A Richmond woman is looking for an apology from one of the biggest fast food chains in the world after she says she was refused service because an employee said she couldn’t speak English.
Hai Xia (Hazel) Sun says she was discriminated against and ordered out of the McDonald’s restaurant on No. 3 Road and Granville Avenue last Thursday.
“They said, ‘Oh you can’t speak English, no service to you. I can’t believe it!” Sun told CTV News.
Sun says she was ordering a hot chocolate at the McDonald’s, but was given a Mocha coffee instead. There was a long lineup and she complained, trying to correct the mistake.
But she says the employee became frustrated, as did the manager, who told her she wouldn’t be served.
Sun’s family is demanding the restaurant apologize.
“They have to say something, respond to the public,” said Sun’s son Frank Yi Fang Zhao. “Anything relating to discrimination is no longer just a personal issue.”
But the restaurant chain says Sun did receive an on-the-spot apology and blames the whole thing on a miscommunication.
“We have now completed a full internal review of the situation and are very confident that this issue stems from a very simple misunderstanding,” said a statement from the company.
“We regret that this customer was offended but we want to be very clear these allegations do not reflect our restaurant practices or the long-standing history of inclusivity demonstrated by our franchisee, his management team, and staff in the restaurant,” the statement said.
Customers outside were concerned about the issue.
“This company has to talk to the manager, and talk to the worker, otherwise it could be very bad for their business,” said Tommy Thach, who says he goes for coffee regularly at the McDonald’s.
Coco Lo, who was biking by, said she had usually been treated well at the McDonald’s. She said she was surprised no one could be found inside the restaurant who could bridge any language gap.
“I would say maybe they could speak some Chinese, Mandarin, because it’s Richmond,” she said.
The issue has struck a chord with the immigrant community because everyone worries that they could be in that situation, said Frank Huang of the Canadian Youth Leadership Training Centre.
“There are a lot of new immigrants in Richmond, and just because they can’t speak English very well it doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to be served,” he said.
