I'm new to Portland and visited this location today to get breakfast around 8:15am. Food was done quickly. However, when I got home, comfortable, ready to eat while preparing for work... I found a horrible unexpected surprise mixed in with my food. I opened my bag, pulled out my oatmeal and my loose hash brown only to also find gauze with dried blood and hair wrapped into a ball. Needless to say, this was highly disappointing. For such a small amount of money, I would have normally just thrown the food away and simply never gone back. But, the level of uncleanliness needed to be known by the staff. This could be dangerous! I have no idea how it wasn't caught. But, I figured making them aware could be helpful for them.
So, I drove all the way back to the location arriving closer to 9am only to find their dining area is closed. No big deal... I get that happens. So, I knock on the door to the dining area. Someone knocks back and tells me to go around to the walk up window. However, when I go in the direction of the walk up window, I noticed it has 3 people who look pretty strung out on drugs laying and sitting in a pool of liquid of some sorts. In addition, two more were there holding signs. So, I go back to the door to the dining area trying to explain I'm not looking to order. I simply need my money back because I found gauze with blood and hair mixed in the bag with my food. Two staff workers look highly upset with "me" (which didn't make sense to me considering the situation) and one with zero patience for a customer in need yells that I need to go around to the walk up window. Again, being new to Portland, I let him know its very uncomfortable to have to walk over there because the very small area was filled with what looks like might be drug addicts. He yells again for me to go around while his coworker just rolled her eyes while standing on the inside watching with disdain. Zero customer service from both workers.
I uncomfortably walked up to the walk-up window navigating around the liquid on the ground and the people holding signs where two men were also posted on the wall seeming to be very high and very pale...
While at the walk up window, I had to wait for the staff to open the window to speak with me. By then, I became more frustrated than I was when I first arrived. I told the woman who opened the window to assist me that I found gauze with blood and hair in my bag of food and that I needed my money back. She shook her head "no" the entire time I spoke, didn't look me in the eye and gave me my money back while saying "That's impossible. That's not possible. How much did you pay?" She also showed zero concern or customer service towards my situation. There was no ownership or apology or recognition of a wrong or understanding shared. I told her I took a photo of what I saw when I emptied the contents of my bag into a plate at home. (I attached that photo to this review.) I showed it to her but she refused to look at it continuing to say "That's not possible."
I took my refund and gave her the bag of food the way I received it from them earlier with all contents in it including the gauze.
I will not go back. It's a sad situation. Customer service was nice when I received my food in the drive thru area. But, when I returned with a very real and reasonable complaint, I was surprised how concern and customer service was not given at all.
I appreciate that this location seems to find ways to be kind to the houseless population. However, as a person from another city who has experienced violence and loss due to violence from someone who houseless, high and/or drunk, being placed in certain circumstances is very triggering and uncomfortable.
This location needs to find a better way to be mindful of the houseless population and other customers who may have had experiences that make certain environments very uncomfortable.
After this experience, it's hard to trust they are being as clean or as mindful as they need to be at such a busy location that is open 24/7. As of now, I don't see myself going back. For the same amount of money, I can buy a box of oatmeal that will last for weeks instead one morning. Experiences like today take away the desire to pay for the convenience of McDonalds cooking for me when the experience goes the way that it did today. read more