Lawsuit: McDonald's Employee Spit in Customer's Face

By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 10, 2010 3:18PM

On the list of worst jobs, working the drive-thru window at McDonald's during the graveyard shift has to be one step below being asked to do the "chocolate shake" dance at Wiener's Circle. Or being Jackee Harry's personal shopper.

But that still doesn't give said McDonald's Drive-thru person a right to spit on a customer. That's what a lawsuit filed in Cook County Wednesday alleges. Sarah Thienes was a passenger in a cab when she asked the driver to take her through the drive-thru window at a Golden Arches at 25 N. Western. Theines tried to order a cheeseburger, but was told by the drive-thru window staffer in an "aggressive, unfriendly tone" that only breakfast menu items were being served. Theines amended her order to a ham, cheese and egg bagel. The staffer screamed at Theines that they didn't have ham. Okay, make it bacon, Theines said.

The drive-thru window worker allegedly kept screaming at Theines and, when the cab pulled up to collect Theines's bagel, the staffer allegedly “stuck her head out of the window and spit directly onto [Thienes’] face.”

Well, that's keeping it real.

Theines filed a police report of the incident the next day and, while McDonald's won't comment on the lawsuit, one of the store's managers said the incident was caught on tape.

Not to pooh-pooh the incident, but all we know is Theines's perspective. There were a whole list of factors that led to this critical mass: a McDonald's open in the middle of the night; an employee angry at something (not limited to having to work a McDonald's drive-thru at 4 a.m.); a customer in a cab put on the spot about second menu item choices. It'll be interesting to see the video, if we ever get to see it.