Macca’s responds to viral clip of ‘filthy’ store

After sharing a rant about the state of her local store, a McDonald’s customer didn’t get the response she was hoping for.

A social media video has revealed the filthy state of a McDonald’s, showing the fast-food outlet littered with empty packaging and food scraps on the tables, floor, and counters.

In a 21-second clip uploaded to TikTok by @zoestiktok, the grim state of the 24-hour restaurant on Boat Harbour Drive in Hervey Bay, Queensland, was exposed.

A rogue French fry and sauce was seen beside the McCafe coffee machine, and empty soft drink cups along with takeaway containers were left on tables.

Zoe was also taken aback that the outside bin was overflowing with rubbish.

“It’s filthy,” she said as she guided her followers through the restaurant.

In the caption, she urged the outlet to “DO BETTER!”

“I cannot believe you are still open and operating in such filth,” she added. “It’s disgusting and the smell was horrid”.

After the clip went viral, McDonald’s Australia issued a statement to news.com.au, saying: “We are committed to giving our customers a great experience every time they visit one of our restaurants.

“We follow strict cleaning, sanitisation, and hygiene procedures in all restaurants, including routine dining room cleaning, and provide multiple bins in and around our restaurants, encouraging customers to use these to dispose of their rubbish.

“We are working with the restaurant to ensure we continue to offer a safe and clean environment and a great customer experience.”

While Zoe’s video amassed over 80,000 views and nearly 300 comments, she didn’t receive the support she had hoped for from viewers.

Instead of agreeing that the condition of the store was unacceptable, her post sparked backlash from those who accused her of blaming staff rather than customers.

“Why are we just blaming the restaurant? Why aren’t the consumers cleaning up after themselves?” asked one.

Others labelled her a “Karen” and told her “if you think you can do better then go do it”.

McDonald's Hervey Bay has been called out for being 'filthy'. Picture: TikTok/@zoestiktok_

A customer filmed the tables, which were covered in empty takeaway containers, cups and food scraps. Picture: TikTok/@zoestiktok_

Meanwhile, former and current fast-food workers argued Zoe’s criticism was unfair and overlooked the pressures faced by staff in these roles.

“As a fast food worker, we literally never get time to change bins or clean,” noted one user.

“There is always something else that takes first priority. People don’t seem to understand how demanding our managers are,” another added.

“Hey, so McDonald’s actually provides bins! And staff do clean the restaurant and toilets when they have time,” chipped in a third.

“It’s not fair on us if we are mid-rush and people are complaining about messes other customers have made,” claimed another staff member.

Then one person described it as a “lose-lose” situation for young workers.

“They can’t win because they also cop abuse from people for taking too long to make their food,” they said.

She also showed the outside bin, which was overflowing. Picture: TikTok/@zoestiktok_

However, a few supported Zoe’s views.

“I’m a customer who will always tidy up after myself, but it’s hard if the bins aren’t emptied – that’s down to staff and management,” one person wrote.

Another pointed out that this wasn’t an isolated issue: “Unfortunately, that’s always been Hervey Bay Maccas for you, it’s never changed”.

McDonald's Australia shared a statement saying they are working with the restaurant to offer a safe and clean environment. Picture: Google Maps

It comes after YouGov, a market research and data analytics firm, conducted a survey last year showing that 37 per cent of Aussies have witnessed hygiene or safety issues at their local fast food outlets.

The findings follow another incident at a Queensland McDonald’s last year where a video surfaced online of staff drying a floor mop with heat lamps used for warming French fries.

McDonald’s Australia responded at the time saying they had conducted thorough sanitisation, hygiene, and food safety retraining for all employees, and that the staff member in the video had been sacked.