Top brass from the world’s largest fast food chain have apologized to a B.C. woman who said she was refused service because staff couldn’t understand her English.
Hai Xia (Hazel) Sun said she was discriminated against two weeks ago at McDonald’s restaurant at No. 3 Road in Richmond, a Vancouver suburb where more than 40 per cent of the population lists a Chinese dialect as their first language.
Sun said she was repeatedly mistakenly served a Mocha coffee instead of a hot chocolate, and a long line formed behind her while she tried to clarify the situation.
A frustrated manager finally said she wouldn’t be served, Sun told CTV News.
“They said, ‘Oh you can’t speak English, no service to you. I can’t believe it!” Sun said.
The restaurant said the incident was an isolated incident caused by a language barrier, and had nothing to do with discrimination.
"We want to be very clear that these allegations do not reflect our restaurant practices or (our) long-standing history of inclusivity," McDonald's spokesperson Jeanette Jones told CTV News.
Sun met with restaurant management Monday and they apologized for the incident.
Sun accepted the gesture, but her son, Frank Yi Fang Zhao, says he isn’t happy with the outcome.
“They did apologize, I mean we’re Canadian, we always say sorry. I just want to make sure they apologize for the correct reason,” he told CTV News.
“Since my mom accepts their apologies I will let this thing go.”
The family wanted an apology for Sun and all immigrants who speak English as a second language. They say they’re disappointed the manager involved in the dispute didn’t issue a personal apology.
