Wow! Who does McDonald's think eats at McDonald's? We just drove 4,000 miles across the country and back, and McDonald's is our go-to stop for good wifi, clean bathrooms, drinkable coffee, and even some food. I've overheard a lot of conversations in McDonald's restaurants, and I think these people are Trump voters. Maybe not all of them, but come on! Did an insane person take over the account? Or is Robert Gibbs applying his actual talent as an employee with a fiduciary duty to a corporation?
If the latter, he should be fired. Why was he hired in the first place? What were his qualifications? Here's his Wikipedia page. See if you can figure out why he was considered qualified. His degree is in political science and his work prior to McDonald's was in political communication. I know some people think selling politicians is like selling hamburgers, but I don't think it works the other way around.
And look at how beautifully Donald Trump has boosted the McDonald's brand:
Posts
176 comments:
From McDonalds - home of the nothing-burger
Why was Gibbs hired? Big Corporate America is liberal. Gibbs got Obama elected. Hillary was going to win. No brainer.
"And look at how beautifully Donald Trump has boosted the McDonald's brand." In a normal world, yes. In prog world, not so much.
It's kinda gratifying we all just skip the pretense and go right to the Obama doosh.
If the account was not hacked, I will be very surprised. I can't imagine that any McDonald's executive would be that offensive.
Speaking of publicly listed companies, who doesn't think the stock market is currently overpriced? Here is the Shiller PE Ratio for your consideration.
Wait. Everybody knows, thanks to WIKILEAKS and Huma's Laptop, that Hillary's friends prefer Pizza and hot dogs trafficked for several hundred dollars a piece.
And The Donald's mother is from the Hebrides Isles, that were ruled by Clan McDonald.
See,Rule #1 of ClintonWorld: Always accuse them of doing what you are doing.
Unless McD's does the right thing I am going to be out of decent coffee to drink. Can't stand StarMuck.
A knee jerk reaction to this would be foolish.
A boycott of McDonald's would only serve to hurt the individual franchise owners and the employees of the restaurants. The "stores" or locations are owned and run by small business people and employ local people who work hard at these minimal wage jobs.
Sure a big boycott may hurt the bottom line of the giant corporation, but the immediate effect would be to hurt the people who have invested their life savings in the restaurant franchise and those who are trying to just make a living at a job.
I would hope that conservatives and those who support Trump would think of a better way to express their displeasure.
And YES! Whoever did that tweet should be publicly fired and a strong statement from the company that they do not endorse political activity. They are there to sell food not be involved in political actions.
Twitter deleted. McDonalds says account was hacked.
In honor of our President's grandfather, an Isle of Lewis fisherman, only we eat the McDonald's Fish Sandwich, and get a new chocolate mocha/carmel coffee that now competes with Nasty Globalist Starbucks, and at half the price.
Twitter deleted. McDonalds says account was hacked.
That's not good enough. They need to say more than just ..."Oh...my bad."
Freder Frederson said...
If the account was not hacked, I will be very surprised. I can't imagine that any McDonald's executive would be that offensive.
3/16/17, 10:17 AM
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MikeR said...
Twitter deleted. McDonalds says account was hacked.
3/16/17, 10:20 AM
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To me, the fact they didn't apologize for the tweet speaks volumes.
The news that this is hacked is two hours old.
It was simply irresponsible of Althouse to post this.
Freder Frederson said...
If the account was not hacked, I will be very surprised.
Good call.
Can you get Russian Dressing on your burger and Mickey D?
""And look at how beautifully Donald Trump has boosted the McDonald's brand." In a normal world, yes. In prog world, not so much."
But prog world wasn't going to eat at McDonald's anyway.
They were hacked. That was obviously a prank.
I guess there is going to be a little work on security at Mickey D's headquarters.
Former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs is the executive vice president and global chief communications officer at McDonald's.
and
Twitter notified us that our account was compromised. We deleted the tweet, secured our account and are now investigating this
I would say the Global Chief Communications Officer has some authority over the twitter feed and is doing a piss-poor job if the account can be compromised. But I doubt he'll be sanctioned over this, because, as has been shown time and again with Hillary, rules don't apply to Democratic Politicians.
At least in Wisconsin we have Culver's, a few Chik-fil-a, and finally Portillo's came to town.
What does Twitter have to say about how easily its site seems to be hacked?
Remember when Anthony Weiner said his Twitter account was hacked?
Hacked is the go-to lie. Prove to me that it is not a lie.
Freder Frederson said...
The news that this is hacked is two hours old.
It was simply irresponsible of Althouse to post this.
It seems that this thread has reached its natural ending and we should now consider the Shiller PE Ratio once again.
Did the Russian's hack the McDonald's twitter account?
We saw Culver's way out west. In St. George, Utah.
https://www.culvers.com/restaurants/st-george-ut
Note: Given the Starbucks imbroglio with Trump voters, I would be curious to learn the source of the hack, which was interestingly and blatantly juvenile, almost too much so. That made me curious. Mickey D's coffee is a real threat to Starbucks.
Freder,
So it's irresponsible to post things that are known to be untrue?
Has somebody hacked control of the Althouse blog? Do you think that the explanation really is that Gibbs authored or edited the Tweet?
You blogged this event, without noting that the Tweet had been immediately removed, and McDonalds announced that its corporate account had been compromised. Why did you omit that? Is this not a laughably transparent case of a corporate account being hacked?
This seems to me to have been an inexplicably slanted post by Althouse.
As for Gibbs' qualifications, there is a long, long history of senior White House staff going into high-profile public businesses.
