Man left 'humiliated' after trip to McDonald's ends in huge parking row
A car crash victim has complained he was left "humiliated" after he was banned from his local McDonald's for using a disabled parking bay.
Mandeep Singh, 42, says he was challenged by an employee after he parked in the designated spot at the branch in Osmaston Park Road, Allenton, Derby, on June 4.
He said the worker questioned whether he was entitled to the space so he pointed at his "big blue" badge before entering the store.
Mr Singh claims the employee denied being able to see the permit despite it being "half the size" of his windscreen.
Despite trying to clear things up, an argument broke out in the venue after the worker told her manager.
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Mandeep Singh says he was banned from McDonald's for using a disabled parking bay (Derby Telegraph)Mr Singh said he was told he couldn't be served but was later issued an apology after he spoke to customer services, reports Derbyshire Live.
He claims to have visited the branch twice since the mix-up and said there were no issues during both of the meal pick-ups.
But when he attended again on July 1, he saw the staff member who originally argued with him and was told by a manager that he was banned and had to leave.
McDonald's argued that Mr Singh was abusive, but he claims he was simply defending himself.
Mandeep said he pointed at his blue badge to the worker (Derby Telegraph)He said: "I didn't do anything wrong. I used my blue badge as I'm meant to use it. You can't miss it. It's half the size of the windscreen.
"She might've been annoyed with the way I told her because I pointed to it and said: 'How can you not see that big blue thing in my windscreen?
"They were talking about my disability in front of other customers. That's disgusting. I had to argue my case. I was angry, annoyed and humiliated."
A car crash seven years ago left his right leg shattered and while he still retains the use of it, it is now mainly made up of metal screws and plates.
The blue badge holder said he was banned despite being issued an apology (Derby Telegraph)Mr Singh was registered disabled by a doctor and now carries a blue badge indicating this whenever he drives, allowing him to park in designated disabled spots to reduce the distance he has to walk.
After the incident on June 4, Singh contacted the McDonald's customer service team to file an official complaint. On June 7, he received an email back from a representative of the team.
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It said: "The employee in question has been spoken to in regards to this matter and the correct action has been taken. I would concede that this incident was extremely regrettable and offer my sincere apologies."
Mr Singh also rejected an offer of three £10 vouchers as compensation. He was told in the email that the team at the restaurant had not informed customer services that he had been banned.
He said he felt 'humiliated' after the incident (Derby Telegraph)He described his two subsequent visits as pleasant and he said that staff had been polite to him.
But on the third visit he said the staff member started shouting to get the manager's attention.
A spokesperson for McDonald's said: “The safety and security of our people and our customers is our absolute priority.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to any form of abuse in our restaurants and following unacceptable behaviour from this customer, they were asked to leave.”
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