You Say You Want a Revolution

So if you remember awhile back I posted about my experience at the local McDonald's drive-thru. If you haven't read it go ahead and read it here.

So since that post I've had a few people tell my about their experiences, some similar to mine, others just the opposite. And with each one I continue on my soap box. Preaching about how it's crap that we let McDonald's get away with it. About how we should as a nation, stand up to them. Each and every one of us. Stand up for the little guy who continues to get pushed around not only by McDonald's, but by Corporate America in general. I preach that if we all would refuse to let them treat us this way, eventually we could make a change.

So this morning the DW and I were both off to work. We left the house and went our separate ways. After about fifteen minutes I get a call from her:

Hello my beautiful love, how can I be of assistants to you? Well that's what I might have said had it not been 8 am on Saturday morning.

I didn't do it, she tells me.

Didn't do what?

I didn't pull forward. Enthusiasm in her voice. They asked me to, but I didn't. Aren't you proud of me. I didn't do it. 

Truth of the matter is, I am proud of her. Way to often we let people push us around because we don't want to rock the boat or start something. They get our order wrong, we eat it anyway. They overcharge us, we dismiss it.

Why does it matter

Why does it matter? Maybe that's what you're thinking. Sure you have to pick your battles in this world, and sometimes you have to cut bait and live to fight another day. But as a father I want my clowns to be tough. Not Mike Tyson, street thug, sucker punch you tough. But tough enough to stand up for themselves. To fight for what's right, what's theirs, and what they believe in. To not be pushed around. And as parents, it's our jobs to show them, and to teach them. That's why it matters.

My Contribution

Now while I won't boycott McDonald's altogether, I know I suck, I have taken things a bit further. Today after I got home, I logged onto their website, and began documenting my frustrations with their pull forward policies. I explained my stance. How I feel that if I'm next in line they should put me first. How they should give the all hands on deck approach to the next customer. How they should evaluate why they're not getting the next order out the door in the first place. I was polite and to the point. But more importantly I stood up.

And if that doesn't work.....Maybe we sucker punch somebody.

J-Tony

Name Your Price

Hey Lifers...

Everyone has a price.

Awhile back I posted here about how I visited McDonald's and they asked me to do something that made me feel very uncomfortable. If you haven't read it yet, just click on the word here, and it will take you right to it.  I highly recommend you read it.

After I posted about my little adventure, I received some feedback. A few people thought I was crazy. One thought I should have been arrested, and a couple thought good for you and offered support. I even had one person explain they just might follow in my footsteps from now on.

I thought that was pretty cool. I never claim to be a pioneer of anything but hey, if someone wants to do what I do or did, because it inspired them, that's awesome.

I felt pretty good about my post. Heck I felt pretty good about my adventure, about who I was and what I stood for.

A few weeks after this post my DW was on the phone. The person on the other end told her to let me know that at a different McDonald's, when they make you feel uncomfortable, they give you a coupon for something free.

Turns out my inspiration only goes as far as a fee smoothie. I guess it's better than a McRib...those things are nasty.

J-Tony

Leave me a comment lifers...

Dinner Time...

Hey Lifers..

Tonight after the clowns karate class we stopped and got some dinner. I know what you're thinking, man they eat out a lot. Hey, I told you my wife was a great cook.

So anyway we went to Little Caesars. In case you don't know, Little Caesars is a pizza joint that already has your pizza made. They only have three types to choose from so they pre-make 'em, and it's only drive thu or carry-out. The pizza and bread sticks are actually pretty good considering.

OK so we head over to Little Caesars to get some pizza to take home. 

Now anybody who knows me, or has followed my blog at all knows that I am a very simple man and easy to please. Especially when it comes to food. More to the point ordering food. Ask me what I want from any fast food/take out place in 48 of the 50 states, Hawaii and Alaska may give me trouble, and I could tell you what I want within a minute and maybe even give you the number associated with that meal.

