McDonald’s fires employee accused of insulting police officer: 'I don't like y'all'
A McDonald’s employee in Andalusia, Ala. has been fired after allegedly insulting a local police officer, who was entitled to a discount on his meal.
Officer Kody Taylor of the Andalusia Police Department threatened to boycott the fast-food restaurant following his negative experience there last weekend.
“So I swing through the drive-thru for lunch while on-duty, pull up to pay, and the nice lady at the window says ‘give me just a second,’” Taylor posted, according to screenshots shared on social media. “She walks off and returns with the manager and says, ‘Doesn’t law enforcement receive a discount?’
“Her manager, which was a slender male, don’t know his name and don’t care, stated, ‘Yeah, unfortunately we do.’ This kind of caught me off-guard but I waited while he punched in his code and when he finished he glanced at me and said, ‘I don’t like y’all.’ Needless to say I got my debit card and left and as of today I won’t eat [at] Andalusia McDonald’s on- or off-duty.”
Taylor’s treatment sparked outrage — and a termination for the employee involved. On Monday, the City of Andalusia announced that the manager was fired. McDonald’s also issued an apology to the officer and had members of its management team meet with the local police chief.
“As a department, we don’t hold McDonald’s responsible for one employee’s action,” Chief Paul Hudson said. “We want all of those who were upset when they learned about the incident to know McDonald’s immediately took action to correct the problem.”
“What occurred does not reflect the values of our brand, our franchise or the love and admiration we have demonstrated consistently for our friends in law enforcement and first responders,” Eddie Byrd, director of marketing and community outreach for Murphy Family Restaurants, which operates the Andalusia location, added, noting the 50-percent discount on offer to those on-duty. “We express our sincerest apology.”
Residents are applauding the restaurant’s work to remedy the situation.
“Way to show honor and integrity, McDonald’s,” read one comment.
“Thank goodness. We were going to boycott McD’s. Thank you McDonald’s for handling this appalling situation,” added another commenter on Facebook.
“If this person has trouble who will they call?” someone added. “Yes, the police. Sad. Thanks to all our first responders.”
The Andalusia branch isn’t the first to be criticized for its treatment of those in uniform. A worker at a Florida McDonald’s was recently fired for refusing to serve “anyone with a badge,” while a Clovis, N.M. Burger King parted ways with five employees last week after police officers were served food with a pig drawn on the wrapper.
Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Officer Taylor for comment.
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