McDonalds The Fools

[Angel]

Hiya Everyone

Be warned, I got a very serious rant coming up.

Last night, we took the kids to McDonalds. We purchased our food then went and sat down at the table, lo and behold the fries were stone cold, so we took them back. Had to wait for a new batch to be cooked by which this time, our burgers were almost eaten.

Next.......

Kieran (our 7 year old newly diagnosed Diabetic son) said his coke tasted strange. We had a taste and it was NORMAL FULL OF SUGAR coke. I was furious and stormed back to the counter telling the imbacile assistant that I asked for DIET coke. All she could say was sorry. Sorry!, You could of made my son extremely ill you fool. For the rest of the night, we had to carefully monitor his blood sugars because they went high.

These people should realise that when people ask for DIET, it may mean a medical problem not just a keep slim thing.

I phoned McDonalds HQ this morning and explained Diabetes, Hypers etc to them and they promised to investigate the matter. Though I imagine another apology, I would much prefer them to train their staff a little better.

SO question is, how can we stop this from happening, is there a testing kit we can use to see if something is sugar free. (I did read somewhere that a person uses the keytone test strips to see if something is sugar free but it doesn't woork on diet coke). Anyone tried this?

Angel x

[Amy C.]

This is a risk you take when eating out -- not just McD's, but anywhere. The employees are minimum wage and higly prone to mistakes. Most folks don't realize that drinking a sugared drink can be a problem for others. Type 1 is not common enough for people to know.

Some people buy strips that test for sugar -- not ketones, but for blood sugar -- to test out the drinks. Most rely on taste. The sugared drinks do not taste the same. Your son can learn what it is he should drink. If he drinks something with sugar in it, all he needs is extra insulin.

There is a lot that can upset the balance you are trying to maintain with your son's blood sugar. As you get more experience, you will realize incidents like this happen and you will get more tricks in your bag to deal with them. You were aware this happened and were not broad-sided by the high blood sugars. Hopefully your son is on a flexible regime that allowed you to give extra insulin.

[allisa]

Amy pretty much said it all......

TY can tell by taste if his drink is correct or not. It never hurts to double check with the waitress ( or in Mcdondald's case the counter person) and verify that is IS diet when they deliver the drinks.

It is pretty uncommon for a child to be having a diet soda.....so people who are not touched by Diabetes would be pretty clueless about it.

[caspi]

I think most of us here have experienced this at one point or another. When we eat out, Cameron knows not to take a drink until either my husband or I have tasted it first. Mistakes do happen. No one is perfect (except maybe me....;):D)

[MamaChrissa]

When Im in doubt..I taste it myself. After 25 years of drinking diet soda..I can tell the difference in a hot second!

[shirley83006]

that is scary. i always taste her drink to make sure that it is diet. i can tell. or i have one other family member try it. my daughter can tell if it is diet. but i'd rather taste test it for her.

[Kirsten]

I always order milk for Griffin when we eat out, partly for this reason. I don't trust minimum wage staff with my child's health.

Kirsten

[sammysmom]

Not to minimize the situation but that is one of the risks you take while eating out. I always carry diastix with me (test for glucose), put a drop of the pop on it and you will know immeditally if it is diet or not......

shannon

[Ellen]

Know that it's not always the counter person's fault. Sometimes the lines can mistakenly be switched and regular coke may be flowing through the diet fountain.

Off topic, but last semester in school we were required to read the book Fast Food Nation (http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Food-Nation-Dark-All-American/dp/0060938455). What an eye opener. I'll never eat in McDonalds again.

[miss_behave]

I have tested coke with a glucose meter before. Just put a drop of the drink on the test strip instead of blood. If it is diet, it should read LO. If it is not, it will have a high number.

[Traci]

We had the same thing happen, so now I order diet for everyone in our family and then confirm that the drinks are all diet when they are delivered. Once, I was confirming at the Wendy's drive thru and the young man said, "yes, my little sister has type 1 diabetes so I always make sure people get diet when they order it because it could make her very sick if she gets regular coke instead." I told him that was exactly why I was confirming. Maybe all the people who are being touched by type 1 are bringing about more awareness.

[malcolm]

Hi angel. I had the same problem with Mcdonalds,I orderd a diet
coke for my daughter, I always watch to see they are taking diet from the machine,This girl was so busy talking to her work mates that she poured the regular coke ,when I asked if that was diet she snatched the cup away and looked at me as if it was my fault.

[MrsBadshoe]

I have tested coke with a glucose meter before. Just put a drop of the drink on the test strip instead of blood. If it is diet, it should read LO. If it is not, it will have a high number.

