A mum has slammed McDonald's after staff refused to sell her an empty burger bun for her son who has a severe eating disorder.
Sara Clark claims she had to buy two full-price burgers instead, and throw the rest in the bin.
Her eight-year-old son Corey has a severe eating disorder, autism and ADHD, and will only eat certain things. Sara said he was "afraid of food" and would starve himself rather than eat food he did not want, Birmingham Live reports.
She has previously been able to buy a bun, with staff charging her the 40p price of a sauce pot, she said.
McDonald's apologised to Sara, who lives in from Stourport-on-Severn, in Worcestershire, but said prices for individual item requests were at the 'discretion of the restaurant'.
“Corey loves the bread at McDonald's, he’s eaten there for years,” she said. “We previously went into a branch in Walsall a few weeks ago and asked for just a plain burger bun. The manager said it wasn’t a problem and put them through the till as a sauce pot for 40p which I thought was a great price and very accommodating of them.
“But the last couple of times I’ve been they told me they would only put them through as a complete burger and we had to pay full price. I told the manager Corey didn't want the cheese, the meat, sauce or anything - he just wanted the bread.
“She told me it didn’t matter and they wouldn’t discount the price. Corey was asking me for three burger buns but I couldn’t afford three - you don’t expect to pay three or four quid for just bread.”
Sara said she explained the specifics of her son’s condition to two managers at the branch in Daw End Lane, Rushall, but to no avail. She said staff at restaurants needed to be more aware of eating disorders and work harder to accommodate families of children with complex needs.
Corey has been seen by more than six dieticians and diagnosed with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) after choking as a baby. ARFID is a pattern of eating that avoids certain foods entirely and/or is restricted in quantity.
She said staff at the chain were made aware of Corey’s condition but claimed they ‘didn’t care.’ She then raised the issue with managers.
“We explained my son's needs to the staff at McDonald's - Corey also wears a lanyard with details about his autism and eating disorder. They could see straight away that he was neurodiverse but it was like they didn’t care.”
Corey has been seen by more than six dieticians and diagnosed with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) after choking as a baby. ARFID is a pattern of eating that avoids certain foods entirely and/or is restricted in quantity.
She said he weighed the same as a five-year-old, despite being nearly nine. “There’s not enough awareness around eating disorders, people just assume he is a fussy eater,” she said.
“We’ve been in restaurants and Corey has sat there with crisps and some dry crackers - people around you look and judge but they don’t understand. If we put our food in front of him he’d start gagging, retching and break down in tears. He has a massive food phobia."
Sara said she felt 'constant guilt' at having to give Corey unhealthy food but she had no other choice given he was already underweight. “We try to encourage him to eat other food and always offer him what we’re eating but you can see the fear in his face," she said.
"In the past he’s been rushed to hospital with low-blood sugar because he will starve himself until he gets the food he wants. The last doctor we saw told us it had to be down to him to ask ‘can I try this’ - we can’t force him to eat if he doesn't want to.
"When Corey asks for a specific food, we have to let him eat it even if it’s not healthy because he just doesn’t eat enough. I’d rather let him eat what he wants than see him starve.”
The incident with the burger bun happened on August 17. When approached, McDonald's said there was no set price for customised menu items and prices for individual requests were at the discretion of the restaurant.
A spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear this customer’s experience did not meet their expectation on this occasion. Our restaurant teams strive to accommodate special requests or requirements wherever possible, and are passionate about making every customer’s experience with us is the best it can be.
"While, in this case, the team were able to provide the product as requested, our kiosks do not have the ability to change the cost of a product, regardless of which ingredients are added or removed in the personalisation process – so they would have been unable to alter the price."
In response, Sara stressed she had not used a self-service kiosk and was served by a cashier at the till. She was also served by two managers - and said both refused to change the price despite doing so just weeks earlier.
This was put to McDonald's but the company declined to alter its statement.