Jack Valenti ran the Motion Picture Association of America after being in the Johnson White House. Frank Mankiewicz went from campaign manager to President of NPR. Pierre Salinger went from the Kennedy White House to a New York investment firm. Hugh Sloan, who was one of the few Nixon CRP senior staffers never to have been accused of any wrongdoing, went on to run a major Detroit-area manufacturing company.
I really do not get this post.
and finally Portillo's came to town.
What! Where?
The news that this is hacked is two hours old.
It was simply irresponsible of Althouse to post this.
Why is it irresponsible. It is a topic that is worthy of discussion. The issue with tweets and "fake news" is that once it is out there released into the wilds of the internet....it becomes viral and people will believe it. Especially those who rely on Facebook and other idiocy for their news.
It doesn't matter if later the entity says "ooops" or claims that they were hacked. It has now become fake but accurate as Dan Rather famously said.
If we just ignore this type of fakery (IF it was fake) instead of discussing and analyzing we are just allowing the ooops and fakery to continue on.
If YOU don't want to discuss or think about it, you are free to play solitaire or look at your Facebook pages :-)
We saw Culver's way out west. In St. George, Utah.
So there's hope that Culver's will come to Las Vegas. My grandson used to pile into the car with a few friends and drive to St. George for Chick fil-a, until it finally came to Vegas. Mybe Culver's is next.
Everyone assuming the worst of the other side at all times. Just another log on the fire I guess. More hate, distrust, and uncertainty all around. It just seems like sowing chaos is easier than ever.
Twitter is not at CIA-level security. It may well have been hacked. But yes, the company should have apologized immediately. This is stupid IT + stupid PR. What a combination!
ARM
Well, now is your chance to emerge from comfortable middle class to rich with a capital R. Act on the Shiller PE!! There are dozens of ways to short the market to your everlasting richness versus your everlasting thickness. But then you don't have the balls.
Let's get Robert Gibbs under oath!
Chuck, let's see how long Gibbs lasts in this gig. As David Begley observed, this was front-money to a potentially useful political player.
Rogue employee or account hack.
The fun speculation kicks in when something like this gets a lot of attention/publicity, and the marketing folks see a spike in sales related to that...
The next one might not be an actual accident, see?
I am sure this must have been mentioned previously, but has anyone noticed what is happening with the Shiller price/earnings ratio? It describes changes in the stock prices of publicly listed companies like McDonalds (which apparently has an insecure twitter account) and has been looking a little dodgy recently.
> who doesn't think the stock market is currently overpriced?
It's been overpriced for years, where else could money go when interest rates were effectively zero and the government was sucking bonds out of the market? Blame the Fed.
We wiz hacked! Just like Carlos Danger!
Why is it irresponsible.
It is irresponsible, because instead of discussing the obvious conclusion that the account was hacked, Althouse speculates, without a shred of evidence, that Gibbs was the source of the tweet.
And why should McDonalds apologize. If someone steals your car and runs somebody down, you shouldn't have to apologize (assuming you took reasonable precautions). If any corporate entity should apologize, it should be twitter for having crappy security.
Yeah. That worked well for GrubHub, Target and Coke.
How do you fire a guy like Gibbs, though? You can't go out and say "oh, we only hired him because we thought he would give us access to Hillary, so now he's gone", and you can't say "oh, it turned out he's a useless prat."
You have to wait a while. They're discussing it right now at Micky D HQ.
"I can't imagine that any McDonald's executive would be that offensive."
-- And I wouldn't have thought that Grub Hub would warn employees that voted for Trump they didn't belong there, but here we are.
Freder Frederson, do you have a Twitter account? Do you know how it works?
Michael said...
Well, now is your chance to emerge from comfortable middle class to rich with a capital R. Act on the Shiller PE!! There are dozens of ways to short the market to your everlasting richness versus your everlasting thickness. But then you don't have the balls.
I am somewhat disappointed that someone of your immense professional standing would take this rather harsh attitude rather than treat this as a teachable moment. You could have taken this opportunity, with your immense professional knowledge, to guide us all towards the path of becoming better informed investors. You can do better than this. I know you can. I am going to give you another opportunity because I have complete faith in your professionalism.
Has anyone noticed what is happening with the Shiller price/earnings ratio recently?
"Remember when Anthony Weiner said his Twitter account was hacked?"
-- It gave us the most beautiful press conference ever.
FF - Go read the Tylenol marketmarkcase study. They didn't stick the poison in the bottles, but they took full responsibility. That's how effective PR works.
I agree with those saying McDonalds needs to do more than just say ooops.
Has your blog been hacked?
So there's hope that Culver's will come to Las Vegas.
Why should you care about Culver's (unless it is for the frozen custard--I'll grant you that), when you have In-N-Out?
Ann Althouse said...
We saw Culver's way out west. In St. George, Utah.
We've got several in Phoenix, too.
Has anyone noticed what is happening with the Shiller price/earnings ratio recently?
I get it. You want to hijack this thread.
It doesn't matter. The market can remain illogical for longer than we can remain solvent.
In other news, the fed raising rates is going to lead to a recession. This will tank the market and bring the ratio back to where you'd like it.
AReasonableMan said...
Freder Frederson said...
The news that this is hacked is two hours old.
It was simply irresponsible of Althouse to post this.
It seems that this thread has reached its natural ending and we should now consider the Shiller PE Ratio once again.
Imagine if these folks had to sustain the predatory media barrage Trump has weathered.
McDonalds didn't actually hire Gibbs. Thy hired his Rolodex.
