Not loving it: McDonald’s told to employ bouncers at branch

Fast-food giant battles ruling after violent incidents at Glasgow outlet

FAST-FOOD giant McDonald’s is to fight a ruling forcing it to employ bouncers at a Glasgow outlet where a drug addict lay dead for five hours.

Following complaints by Police Scotland after more than 200 reported incidents in and around McDonald’s city centre Argyle Street branch, the company was ordered to place four security staff on duty at night.

The list of incidents included violent assaults, homophobic breaches of the peace and one occasion a dead drug addict lay undiscovered in the restaurant’s toilets for five hours before police were informed.

Police claimed incidents at the premises were a drain on its resources and forced it to increase patrols.

McDonald’s was also instructed by the local authority to have quarterly meetings with Police Scotland to ensure its premises were properly managed.

But the company appealed the decision to the courts.

It claimed the sanction was disproportionate and damaging to its reputation.

The firm secured a victory, with Sheriff Aisha Anwar sending it back to Glasgow City Council licensing chiefs for reconsideration, with a decision due tomorrow.

One source said: “The insistence on security staff for any outlet to sell food at night is not at all common in the city, certainly not as a condition of their licence, and certainly I can’t think of anywhere with four.

“You only need look at the police report to see why that was insisted upon.”

Under Scots law any premises selling food after midnight requires to be licensed with the authorities having the flexibility to enforce certain conditions. Police and other agencies can also object.

In all, Police Scotland said there had been 166 incidents within the McDonald’s reported to it over a 14 month period and 54 directly outside it.

Many of the incidents involved staff contacting the police to remove disorderly customers but then refusing to make a complaint to the force.

At the meeting the police read out a litany of incidents. On one occasion it said it had received a call from a McDonald’s manager at around 8.30pm on August 8, 2013 that a man had passed out in the toilet cubicle.

“It transpired the man had died from a drugs overdose and had entered the cubicle five hours earlier.”

The force said it had imple- mented hourly patrols between 4pm and 11pm around the premises, which is located in a notorious crime hot spot the police refer to as ‘the four corners’, due to the volume of incidents.

At the time Police Scotland said: “The Chief Constable is of the opinion that the premises have a detrimental impact on the area due to the volume and frequency of incidents directly attributable to the premises and have also had a negative impact on police resources due to the level of attention afforded to the premises.

“It can clearly be demonstrated the premises are the focal point for excessive levels of disorder.”

The force also called for the venue to be shut at midnight and if the committee were not minded to do so, for four security staff to monitor various parts of the outlet.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said: “We have appealed against the request around the need for four security personnel on site every evening.

“This was due to commercial and reputational concerns as it was disproportionate to the need. We are confident in the improvements we have made, whilst working alongside the police, who we meet extremely regularly with.

“We have developed a close working relationship with the local police and meet with them every six weeks to discuss matters relating to our Argyle Street restaurant.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues is of paramount importance to us and we will continue to work in partnership with the council, police and local community going forward.”

The city council said it would be inappropriate to comment ahead of Thursday’s meeting.