Employees do not deserve to be shouted at, says McDonald's in response to ice-cream furore clip

SINGAPORE: In response to a viral video showing a customer railing at McDonald's employees while buying ice cream, the fast food giant has issued a statement saying it is aware of the incident and believes that its employees do not deserve to be shouted at.

The clip, which made its rounds online on Thursday night, shows a man shouting repeatedly at two McDonald's employees at the Hougang Mall outlet.

Apparently upset over being asked to make payment before he has finished his order, the man hurls vulgarities at the workers, who are behind the dessert counter.

"What service is this, you tell me. Is the McDonald's service like that?" he says.

"Sir, I'm so sorry," says one of the employees, who appears to have taken over the situation from her colleague.

"Don't tell me sorry. I very angry," rants the man. "What! I haven't order finish, money money money, what is this?"

The McDonald's employee attempts to explain the situation, saying it is a matter of miscommunication.

"Miscommunication? And keep on asking, money where? Money where," retorts the man.

"What you talk to her? I want to see what action you all do to her. Or you got any higher authority to talk to me? You're what? Manager? Restaurant Manager? I want to talk to the restaurant manager."

He then utters several vulgarities and repeatedly slams cash on the counter, before taking a cone from a woman in the queue and placing it on the counter, saying in dialect: "I have money. This ice cream I don't want to eat. I'll put it here."

In response to the incident, a McDonald's spokesman told The Straits Times that it was "aware of this incident that took place in our restaurant on Thursday".

"While our employees strive to do their best every day to serve our customers with care, we also hope that any unintended misunderstandings can be resolved amicably," said the spokesman.

"We believe that under any circumstance, our employees - just like any human being - should be treated with respect, and do not deserve to be shouted at in the manner as portrayed in the video."

Caren Choo, who shared the video with citizen journalism site Stomp, told The Straits Times that she had been sitting in the restaurant when she heard a loud noise.

Choo, 39, said she looked up to see the man shouting.

"The woman he was shouting at was an old lady. I felt, even if she did something wrong, he should just let it go after he scolded her," said Choo, who works at a columbarium. 

She said she was unsure what happened to cause the dispute, but it seemed to be over payment. The man eventually left with an ice cream cone, but returned with it half-eaten, she added.

"He said it was not the flavour he ordered," said Choo. "The manager was very accommodating and said she would change the flavour, but he didn't take a new cone and just left." - The Straits Times/Asia News Network