Didn't Anthony Weiner claim he was hacked?
Man, so much hacking!
ARM
I am advising you to go all in (out) based on your deep thinking about current PE multiples. From the chart you linked to you can see that the little red dots tell you when to sell and the last red dot is....now.
Or perhaps you aren't an investor at all, but rather someone who likes to swing around charts you are unwilling to act upon.
Usually "hacking" implies access gained externally. McDonalds said the account was "compromised". Maybe there is no difference, but inside antics are possible.
Possibly Gibbs had extended some kind of consulting gig to someone that no longer has a job with the DNC. A well paying gig to make passwords.
I'll take Mickey D's coffee over Starbucks every time.
Why should you care about Culver's (unless it is for the frozen custard--I'll grant you that), when you have In-N-Out?
We have many excellent fast-food chains here. It won't hurt to have more.
Possibly Gibbs had extended some kind of consulting gig to someone that no longer has a job with the DNC. A well paying gig to make passwords.
Yeah, I can see the thought process now. "I'll take a lucrative position with McDonalds so I can sabotage their Twitter account with offensive tweets."
This is getting ridiculous.
eric said...
I get it. You want to hijack this thread.
Moi? Not at all. It did seem likely, to me, given how it started that this thread could engender a few awkward silences and as a consequence, purely out of a sense of public spiritedness, I felt I should try to direct attention elsewhere. Truly, no good deed goes unpunished.
McDonald's sales have been in a slump for the past couple of years, I can't see Gibbs doing something like this unless he's gone insane. If it wasn't a hack, my best guess is that it's either a disgruntled employee or brainless junior employee.
There was something similar at one of the TV networks about 10 years ago. A viewer intended to send a feedback email regarding a broadcast that they took exception to and accidentally clicked on the mailto for the webmaster. The webmaster, a contract employee, sent a nasty reply back. There was a stink and the network apologized.
I agree, this smells of an inside job.
Some layers of outsourced IT probably let someone access a corp. Twitter. These are supposed to be well guarded and access closely controlled in order to avoid embarassments like this.
Yeah, I can see the thought process now. "I'll take a lucrative position with McDonalds so I can sabotage their Twitter account with offensive tweets."
No, I was thinking more along the lines of providing a "soft landing" for friends who need a source of income when things have slowed down. Kind of like how the Organizing for America workers needed something to do between the 2012 & 2016 elections. They became Obamacare "Health Care Navigators". Now there is nothing available with government dollars.
who doesn't think the stock market is currently overpriced?
The stock market has been over priced for at least six years. With interest rates at zero and the fed printing money hand over fist, there has been no other place to put the money.
Apparently this wasn't a problem under Obama however.......
Who cares if Gibbs is guilty or not? Fire him anyway. It will please people who eat at McDonalds and it will displease people who don't eat at McDonalds. It's not like Gibbs could conceivably be adding value. This is a great excuse to dump him now that Clinton lost.
"Wow! Who does McDonald's think eats at McDonald's?"
Many people of all denominations, colors, political affiliations and philosophies eat at McDonalds. No "progs" eat there? Wow.
As for Gibbs' qualifications, there is a long, long history of senior White House staff going into high-profile public businesses.
Wow...lifelong Republican Chuckles defending yet another Democratic tool.....who would have thunk it?
Gahrie
Yes. And the Shiller PE could have been used at any time in the last four years as a reason to exit equities.
But for those who believe the market is overpriced there is a sure fire way to convert that belief into cash and that is to short the market. Our very own commenter OnceWritten has not been seen since he averred that the stock market would never again cross the 20K mark after it dipped below in January. That, of course, was before it made it to new record levels. If he acted on his certainty he would have lost a good bit of money, perhaps all of it.
Apparently there have been afew well-publicized cases of corporate Twitter hacks, icluding well-known brands.
That being said. I'd like to see a clearer refutation of the substance of the Tweets in question from a McD official. The Carlos Danger-like "I've been hacked" excuse alone is not cool.
Jeeze! It was a joke,maybe a drunktweet that's all. That is the problem with written jokes, as opposed to spoken. We are unable to see the twinkle in Gibbs' eye, the humorous smile on his face. Missing is and the cadance and inflection.
Many here have been misunderstood while attempting a humous reply.
For example,due to misinterpretation while teasing "Chuck" last night, I was threatened with bodily harm. Slept with a revolver under my pillow,and one eye open 'cause, ya never know....
I like McDonalds (as fast food goes).
I have distaste (not hate, and no more than for Pres. Obama) for President Trump.
This nevertheless makes me like McDonalds considerably less - it's deeply unprofessional.
Michael said...
for those who believe the market is overpriced there is a sure fire way to convert that belief into cash and that is to short the market.
As you note, shorting is financially risky, there must be less risky ways to take advantage of the market's current state.
Gahrie said...
As for Gibbs' qualifications, there is a long, long history of senior White House staff going into high-profile public businesses.
Wow...lifelong Republican Chuckles defending yet another Democratic tool.....who would have thunk it?
Who said I am "defending yet another Democratic tool"? Do I need to defend Gibbs? Is there evidence implicating Gibbs, for which he needs a defense?
I am going to bear down on you here, you prick, because you started this, with yet another personal attack on me.
So you tell us all, sport, exactly how Robert Gibbs was involved in this Tweet. Explain how the McDonalds account was NOT hacked, and how you know all about it. Give us all the details. You want to make this personal? You're on.
I told you there was going to be some awkward silences.
In Trump's America, hamburger eats you.
