Was McDonald's Right to Ban Woman Over Her Research?
SodaHead News
2011/10/28 23:03:25
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Dr. Erin Carr-Jordan says all she was trying to do was inform the public that McDonald's indoor playgrounds are a little bit on the filthy side, but McDonald's isn't having it. After "months of open and honest dialogue" with Carr-Jordan, the restaurant has decided to ban her from eight of their locations in and around Phoenix, where she lives.
Carr-Jordan, a mother of four and professor at Arizona State University, runs a website called Kids Play Safe, where her proposed mission is to "raise awareness, conduct microbiological testing, and reach out to the media in hopes to influencing public policy and instituting change" regarding a lack of regulation at "indoor playlands" like those found at McDonald's.
Based on her studies, conducted in eight different states but focused in Arizona, she determined playlands are packed with bacteria like Staphlococcus aureus, Acidominococcus, fungus, and mold which can result in skin infections, food poisoning, STDs -- or worse. According to Time, McDonald's was cooperative until recently.
A McDonald's spokesperson said, "It appears that recent actions by Dr. Carr-Jordan have become disruptive to the employees and customers within our franchisee's restaurants, which prompted the letter from his attorney." That letter informed her that she was no longer welcome to step foot in eight locations, but we have a feeling this won't end here.
Carr-Jordan, a mother of four and professor at Arizona State University, runs a website called Kids Play Safe, where her proposed mission is to "raise awareness, conduct microbiological testing, and reach out to the media in hopes to influencing public policy and instituting change" regarding a lack of regulation at "indoor playlands" like those found at McDonald's.
Based on her studies, conducted in eight different states but focused in Arizona, she determined playlands are packed with bacteria like Staphlococcus aureus, Acidominococcus, fungus, and mold which can result in skin infections, food poisoning, STDs -- or worse. According to Time, McDonald's was cooperative until recently.
A McDonald's spokesperson said, "It appears that recent actions by Dr. Carr-Jordan have become disruptive to the employees and customers within our franchisee's restaurants, which prompted the letter from his attorney." That letter informed her that she was no longer welcome to step foot in eight locations, but we have a feeling this won't end here.
Read More: http://www.kidsplaysafe.net/
Note to all the parents out there: Snot knows no bounds!
Sanitized environments are worse for childrens health anyway. They don;t allow the immune system do develop.
In public settings, the germ/bacteria factor will be even higher due to the larger number of people and the variety of people. However, a facility that is designed to make the bulk of their profits by attracting children needs to make great efforts to keep the place clean and safe. When I worked for McDonald's, our cleanliness requirements were higher than what the Health Department dictated. I never worried when I saw the health inspector coming because I knew we were always ready. Has McD's lowered their standards?
I have noticed that most stores no longer have a dedicated lobby person. That could be a big part of what's causing this problem.
What they should have done was to welcome her research and learn from it how to provide a more safe environment. Win,win.
Bet this "professor" would have a heart attack is she checked out hallways of hospitals!
OTOH, why does she want to go BACK to Fat Mac's knowing how gross the store is???
Your answers seem to imply you think a private business is somehow sacred and should never be criticized, interfered with in any way, required to adhere to decent standards, owe any debt or allegiance to the communities they operate in, or (and here's the dirtiest word of all) be regulated. Why should a business be exempt community standards? Why should any business be exempt from the same sort of rules all of us citizens are expected to adhere to?
And what's with the "professor" stuff? Do you have a problem with educators? Or is it simply with "educated people?"
To your other comments: I NEVER do anything for an ulterior motive, and sometimes the things I do because I believe them to be the "right thing to do", get me in all kinds of hot water. BUT one thing I never, ever do is to try to FORCE other people to do what I want them to do. Open confrontations at a business is just that - Force.
Am I cynical? Yep, sure am - and for good reason. I have dealt with some of the nicest and sweetest people on this earth - and I've dealt with some of the worst ones. It would be nice to NOT be cynical, but if one is a realist and doesn't spend hours trying to find a way to put a nice face on every horrible thing in the universe. I think it would be impossible to not be cynical.
Of all the "professions" that exist, I see politicians as the worst, and the university brainwashers as the next to worst. I see these people this way because they try to force others to do what they want them to do by virtue of lying and presenting misinformation, sh...
To your other comments: I NEVER do anything for an ulterior motive, and sometimes the things I do because I believe them to be the "right thing to do", get me in all kinds of hot water. BUT one thing I never, ever do is to try to FORCE other people to do what I want them to do. Open confrontations at a business is just that - Force.
Am I cynical? Yep, sure am - and for good reason. I have dealt with some of the nicest and sweetest people on this earth - and I've dealt with some of the worst ones. It would be nice to NOT be cynical, but if one is a realist and doesn't spend hours trying to find a way to put a nice face on every horrible thing in the universe. I think it would be impossible to not be cynical.
Of all the "professions" that exist, I see politicians as the worst, and the university brainwashers as the next to worst. I see these people this way because they try to force others to do what they want them to do by virtue of lying and presenting misinformation, shaming young people to see things "this" way or to be "a laughing stock".
You think anything you like. Unlike you, I don't try to force people to be what pleases ME. You must be a university prof.
That said, there should be some basic sanitation performed on the equipment. But the same should be said for all kids' public play areas.
STD's on that equipment, STD's on equipment that kids use indicates a far bigger problem than that she is complaining about. This one coming out of the kid's homes.
As a side note, I hope she makes their lives a living hell. How much would it cost them to spray and wipe everything with disinfectant? Hand wipes or alcohol gel at the entrances?
I say "their", instead of "our", because I don't use such things, except when absolutely necessary: wounds and such. I rarely get sick due to my immune system actually working, and even when I do get sick, I can still work, because it's not that bad.
I have built up antibodies that I'll bet kids of today don't have a trace of. And it is to their detriment that so many people today have a morbid fear of "germs". We have always had germs and always will.