It's a fact that irony or sarcasm (or even humour) is Very difficult to communicate via usenet/the phosphor screen (unlike the printed page, or handwritten letter).

Hence the invention of emoticons long ago at M.I.T., to give a clue as to how to "read" the preceding message....

- This phenomenon is not yet explained.

LMAO! 1 HOUR BIG MAC!?

They must have been hungry.

McD's has a very limited late nite menu so most cars were likely ordering the same thing these people ordered. Thus, I am not buying that they patiently sat in their car for an hour while watching other cars drive-up, get their food, and go.

I think we're missing a few pieces to this story.

IIRC, liability on your property is usually restricted (at least in TX) to things that you can control and are expected to. So, if someone got hurt tripping over a broken sidewalk, or if they have a guard dog that bites someone then there's a potential liability, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be liable for unsanctioned actions by people who aren't on the clock.

This is why so many pizza places had to stop the 30 min or it's free promotions they used to have. IIRC, Dominos lost pretty big when one of their drivers hurt/killed someone while driving recklessly trying to deliver the food on time. Since it was their policy that lead to the accident they were found liable, but it was only because they were pushing their drivers to drive poorly. Now that their policy is that drivers must obey all traffic laws, drive safely etc.. they have some room to maneuver if a driver wrecks or hits someone while doing 90. They might not be entirely off the hook, but a big part of business liability comes down to whether or not employees had permission to behave a certain way and what the company has done in response to that (OSHA rules are a good example of that, if someone habitually breaks safety rules after being warned not to, you are expected to fire them rather than risk having them get hurt on the job).

Over a million and one ... served. yo.

Ordering food from minimum-wage workers forced to work graveyard shift is never a pretty sight.

Isn't an hour time enough to realize that you'd be better off starving for the night rather than eat McDonalds?

not OFTEN one of them, c'mon.

Hey I'll have a grilled snack wrap please! Wait wth...this is crispy!!! I never drive back to complain but maybe I should start.

"After waiting nearly an hour for her order" Who the hell waits almost an hour for fast food! I find that more crazy than the shooting.

But they wouldnt HAVE to charge $15 for big macs because of all them money that they wouldnt have to spend retriaining new people every week. They would retain employees for years instead of days

@statnut: In Tulsa? You would wait close to an hour just for them.

@bohemian: Well, odds are he wasn't permitted to conceal carry in Oklahoma....

@FightOnTrojans: Ahh, In-And-Out: Where you will definately wait an hour in drive through.

Okay, I got nothin'.

By the way, a quick Google of the story finds several other versions which don't even mention Hall, just that Thurman and Cox got in an argument.

@dragonvpm: they are generally liable for things happening on their property. just as you are liable if your dog bites someone in your yard, mcdonalds is liable if one of their employees shoots someone on their property to some extent.

You are right, but I would suggest that, in fact, mcdonalds is liable if anyone shoots someone on their property. The law that @dragonvpm cites limits mcdonald's liability as the employer of the perpetrator, but not as the owner of the property where the crime was committed.

Can we have the whole story.

Waiting in the drive thru for an hour.

Yea, right.

@dragonvpm: they are generally liable for things happening on their property. just as you are liable if your dog bites someone in your yard, mcdonalds is liable if one of their employees shoots someone on their property to some extent.

@bohemian:

Heck! I think having to wait an HOUR for service at a mcdonald's warrants a lawsuit! lol !
Especially if you are trapped in a drivethru lane (dont know if that was exactly the case though).
I HATE those one lane drive thru lanes that basically keep you from leaving. Could be very dangerous being trapped in the lane in a dangerous neighborhood.

I wonder what sort of sexual things a drunk at 3am in a McDonalds parking lot asks for?

Now imagine how much worse it would be if something went wrong and they encouraged employees to carry guns. The Pizza Hut guy was a good example of how guns can be good, this guy is a good example of how they can be bad.