ARM: Speaking of publicly listed companies, who doesn't think the stock market is currently overpriced?
People who need some outreach from caring fellow citizens.
ARM
You can sell covered calls. No risk. Assuming you own stocks, of course. You can go all cash. Again, no risk and again assuming you own stocks. You can buy back in when you feel safe. Or you can just wring your hands and be satisfied with saying you were right when the market corrects. Market is a horrible place for smug.
Culver's is making a big move into the Atlanta metro area. I have one about 20 min from my home north of Atlanta, it is in the town of Dawsonville. Have eaten there 3-4 times in the past few months and have to say it is very good. Delicious burger and the crinkle cut fries are always perfectly cooked. I have just about given up on McD except for the coffee and the Egg McMuffin. I have a new Bojangles near my home in TN and I have started to go there for breakfast occasionally, coffee is just as good and the BEC biscuit is far superior. My experience stopping at McD on my frequent trips between east TN and north Atlanta recently have not been good, not even the fries. I look for Chick-Fil-A (except Sundays) and Bojangles.
You want to make this personal? You're on.
OOOH so manly! Did you flex while you typed this?
Do I need to defend Gibbs?
Nope...which is exactly my point...no one needed to defend Gibbs...but you did so anyway.
Chuck said...
Gahrie said...
As for Gibbs' qualifications, there is a long, long history of senior White House staff going into high-profile public businesses.
Wow...lifelong Republican Chuckles defending yet another Democratic tool.....who would have thunk it?
Who said I am "defending yet another Democratic tool"? Do I need to defend Gibbs? Is there evidence implicating Gibbs, for which he needs a defense?
I am going to bear down on you here, you prick, because you started this, with yet another personal attack on me.
So you tell us all, sport, exactly how Robert Gibbs was involved in this Tweet. Explain how the McDonalds account was NOT hacked, and how you know all about it. Give us all the details. You want to make this personal? You're on.
Chuck, in some circumstances, "innocent until proven guilty" no longer applies. For example, it is incumbant upon Trump to prove he his not a puppet of the Kremlin, that he did not grab a pussy, that his tiny hands are not a reflection of his yuuuge pecker. ETC.
Gahrie,
Be afraid, be very afraid......Chuck a bruiser !
I kind of love that photo...may try to paint it.
The tweet is pretty obviously a prank, either by someone within the organization of a hacker. Either way the corp needs to step up their apology.
Gibbs is probably shorting McDonald's stock.
"Usually*'hacking' implies access gained externally. McDonalds said the account was 'compromised'. Maybe there is no difference, but inside antics are possible."
I notijced that too. OTOH, compromised seems to be the word of art in these cases regardless of the individual specifics. It's a safe all purpose word that fits, or can be stretched to fit, nearly any circumstance from Russian hackers to the newly fired employee who gets off one last tweet before the security escort arrives.
I told you there was going to be some awkward silences.
The loudest awkward silence is the conversation between ARM's amygdalae and his frontal lobes
It's not everyday that Freder and ARM not only make sense but happen to be right. Enjoy as this rarely happens. ARM is correct that the market is overpriced but that is a function of federal policy. God forbid the fed really raises interest rates. Huge tax increases coupled with huge entitlement spending cuts. Not going to happen anytime soon. And if Trump actually cuts tax rates, eliminates growth retarding regulation and fosters other pro-growth policies the economy will really grow and not all of the market rise will be illusionary. As noted by others, the market can stay crazy longer than you can stay solvent. And putting one's money in cash is simply losing money. You get less than inflation and get taxed as ordinary income for the favor.
Etienne said... [hush][hide comment]
Corporate suicide via social media.
I haven't eaten at a McDonald's in years. The last I looked, they priced themselves out of the market. I don't think you can get out of there without spending at least $8.
For $8 I'd rather buy a whole meal at Denny's.
3/16/17, 11:56 AM
It is all in the selection...
Their dollar menu has some good items on it. I would often get a McDouble and their chicken sandwich, there is ~$2. Add some fries and you are still under $4. I used to go there to grab lunch on days I did not bring my own and open a coke that I already have at work. Or if I were to eat in, get a medium soda and still be $5ish.
If the account was not hacked, I will be very surprised. I can't imagine that any McDonald's executive would be that offensive.
The topic is not your lack of imagination, Freder.
Further proof that Hillary!!'s private email server certainly could not have been hacked, er, compromised.
As for "good", I like RedRobin and WhatABurger. Though Publix makes really good cold subs. When I feel like a hot sub, Firehouse is my goto.
So far, I have found two In N Out burger places in Tucson. No McD for me.
Red Robin is too juicy -- like biting into a sponge. Smashburger has a slightly better burger than 5 Guys, but 5 Guys fries are so much better than SB that there's no comparison.
I go to McDonalds right by the house all the time. Because it is in Walmart, they have popcorn, and a great $2 popcorn and drink special. Popcorn is great -super high fiber, not a lot of carbs, and very filling. Tues, they were out, thanks to someone not ordering. Ditto for my styrofoam cups. The woman who told me the devastating news felt so sorry for me that she gave me a free "large" drink (large for McDonalds is medium for most other chains - you can blame the hype on too many sugared drinks for that). She said that they expected the popcorn mix to come in today, so I expect to give it a try in a bit.
That said, threatening a boycott is a great idea.the big companies in this country need to be. Taught not to take sides, and esp the other side, in these matters. Outgoing or former Obama Administration people should be toxic for companies selling into Red America, and not, as here, probably considered a coup when hired.
"Hacked is the go-to lie. Prove to me that it is not a lie."
