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The uglier side of pandemic for QSRs

Photo: iStock

April 1, 2020

In every crisis situation, there are some who make inappropriate and even unsafe moves. That is no different for the current pandemic. In fact, according to the Ohio Restaurant Association's recent communications around pandemic-related issues in the state, one Dunkin' franchisee reported that in three instances, drive-thru customers have sprayed workers with disinfectant. 

According to ORA, the Ohio franchisee reported, "One of our stores has had 3 incidences of customers spraying drive-through window workers with Lysol as the worker is handing credit card back to customer. There is a video on Facebook where this is happening… this is insane … sanitizing protocol is to disinfect surfaces … apparently customers are worried that the worker will transfer flu germs via the credit cards."  

Dunkin' has not responded to a request for further information from this website. But, at another QSR brand, people across social media channels argued that it was perhaps the franchisee who used poor judgment when  — as one Facebook post showed — the Calgary, Alberta operator in Canada posted a promotion claiming that customers could obtain free protective face masks with a specific sandwich order.

People across social media criticized the Canadian store operator for this promotion, that Subway corporate said did not reflect the brand's values either. (photo posted on Facebook).

Via Twitter, Subway said they were aware of the situation and "have taken action to remove the sign from this location," according to msn.com. The company added that the promotion did not "reflect our core brand values & the great efforts of our network of local restaurant owners in this difficult time."

The global shortage of protective gear like those face masks has been identified by numerous federal, state and even world health organizations as a huge threat to the health of the population, since it leaves many medical providers without ample protection when providing care to ill patients.

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