@Telekinesis123:
Oh sorry I missed you on that, I failed to make a disclaimer of some sort that I'm a white man myself. I have come to the conclusion in my life that white men are in general the most evil force on the face of this planet. Nothing in this world is more evil than a white man with a bucket of money. This of course is just my opinion based on my life's observations as a thinking man.

@Lee451: The post was changed. It was initially posted as real.

@Forest-Whitakers-lazy-eye: It wasn't identified as such until a few hours after it was posted.

The blog author should have been skeptical about this item from the start.

After all, McDonald's is often the butt of jokes and the target of pranks. It's even been the subject of malicious conspiracy theories.

But McDs is famous for its systematic operations, its consistent training, and its concern for keeping a clean public image.

So the notion that the "Managing Director/Proprietor" of some franchise operation in Australia (a) would have this criminal policy, and (b) would be stupid enough to put it in writing beggars belief.

Maybe we're a bit too willing to believe accusations if they're smears against a big corporation, all of which are assumed to be Evil with a capital E.

I noticed the word "Parody" and "Parodic spoof" at the top of this. Why are there so many comments foaming with rage about McDonalds being a rip-off? Are people that eager to throw a fit in print? Either lighten up, people, or learn to read.

Anyone who eats at McDonald's deserves what they get (or don't get). That is food in only the vaugest sense of the term.

@MostlyHarmless: Shouldn't you be rooting for someone in this hemisphere?

@plumenoir:

No, overall, I do agree with your main thesis as you've clarified it--also, it *is* strange that he would put it in such shockingly blunt terms.

@treimel:

Oh, don't get me wrong, I do agree with you pretty much; work is work (that's why they pay you to go) and not happy-fun time - but, I do think if you're enjoying your work on not threatened by upper management, you'll produce a better product, be it a game or roller coaster.

I probably should have put the two comments together, as they state a broader image when in tandem: "I'm elimating the fun from work and stressing all the bad things." We don't need to agree on this, though, my point was just that sometimes, people in charge say things that makes you wonder what they're trying to say.

@Dunkelzahn:

I've gotten lots of extra items, and a few missing items.

The problem with assuming this actually happens is that it requires the minimum-wage employee working the drive-thru to actually care about the bottom line for corporate headquarters.

In my experience, fast food employees are just as likely to give you extra food than they are to give you less. I get a large drink when I ordered a medium fairly often, but I've never got a small when I ordered a medium!

@menty666: You know what Leo Gets says, "they always fuck you at the drive through"

@plumenoir:

Well, I just don't subscribe to the "homeopathic" school of business that says only happy fun-time workers can produce a leisure product, any more than I think everybody on the crew of a sad movie needs to be cloaked in despair--I just don't think the end product is somehow related related to the mood of the owrkers like a voodoo doll. And yes, I want the engineer to be *heavily* skeptical, and have a great deal of doubt.
None of this is to say that to get good resultas you need to have some doom and gloom Dickensian work-house. I, too, believe that good results come from satisfied employees who have a good work environment--what I *am* saying, though, is that the work itself need not be fun to have exactly that environment--it's work, not play. I'm not saying work has to be some soul-searing experience, but if it compares favorably to playing a video game--yeah, that's a problem.

@Herbz: Here in Metro Detroit I noticed something that began right after the big econ shakeup (actually last fall). I noticed that the food that I was buying, either at Arby's, McD's, or BK, that the food tasted awful because the management hadn't changed the oil. First idea that popped up was that they were trying to save money by not changing the oil as they should. Had anyone else experienced this? This happened over a month long period at different restaurants. It just seemed to obivous to be coincedental.

@menty666: So if the happy meal didn't have a cheeseburger or a fry-equivalent, did you just get a box? Or did it have a toy or something in it?

@B1663R: YES,,,YES,,,that is so well written that I just have to use this at work. . lol

@plumenoir:

I forgot to add my main point, which was: things really don't surprise me anymore when it comes to stupid things corporate executives say or do anymore, and I don't think I'm alone in that. Which is why I could believed this McDonalds memo could have been real.