Ann, I await your response when Trump or some other prominent righty has their social media hacked.
If Gibbs or any of his underlings actually were the authors of this tweet, they should be publicly fired by the corporation. I have to believe this account was hacked- are they really that fucking clueless?
@Dr K - In/Out is one of those things that I had forgotten about AZ. We have one right across the street from the Walmart, which puts it less than 1/4 mile away. My partner insists that we get them w/o buns, but we both love the grilled unions.
Sure, the account may be hacked. But maybe it wasn't, and the only way to really find out is to force Gibbs to explain it, and that comes from a boycott (or threatened boycott).
Wait, is anyone actually doubting this was hacked? Seriously! McDs is a major corporate brand, they don't do controversy. "Prove it is not a lie"? How about common sense? If Verizon put out a tweet that said "abortion is murder, and women who have them should be killed to death" would you seriously say "hmm, I wonder why Verizon would put out that tweet? Prove to me it was a hack, otherwise I'll just have to assume the corporation decided to take a blistering stand here!"
Ah, I get it--Althouse is trolling, just as it would be ridiculous for us to not assume that she's trolling. Very meta!
AReasonableMan: "I told you there was going to be some awkward silences."
I don't think we have enough awkward silences.
And not only that, but.....................
Who cares that they deny it. Boycott 'em anyway. Let 'em prove it.
Quaestor: The loudest awkward silence is the conversation between ARM's amygdalae and his frontal lobes.
Do people have more than one amygdala? Or just ARM?
Brando,
Saying the account was "hacked" implies that someone external to the corporation itself, and the communications office, broke the security of the account and authored the tweet. That they seem to be saying that the account was "compromised" suggests to me that the tweet was authored by someone within the organization itself, but who normally wouldn't have been writing tweets on behalf of McDonalds.
I find either explanation much more reasonable than that it was authorized by anyone in the chain of command of the account. A more complete explanation is actually warranted here, and maybe after they investigate, McDonalds will fill in the details.
Unknown said... [hush][hide comment]
Red Robin is too juicy -- like biting into a sponge. Smashburger has a slightly better burger than 5 Guys, but 5 Guys fries are so much better than SB that there's no comparison.
3/16/17, 12:15 PM
In that case, I see your 5 Guys, and raise you a Fuddruckers. There is NOTHING like seeing where your burgers come from! Shame the one near me closed... They had a nice selection of sizes, toppings (fixins bar) and their fries were pretty good too.
Also this from Brando:
"Seriously! McDs is a major corporate brand, they don't do controversy."
Have you not been paying attention? A number of corporate executives have been playing the anti-Trump card since the election, and they probably think it helps their brand when they do it. I can't say they are wrong or right to do so, but they do do it.
Like Todd, the best burgers I have ever had from a chain restaurant came from Fuddruckers.
"there must be less risky ways to take advantage of the market's current state."
Buy a put option on a stock, say MCD. Then, when the stock price tumbles, buy the stock at the new lower price, and exercise the option to sell it to the poor S.O.B. who sold you the put option at a higher price.
There is of course some risk - you're out the money you spent on the put, unless the rest of the trade pays off before the option expires.
McDonald's rules. The Egg McMuffin is the best fast food item yet created. Great place for meeting up for late night coffee. Usually a short drive because they're on main roads. Well lit. Open later than the coffee shops.
Also, I don't know about other places, but here the people who own all the locations have some kind of magical, super training program, and every single server is professional and polite.
McDonald's is underrated.
Obviously they were hacked or somebody running the social media is out of a job this morning. I imagine there was quite a bit of panic in McDonald's corporate offices this morning.
"Have you not been paying attention? A number of corporate executives have been playing the anti-Trump card since the election, and they probably think it helps their brand when they do it. I can't say they are wrong or right to do so, but they do do it."
Corporations like McDs simply don't do stuff like this--and any company that did would not compose a tweet about "tiny hands". This was a rogue employee (who will find themselves out of a job) or an outsider.
If we were talking about a niche company that catered almost exclusively to liberals, I could see taking a stand critical of Trump, but even in such cases it would be done in a less sneering manner. If you read that tweet and figured this was okayed by heads of marketing, you'd believe anything.
"Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you... YOUR'E COOL... fuck you and fuck you! I'm out!" **throws mop in the fryer**
" In/Out is one of those things that I had forgotten about AZ."
They are based in CA but opened stores in Yuma and Tucson about 5 years ago. They also opened one in El Centro CA about the same time and we used to drive to Tucson on I 8 all the time. When the In N Our opened in El Centro, they had traffic control for weeks with cops and traffic directions. Yuma opened about the same time and was a favored stop on the way to Tucson.
One opened in Phoenix a few weeks ago and it was in the newspaper.
Now, if we could only get Stater Bros to open a store in Tucson. That market chain is CA only, I think, but expanding. They are headquartered in San Bernardino, I think. I started going to their store at Lake Arrowhead and they have one in Mission Viejo. The meat is excellent and the prices are 15% to 20% lower than anything in Tucson.
"I imagine there was quite a bit of panic in McDonald's corporate offices this morning."
I dunno. Nordstroms and Target thought it was a good idea.
We can't blame the Russians since this was anti-Trump...what about the Ukrainians? Let's blame them. We know Ukrainian agents attempted to influence the election...
Hey, wasn't it a former British spy who pushed the "Trump dossier?" I guess that's kind of trying to influence the election, too.
