McDonald's

Food at all McDonald's is pretty much the same, so I won't address that. Generally this store is clean as things go, and the people here friendly enough -- sometimes exceptionally so.



But what I despise about the place is their semi-regular practice of bait & switch pricing. If you buy anything here, always compare what the menu says you'll be paying -- remembering to factor in tax -- against what they actually charge you. It's hard to feel very good about any store where you stand in line, place an order, and are then presented with a price 15 or 20 percent higher than what's quoted on the menu.





Some might think this a matter of maintaining up-to-date signage, others one of periodic revenue padding. Either way, it is deliberate lying which promotes distrust. No customer should ever be charged differently from posted prices. Once or twice, might be mistakes or logistics problems -- Three times or more over several years, it begins to look like a deceptive operational policy.





The first time I noticed the problem, it took them four or five weeks to update their menus to match the register price. The second time it happened, I didn't go here for a couple of years. Happening yet again, I'll just write them off as a place to ever visit.



I have no inflated expectations about fast food establishments; but as someone who values honesty and mutual respect between businesses and customers, I do have a basic expectation of non-deception from any place I do business with.