McDonald's staff member refuses to serve autistic boy, family after insisting assistance dog was a pet

November 28, 2018
McDonald's

The family of a nine-year-old autistic boy and his assistance dog have been left without a happy meal after a McDonald's staff member refused to serve them.

Shane Wheeler, his nine-year-old son Noah, Noah's black labrador Nitro, and his seven-year-old daughter had stopped for dinner at a McDonald's in Bombay, south of Auckland, on Sunday when a crew member told them pets were not allowed in the restaurant, NZ Herald reports .

Nitro had been wearing a vest labelled "assistance dog" at the time of the incident.

While Mr Wheeler explained that the dog was a much-needed assistance dog for his young son, he said the worker "was adamant that Nitro was a pet and not an assistance dog" and told the family to leave.

"It went back and forward for a couple of minutes and I was just so embarrassed and angry about the whole thing that I just had to get out before I yelled at the guy," Mr Wheeler said.

McDonald's has since apologised for the incident, saying, "It appears there has been an oversight by a staff member in this case and we apologise for the incident".

"On receiving the complaint, the franchisee investigated with restaurant staff and will be following up with the customer. It's the first complaint of this nature he has received and he will be reminding all staff of our policy."

Mr Wheeler said they would be avoiding the Bombay restaurant in the future.

SHARE ME