This is exactly what we do.


Know that it's not always the counter person's fault. Sometimes the lines can mistakenly be switched and regular coke may be flowing through the diet fountain

I have worked in restuarants and not only do lines get crossed, we have had syrups shipped with the wrong labels.

While it is frustrating to get the wrong soda..it may not be the fault of the minimum wage worker serving the drink. So, blaming them and being angry with them is really not the way to go.

I would just make sure that I take responsiblity for what my child is served. My kids don't like diet soda for the most part so we serve them the full sugar version if they are drinking soda.

[liasmommy2000]

(((HUGS))), I'm sorry, I'm sure that was a stressful moment for you.

ITA though about the fact that these are minimum wage, unskilled, generally young workers. They don't know and unfortunately many probably don't care. Honestly until Lia was diagnosed I would never have thought of a person getting a reg coke instead of diet as anything more than inconvenience. And I only drink diet myself and always have (prefer the taste).

Anyway Lia is only allowed pop if it's both diet AND caffeine free so it's rare for her to get pop as most places don't have that option. If they do, most places here have drink stations where you get your own drinks, so not a problem. In the rare cases where they don't, I watch carefully while they get the drinks and if I can't see, ask them to please make sure it's diet. It's a pain, but you have to do what works. Oh and taste it yourself too.

[CC'sMom]

I take our own pop with us when we go to a place like McDonalds or Arbys. I just put it in a small insulated lunch box with a icepack. That way she can have diet and caffeine free too. In fact I've been doing this for a few years for my husband and me because we're getting old and caffeine bothers us now. :rolleyes: So far no one has said anything to us. But I do buy the pop there for my other two kids...

[AmberO]

ermmm.... having had worked for B.K for 7 years in the past, these things do happen. It just pays to taste your childs drink and then ask for a replacement...


ITA though about the fact that these are minimum wage, unskilled, generally young workers. They don't know and unfortunately many probably don't care.



that's a bit unfair. I was working my way through school with this job. Fast food isn't glamourous but it's a job. I could go on and on about how customers treated us because they thought we were young, unskilled ect but that's a whole nother issue. :rolleyes:

[allisa]

Off topic, but last semester in school we were required to read the book Fast Food Nation (http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Food-Nation-Dark-All-American/dp/0060938455). What an eye opener. I'll never eat in McDonalds again.


My son who LOVED McDonald's watched Super Size Me in his health class at school.....and now REFUSES to eat there anymore.....We actually just got the Movie from Netflix and will watch tonight.....my son assures us we will NEVER want to eat it again after watching......sigh.....i'll miss their fries....maybe I should eat once more before watching the movie LOL !!!

[liasmommy2000]

ermmm.... having had worked for B.K for 7 years in the past, these things do happen. It just pays to taste your childs drink and then ask for a replacement...




that's a bit unfair. I was working my way through school with this job. Fast food isn't glamourous but it's a job. I could go on and on about how customers treated us because they thought we were young, unskilled ect but that's a whole nother issue. :rolleyes:


Oops, my apologies! I know not all are, but around here the majority of fast food employees (other than the managers) are high school age kids, who I would presume are unskilled. That’s not a bad thing, just a fact. Actually until recently I found all the teenage (and other) employees in businesses in our town to be very polite and competent. And whenever I would hear of people complaining about rude, obnoxious teenagers, I would think how nice it is to live in a smaller town with such good kids. Unfortunately in the last year I’ve found customer service in the restaurants around town to have gone downhill, no matter what the age of the employee. I’m not sure why, but it’s frustrating.

Really, I did not mean to insult. I apologize.

[Momto4]

TLC's "Honey, We're killing the kids" is an excellent show to watch with the family -My 7 year old twins are now the food police at our house! It really made an impression on them about good eating habits.

[wendyc]

We generally order milk or Minute Maid Light at McDonalds, and seltzer with a splash of juice anywhere else. Abby is to young for caffeine, so unless they have diet sprite, soda is out. Unfortunately it is a risk you take eating out. So or moto is, when in doubt, mom and dad taste.
I always think back to the Roseanne episode when the lady ordered decaf coffee, she saw there was none, so she dumped regular into the decaf pot:eek:

As for Fast Food Nation, oh my gosh, what an incredible documentry. It was so eye opening! It really makes you think what we put into our bodies.

[lisalotsamom]

Just a rule of life for us.......unless John or I actually pour the Diet Coke for Tessa, we **always** taste it first. We do it so often that she actually asks now, "Did you check my Diet Coke?" Our other kids know to do this to--never to let her drink something without checking it.
Lisa, who's had to take back her share of cokes that weren't diet

[JoeC]

Wouldn't caffeine in the diet coke raise BG too?

