McDonald's Has Found A New Way To Screw Its Employees

I haven't posted in a while because I have been busy getting the rest of my condo sorted through and taking things here and there to consignment stores and the Salvation Army in time to get it listed for sale before coming up to Georgia to meet up with my daughter, Becca, and spending two weeks with my Mom, sister, Sue, and cousins.  I also didn't have anything I thought was post-worthy until today.

I met up with Becca at the airport in Atlanta.  My plane was an hour late and we were starving, so we stopped at McDonald's store #15918 on Holcomb Bridge Rd. in Roswell, Georgia, just north of Atlanta.  We were greeted with a big smile by one of the workers, who helped us come up with two meals.  I paid for it and looked for the tip jar and there wasn't one.  I asked him where their tip jar was and he said they didn't have one.  I asked why and both he and the other young lady at the counter looked uncomfortable and said they didn't take tips.  I was dumbfounded!  I told them they didn't make enough money at minimum wage to refuse tips.  I asked to speak to their manager.  They were surprised and a little discomfited about the fact that I was making a big deal of this but finally went and got him.

I told the manager that  I wanted to tip the employee and why and asked why there wasn't a tip jar and why couldn't I tip him.  I told him that I knew how little they made working there and so does everyone else and that it was unfair.  I loudly said that he makes bupkes and deserved a tip.  Everyone in the place nodded approvingly. He finally agreed to let me tip the young man and said he would talk to the franchise owner about a tip jar.

I've been reading a lot lately about doubling the minimum wage so we don't have a whole nation of working poor who get no benefits and have to work two or three jobs to survive, and this would certainly help.  Maybe we will get to the point where we will be like Australia where they get paid better and people aren't accustomed to tipping, but in the meantime, when a worker who, despite working a crappy job, smiles and gives you good customer service, he should be allowed to accept a tip.

My sister said that maybe if they allowed tipping it would be one more reason to suppress wages, which certainly would be worse, but I hope this somehow gets to corporate and that the next time I go there, I will still get great customer service and be allowed to express my appreciation.