"BUY FOOD FIRST BEFORE THE LOO @ McDonalds"

I (Polly) drove from Pretoria to Johannesburg for a business meeting, with my 69 year old Granny (Maria). Around 08:00am today we went to buy breakfast at the Mcdonalds in Ghandi square. When we got to Mcdonalds we approached one of the ladies working on the floor, her name is Sindiswa. This is how our conversation went:

Me: Good morning! May you please assist us with the ladies room before we can buy breakfast? We are really pressed... Sindiswa: (Responded in isi-Zulu) Do you have a slip? Me: (Responded in isi-Zulu) No i don't have a slip We will buy food after we relieve ourselves... Sindiswa : The law of this restaurant does not allow for me to show you the ladies room without a receipt. Me: (shocked!) Do you mean I should defecate in public? I am pleading for you to allow us to use the loo We are really going to buy breakfast My granny cannot buy breakfast on her own... Sindiswa: (arrogant) Yes! you can go ahead and **** on yourself Sister!!!. Me: (calm) We will find the ladies room outside and come back for breakfast.... Thank you!

We went out of the restaurant and found a ladies room close by. I paid for the outside toilet. Then we made our way back to Mcdonalds. I asked to speak to the manager before ordering food and two mangers attended to my complaint (Esther is one of the managers). Our order number was 218.

That is when I learned that they are experiencing a problem with people who walk into the restuarant and use their toilet without buying food. As a result they have to fix the toilets weekly. Sindiswa did not deny my side of the story in front of her manager. They apologised for the way our conversation went and I reluctantly accepted it.

My worry is that I was told to **** on myself to my face, in front of my Granny and was not offered a alternative place to go and relieve myself. The chances of me *****ing a ladies room in the company of my Granny are very slim and Pretoriais far. Sindiswa was very rude and does not deserve to work in a busy place like Mcdonalds and she needs to be taught politeness strategies. Is this a new national policy form McDonald?

We used the Mcdonalds in Pretoria Sunnyside yesterday and received an overall better service. What measures have they put in place to try and address this issue with the management and with the customers? There was no notice put up to cover this issue...

None of the employees saw it fit to apologise to my Granny. This spoilt our breakfast and mood for the day.