My DW on the other hand....

So we go to LC which like I said only has Cheese, Pepperoni, and maybe Sausage but I don't care because who eats sausage anyway? So surely tonight would be one of those nights when ordering at the drive-thu would be easy right?.....WRONG.

You see here's the thing. And how I've managed to avoid this before at LC's I have no idea, but they have wings. And tonight the DW noticed that they have wings. So here I am all next to the board about to give my order, the same order I've given maybe 25 times, and the DW says those dreaded words. Men you know the ones. The words no man wants to hear next to him as he's about to give the order.

Tell them to wait a minute.

Immediately my mind races to my please pull up fiasco at McDonald's .

The DW asks what type of wings do they have?

Of course I put much thought into this question: I dont' know.

She then proceeds to yell across me and ask what type of wings do you have?

To which the lady on the other end of the speak rambles off about five different kinds. Does that seem odd to anybody else? They're a pizza joint that has three types of pizzas, but five different types of wings? Whatever.

After much debate and conducting a family meeting in the backseat, the DW decides on the mild wings.
Whew, glad that's over.

We get our total and pull around. Now in the brief forty-five seconds it took us to drive around from the corner of the building to the window, my DW begins to have buyer remorse.

Oh I don't think Miss O will eat those kind of wings. We need to change that I think. See if you can get her attention.

Whatever.

When the girl comes to the window the crazy DW begins to discuss how we need to change our order or maybe she could just throw in a few of the other kind because princess back there won't eat the mild wings.

Another order of wings later we're square.

Calmly I reach into my wallet and get my debit card to hand to the lady. To which the DW quickly snatches from me. 

Use mine....rewards points.

Just a typical Day in the Life....

J-Tony

Leave me a comment Lifers. You know how I love to hear from you.

What Toys do they have?

Hey Lifers, happy Sunday. So Mini-me and I went and ran some errands today. It was a nice day just the two of us. Of course for lunch he wanted to go to McDonald's, so me being the awesome dad I am, reluctantly I obliged.

Now this post is by no means a plug for McDonald's, but as he was eating his nuggets and reading the box they came in, it occured to me, is there a fast food restaurant that has better toys than McDonald's?

Now being a father of 3 little clowns, I've eaten enough fast food to be considered somewhat of expert. We eat McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, you name it, if it's quick and easy, we're there.

So for arguments sake, I wanted to see what some other toy's are right now.

First Wendy's is giving a Pac-Man hide and seek game. It's basically the shell game where you have three shells and you hide something small under one of them, then move the shells around and someone else has to figure out which shell the ball is under. The shells in this case are the ghosts, and the ball or object that you hide under the shells is a little Pac-Man. Ok so first of all, my clowns have no idea what or who Pac-Man is. Second, what is this? This seems more like something you'd see on the streets with guys huddled around a barrel fire than a kids toy. And it comes in a sack. Not a cool box.

Ok so first McDonald's has two types of toys depending on gender. Currently they are giving away Batman toys for boys, and Littlest Pet Shop toys for girls. These are toys that my kids actually will play with and enjoy having. And every now and again, the box has some punch-outs that they can play with.

As for Burger King, they currently are giving away Rango figures. You know from the new Rango movie about a lizard or something? Ok that's not bad. My kids would play with those. That's better than the usual paper puzzle, Where's Waldo cards, or activity book. Come on, who actually plays with those activity things anyway.

Alright, so Taco Bell doesn't offer kids toys, and neither does KFC or Arby's, although we don't go to KFC or Arby's very often. Maybe that's why. Man we really need to stop letting the clowns chose the place for dinner.

So no wonder he wants to go to McDonald's all the time. They have the coolest toys. But truth be told I hate all of them. So from a parents stand point, I could do without, but from the mind of a five year old that's usually the first question. What toys do they have? I gotta say, I think McDonald's has the best.

J-Tony

As always, leave me a comment.