Okay, so I am reading this story about chicken nuggets, Woman called 911 after McDonalds ran out of nuggets and I can’t help but wonder what my readers think! It seems to me like the media is focusing on the wrong part of this story.
Latreasa Goodman called 911 after she bought a 10 piece chicken nugget meal. She paid for her meal, got her change, and then the cashier told her they were out of chicken nuggets. She asked for her money back and the cashier told her all sales are final.
What sale?
Latreasa called 911 because McDonalds stole her $5 and wouldn’t give it back after she found out that chicken nuggets were not available. The cashier said that she could have another item off the menu, but she could not have her money back. Latreasa called 911 (she did specify she needed police only in the phone conversation) to report that McDonalds took her $5 and wouldn’t give her the chicken nuggets or her money back. The police department arrested Latreasa.
“The manager just took my money and won’t give me my money back, trying to make me get something off the menu that I don’t want, I ordered chicken nuggets. They don’t have chicken nuggets, and so I told her, ‘Just give me my money back,’ and she tells me I have to pick something else off the menu. She is not going to give me my money back, and she don’t have the right to take my money.”
So is this about chicken nuggets or theft? How many people know their local police number (a 
much better option, but still…) $5 was obviously very important to this woman – which brings the next question…
Was this discrimination due to race or class?
If you walked into Home Depot and bought $1000 in lumber and they loaded your car with something else and refused to return your money because “all sales are final” then what would you do?
What if it was a $100 radio that you bought and then found out that it was out of stock – no returns!
What if it was $5….
Where is your limit?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I heard this on the news last night. Now when I was a teen I worked at McD’s and you of course could do a return. Not sure what happened now. I’d be a little peeved also, $5 is $5 I would have asked for a manager and when that didn’t work I would have been calling corporate not the police.
There had to be a way to give her back her money it just sounds redicilous to me. I doubt they would change their policy about that. I bet the chashier was new and didn’t know how to do it so made up a little white lie. Just my thoughts.
i think the you are probably right, the cashier was new and did not know what to do. I bet she knows now. Anyway, I think McDonalds should give this woman a life time supply of chicken nuggets.
The cashier said she was the manager! I just read that McDonalds has now offered her money back plus her chicken nuggets, but I’m with you Cheapbychoice… I think they should have given her a lifetime supply! Or, at least a years worth.
I just read this story tonight and was laughing OUT LOUD! But, then I started thinking about it. Yes, calling 911 was a LITTLE extreme, but she did have a valid point. Wonder what the outcome will be?
For me? I just try to steer clear of McSlop Shop
I am wondering why in the world she was arrested!? Unless she went “postal” on them!
I have NEVER heard of MacD’s not giving back the customer’s money.
I think she should have stock in MacD’s now…heck with the nuggets!
Calling 911 for this is VERY extreme. 911 is for emergencies, not because you’re dealing with an employee that doesn’t know how to do your job. If she was able to call 911, she would have been just as able to call the operator to get the number for the local police department. I doubt any of this had to do with race or class.
Ok, I read the story and now I have more comments about it…
1. She called 911 THREE times? Yeah, I’d call that misuse. And according to the story, that’s what the charges were for.
2. If $5 was so important to her that she felt she needed to call 911 THREE times, she shouldn’t be spending $5 at McD’s period. I’d want my money back too, but calling the local police department, or even asking to speak with a regional manager of McD’s, would suffice in that situation. Dramatic much?
This story is crazy. And also weird, like we don’t have the whole story. But…there are such weird situations these days, who knows.
Calling 911 definitely seems a bit extreme – if she absolutely HAD to call the police, I probably would have stuck with the non-emergency number. However – why was the arrested? Your comments about race/class discrimination bring up a valid – and scary – point.
She probably called 911 because that’s the only option she was aware of. If she was asking for a manager, and the cashier who refused the refund WAS the manager, then what do you do? She didn’t want to leave without her $5 and so 911 was her option. She was arrested for misuse, which is fair and just because that ties up the dispatchers from potential life-threatening calls. It has nothing to do with race or class, just IQ! If an individual isn’t aware of their rights, or how to keep their emotions under control, then there will be consequences, no matter how extreme.
These are all great points 🙂
I agree that 911 was extreme – although my SIL is a dispatcher and my brother was for a while so I know that people always call for crazy things! Lots of non-emergencies – property disputes and stuff like that…
Therefore, I think arresting her was also extreme. And why didn’t they get her her $5 back!!! At least get her the $5 if they are going to arrest her, LOL.
I think she definitely had a bad day!
She did call three times! Still though, if it was $100 would that be an emergency, what about $1000 – where is the “limit” and is that class descrimination? I’m trying to separate my feelings of how stupid that was with the fact that it was only $5 – I don’t think I would feel that way if it were $1000 and isn’t that wrong? Maybe theft is never an emergency… You should really go to your local police, but she did specify that she needed police only… So many questions!
Wow. I am going to have to share this story with my DH who is a 911 dispatcher… I do think calling 911 3 times was over the top, no matter the amount… one call should have been enough. I do think it’s rather silly to arrest her for that, yes 911 is for emergencies, but people call for stupid reasons all the time, and having been to visit my DH at work I know that the worsts is the ppl who give their kids disconnected cell phones to play with… they get multiple calls an hour from phones like that and those people never get arrested…
Anyway, I think the whole situation is ridiculous, and I hope they fired the cashier/manager/whatever they were… and yeah, I think the girl deserves more than her $5 and the nuggets back…
CRAZY!!
I think calling 911 was a little overkill – it wasn’t an emergency. But, she does have a right to her money.
Personally, I think that the entire situation was ridiculous. If McDonald’s just gave her money back this would not have happened. They did not have the product, she did not want something else, money should have been returned. Calling 911 on her part was a bit much. I would have left and contacted McDonald’s corporate office, but $5, may have been all she had.
the only thing worse than not chicken nuggets is having chicken nuggets… with no BBQ sauce
It seems like most couponers know to call corporate if things go wrong, LOL! I don’t know about the general population though…
I haven’t seen this story anywhere else (yet) so I don’t know all the fine details. Someone said she called 911 three times – that is overboard, once is plenty. All you need to say is “I need police dispatched to [address/location]” and tell them briefly why and that should be it. If no one is in harm’s way immediately the officers may take a little longer to get there, as is expected.
While calling 911 was rather extreme, I have to say this store seriously screwed up in not refunding her money. Calling corporate probably would have gotten her the money back, plus a bunch of freebies and the manager of that location a good ear full of chewing out. But, I don’t think many people realize they can even do that with a complaint.
Refusing to refund her money for an item they did not provide is certainly theft of some kind.
Loretta recently posted..Feather Extension Website For Sale