Whether or not it is something that the corporation is doing, one tries not to actually state things that could cause PR problems...

Nothing to see here, move along.

@treimel:

Obviously, an engineer designing something that could kill someone if a mistake is made is a bit different. But the designer who started from the ground up should enjoy his work, because I wouldn't ride a ride designed by someone who hates what they're doing and is just trying to plow through the calculations. And one can still be dead serious about their work, but still have a fun environment - I know this from personal experience.

I only used the one quote, but Kotick was also talking in that interview about instilling Activision with "skepticism, pessimism, and fear...We are very good at keeping people focused on the deep depression."

Sounds like a fun place to work, eh? Do you think people making games can really bring out the best with that kind of corporate mentality? Using the roller coaster analogy, would YOU ride one knowing that that was the type of place the ride's engineers had to work?

And yes, I stand by my statement. If you're enjoying what you're doing and you're working in a healthy, even fun environment, the enthusiasm will show through. If you're having fun making a game, you're probably more likely to produce a good, fun game that others will enjoy, too.

@Ouze: There've been plenty of postings that I'm surprised they've never been sued for.

It is surprising that the one lawsuit that we know about happened to be on a story that was actually well researched...

I make it a habit to do an item count before pulling off. I'll get my order, pull up so the car behind me can get to the window, then open the bag(s). The people behind me need to complete their transaction, so I'm not inconveniencing anyone. If I'm with other people, I'll have them check the order as we're leaving the lot. I'd rather take an extra minute there rather than getting home and driving all the way back.

@maruawe42:

It's not real.

@plumenoir:

What's "contrary" about that? he's talking about *making* the games, not playing the games. How much "fun" do you want, say, the engineer who calculates the stresses on a roller coaster to have doing his job? I, for one, would like him to be dead serious about it. Just because the end product is fun doesn't mean the process of developing them coould or should be--he was running a business, not a summer camp.

@formergr:

They finally did it.

@GitEmSteveDave_JustAddLabCoat: Classic!

You might be sad to know that Australian McDonnalds does not serve beer.

They do, however, serve a strange looking grilled cheese sandwich with tomatos. EWW.

@MostlyHarmless: Umm... Sorry? Lol.

Someone that holds a grudge against McD's, or merely a prankster wanting atttention.
I'd love to find out.

I have to admit that this one got me. But, I think that is because I have grown so cynical.

Activision/ Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick recently said, and I quote, "The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games."

Now, taking the fun out of making games that are supposed to be fun seems a little...well...contrary. However, in a world where a CEO will actually state the above...well, the McDonald's hoax doesn't seem too implausible...

Please update the title to indicate this is a fake.

Generally, they can't. There aren't all that many intelligent people around here...

@Blueskylaw: Call me a skeptic - probably not at all.

@Herbz: I think Malcolm's likely to get the axe for leaking confidential information!

@Ouze:

hear, hear.

@Ronin-Democrat:
I've never *not* receieved a receipt from a fast-food place.

@catnapped:

If you ever had an item left off of an order at McDonalds, you would know it NOT to be true.

As someone mentioned above and from most of my experiences, management provides MORE than just the missing item when something was left out of the bag in a lot of cases. They've upsized my fries, added an extra double cheeseburger, and added an apple pie when I've had stuff missing.

Anyone else agree?

@Red-headed bookworm:

But didn't you know--McDonald's is by far the most successful fast food restaurant on the planet (i.e., millions of people consistently, willingly spend their money there) therefore they must be evil, and any nonsense posted on the interwebs about them must be true, provided it paints them in a bad light.

I am sick to death of this McDonald's bashing. All this big company = bad stuff is just so tiresome and juvenile.

@Gamerver05:

This is starting to get a little silly. I would think that actual consumer news would be pouring through steadily, economy be damned. We still seem to keep getting this bogus stuff, devoid of any fact.

