How much does a cup of tea cost a giant multinational like McDonalds? 2p maybe? 3p max?
Firefighters who tackled a huge blaze through the night were refused the opportunity for a free tea and coffee when they went for a quick break to a nearby McDonald’s.
At around 1630 yesterday (Sunday 14th October) firefighters were called to a large fire at Clifton Moor retail park after a blaze started at a B&M outlet store.
During its peak, there were ten pumps and and two aerial tenders at the scene, with nearly 50 firefighters in attendance.
As firefighters were rotated and given breaks from tackling the inferno, a few of them made their way to a local McDonalds for some refreshments.
Being in full BA kit, the firefighters did not have any cash on them and weren’t carrying their wallets, so they asked if they could be provided with refreshments free of charge.
Now, typically, when the emergency services are called to a major incident and they seek out refreshments from nearby stores, fast food outlets etc, then 99.9% of the time the stores / restaurants will give them refreshments such as tea, coffee and water free of charge.
Of course, they don’t have to do this, but many do because they are just kind hearted and appreciate the work of the emergency services.
But, for whatever reason, this particular outlet of McDonald’s felt that the best decision to make, was to charge the Firefighters for their teas and coffees which, lets face it, probably cost McDonalds just a few pence to make.
Staff at the McDonald’s refused to give them a few cups of free tea and coffee so the Firefighters left the McDonalds without any refreshments and made their way back to the inferno.
But a generous and thoughtful customer who overheard the conversation between the firefighters and McDonalds staff went home and came back with around 15 cups for the exhausted firefighters.
A spokesman for McDonald’s told Mirror Online: “We value the fantastic work of our emergency services and thank the individuals that dedicate their lives to protecting our local community.
“On this occasion, we would like to apologise to the firefighters who bravely tackled last night’s fire. They should have been provided with free refreshments on the night as a small recognition for their efforts.
“McDonald’s will of course be happy to reimburse the member of public involved and we will be in touch directly with our local fire & rescue service.”
Let’s face it, I reckon that maybe around 90% of the franchised McDonald’s restaurants around the country would have quite happily given some free teas and coffees to these firefighters.
Whoever the supervisor was on shift at the time in the McDonalds in question, perhaps needs to re-think what it means to be generous and how a small gesture, i.e. giving free teas and coffees to these firefighters, could have gone a long way.
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