BUSINESS workers have shared their fury as a result of customers turning away when seeing queues for McDonald’s.
The fast food branch reopened its drive-thru and delivery services on Wednesday, when many motorists waited in line to get their burgers.
But it has affected three firms which have allegedly seen a drop in customers.
Workers based at Hedge End Retail Park near McDonald’s, reported that customers are cancelling appointments after seeing queues, or that they have seen far fewer visitors.
The Tile Source, Hedge End Retail Park
Chairman for The Tile Source, Julian Hase, said: “I understand people wanting to go to McDonald’s drive-thru, it's just that they need to put in traffic control measures so others aren’t disadvantaged."
In Hedge End, the queue took customers about half an hour to reach the order kiosk on Wednesday, which tailed back onto the main road.
A spokesperson for McDonald's said: “With restaurant teams adjusting to new procedures to enable safe working and social distancing, things have taken a little longer, and demand has been very high.
"We are aware queues have developed, and in line with opening plans we have reconfigured our car park layout to increase capacity. Our Hedge End team has been managing traffic to mitigate the impact as much as possible.”
Traffic queues form towards Hedge End Retail Park
But a worker at Formula One Auto Centres is calling for changes to be made.
He said: “Some customers have literally rung and said no, I’m not queuing. It has affected us quite a bit, the only way to reduce the traffic is placing an order in advance.”
While Bryn Alexander from Topps Tiles says they have also been affected.
He said: “We are going hours without customers and we usually have people in all the time. It’s a massive problem."
Sign at McDonald's, Hedge End Retail Park
Councillor David Harrison, a long-serving member of New Forest District Council, said traffic will settle down.
He said: “There is no doubt that loosening of restrictions is proving much more difficult to manage than lock down.
“In some cases the solution is a booking system, but in others, things will likely settle down after a few days.”
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