McDonald's Employee Won't Let You Have It "Your Way" -- Shoots You
The News On 6 in Tulsa, OK. reports that customer Jeff Cox was placed in intensive care after being shot by McDonald's employee Erick Thurman at a Tulsa McDonald's. The chain of unfortunate events began to unfold at approximately 2am on Sunday, April 13th. After waiting nearly an hour for her order, customer Makayla Hall returned to the drive-thru window to ask for a refund...
She was greeted by an angry, belligerent manager who cursed at her and then the two traded words. At approximately 3am an off-duty employee, Erick Thurman, got involved. "He then tried to come outside and charge us at the window," Hall said. At which point, the apparently intoxicated Thurman began to escalate the confrontation. She recalls, "He (Thurman) was yelling obscenities at us, and asking us to do sexual things for him, and just calling us names, and things like that. Well we hear from the back, from the car behind us, hey, hey, you know, trying to get his attention." The person in the car behind her was Jeff Cox. With his attention now on Cox, Thurman fired nine rounds into Cox's car, hitting Cox, and thus landing him in intensive care. Hall believes the diversion by Cox saved her life, "I feel like an angel was over us. And he was our angel. But at the same time, where was his, you know? It's just really emotional, really emotional," said Hall. The shooter Erick Thurman, who has admitted to the crime, was arrested a few hours after the incident.
There are many good ways to professionally deal with customer complaints when things go wrong. Small weapons fire is not one of them.
Shooting Hero In Intensive Care [NewsOn6]
(Photo: The Joy Of The Mundane)
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Comments:
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.
@se7a7n7: Even though I'm not a full proponent of "the customer is always right," I don't think any amount of "I want my money back! Blah blah blah!" warrants being shot at nine times and getting put into intensive care.
"Have it Your Way" is Burger King.
Who the hell waits for an HOUR at McDonalds? I live in the sticks and I can drive 20 minutes in any direction and hit another McDonalds.
But yea, it's sad someone got shot over something stupid.
@Smitherd: I think (hope) that was a wiseass comment. That said, they owe full coverage of medical bills as their employee on the clock did this AND the food. Free. And a really big apology.
After waiting nearly an hour for her order
Sure she did.
I guess this trumps the Verizon guy with a switchblade.
Just ridiculous. At 3am though, why didnt someone call the cops?
@wgrune: i was once caught in an hour long wait at a mcdonald's drive-thru late at nite.
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.
"I feel like an angel was over us. And he was our angel. But at the same time, where was his, you know?
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'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.
I think this warrants a lawsuit. Even if the crazy employee was off duty he was at the workplace.
@MercuryPDX: a) He's done something really bad that's gone "unpunished".
Now that's some fancy blamin' the victim :o
@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.
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: 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.
Wow
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.
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?
Doesn't really matter if the guy was off-duty... McDonalds (and/or the franchisee) is in a world of hurt over this.
that guy is the 50 cent of fast food!
I'll have two Big Macs, hold the lead.
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.
@MercuryPDX: No there is no karma, explanation, angels, whatever. The shooter was simply a moron and the victim very unlucky.
This is a travesty of justice. Here was a "customer" who had ordered food that NEEDED TO BE PREPARED, and then wanted to renege on her CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION, which is as good as stealing or even MURDER. When an OFF-DUTY employee stepped in to save McDonalds from this OBVIOUS SCAM, another, possibly connected- we'll never know, individual steps in and tries to distract the HERO. Said HERO uses proper judgement and defends himself against this unwarranted diversionary attack.
Customer theft and unrestrained liberalism is driving America into the ground. I applaud the efforts of these brave McDonalds employees to do what's right.
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.
Did this involve a new no free water policy?
if someone can get millions for spilled hot coffee. this guy will make out like a bandit.
It keeps the hot side hot and the cool side bulletproof!
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.
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.
Thug life at tha drive-thru.
Unfortunately, Grimace will now die in retaliation. Didn't you see Boyz n Tha Hood?
Meanwhile, biological warfare at Burger King.
nono no Its 'fitty cent' of mikki 'd's yo...
I wonder if he shot the gun gangsta sideways style?
Why did he have a gun anyway?
Why would anyone wait at a drive through for more than 2 or 3 minutes?
I've placed my order and than driven off numerous times just to express my disgust with employees lack of haste (or their management's lack of having enough employees present)
It especially tickles my whistle when I'm trapped in one of those barricaded drive throughs thus being forced to wait.
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."
Where the McDonalds manager went wrong was he waited an hour before shooting. I think the rules state they can fire upon customers after 30 minutes.
People of Earth. Please stop eating McDonald's.
Thank you.
@ekthesy: yeah - it's one of those things where you talk yourself out of doing anything.
i did end up at wendy's though. classic double with cheese *drool*.
This just goes to show you, don't ever try to get someone's attention. They will shoot you...9 times.
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...
Sheez, it wasn't a gun. It was an express McNugget delivery device gone awry. All this hate for an off-duty employee who was just trying to help.
Mental note: careful with those free Value Meal "extras".
Was "chain of unfortunate events" meant to be a pun? If so, wonderful.
The longest it takes to cook fast food from frozen is 5 min. The only way it takes longer is if they're just not working.
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.
It's funny how sarcasm can't be read.
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
Let's hope numb nuts with the gun gets jailed for a long time for attempted murder. What the hell is wrong with you, it's just a damn burger. One burger is not enough to take one's life.
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.