You know, it's weird--turns out all sorts of foreign powers were trying to influence the election, and many of them tried to get Hillary elected. Sorta funny that so much of the Media focus has been on the Russians and has implied that the only foreign influence brought to bear in the election was pro-Trump, since that's demonstrably untrue.
What could explain such a puzzle? Baffling.
If there is not a denial and claim of a hack or rogue employees, I will have to give up my daily 290 calorie breakfast sandwich, which would be a shame, but not a tragedy.
I have a couple pairs of shoes I like from Nordstrom's, one worn out, I need to find another source.
In my McDonald's, Fox and Friends is on every morning
Related: Mark Knopfler: Boom Like That
www said...Obviously they were hacked or somebody running the social media is out of a job this morning
Not necessisarily an "or" there, wwww--they could have been hacked AND the person running hte social media account is out of a job.
Semi-related: a Shake Shack opened near my office and after hearing all the hype I was ready for a good burger...but I was disappointed. Barely above average, really--I like the salty-thin-griddle style burger but theirs was just ok, and definitely not a good value for the price. Their root beer was pretty good, though, and I hear their shakes are tasty. Oh well.
On this topic, Chuck is dead on correct. People, come on, you can't possibly believe that Robert Gibbs, or some other executive at McDonald's, actually posted, or approved the posting of this absolutely silly, adolescent tweet. This sounds like a 10 year old typed it in.
You would have to think McDonald's has no idea who their customers are and where their biggest sales are. Black inner cities, small and medium sized towns, and suburbs. Why on earth would a company as well-run as McDonald's even think of doing something this stupid.
Insty had a post about this, and I can't believe the innate idiocy that people believe just to justify their belief that McDonald's knew about this and approved of it. I expected better from erstwhile conservatives.
Hombre said...
Who cares that they deny it. Boycott 'em anyway. Let 'em prove it.
Au contraire mon ami. Obviously a failed corporate decision to generate business, ala chick-fil-a attack by the left, which resulted in mile long lines of new customers.
(Chicken sandwich was pretty good, but the wait was murder)
Steak, egg and cheese bagel at McDonald's, the best.
Did they apologize, or just make excuses?
I Callahan,
I don't believe it was approved, but the tone of a corporation may have led an insider to think it was ok to do so. There is a distinction to make here, and McDonalds had better have a thorough explanation for what did happen.
Brando,
Yes, the tweet was too juvenile to have been likely approved by an official at McDonalds, but your earlier assertion doesn't hold, does it? Some corporations are risking their brands by diving into the controversy of Trump as you seem to concede with your second comment.
You would have to think McDonald's has no idea who their customers are and where their biggest sales are.
@Callahan, Gibbs is the Global Chief Communications Officer for McDonald's. This tweet is from the official McDonald's corporate Twitter account. If Gibbs did not put into place procedures for vetting official corporate tweets before they go out then he is derelict and needs to be fired.
I strongly concur that it "sounds like a 10 year old typed it in." That doesn't mean Gibbs did not approve it, does it?
Still hoping Trump decides to champion the Subaru Outback, the #1 choice for smug liberals in Seattle, so I can see dozens of heads explode.
It is what MOST of the country (and the world) thinks. So, kudos to whoever wrote the tweet - inside McDonalds or a hacker.
Btw, Trumpies - heads are not exploding in Progressive-land, they are instead laughing their heads-off at the Trumpies.
Probably their password was "password" since Gibbs is the guy in charge. Were they running it out of a bathroom in Denver?
The reason I want an actual apology is the same reason they didn't apologize already, the reason they hired Gibbs, talk about "fashy", they want to consider themselves above their deplorable customers.
"Yes, the tweet was too juvenile to have been likely approved by an official at McDonalds, but your earlier assertion doesn't hold, does it? Some corporations are risking their brands by diving into the controversy of Trump as you seem to concede with your second comment."
It's true that many large corporations will "risk their brand" by wading into politics, though the ones that do tend to have made a judgment about their core customer base. An example of this is Starbucks--I think for them it's a bit riskier than say an exclusively east coast city chain, because Starbucks has expanded nationwide, but you'll notice that even when they do this they don't stray into personal attacks. (They might say something like "here's to all the immigrants" rather than "Trump is Hitler for hating immigrants!") THey have to weigh just how far they can go before causing a real boycott.
For example, I'm pro-gun rights. If Starbucks put out a tweet saying "we support gun control" I'd know that's not for me, but it'd hardly stir me to action in not buying their stuff. But a tweet saying "all these gun deaths are the fault of gun nuts who oppose gun control! Rot in hell, gun nuts!" I'd be turned off enough to find somewhere else to get coffee. (And all this varies based on your attachment to the product anyway--I don't think I'd skip Bojangles even if they tweeted a personal insult directed at me)
McDonalds, though? Their business is so widely spread and appeals so broadly across the political spectrum that taking any side where they don't have to would be foolish.
They are clearly afraid of the backlash for an apology or they would have done it.
Unknown Inga said...
It is what MOST of the country (and the world) thinks. So, kudos to whoever wrote the tweet - inside McDonalds or a hacker.
Btw, Trumpies - heads are not exploding in Progressive-land, they are instead laughing their heads-off at the Trumpies.
Good one. Striesand getting fatter because Trump scares her. Lena losing weight because Trump scares her. Snoop suggesting assassination because Trump scares him. Divorced white ladies marching and crying because Trump scares them.
Doom and gloom , fears and tears in Liberalland.
Point to the laughter, chubby divorcee.
All Trump has to say is "well, that's the last time I eat McDonalds" and the brand is stuffed - bad move Ronald.