Everyone around here is jumping on the bandwagon too. People are so quick to condemn McDonalds for being an 'Evil Corporation', but however terrible their food or business practices are, I don't think a single member of their staff would be ignorant enough to send out a letter like this.

I worked through McD's in college. There is no plan to shortchange anyone by leaving items out. Yes, I know this is a fake and yes I know people miss items in their orders. It happens. Think about how busy the place gets for breakfast and lunch and how fast the workers are trying to get your order to you. Mistakes happen. Check your bag before you leave, if something is wrong or missing, tell the restaurant and they will fix it.

Restaurants get graded by secret shoppers. We don't know who they are or when they come so if we miss something from their order it's bad and the store gets in trouble.

Given that this thing is a complete hoax--shouldn't Consumerist take this garbage down, instead of adding a tiny disclaimer?

@gStein: I agree. Its sad people are to fat and lazy so they sit in their car. However, Chic-fil-a has come a long way in drive through speed. The inside stays fairly busy as well.

I've finally learned to not move from the drive through without tasting my drink and inspecting the contents of my bag thoroughly.

Even though this was proved a fabrication, I still think there is indeed a napkin conspiracy. They never hand out napkins.

If you are constantly shortchanged, why do you keep going back? Do you complain when you are shorted? Don't you think others likely do as well? Do store managers have nothing better to do than apologize to every 3rd customer? Would you expect them to at least replace the shorted item, if not also provide a voucher for something else free? And, would the profit from intentionally shorted food still exceed losses from reduced repeat business, lost productivity, and/or vouchers combined?

This one was initially presented as fact, too.

The majority of Australia's population comes from people who immigrated here not convicts.

@Trai_Dep: A little googling shows that 20% of convicts were women and that the total number of transported convicts stood at around 162,000 men and women.

I find it interesting that both you and I assumed that all criminals were men.

@Trai_Dep:
Good Question. As a gay man myself, I can report that my personal research activities to date have failed to produce offspring despite my valiant repeated attempts! I'm guess I'll just have to stick with my kids that straight people make and then throw out.

Some restraunts have been doing this for ages. I always used to go to a well-known franchised mexican fast food restraunt until I caught on to the fact that it must be policy to leave things out of every 3 or 4 orders. I even worked there for a bit and witnessed first hand an employee intentionally omit items for orders every now and then. I pressed him on it one day and he said "Eh, don't worry about it. They won't miss it." WON'T MISS IT?? I'M one of the people who have had every order missing something because of your apathy! I realized then that it must a decision that some regional manager has made somewhere to make a little money.

@seamer: Rampant cynicism brought on by the endless stories here on Consumerist which ARE true.

@Telekinesis123: History Lesson: Australia was an English prison colony.

Something struck me very odd about this when I looked at the scan. The paper has been folded (into 16ths(!)), yet the header is perfect. Not only no folds, but the color is even and the horizontal boundary is pixel perfect.

That was my clue that this letter needed further examination. And upon that examination I questioned:

1. The misspelling of fries
2. The audacity of shorting orders
3. The total contradiction of saying you don't want it documented yet writing a letter on company letterhead with a signature.

Number three in particular... who takes the time to write a letter, print it, sign it and deliver it? Especially when you don't want it documented.

Now, I'm not a journalist, I don't have the knowledge to adequately do that job. However, these discrepancies would have had me asking my friends "Is this legit?" One of my friends most certainly would have known who Robert Mugabe is.

All that being said, my request here is a simple one. Please acknowledge in this story that the letter is a fake, the signature is a copy and that to your knowledge McDonalds has not instituted a policy of shorting orders in Australia to save money.

If you need an Australian story to run, you could go with Kraft's reversal on the 'iSnack 2.0' name.

Sincerely,

nakkypoo

Even though the letter comes from a "Robert Trugabe", the signature only has the first and middle initials. So why give this fictitious person the name of "Robert"? It immediately tips the reader off that this letter is a fake because the name is too similar to that of Robert Mugabe.