[lilituc]

I carry Diastix (urine glucose testing strips) to check soda. They look exactly like ketone strips, but they're for sugar. There are also strips for ketones AND sugar which you can probably use as well, but I've never used them. Just to clarify that we're not testing with ketone strips. ;) Just drop the soda onto the strip (easy using the straw). I don't really want to dip the stick in the soda because of the chemicals.

I've also tested before with my UltraSmart, but it costs a lot more. Anything regular is 700-HI and diet is ERROR.

[Momof4gr8kids]

We used to always do diet drinks when eating out. However Julia gets a stomach ache from carbonation, and really is quite tired of diet cola. So now we let her order what she wants. Milk, juice, water, and a variety of lemonade types are her typical drinks, sometimes she will even order hot tea.

The first time I had this happen to me with Julia I was really upset. I realized it wasn't because they messed up that I was upset like that. I mean, if this would have happened pre D dx I probably would have asked for a replacement. If they made a number of mistakes I probably would have brought it to corporate attention, but I wouldn't have lectured like I did. I was emotionally vested in that really being diet.
I think that is what happened with you. I think that is normal, but I also think you have to take a look at what actually happened. She served your child the wrong drink. It happens all of the time. They didn't know why you ordered diet for your child, nor were they trying to hurt him/her.
I waited tables for many years. I've made many mistakes. When you are serving that many people that fast it is bound to happen. Eating at places where there is a large wait staff, and the wait staff has fewer tables means less mistakes happen. If you go where they are serving an average of 200 people per hour then chances become higher that a mistake will be made, and you will probably want to pay more attention to the drinks, and food to make sure it is right.

We also use a b/g meter to confirm something is diet if the taste is off. Some places have a funky taste in their lines and can throw the whole taste off.

Have a good night, Jamie

[Mom2Madi]

I'm sorry that happened to you....but honestly it's your responsibility to care for your child not someone else's. We love McDonalds even though sometimes we do get horrible service and deal with inept employees. I love them because they put carb counts on everything - on thier placemats and on almost everything you order. There are so many places that don't do that.

Type 1 is just not that common and most people have no idea what it's all about. I educate whenever I can and schools do have a responsibility to keep our children safe but restaurants just have to ensure the food is safe to eat - it's up to you to make sure you get what you need. I always watch the counter help fill the soda cup. You can carry the Ketodiastyx to test the soda or just take a sip of it yourself until your child recongnizes the taste.

This is not to discount how you feel but I try to impress upon my child that most of world does not have or knows anything about Type 1 - so it's up to her to integrate into society and take care of herself, it's not up to everyone else to work around her.

[staciebco]

I'm sorry that happened to you....but honestly it's your responsibility to care for your child not someone else's. most of world does not have or knows anything about Type 1 - so it's up to her to integrate into society and take care of herself, it's not up to everyone else to work around her.

I agree with you 100%. We're already raising a generation of kiddos that feel entitled to everything. I want my kids to be responsible for themselves. This means that mistakes will happen and when they do deal with it and move on.

Also, I take exception to the unskilled workforce at McD's. I worked at McD's for 7 years. I started there in HS and worked there all the way through college. The wonderful man that owned the franchise I worked for paid for all the books of every college student who worked in one of his stores. He knew the value of education and rewarded hard-work. He's a mulit-millionaire and owns 75+ McD stores now.

He's living the American dream and by helping young college students pay for their education, he's helping them reach the American dream also. Good for him!

[badshoe]

I don't think it is McD's fault people eat too much of it. As for the mistaken diet soda, an alternative is there are ketone strips that also have sugar tests on them.

[selketine]

I think when you are so soon after diagnosis it is easy to be sidetracked by things you used to not even notice so much. I'm sure if they'd put pickles on the hamburger when you said no pickles it wouldn't have been the big deal. Or a year ago if the soda was a mix-up it is just one of those things. The frustration is when you have quite enough on your plate and then realize it is one more thing....IMHO.

I think it is good to let them know when you return the soda that it was wrong - and why it is important - hopefully in the spirit of "education". Hang in there.

[ScottB]

I used to work for a can company that made 12oz aluminum beverage cans (soda/beer) and any time there was a "label change", it was EXTREMELY important to make sure all the printed cans from the previous oder were completely removed from all conveyors and ovens before printing was allowed to start again. Allowing just 1 single can from a previous order to mix with another label was a MAJOR no no.