McDonald’s has apologized to a vegetarian customer after it accidentally served her meat on a burger instead of its veggie-friendly option.
On June 8, Charlotte Sunshine from Edinburgh, Scotland, and her boyfriend, Calum Donaghy, ordered Mickie D’s via the food delivery service JustEat. The order, a veggie deluxe burger, was placed by Sunshine’s boyfriend, the news outlet reports. The sandwich comes with “red pesto veggie goujons with sandwich sauce, and shredded lettuce in a sesame topped bun.”
When the food arrived, Sunshine bit into the sandwich and immediately knew something wasn’t right.
“So I bit into the burger (labeled veggie deluxe on the box), and it wasn’t the veggie burger (pesto red pepper thing), and I’ve never eaten meat before and went into complete meltdown I’m f****** freaking out,” said Sunshine. “I’ve just been on Google, and I think it’s chicken, and I feel so sick, and I can’t stop crying, and [I know] this sounds ridiculous to other people, but please.”
She went on saying the entire ordeal made her sick to her stomach. “Had to throw up, and I’m petrified of vomiting, and I’m in [eating disorder] recovery, so I could not be more triggered [right now]. I still feel sick it won’t go away.”
In response to the incident, McDonald’s issued Sunshine an apology saying: “It’s important that our customers enjoy our experience with us, and I’m sorry to hear that your order was not correct when it arrived [to] you.” The company didn’t specifically point out any issue but asked her to contact JustEat.
Sunshine’s story ended up going viral on Twitter, leading to media in Edinburgh reporting a statement from a McDonald’s spokesperson. “We recognize that it is not acceptable to serve meat when a vegetarian product has been ordered, and we sincerely apologize to the customer for the mistake that was made in this instance. We have a number of procedures in place to avoid inaccurate orders, but in this case, these were not followed, and we are looking into why this occurred. Our Customer Services Team is currently in contact with the customer to help find a resolution.”
