McDonalds is an Embassy for the USA - Official

Do you get fries with that?

Not really sure what to make of this. Many McDonalds restaurants have difficulty getting my order right when all I want is a quarter pounder without ketchup. Are they really up to passing on information for processing emergency passport renewals? And apparently you still have to go to the embassy/consulate.

Probably the assistance consists of a print-out with telephone numbers, email contact info, embassy location, etc., all of which can certainly be useful to the hapless American tourist.

Now if the government would just outsource FEMA to an organization that has shown itself to be more capable of providing relief in the immediate aftermath of a disaster-Walmart.

Nice. McDonald's to the rescue - covering all food groups in the Happy Meal, plus a little souvenir toy while assisting getting help with documents. Sounds good.

I'm still mad at McDonalds for just about getting rid of their $1-$2-$3 menu two weeks ago. I can eat at a decent sit down restaurant for what they now want for a Big Mac meal. But we do hit them up for the $1 large Iced Tea.

Do you get fries with that?

Post of the day!

I'm still mad at McDonalds for just about getting rid of their $1-$2-$3 menu two weeks ago

Ha! Some McD's still have the 'dollar menu' and other deals. It depends on who owns the restaurant - Corporate or a franchise owner. Some franchise owners can set their own prices or deals, but try to keep in line with Corporate stores. I think the ongoing deal now is 2 for $5. I think a while ago, McD's had 4 for $4. Some even have Happy Meal deals for kids $1.99 on certain days and/or certain times. They have increased a lot of the "value meal" prices though.

There a McD's everywhere, so they have their advert signs enticing customers.

Re Value Menus - some fast food places have the menus but make it hard to find or see them. At Sonic's I feel like I need binoculars to read the value menu.

I find McDonald's overseas menu's fascinating. The things they offer that we don't get here are unique.

David, I had that unpleasant experience last week. I don't go to McDonald's for a real meal, but a few times a year I liked to have the $1 burger or small fries as a great snack when doing errands. At least one of the McDonald's I went to had the slushie!

Back to the topic at hand - do any of our Austrian friends know anything about this - for example do they only give the phone number, or do they have some sort of hand-out, or perhaps do anything else?

I wonder if this is a trial run and if it works there perhaps the US folks have some plan to roll it out elsewhere?

As an American in Austria, I’m aware of this idea as it’s made the rounds in our community. I think this idea applies to tourists, not to those of us who live here and have resources. All of us living here know the Embassy well and our needs are met. Looking forward to see if McDonalds is on offer at the 4th of July party this year. Normally the burgers are grilled on site.

I spotted this on a number of news sources. They all appear to be reporting this post on the Embassy's Facebook page. There is no more info than in that source: https://www.facebook.com/USEmbVienna/photos/a.114538390993/10156264425575994/?type=3

My immediate thoughts: What training are McDonald's staff to get? Is it now a requirement that McDonald's staff al speak English? It is not the best paid job if you are an English speaker.

according to the website Chris shares, all they will be capable of doing is helping you contact the embassy/consulate. Nothing indicates they are going to do any paperwork for you, or act as an official representative of the US government, i.e., making inherently governmental decisions. That would be illegal.