Unfortunately, for any given company, big or small, "bad" uses of guns are a lot more expensive than the benefit a "good" use of a gun will produce. It sucks, but it doesn't seem hard to understand why a company could, rightfully, insist that it's employees not carry guns.

(seriously, I did have a few people who went around blasting everything I posted even if there were several other comments sharing the same opinion on the same page. It got old, but it looks like they got bored and left...)

This is why I eat at In-N-Out.

Yeah, it's a crying shame that the consumer can't get a decent burger on the way home in the wee hours, but think about it. Would you want to work serving drunks for minimum wage in the middle of the night? When you consider that anyone who had any choice at all would do almost anything else, it's no surprise that Mickey D's overnight customer service might be a little less than perfect. This is a case of getting what you pay for: dirt-cheap food just might be... dirt.

This has little to do with a problem with McDonalds or an issue about consumerism.

Some idiot got pissed and shot someone.

@Devidence: You are new here - fresh off Gawker, right...?

"I'm thuggin' it, yo!"

But WHO goes to McD's at 2:00 in the morning on a Sunday?

[en.wikipedia.org]

And you do realize that people can be mentally unbalanced without being on medication, right? There are plenty of people who are just plain crazy or antisocial, but way to inject your own agenda based on 100% speculation. How's your Thetan count this week?

@Wormfather:

Judging by your grammar & sentence construction, I don't think *she* has much to worry about.

That's MISS Buran to you and she's already got a stalk... I mean fan/troll, thank you very much.

The effects of these drugs on many and otherwise decent people is scary beyond words. Check it out. Big Pharma sits back and laughs while people kill eachother.

Mr. Thurman needs to cool his heels for 20-to-life, imho.

Also, for those of you not familiar with getting fast food after all the bars let out, an hour stuck in a drive-thru line is par for the course in a lot of places.

When someone says "We don't know the whole story though. The customer who had to wait an hour for their food in a drive-through could haver been really asking to get shot.", they are quite possibly being facetious... DUH

When I worked fast food, the worst we did is a late-night drive-thru customer waiting 15 min for a sandwich because the cashier went to the back while it was being cooked and forgot about the order. I thought that was embarrassing enough, an hour wait would just be obscene.

Also the food quality is going to be very hit-or-miss during a drive-thru's slowest overnight period -- with lulls up to an hour between customers. They're either going to get fresh fries or ones that are so old they're inedible, depending on the cook's attitude.

Mental note: careful with those free Value Meal "extras".

The McDonalds on Burnside in Portland OR has one. Maybe we're special. Basically the "drive through" has an extra window on the side so people can walk up to it. It's near a lot of the local bars and clubs, so I'm sure they get a lot of people too drunk to drive through or looking for a snack as they walk from bar to bar...

i did end up at wendy's though. classic double with cheese *drool*.

I was in line at a McD's a few weeks ago when a fight broke out between the guys in the car in front of me (A brand new well tricked out Jeep) and some guys using the walk up window.

I had a McDonalds on my left and a brick wall on my right, guys trying to kill each other (and demolish the jeep) in front of me and about a dozen cars behind me.

The McDonalds employees were on the phone with the police (they weren't involved) I was the phone with police, but none of us could really do anything.

Finally the guys in the jeep chased off the other guys and came back for their car. They floored it out of the parking lot intot he street and were t-boned by a car coming down the street. Luckily the accident cleared the drive out and I was able to get out and leave.

BTW, all I got was coffee (couldn't find anything else open at 3am). I don't eat McDonalds "food."

I wonder if he shot the gun gangsta sideways style?

Why did he have a gun anyway?

Meanwhile, biological warfare at Burger King.

Unfortunately, Grimace will now die in retaliation. Didn't you see Boyz n Tha Hood?

Thug life at tha drive-thru.

@Wormfather:

I wasn't attempting to blame the victim, so I appologize if it came out that way (I don't think it did, so whatever). I was merely stating there would be no way I PERSONALLY would have waited an hour for McDonalds. Get off my back.

