Welcome to McStupids!

When I was a teen age boy after school and summer jobs were hard to come back. There was not a lot of opportunity. If one was fortunate, they might get a part-time job working at the corner “filling station” or maybe a job at the local Mom and Pop Grocery store, sweeping up and stocking shelves. Mostly we made money when the opportunity presented itself, i.e., raking leaves in the fall, shoveling snow in the winter, and mowing lawns in the spring and summer. Some of us worked as  a caddy at the local golf course but I wasn’t really cut out for that work. I could not tell a putter from a socket wrench (and I still can’t). Back then there were no fast food restaurants. The only ones were White Castle and The Golden Point.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. Why is it that today’s young, who have a plethora of jobs to select from, either choose not to work, or if they do get a job, that act as if it is owed to them. I don’t think it is too much to expect a little courtesy and respect when ordering your lunch. I don’t think it is too much, but apparently it is. The words Sir and Ma’am do not exist in their vocabulary. When I was young I would have never considered addressing an adult by their first name. Even our closest neighbors were addressed as Mr. and Mrs. I can not help but wonder why this respect is no longer being taught and required of younger people. I probably sound like an old fuddy duddy but the fact of the matter is, I do not think any young person knows me well enough to address me by my first name.

In case you are wondering what brought this rant on, here is the story. My son, my grandson, and my self were on our way home from the barber several weeks ago and made a stop at a nearby McDonald restaurant. The order was simple. My son ordered two Happy Meals and a double stack. That was the first problem. The jerk taking the order was completely confused by the order for a double stack and then informed us with dripping sarcasm that we were at McDonald’s, not a Wendy s. It got so flustered by this that he forgot the first part of the order. My son patiently repeated two happy meals, with a coke, and further informed them that one was for a boy and one was for a girl. To summarize, the oder was for two happy meals and a McDouble. Not to complicated. Arriving at the second window where we were told to pull forward and the order would be brought out.

When the order was delivers it consisted of a double cheese burger, a cheese burger, and a happy meal. The person who brought it out decided it was preferable to argue the content then to get it right. It went back in, came back out, and the order will still wrong as the second happy meal had a cheese burger, not a ham burger. Trust me when I say this, my Granddaughter does not accept cheese on her hamburger. When the mental midget was informed it was a cheeseburger and not a hamburger. Again with the sarcasm as he said “oh, now it is a hamburger”. My son jumped out of the car (mental thought he was about to die) and they both went inside to speak with the manager. Several minutes later he returned with the correct order. What he did not return with was an apology, nor a promise to make it right, nor any other gratuity that would indicate to us that McDonald s was truly interested in our return business.

By the way, mental midget appeared to be about 18 years of age. It is truly sad to see such a young person and to realize they have already peaked. But that is your problem, not mine. But I can’t help but wonder, if your parents had brought up right, had taught you how to treat others with respect and dignity, they maybe the entire incident would have been better handled. Think about it.

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?