Common McDonald’s Complaints and Steps to Handle Them

Since its inception in 1940, McDonald’s has been a major player in the global restaurant industry. According to a 2023 Statista report, the food chain has over 41.8k restaurants worldwide.

However, despite its popularity, there are many consumer issues reported. Most commonly consumers alert McDonald’s customer service problems, poor food quality, hygiene issues, and more. 

This explains why McDonald’s was ranked top among the worst fast food chains according to a recent PissedConsumer customer insights report.

We will discuss the major customer complaints revealed in the McDonald’s FAQs and reviews left on our review platform.

Number of McDonald's reviews – 16.4K

McDonald's rating* – 1.9⭐⭐

Claimed losses – $1B

Successful calls – 9%/82.5K

Resolved issues – 154

Key Insights

• McDonald’s revenue in 2023 was $25.494 billion and is forecasted to reach $26 billion and above in 2024.
• Although a Statista report shows that the food chain’s customer satisfaction has been rising over the years, customer experiences reported on Pissedconsumer.com reveal McDonald’s customer service problems.
• Other McDonald’s complaints range from cleanliness issues, poor food safety, and missed or mixed-up items.

Insights Into Customer Satisfaction Based on McDonald’s Reviews 

Customer insights on PissedConsumer.com indicate that most reviewers are dissatisfied and report various McDonald’s issues. The fast food chain has 1.9 out of 5 stars with 75% of reviewers rating the company negatively. Only 13% of users say they would recommend McDonald’s to their friends or colleagues.

As per consumers’ reports, McDonald’s customer service problems cause much frustration. Reviewers rate the customer support at 1.5 out of 5. Most customers who contact the company are dissatisfied with some saying that the staff hung up on them or they were rude and unhelpful.

Although the hold time for calls to McDonald’s customer service made through our platform is low – less than a minute – only 9% of customers report their issues as resolved after the call.

Top Complaints in McDonald’s Reviews

Most of the complaints to McDonald’s reveal that customers are commonly dissatisfied with food quality, hygiene, safety, and customer service. Below is a deeper look at these complaints.

Issues with food

When reviewing the food quality, consumers complain about such McDonald’s issues as raw meat, burnt cheeseburgers, strange components, and foreign objects like plastic and paper. 

For example, the customer posted a review #5953345 stating that their burger was burnt to a crisp. While in review #5959293, a consumer said:

...my meat was raw. Pink !!! wasnt done at all made my stomach up set…

Health and safety issues

Some McDonald's visitors report finding dangerous components and "uninvited guests" in their foods and drinks, which may lead to negative consequences and harm to health. For example, roaches in coffee, worms in beverages, paper, and more. 

In this McDonald’s review, a consumer explains that they found a bone in a chicken nugget. A reviewer called customer service twice to bring up the issue. They were told that a company representative would call back, but they never did:

 It hasn't developed at all I have not heard back from nobody not the corporate office not nobody from the McDonald's profile page on Facebook absolutely nobody has contacted me.

This consumer’s frustration is understandable since McDonald’s indicates on their website that chicken nuggets are made with boneless chicken. 

Source: McDonald's menu

Meanwhile, in another complaint to McDonald’s #5956668, the customer reports finding a living parasitic worm in their drink. 

Missed or mixed up items and ingredients in McDonald’s orders

Another common issue reported in Mcdonald’s reviews concerns missed or mixed up items and ingredients in orders. It gets even more frustrating, when customers experience difficulties reaching the McDonald’s customer service to resolve consumer issues. More to it, several McDonald’s complaints indicate that the staff can be rude or unhelpful.

Such was the case shared in review #5926228, whereby the customer made a mobile order for 2 big breakfasts with pancakes but when they got home one was missing. It took 13 calls to McDonald’s to get an answer. Even so, the manager abruptly ended the call “without any reason.” The customer kept calling, but the issue remained unresolved: 

I called back and it took another 14 calls for them to answer. They answered only to let me know they were just getting there.

A similar experience was reported in review # 5978293, the customer ordered chicken Mac but was given beef.

Rude employees and management

More than 3,000 reviews are left on our platform regarding some rude and horrible treatment and issues with the staff. McDonalds is not an exception. In one of the McDonlad’s complaints, the customer described one manager as

very very rude and unfortunately for her to be a manager it doesnt fit her.

While another McDonlad’s reviewer says they received a  wrong order, and upon calling the McDonald’s customer service, a representative

was very rude... She started yelling they are short staffed what do you want me to do.

Cleanliness issues

Cleanliness issues at McDonald’s include not only dirty locations but also insects like roaches in McDonald's places. Some consumers are concerned about restroom cleanliness as there can be found some dangerous items like medical supplies. 

Aside from poor food place conditions, in review #5702449, the customer also complained:

there was trash all over the floor food in floor trash to the top not clean.

McDonald's customer service problems

According to consumers, contacting McDonald’s customer service might be a challenge. Some users try to use McDonald's Facebook page to leave a message. But they mostly receive only generic responses. The same situation is tracked on X.com as is the case below.

Source: x.com

Some customers get their issues resolved after complaining on various platforms. In review #5668547, a consumer shares that they had complained about an incorrect order via the McDonald’s website, online survey site, Facebook, and Twitter. After a certain time, the customer service representative got back to them, apologized, and offered two cards that a consumer could use to get free meals:

I received a phone call from someone reasonably high up in the food chain at McDonald's, received an apology, and was told that I would receive two cards in the mail that I could put towards free meals.

Notably, McDonald’s response is slow. It took 19 days for the issue to be resolved as indicated by the date of the update of the McDonald’s review.

How to File a Complaint With McDonald's?

The best way to file a complaint with McDonald’s is to call the concerned restaurant and ask to speak to a member of management. You can find the right contact information through the restaurant locator on the McDonald’s website. 

However, if your issue is not resolved and it has been over 10 days, proceed to file a complaint with McDonald’s through the Contact Us form provided on their website.

Steps to Take if McDonald’s Doesn’t Address the Issue

If your McDonald’s issue is still not resolved, here are some steps you can take:

• Write a McDonald’s complaint on a reputable review website or forum. You can join online consumer communities such as PissedConsumer Club to seek personalized assistance with your resolution process.
• File an official McDonald’s complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using this link.

Share Your Customer Experience with McDonald’s

As evidenced by several reviews sampled in this article, there are numerous McDonald’s complaints. Unfortunately, McDonald’s customer support is not always responsive and does not resolve consumer issues at all times. However, you can write a review on PissedConsumer for a chance to spread the word and attract more attention to your McDonald’s issues.

*Disclaimer: Ranking and statistics are based on our users’ review texts and Pissed Consumer posters’ reviews. Also, a company’s rating is calculated using a mathematical algorithm that evaluates the information in the profile, including users’ rating, the number of resolved issues, the number of company’s responses, etc. The algorithm is subject to change in the future.