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Ellen Hall was traveling through Alabama with her family when she pulled into a McDonald’s to change her infant daughter’s diaper only to find the changing table bolted shut. She drove 15 minutes to a second location and found the same thing. When she asked staff why, she was told it was a corporate decision but things just got more confusing from there.
Her Reddit post about the experience went viral, and the response was divided.
A mom recently shared a dilemma on Reddit that quickly garnered a viral response. The title of her post shared, along with a photo, that McDonald’s has decided to bolt their changing tables shut inside their public restrooms. Who’s to say that is the policy for all McDonald’s now, but according to Ellen Hall, who also spoke to Newsweek about this, it was the case for at least a few locations in Alabama.
Ellen shared that she was traveling with her family to Florida when she needed to change her infant daughter’s diaper, so they pulled into a McDonald’s to grab a bite to eat and use the facilities. When she discovered that the changing table was riveted, she decided to head down the road 15 minutes to another McDonald’s and was met with the exact same thing in the public restroom.
In the Reddit post, Ellen shared that when she asked the workers at the establishment, they told her that “it was a corporate decision.” When she emailed the corporate office, she was sent an email stating that since most McDonald’s restaurants are locally owned and operated, “franchisees make the ultimate operating costs taking our recommendations into consideration.” They stated that policies may vary from one McDonald’s restaurant to another, depending on management.
Ellen shared with Newsweek that when she couldn’t change her baby safely in either public restroom, she had to resort to changing her in the front seat with a disposable changing mat.
Parents in the comments didn’t hold back.
Not only is McDonald’s such a staple for a lot of families who don’t know what to eat on a Friday night, but it can also often be a tried and true road trip stop for so many parents and families who are in need of a bathroom. It’s quite sad to think about how some franchises are no longer supplying parents with young children a viable option to change their little ones’ diaper on.
One person in the Reddit thread commented their thoughts about what this move really says to customers. “McDonald’s really doesn’t seem to want customers inside the restaurants anymore,” they wrote. Another individual stated, “Every day we’re blessed with more reasons to stop eating at McDonald’s.”
Another person thought of a pretty chaotic way to publicly protest this new decision. “Diaper changing in the middle of the restaurant it is then! Even better if you can get a few other local parents to join in the fun,” they wrote. Yuck.
One Redditor thought that they should send the photo of the riveted changing table to corporate office in hopes that they’ll fix the problem. They wrote, “Send the picture to McDonalds corporate office with a complaint. Not only will they get it fixed they will also send you some pretty nice coupons.” If only!
Not everyone thinks McDonald’s is wrong here.
Those who have worked in the restaurant industry or even just customer service in general understand where McDonald’s is coming from. One person in the Reddit thread wrote, “Devil’s advocate, there was a recall on this due to a safety issue. It can be modified but is not safe to use in its current state. They temporarily locked it out until it’s made safe again by the new part/modification … Or same reason but it was vandalized and then locked out until it can be repaired.”
Another person shared that there’s likely been some misuse of the changing tables by various patrons that has caused this to happen. “I’m sure these are misused and abused more than they are used appropriately,” they shared.
Another McDonald’s defender shared that restaurants and other public places only do things like this for good reason. They wrote, “In case you have not worked a customer-facing job before, companies do not make decisions like this just to upset people. Once changing tables are installed, companies are usually not thinking about changing them unless there is a reason. The only reason a company would revisit something like this is if people were using the changing tables in ways they should not be.”
Another individual shared that they would rather change their baby’s diaper in their clean car rather than a public changing table. “I would rather change the baby in my car anyways. Too many weirdos go to McDonald’s and who knows what they do on that changing table,” they wrote.
What this means for families on the road.
For parents who are in the middle of a road trip and you have a blowout situation on your hands, a working changing table at a familiar chain is a genuine convenience.
Whether McDonald’s locations in your area still have them, unbolted and useable, may now depend entirely on who owns that particular franchise which isn’t a whole lot comfort when you’re 15 minutes from the nearest alternative and way to far to head back home.
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