Wait, is anyone actually doubting this was hacked? Seriously! McDs is a major corporate brand, they don't do controversy. "Prove it is not a lie"? How about common sense? If Verizon put out a tweet that said "abortion is murder, and women who have them should be killed to death" would you seriously say "hmm, I wonder why Verizon would put out that tweet? Prove to me it was a hack, otherwise I'll just have to assume the corporation decided to take a blistering stand here!"
Verizon would've apologized for the tweet.
I Callahan said...
On this topic, Chuck is dead on correct. People, come on, you can't possibly believe that Robert Gibbs, or some other executive at McDonald's, actually posted, or approved the posting of this absolutely silly, adolescent tweet. This sounds like a 10 year old typed it in.
You would have to think McDonald's has no idea who their customers are and where their biggest sales are. Black inner cities, small and medium sized towns, and suburbs. Why on earth would a company as well-run as McDonald's even think of doing something this stupid.
Insty had a post about this, and I can't believe the innate idiocy that people believe just to justify their belief that McDonald's knew about this and approved of it. I expected better from erstwhile conservatives.
3/16/17, 1:23 PM
What's your point? Did anybody ask if Yamamoto deserved it before they shot down his plane? This is a chance to hurt the enemy and should not be passed up. The enemy wouldn't. The enemy never does. Tit for tat, baby. Spicer can't go into an Apple store without being taken up by some chippie? Eat shit, Ronald! Eat shit, Grimace!
This is war. We really are at war. Not as clear as the firing on Ft. Sumter, but clarity isn't a thing these days. It's easier to drown your enemy in a bucket of shit if he doesn;t resist, and it's easier to get him to resist if he doesn't know what's going on.
Blogger Yancey Ward said...
"Like Todd, the best burgers I have ever had from a chain restaurant came from Fuddruckers."
I like Whataburger. Five Guys and Portillos. InNOut is the best mickydee like burger.
The people who are most pissed at McD headquarters are the franchise owners who are probably 75% Trump supporters.
McD Headquarters is probably already gone through a couple of phone lines burned up.
"Verizon would've apologized for the tweet."
I thought McDonalds did already?
No, they just made excuses.
No Food Desert here - we have all the Fast Food Groups you need to remain big and healthy.
The people who are most pissed at McD headquarters are the franchise owners who are probably 75% Trump supporters.
McD Headquarters is probably already gone through a couple of phone lines burned up.
@ Michael
Exactly. The McDonald's stores are mostly owned by individuals, small business owners. Boycotting your local store is only going to hurt those individuals and the people they employ.
I would guess that in the majority, those small business owners are Trump supporters and as said, are very very angry about this.
Pardon me, would you have any french fry sauce?
I thought McDonalds did already?
Last I saw, they had not.
"Last I saw, they had not."
Foolish of them--maybe they're busy scrambling for the "right" response, but it shouldn't take long to tweet out "that was an unauthorized tweet, we apologize".
Not that I couldn't use an excuse to boycott McDs--I should be eating healthier than that--but it is still Shamrock Shake season.
Althouse:
""And look at how beautifully Donald Trump has boosted the McDonald's brand." In a normal world, yes. In prog world, not so much. But prog world wasn't going to eat at McDonald's anyway."
WRONG-O! As Bad Lieutenant said, the following are Mickey D's (black slang) main demos:
"You would have to think McDonald's has no idea who their customers are and where their biggest sales are. Black inner cities, small and medium sized towns, and suburbs."
By definition, lots of "progs" in black inner cities, and suburbs too, and even some small and medium towns! I can understand that on her recent trip through the Midwest and West, Althouse didn't see a lot of "progs" at McD's. Try the Newark, NJ, train station, next time. My all-time favorite McD, and I, a transit-riding, proudly prog (white) attorney, am a connoisseuse of McD's's all over NJ!!!
"I am going to bear down on you here, you prick, because you started this, with yet another personal attack on me."
Oh dear, Chuck is going to bear down on you! On the Internet! Oh the horror!
Were you cyber-bullied, Chuck? Was it traumatic? Did you strike back with your vaunted cyber-pugilism?
I don't usually do ad hominem, but the utter ridiculousness and impotence of people who think others will be overawed by their wrath on the freakin' Internet, is just too laughable to let slide.
I would go over Chuck's electronic devices with a fine-toothed comb. And his local library, too.
@Dr K - surprised that In/Out is that much a novelty in the PHX area. As I noted, we have one less than 1/4 mile away, and we saw several others on the way to see step daughter last weekend. We picked up dinner at one when we were in Vegas over Valentin's Day. When I was in N NV, would hit the one in S Carson City every couple weeks. It was about 10 miles N, but no stop lights or signs, so was a quick trip. And there was one in Reno too.
I doubt Gibbs would be stupid enough to do this. But given his former employer I don't doubt that he has underlings that think this way. My guess is that this was done by a 20-something know-nothing in the social media department who forgot to log out of the McDonalds Twitter account and thought he was doing it on his own private account. Or possibly a disgruntled former employee.
If there's blowback from this and if I were a franchisee I would totally sue corporate if it was an insider.
Traditionally, McD's had probably the strongest franchise system in the fast food business. Growing up, one of our neighbors had maybe half the stores in Denver. He lost them after corporate went after him for having his own bakery. Last I saw him, he was in rehab after losing a foot to diabetes- eating ice cream in his wheelchair. Still, those franchises aren't what they used to be. US sales have been lackluster, and they really can't make money with so many spending their money there on the stuff always on sale, like the $1 styrofoam cup I am drinking from right now as I wait for Discount Tire next door repair/replace the tire I lost. sat night. The good news for them is that we stop regularly as we travel for their $1 drinks. The bad news is that we do it to use their restrooms, and the rest of the time, I tie up table space for a $1 drink, that probably doesn't cover their overhead.
