McDonald’s Kicks Out Blind Woman — You’ll Never Believe Why
A blind woman dining at a McDonald’s in Norway claims that she was ejected from the establishment because of her guide dog, reported local English language newspaper the Local.
Tina Marie Asikainen told national broadcaster NRK that she was asked to leave the Norwegian McDonald’s shortly after placing her order.
“We had with Rex with us when we ordered food. He had a harness where it clearly said ‘guide dog’, but after two minutes, before we had eaten the food, one of the employees came and asked us to leave because we had a dog.”
Asikainen says that she then attempted to show the McDonald’s employees identification proving her visual impairment. Still unconvinced, five other members of McDonald’s staff gathered around and continued to press her to leave the establishment. Upon threats that she would be contacting the police, she claims the group broke out in laughter.
“They were not interested in reading [my ID]. There must have been twenty customers there watching while five employees loudly asked me to go. I started to cry, which isn’t something I often do.”
McDonald’s Norway press coordinator Katherine Moe has issued an apology for the incident. She did, however, withhold any admission of guilt, as the the corporation is probably still investigating the incident.
“If this is true we regret it, for this certainly isn’t what is supposed to happen. We obviously follow the law that visually impaired should be allowed to have guide dogs.”
Asikainen is still actively posting about the McDonald’s incident on her Facebook. Most recently, she says that the fast food giant has not contacted her to apologize, reported Russia Today.
“This just surprises me when McDonald’s are acting apologetic, (they have yet to contact me even though they claim they have).”
McDonald’s has previously found itself in several similar incidents, including one with a disabled customer in Minneapolis last year. Robert Mingo, 52, accused the franchise of refusing to allow him eat inside the restaurant on two separate occasions because he came with his service dog, Max. At the time, Mingo said that that he hoped the incident would result in McDonald’s taking the proper steps to ensure proper application of the Americans With Disabilities Act, reported Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“The best thing that could come out of this is that all McDonald’s employees are required to undergo sensitivity training concerning people with disabilities.”
How do you think McDonald’s should have responded to the incident?
[Image via Facebook]
