What’s Going On?

Today on Christmas Eve, I returned back to McDonald’s to get a complimentary meal due to my horrible experience I had made earlier today an hour after midnight. Let me first start out by telling you all that I had a deep hunger for something to eat that night because prior to my cravings I had just played through almost 5 hours straight of Settlers of Catan. Settlers is a real fun and cool game, but the night was full of surprises and which ended up being one of the most intense games I’ve ever played with loud outbursts.

So six of my friends came together at my buddy’s place for a friendly game of Settlers. Since all of us were guys, we knew that there was going to be some trash talking going on, but we didn’t know to what extent. Anyhow throughout the game words flew out of our mouth like burgers come out of drive thrus. Okay that was a bad analogy, but you catch my drift. Anyhow, one guy says hey we should all go out to get some McDonald’s after this and I thought that perhaps that wasn’t a bad idea. So once we all made up from all that yelling and arguing from the intense three games everybody went their separate ways. I, however, had the urge to go grab a meal at McDonald’s.

I drove up to a local McDonald’s, location not disclosed, and I ordered one of the newest burgers that they have created. I ordered a 1/3 lb. Angus burger with mushrooms and Swiss cheese combo meal. I asked the worker over the intercom to have fresh hot fries. He told me that they have fries coming out every several minutes and that shouldn’t be a problem. I drive up and pay for my combo and as I received the bag of food, I opened it. I tasted the fries and to my dismay it was cold and hard. I then told the lady that gave me the food that the fries were not to my liking and that they were not freshly hot how I like them. She then told me that next time I should not taste the fries first. When I was told that comment I thought to myself that this lady is crazy because how can a customer tell if the fries are up to their standards if you don’t get to try them first. I thought that was rediculous what she had said. So that incident frustrated me. Then she came back with fries that were slightly warmer and she brought them out seconds after handing me the bag in the first place. So in disgust I drove home.

When I got home I opened up the bag of fries and realized that she filled the fries container 3/4ths of the way. She sure jacked me! I then opened the burger package to look at the Swiss mushroom burger. I looked at the burger and it seemed like nothing too special. I took a look at the patty and it seemed a little dry, but you never know right? So I took a bite of the burger with the Swiss cheese slightly melted and I bit into some dried mushrooms. The type of texture you would get with dried shiitake mushrooms in a bag at your local Asian supermarket. I was totally disgusted by it and I said to myself that I went through all that trouble of wanting a good satisfying meal and it ended up being unsatisfactory. So to voice a complaint I then called and spoke to the manager to see what he could do since I did not have a receipt which the lady did not include in my bag. He then told me to come in the next day for a complimentary meal. I then said that I would take him up on his offer and I returned the next day. I don’t normally complain about outright for something too many times, but this was just an incident that stuck with me.

The next day, Christmas Eve, I talked with another shift manager whom got a message that was written down that I would be back to receive the meal and the problem was sorted with ease. While waiting for my food a customer came up to the cashier and ordered a small meal. I overheard that he wanted some food, but he asked the cashier how much damage it would cost him. She said something about a little under three dollars. He said he couldn’t afford it and so he said how about two baked apple pies and he ended up paying for that.

As I looked at myself complaining for the smallest of things, I realize that more people are suffering more than I am. Currently, I myself am not working, but am trying to establish myself in the photography field. I thought to myself how would I feel if I was stuck in a less fortunate situation and nobody helped me out. I then thought about my trip out to the Midwest that I took out in September. Many people opened their arms up to me and showed me so much hospitality and kindness when I came as a stranger. One lady on the plane even invited me to stay with her and her family if I were ever to visit Wyoming. How generous people are is beyond belief. So after hearing what the wants of the man was I walked up to him and asked him would he like a meal and he said yes. He tried to rationalize with me that he just got out of the hospital and his leg is hurt and probably mentioned that he hadn’t had a good meal and I just told him don’t worry you don’t have to explain it. So I asked him what he wanted and I helped this guy out in his dire need.

The point of my entry today is that you should be aware of your surroundings. If a loved one and/or a stranger comes up to you or you see someone in need, take the time to go out of your way and help them out. You never know what a big or small difference you can make in their life. Something so small can change something so big. I’ve learned so much this year and my Midwest trip was one of the most influential trips that I’ve taken on my on in my entire life. My encouragement to my readers would be to lend a helping hand to those that are in need.

If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.