A vegetarian was baffled when a McDonald's worker apparently refused to let him buy a slice of dairy cheese to put on his McPlant burger - as 'he'd get fired'. Louis Wright and girlfriend Melody Snook, 20, went to adrive-thru after a long car journey.
The 25-year-old ordered his usual McPlant meal, which includes a vegan burger, but requested dairy cheese on top as he's a vegetarian. Louis claims the server at the intercom told him it wouldn't be a problem but when he arrived at the next window to collect his order, he was told by another member of staff it wasn't possible.
The fast-food fan says he then tried to convince staff at the Tower Park branch of the chain in Poole, Dorset, to serve him a plain McPlant burger and a slice of cheese separately so he could add the topping himself. But the cheese-lover claims his plan was sunk when they refused, so he went home and added his own cheddar instead.
The singer, who's been veggie for six years, went back to the same branch the next day to try again. He filmed the interaction so he could share on social media how 'ridiculous' it was. But he says he was refused a second time and ultimately told by one bloke, 'I've got a wife and kids, I'm not getting fired over a slice of cheese'.
McDonald's apologised and said the team member was following their advice but it 'may have been misinterpreted on this occasion'.
Louis, from Poole, said: "It's very bizarre over a slice of cheese. The day before I filmed the video, we went and I asked for normal cheese and they said 'yes' on the intercom. I didn't think I was asking a lot or being hard work.
"When we got to the till, they said they couldn't serve it with normal cheese. I completely understood because they have specs, it's dairy-free so there's an allergy risk, so I asked for it in a separate box.
"When we got to the next window, we heard the conversation where he said 'and he's not having the cheese in the box either'. I was a bit annoyed and I started arguing with them. It was very bizarre, he was adamant I couldn't have the cheese and he didn't really give a reason. I went home and put my own cheese on it.
"I made a post saying what happened and some McDonald's workers commented saying they are allowed to serve real cheese. We went back the next day and I filmed it out of a bit of pettiness.
"Again, the girl on the intercom said it was fine and when I got to the next window the same bloke was there. I understand the standpoint because people sue for the most ridiculous things but I don't think I should have been refused cheese for the purpose that I may say they put it in there.
"I can put the cheese in myself but I may as well make the burger myself. I'm at the drive-thru for convenience, we were tired.
The following day Louis returned to the same branch and filmed the interaction he had with staff. In drive-thru footage, the server at the intercom appears to say he isn't able to order a vegan burger with dairy cheese because it 'goes against the whole vegan thing'.
But when he requests a slice of cheese separately, the worker can be heard chuckling and says 'yeah that's fine'. However, at the next till a McDonald's worker appears to refuse to serve him cheese on the side as the McPlant is 'a vegan product'.
After offering to pay for a whole cheeseburger with no bun and no meat, another member of staff is invited to deal with Louis's order. The bloke, who Louis claims spoke to him the previous evening, can be heard saying he wasn't going to sell it to him because if he 'plastered it all over social media' he would be fired.
Louis drove away from the drive-thru for a second time without the dairy topping, despite claiming to have been sold cheese bites, and again says he was forced to add his own cheese at home. Louis said: "Some people thought I was being hard work for the sake of it or doing it for the reaction but I was documenting how ridiculous it is.
"I didn't do it for the reaction, it was for my sanity and to say look how crazy this is. I don't normally film my drive-thu experiences."
A McDonald's spokesman said: “We apologise that the customer was disappointed with their experience on this occasion. Our McPlant is a Vegan Certified product, and we understand that the team member was following our advice to restaurants which is not to customise the product with non-vegan ingredients to protect its integrity.
"However we accept that the guidance may have been misinterpreted on this occasion and the restaurant team have been made aware. We’d encourage the customer to contact our customer services who will be able to help find a resolution."
Louis' TikTok video has racked up more than 50,000 interactions with social media users just as confused as him.