My impression is that their franchises aren't worth that much more, in nominal terms, as when that neighbor had a bunch of them, and was, essentially minting money with them, and that means that in real terms, they are not nearly as valuable as they used to be. Which is why, I suspect, that the franchisees have a lot more power than they used to. They just don't seem to have the pizazz that they used to, and if I were looking at buying a fast food franchise, I would seriously look elsewhere at the other alternatives too, before buying one of theirs.
A couple. Interesting aspects of their franchising. One - the one I am in right now has a working chip reader for credit cards. A first for me. I asked, and their response was that a lot of the others around are company stores. Another is that franchisees have some leeway in decorating. One in Lakewood, CO, has large, beautiful, photos of CO, taken by a guy who grew in in the house that my parents' bought from his. Not alone though - a lot of the franchises have nice local photography and art.
I'm a bit stunned this was not immediately understood as an almost certain hack? Where is the critical thinking!
It's the lack of an apology and repudiation.
There's been In-N-Out in Scottsdale for years. First one I patronized...
If the rogue tweet was due to a hack of Twitter, then at a minimum, the Global Chief Communications Officer needed to apologize immediately and the McDonald's corporate legal team should be suing the Hell out of Twitter. If it was a problem inside McDonald's then the Corporate Information Security Officer (I assume they have one, most major corporations do) and the Global Chief Communications Officer need to be looking for new jobs. It's the latter' job to put policies and procedures in place to prevent unofficial messages going out on the official corporate communications channels. This will come as a rude shock to the resident Prog trolls, but out in the real world people who have jobs are expected to earn their salaries.
As to burgers, hands down the best l have had were at Hooters. I really do go there for the food! Just try convincing the wife of that. I don't care for Five Guys -- way too greasy at the places I've tried.
It's unlikely that this was done with the knowledge of someone at least relatively high up the chain, but it's also not completely out of the question. Anyone who claims it is hasn't been paying attention to the statements of high-ranking politicians, celebrities, sports personalities, etc. over the 4 months.
"It's the lack of an apology and repudiation."
They have apologized in a brief statement here: http://news.mcdonalds.com/Corporate/Media-Statements/McDonald-s-Statement-on-Twitter-Account-Compro-1
From a corporate standpoint I do understand that there is no specific repudiation. The smart approach for most corporations is to be neutral. This was kind of thrust upon them. A brief apology and better security will make this go away most quickly.
They got around to apologies just an hour ago.
"
@Dr K - surprised that In/Out is that much a novelty in the PHX area"
I don't really know as I have not spent that much time in PHX. I'm there now for a birthday party for my grandson.
I did see the thing on TV/Newspaper a couple of weeks ago and thought it odd.
They are still the best burgers.
They got around to apologies just an hour ago.
So what? The first rule (unless you are Donald Trump) is to not say anything you might have to retract. McDonald's had to investigate whether it was an external hack ("bad, but hey it happens, sorry") or an internal matter (oh my God, we really fucked up, we fired every one who even worked near the douche"). That takes a bit of time.
I agree, an apology was a high risk move. (Eye roll)
Honestly, if one didn't a) recognize this as a hack immediately and b) understand that the response, including the course of it with regard to timing and content, was just fine - bland corporate perfect really - then it's an opportunity to recalibrate your outrage meter and check your perspective.
McDonalds is vilified by the left for not paying $15/hr and for selling unhealthy food options in large portions. DOn't get them started about the sodas.
Why would the corporation think they should alienate half the population, maybe more than half as I believe only a small percentage of people are highly political. Many people are just tired of politics all the time.
@Freder, the McDonald's apology is precisely what I was writing about upthread. If the hack was on their side they need to put Gibbs and their CISO right on it and one or both need to be terminate. If they don't have strong policies and procedures in place to prevent something going out without a chop from Gibbs or Easterbrook then that's on Gibbs. If it was a pure security breach then that's on Marc Varner, their CISO. Even in McDonald's, people need to do their jobs.
Never mind right or wrong, let's say that Gibbs is pure as the driven snow. How many Egg McMuffins have to be unsold before that doesn't matter, before McDonalds sacrifices him as a scapegoat to stop the bleeding?
Whatever that number is, it can be achieved. Bigly. If McDonalds doesn't already know that, their management isn't as smart as it ought to be.
President Trump deserves a break today...
Snark said...
Honestly, if one didn't a) recognize this as a hack immediately and b) understand that the response, including the course of it with regard to timing and content, was just fine - bland corporate perfect really - then it's an opportunity to recalibrate your outrage meter and check your perspective.
Lost Opportunities"R"Us.
Yeah, because an immediate apology was out of the question while Gibbs was walking around with a grin and a boner all day.
To be honest, I recently started eating the breakfast sandwiches there again after stopping from the Gibbs hire. This just shows that the guys at the top making the long buck despise me. I get it.
They were waiting to see how it played out.
Freder Frederson said...
The news that this is hacked is two hours old.
It was simply irresponsible of Althouse to post this.
3/16/17, 10:24 AM
My friend, you need to step away from your computer. Most people don't check AA comments but once a day or twice a week. But you showed with such a childish comment that you are pushing minutiae.
AA: "... and McDonald's is our go-to stop for good wifi, clean bathrooms, drinkable coffee, and even some food."
In that order?
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