Northbrooklyn is the pen name of an elementary science teacher who occasionally posts here. She wrote the following note to Mac Donald's:
I just finished a unit of study at my elementary school on the food pyramid recently developed by the Harvard Medical School. Many of the students in my school have a McDonalds meal as an afternoon snack or dinner every day.
When I asked them about the meal or snack, they said they usually had the hamburger, a soda and a small french fry. They also said they got a toy. In general, this group of children are obese.
When I asked them if they would order the salad or fruit entre if they also got the toy; 2/3s of them said they would the have the salad or fruit entre. It would be a very good idea if your company offered the toy [or even a better toy] if a child ordered the salad or fruit entre.
Regards-
Northbrooklyn
Here's the reply she received:
Hello Northbrooklyn:
Thank you for contacting McDonald's recently with your idea for a product or service that you believe would be of interest to us. We appreciate your interest in McDonald's, but it is our company's policy not to consider unsolicited ideas from outside the McDonald's system.
It's not that great ideas cannot come from people outside of McDonald's. Each year, however, McDonald's receives thousands of unsolicited ideas and proposals for products and services from individuals as well as companies. Because of the volume of unsolicited ideas and the difficulty of sorting out what is truly a "new" idea as opposed to a concept that has already been considered or developed by McDonald's, we must adhere to a strict policy of not reviewing any unsolicited ideas that come from outside the McDonald's family of employees, franchisees and approved suppliers. We realize that we may be missing out on a few good ideas, but we have had to adopt this policy for legal and business reasons.
As a result, we must decline your invitation to review your submission and hope you understand the reasons for this decision.
Again, thank you for thinking of McDonald's.
McDonald's Customer Response Center
Personally, I find it awful that they categorically reject ideas from consumers, who are their life-blood. I suppose, though, that by admitting this policy, they discourage further communication. Northbrooklyn is now trying to share this story with consumer reporters, to whom MacDonald's will have to respond.
I never take my daughter to MacDonald's, no matter how much she asks. She's resigned herself to living without those particular greasy burgers and flimsy toys. If only another hundred million parents felt the same, we'd really have something.
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