And I have been to cafes in the city where I couldn't drink the coffee.
              What I don't like about McCafe that they advertise with a bottomless filter for 'great' coffee but they can't provide the consistency in quality. That it's what it is all about. Most of the time actually it is a miss. With their burgers they manage that, wherever in the world you go into a Maccas and order a Big Mac you know what your getting and within minor tolerances you are getting it. But coffee is different, is a very personal thing.

              Mike

              Comment


              • #8
                Their old ads proclaimed “award-winning” blend. I remember asking them once, months and months ago, precisely which award.
                No-one could tell me.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Rocky View Post
                  It's probably not impossible to train 16yo part-time workers to make good coffee using indifferent bean, but it is fairly unlikely.
                  Before the owners wife insulted me for expecting to get what I ordered, I occasionally went to a cafe that used Merlo bean and had a very experienced Barista.
                  The coffee was mostly ordinary and only occasionally good. That's with an experienced Barista and half-decent bean.
                  Maccas caters to people who drink their coffee supersized with milk and sugar and don't know much about it and don't care.
                  It will be interesting to see how far they are willing to go to convince us that they have good coffee. What's next, actual trained F/T Baristas?
                  Rocky, they did try and get f/t baristas. Years ago they were advertising, I remember seeing it when I was working in cafes. Paying better than your average cafe too. Clearly it didn't take off.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    ..... wait..... don't you guys order a cleaning fluid latte too when you go out...?

                    I always thought... I mean I do... um..

                    Ah this is awkward... :S

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Hmmm,

                      Seems to me Maccas should change their employment, training, and career path regime. I'm not sure putting signs up will eliminate this type of thing happening again.

                      Here's a suggestion...Actually spend more time with staff training them and making them specialists...and spend more money on them... and put more good thought into making the work environment a place they want to stay for a long time....I don't think people would mind paying a little extra for good coffee...It might actually work. Anyway, might be to hard for them...Whatever...

                      I believe the history of McCafe started here in Melbourne...For the untrained and average Joe Blow the McCafe coffees are good....They have their place, no, not in the bin ...Unfortunately at the moment, I think the masses do still prefer that type of coffee

                      Cheers.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        To be fair to Macca's, in Australia they have given it a really good crack. They trained McCafe staff to deliver more than an automatic machine could and many of the franchise owners are very diligent in making sure only trained staff use the machines. Many of the previous and current employees really try hard to keep to a high standard and their contract roaster is working hard at providing the best they can (within the budget given and the volumes required).

                        This story came from Canada where I suspect it was one of the full auto machines that was sucking milk cleaner through a straw. The signage would be hung on the machine when it was being cleaned to stop this sort of oops.

                        I'm happy the punter didn't have any nastier effects from drinking cleaning fluid and hopefully she goes somewhere better for her “murky brown liquid" in the future.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Yes, it’s good she’s okay..... now she’s 100% scale free.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I agree with most of the comments above but I wonder where Maccas are trying to go with the constant "talking-up" of their coffee.
                            I would have thought that they already have their "market" who like the coffee as it is.
                            Are they ever going to capture the customers (like many of us) who are the legitimate clientele of the "specialist coffee shop" with it's 'no-compromise' bean and passionate Baristas who wouldn't work for Maccas no matter what they paid.
                            I agree that everybody has 'off-days' and I have had many a bad coffee in an otherwise consistently good cafe, it happens, but I judge a cafe by how good it is consistently rather than how bad it is occasionally.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Rocky View Post
                              I agree with most of the comments above but I wonder where Maccas are trying to go with the constant "talking-up" of their coffee.
                              I would have thought that they already have their "market" who like the coffee as it is.
                              Are they ever going to capture the customers (like many of us) who are the legitimate clientele of the "specialist coffee shop" with it's 'no-compromise' bean and passionate Baristas who wouldn't work for Maccas no matter what they paid.
                              I agree that everybody has 'off-days' and I have had many a bad coffee in an otherwise consistently good cafe, it happens, but I judge a cafe by how good it is consistently rather than how bad it is occasionally.
                              They are largely seeking to protect their existing market (discouraging them from going elsewhere either for their coffee or coffee and food), and potentially expand sales within that clientele. They may also get a few drop ins for coffee from non-Maccas eaters who just want a vaguely drinkable beverage and for which Macca's is conveniently located. They are not trying to convert coffee snobs.

                              Comment

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