Une expérience à McDonald's

Wednesday, October 31, 2018 was a pretty soothing day. I went to bed early the night before and woke up late in the morning. So I had the time to rest properly to start this day on the hats. I had a lot of time for me during this day but I also always have in a corner of my head the ton of work to do that the two schools of my master give us, and it stresses me. But I feel that it is a good stress because it forces me to work. Despite this, at the end of the day, I had enough motivation to go to McDonald's Opera alone. So I took the bus at 7:27 pm in Ecully, to arrive at 8:08 pm at the Hotel de Ville - Louis Pradel. Leaving the stop I see many people disguised with scary makeup, and it’s only at that moment that I remember that today is Halloween! I am so obsessed with my studies that I even forget about such events.

I arrive then in front of the facade of McDo Opera. Just like last time, I find it pretty cool with pretty lights and pretty colors. Outside, McDo's outdoor tables were all taken. I thought to myself that inside it had to be worse given the cold weather. I then enter the establishment and there, the shock. I have never seen so many people at the same place and at the same time in a restaurant and making that much noises. My ears, my sight and even my sense of smell were all hit at the same time. I smelled a smell of frying but also a very strong smell of meat mixed with sweat and I found that horrible. My ears were attacked from all sides by laughter, conversations, crying children, music, screaming employees and noises in the kitchen! I immediately said that this experience was not going to be easy.[pic 1]

At the entrance was a bodyguard, or rather a security staff. During my last 5 experiences I had never seen security staff in a McDo, so it gives a clue of the number of customers present. And unlike most people I think, seeing a security guard does not reassure me at all, on the contrary, for me it means that something bad can happen. Regarding the clientele, I saw young people, less young, women, men, couples, families, children, all gathered in the same place. It seemed so different from my last time at this McDo.

I then went to the screens to order but all had at least one person in front, except a screen located a little further. So I went to this one to order. Now that I've got used to it, my orders are extremely fast. But this time, at the end, I have a new request on the screen. I have to type directly on it the number of the "table service" card, which I had never done before in this McDonald's or in Tassin's one. I'm a bit surprised, but I do it right away, pay, take my ticket, and start looking for a place to sit.

I make a first round, I don’t see ANY free place, really NONE. I do a second round and I still cannot find where to sit ... I start to worry. I didn’t want to sit outside and anyway I wasn’t

even sure to find a place outside too. I make a third round still being shocked by what is happening around me, and I finally find a tiny place on a bar table in front of a large window, overlooking the outside. I didn’t like this place but I had no choice ... so I go there quickly before someone takes it. There was a man on the left and a man on the right. The free place was in the middle. It was a bar table for 3. Before sitting down I make sure that the place is free by asking the man on the right, and he confirms me that it is good. I sit down, a little embarrassed, I can only see my reflection because on the window because it’s dark outside.

As I sit down, I realize that the music is too loud. Commercial and that hurts your head ... everything I don’t like. But on the one hand, I find that the atmosphere and the delirious crowd goes well with this kind of music. While waiting for my order, I felt horribly bad. I didn’t feel in my place. I had to sit with people I don’t know because of the crowd. Also, the noises grew louder and louder. Two babies just behind me began to cry at the same time, which is very unpleasant. Despite the fact that I love babies, hearing them cry exasperates me. A woman then came a few inches from me to tuck her baby to sleep. In my head I said to myself "impossible, how could he sleep with so much noise? ". I took a look at the baby and I found it very cute ... one small good point of the evening for now.

Here is a small extract of the noises I recorded. We can hear the babies crying, the conversations, and also the music which gets louder and louder : (click 2 times on it)[pic 2]

Then I wanted to take pictures of this atmosphere but I could hardly turn to look at the world, so I didn’t dare, and in their place I told myself that I would find it rude. An employee then brings me my order, a little less quickly than previous times, but I still found the service very fast regarding the number or people present. Other employees circled repeating aloud, almost shouting the order numbers to serve. On two occasions an employee approached me asking if it was my order when I had it already in my hands. I felt the employees that night exasperated, exhausted, and there were moving everywhere ... "poor people," I said to myself.[pic 3]

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