Kayley Paul, 29 years old, took her daughter to McDonalds to dine and munch on some delicious fast food for their free time. Kayley’s daughter, Jordyn Carruthers, had to go to the restroom.
While Kayley and Jordyn were inside the restroom, Jordyn found and picked up a needle from the floor of the toilet. When she showed it to her mom, Kayley immediately told her daughter to drop the needle.
Kayley thoroughly scrubbed her daughter’s hands. The two then went to the store manager and reported what they found inside. To Kayley’s surprise, little Jordyn was offered a free Happy Meal as a form of settlement.
Kayley said, “A woman said to us before we went in that something was on the floor but I didn’t really catch what she said. We went in and she picked it up. I screamed at her to put it down and cleaned her hands.”
She added, “She didn’t know what it was. I’ve had to explain to her about needles and the people who use them.”
Kayley told the manager of the South Shields branch about the hypodermic needle present in the bathroom. After being offered an apology and a Happy Meal, Kayley wasn’t satisfied.
So, the mom consulted a solicitor and she had already contacted the corporate to voice out her concerns.
Kayley said, “She’s innocent. Now she knows all about this stuff she shouldn’t have to know about. She was lucky they had put the lid back on before they then just threw it on the floor. They offered a free Happy Meal for her. She could have caught anything.”
She continued, “If I’d been able to see the door, I would have let my daughter go on her own. If she had, she would have been at risk. It’s absolutely disgusting.”
A spokesperson for McDonald’s said, “We apologize to Ms. Paul for her experience. Hygiene and safety is of paramount importance and as soon as we were alerted to this, our restaurant team immediately and safely disposed of the item. Our toilets are checked every 15 minutes and staff have been reminded to be extra vigilant with their inspections.”
Public restrooms in fast food restaurants and coffee shops are a secret space for addicts or troubled adults. Syringes, needles, and other drug paraphernalia are commonly found inside these restrooms.
Users tend to forget to clean up due to the effect of the drug. Hopefully, this could raise awareness in public spaces about the frequency of these situations.
