h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just to balance out what would appear to almost be an advert for the orange wigged transvestite clown, I seriously doubt that 'quality' is the first word past anybodys lips when eating in MaccyDs.

For a rather more jaundiced view of the Clown's activities, the casual reader is referred to Eric Shlosser's 'Fast Food Nation', a scathing examination of the American fast food industry and it's effect on the population of the US, or the film 'Super Size Me'.

I've seen only "Super Size Me", and thought it was pretty well done, not nearly so mud-slinging as some of the political films. Still, I don't consider the methods particularly scientific, and consider an *occasional* burger and fries not all that lethal. The problem, IMHO, is the addictive nature of fast food, so that it can become like smoking, alcohol, etc. Watching the typical overweight crowd at an American shopping mall, waddling from the food court (McDonalds and a dozen other similarly high fat booths) to the cigarette store is kind of disgusting. And then climbing back into the SUV for the three block drive back to the office.

I have sworn off fast food altogether, with the exception of Subway with their low fat choices. So far, so good, according to the medical folks.

Well, yes, save Subways disasterous business practices.

Hmmm ... I haven't herd about that ... maybe I don't wanna know ...

Probably not, but suffice it to say that once youhave purchased your franchise from them, don't expect too many other favours from them, like say, not selling another franchise two doors down...

There is a fairly major intersection in Houston (Shepherd at West Gray for those familiar with the city) that has two Starbucks on opposite corners. This gets a lot of attention from visiting comedians, smartass columnists, etc. Although IMHO with Houston drivers' hostility toward pedestrians (actually more like obliviousness), its not that crazy. If you're shopping on one side, walking across a busy street to Starbucks can be fatal.

I don't recall two Subways being very close.

I know of one town here in South-East England where there are two Subways, literally seperated by one doorway.

And Starbuck's is another classic example ofthe same disease. And most ly their coffee is rubish, as well.

Just to defend myself a little, I'd like to say that I didn't write the entry with the intention of it sounding like an advert. The intention was to provide some examination of the history of MaccyD's. I tried to remain objective throughout, and not stray into subjective opinion concerning the business practices of MacDonald's.

Sometimes it was difficult to find this information. For example, if you were to site the MacDonald's website, you would find that the history section starts with Ray Kroc. There is no mention of the brothers at all. This may possibly be because the business started with Kroc, and the boys them *only* ran the restaurant that was the spur to the business.

While writing the entry I became deeply skeptical about Ray Kroc's motives and business sense. He appears to have talked his way into the business, and then stole it from the brothers. His four guiding principle appear to be nothing more than window dressing, and not the fundamentally held beliefs that he claimed them to be.

Further, researching the Ronald MacDonald Houses Charity was very diffucult. Mainly because I can see no connection between the company and that first House in Philly. None of the available literature state when the company became involved in the House. Did the football player contact them for money at the start? Did they take over the running of the house once it had begun? Did they simply realise that it would he helpful to say that they are a nice, friendly, charitable organisation, rather than a harsh, mercenary, union-hating one, and so grabbed the House? I have no idea. I tried to hunt down this information, but it requires investigative skills beyond my own to find it. It seems evident that the original idea for that House in Philly did *not* come from the company. But I could not find the point at which they became involved in it. You do get the impression of mouths being closed with a financial sealant. All deeply frustating.

Okay, this post has become more of a rant than I intended it to be. But you see how much I was biting my tongue in order to remain objective in the entry?


Geggs

I don't doubt it was aproblem

I can't answer the stuff about the Houses, but I know that Shlosser deals quite extensively with the founding of the MaccyD's empire in his book, and how Kroc and the brothers started out.