I once got stuck waiting for a grill order (you know, something you order "special") at a McD drive-through. 15 minutes later, the food had not arrived. I called the store on my cell phone and talked to the manager. It took another 10 minutes, apparently a mis-communication, but when it arrived, it did so with a refund. I could see this sort of thing going on for an hour, and someone who already paid for their food wanting it.

The bottom line is that Mickie Dee's hires people from the neighborhoods. They don't do background checks. They offer low pay. That means they're going to get some riff-raff sometimes. And yes, it's their (McDonald's) fault, I'm sure there is some legal action in their future.

It keeps the hot side hot and the cool side bulletproof!

if someone can get millions for spilled hot coffee. this guy will make out like a bandit.

Okay, I don't actually believe any of that, but I thought it was pretty funny.
I hope Mr. Cox has a speedy recovery, and the line of lawyers outside his hospital room door is a long one. Deep pockets time Ronald, deep pockets time.

I'm surprised...

It's already been admitted that someone was intoxicated. No amount of being disgruntled (as the employee) or impatience (as the customer) should excuse that.

I'll have two Big Macs, hold the lead.

that guy is the 50 cent of fast food!

An insincere apology and a dozen burger coupons and these customers will be back at that McDonald's inside of a week (or whenever they get out of the hospital, god-willing.)

Ain't the consumer culture grand?

So it's the customers fault for waiting an hour?

Also the lady who waited the hour wasn't even the one who got shot. It was the poor slob in the car behind her ... Maybe He had only been there 5 minutes.

Also the 2nd: Some drivethru's don't have a pull around lane, so if the person in front of you is stuck ... you may be as well.

We don't know enough about this situation to start mouthing off about fault, but I can say that unless threatened with bodily harm you shouldn't be shooting people.

@Buran: This incident still percipitated by and employee. If this dude lives, McDonalds is looking at a huge cash settlement in there future.

You are wrong again ha ha ha.

Mr. Buran, I think you've found your self a nemisis or troll, I'm not sure where I fall.

I would have gotten out of my car, asked the guy behind me to back up so I could get out, and backed outta that line.

And then I would have gone to Wendy's.

@Buran: It doesn't necessarily matter if he's on or off duty. In some cases the employer can still be found liable for the actions of employees while not technically on the clock. Of course you'd have to read the case law to figure out what types of situations are covered, and if this is arguably one of them. I'm betting if (when) the guy brings a suit against McD's, the company will settle rather than trying to get it dismissed on a theory of legal agency. Just a guess.

@MercuryPDX: a) He's done something really bad that's gone "unpunished".

Now that's some fancy blamin' the victim :o

@wgrune: From zero to blaming the victim in less than 10 minutes...impressive.

I've been at a wawa before after all the bars closed where the sandwich wait was ONE HOUR... we left, ironically enough to go to a McDonalds drive thru.

Being someone that doesn't believe in angels but does believe in Karma, one of two things happened:

a) He's done something really bad that's gone "unpunished".

b) Something really good is going to come out of this.

It all balances out in the end.
-----------
Suddenly, a burger with special loogie sauce doesn't seem so bad.

i would have left if i could - the drive-thru was a single lane with no side exits (you had to pass the windows to get out) & i had a car behind me & 3 in front of me.

i just kept driving once the cars cleared out in front of me, but it was very unsettling. i figured it was just a fluke, but i've heard a few other people talk about horrible service at that particular location. needless to say, i haven't been back since.

up to this moment, i referred to it as "the worst mcdonald's in america", but obviously i was wrong.

Just ridiculous. At 3am though, why didnt someone call the cops?

After waiting nearly an hour for her order

Sure she did.

But yea, it's sad someone got shot over something stupid.

They waited an hour for their order? I would have bailed after about 10 minutes, refund or not. $5 or some greasy hamburgers is not worth an hour of my life.