Consumerist, you've been so good in the past alerting me to all sorts of scams, what the heck happened here?

Ack, replied to the wrong guy! For you I was going to say: wtf.

Letter's signature, with Mugabe's signature: [www.buzzfeed.com]
The wikipedia file referenced: [en.wikipedia.org]

And it really doesn't take that much longer.

And they will be right.

ARRRRGHH!!! Australia pushed India out of the champions trophy today. Damn you, aussies!!

Erm...

The McDonald's thing was a nice fake, though. Imagine, something fake on the Internet? Who would've thunk it?

[en.wikipedia.org]

Very easily could be, why would the guy write it on McDonalds letterhead?

This is particularly important if you order outside the norm -no cheese, no pickle or extra catsup- because it gives you time to review the order that was placed so you don't get a surprise in the car.

Of course Ronald will take this seriously and this guy will soon be eating at his former employer with much more regularity.

Here's the link to the identical Mugabe signature btw: [en.wikipedia.org]

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if this were already being implemnted stateside. I don't go to McDonalds often, but nearly every time I go, I have to go back in for something they mysteriously forgot. (It happened today when I stopped there for lunch and the time before a few weeks ago. And it is always something that is one of three or more, such as 1 burger or fries missing out of four.)

Not to be all soap box-y, but I have to share my favorite persoal story from a few months back. I ordered two of the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich bagels, minus the cheese, on my way to work one morning. I made the mistake of driving aay without checking and got about two miles away when I decided to check my order. Glad I did, because in the bag were two bagels wrapped in the breakfast sandwich wrappers and nothing else. I turned around and went back and, with receipt in hand stating the order, still had problems getting my order corrected. I ended up being late for work, but I wasn't about to pay almost $6 for two plain bagels.

Nearly every time I do stop there, they make me thankful I'm not big into fast food...

@ab12: I thought it was pretty obvious this one HAD to be fake. Nobody is dumb enough to make a proposal such as this one in an official letter.

@Herbz: @Xerloq speaks Portuguese, too...:dont worry... McD will take this "seriously".

What do you expect of a country populated with the offspring of criminally evil white men?

And besides, this was clearly done in Times New Roman in MS Word and everyone knows that Australia only has typewriters with Courier font still.

@ab12: About to post the same thing. I suspect this will be thoroughly debunked soon.

Now I see it's not that farfetched and I'm sort of shocked, sort of not.

@menty666: Always check your order whenever you leave any take out place (if feasable).

I was at a typlical NYC sandwich place yesterday night where the sandwiches are displayed. I ordered one and saw the guy pick it up and bring it to the toaster. I was the only one in the store. He then packs up the sandwich and handed it to me.... and it was the wrong sandwich.
It was like a crazy poltergeist switched my sandwich on me!

Missing a whole burger from a "large order?" Do they really think the unlucky guy sitting there without a meal isn't going to complain?

I don't know what it's like at Australian McDonald's but managers here are pretty quick to give out more than just the missing item, just to save the customer. There's no way something like that wouldn't cost more than you're trying to steal - whether through comps or PO'd customers/lost business. Clearly not a business major, this nut.

TIM TAMS!

@Blueskylaw:

There is a phone number listed, who wants to bet the number will be disconnected by tomorrow morning, New York time?

Wow. I thought it was just the drive-thru clerks that were stupid. Now I see stupid starts at the top!

In my travels there I learned that I cannot make an Aussie McEmployee understand that I want a burger with bread, meat, and cheese ONLY. After trying multiple times at different McDonnalds, I realized that my husband just has to order it and that is that.

WOW. This news can get really big, really fast.

I can't wait to see if this affects their stock price tomorrow morning.

Seriously, though. First people were calling 911 about there not being anymore McNuggets. Now it's going to be about getting cheated out of their soggy, limp fries. They're doing you a favor. :P

oops, well back to the drawing board i suppose...

I complained and the district manager wound up calling me. ALWAYS check your order before leaving.