13-07-2025
McDonald's apologises after customer waits 48 mins order and faces "frightening" manager
SINGAPORE: McDonald's Singapore has issued an apology after a customer complained about an unusually long wait time and an unpleasant exchange with a manager at its Hougang 1 outlet.
Mr Tay, who shared his experience with citizen journalism platform Stomp, said he had placed a takeaway order at the restaurant at 10.28pm on June 7. Despite initially waiting patiently, he only received his food at 11.16pm—48 minutes later.
According to Mr Tay, the store was busy when he arrived, so he did not mind waiting at first. However, by 10.55pm, he noticed that other customers who had ordered around the same time were already leaving.
'I asked an auntie at the counter about it. She told me to wait for my order as it was still being prepared,' Mr Tay told Stomp, 'After 10 minutes, I asked her again. She told me to wait.'
When his order was eventually ready close to 11.16pm, Mr Tay requested to speak to the duty manager to understand the delay. What followed, he said, was an unpleasant encounter.
'The auntie told him about it, but he turned his head, ignored me and carried on doing his things,' Mr Tay wrote in his feedback to McDonald's, 'After that, the auntie called him again, and he unwillingly came to the counter.'
Mr Tay alleged that the manager's demeanour quickly turned confrontational when he asked why the food had taken so long.
'He immediately started with a rude attitude, opening his eyes wide and talking like a gangster,' Mr Tay claimed, 'He challenged me and asked why I couldn't see that the store was busy—are the kitchen staff dancing? He also asked if I wanted to refund my order.'
Mr Tay, who said he had ordered the meal for a family birthday, declined the refund. He also expressed shock when the manager suggested he was being disrespectful.
'I asked him why he was so rude. He told me that I did not give him 'face' in front of other customers and staff. I was so surprised as I just wanted to know why it took so long,' Mr Tay said.
When Mr Tay asked for the manager's name to file a complaint, the situation escalated further.
'He threw his name tag on the desk. When I wanted to take a picture of it, he timidly snatched it back and asked me to take a photo of the 'shift manager on duty',' Mr Tay recounted, 'It was definitely a forgotten order and the manager was not apologetic at all.'
In his feedback, Mr Tay described the manager's behaviour as 'frightening' and said the entire episode left him 'a very disappointed customer'.
McDonald's Singapore has since apologised over the episode. A spokesperson told Stomp, 'We're sorry to hear about what happened and have since reached out to make things right. Consistent service matters to us, and we've taken steps—including reinforcing training with our team—to help prevent this from happening again.'
Mr Tay later confirmed that McDonald's had contacted him, apologised, and refunded the cost of the meal. Reflecting on the outcome, he said: 'Social media power is very fantastic.'
