In the evening we made it to Lucerne, and took a little walk. Garik told us about a vandal who set fire to the medieval paintings on the wooden bridge. Hard to say what displeased him about the paintings — for some reason, they mostly depict skeletons doing everyday chores, like sowing fields.
Then fate dragged us into a McDonald's, unfortunately. It wasn't enough that it's a haven of rather vile exploitation, the gold standard of disgusting fast food, and a wretched standardized joint without a hint of imagination. On top of that, the salad I ordered in an attempt to somehow lead a healthy lifestyle was insanely cold. First bite, second bite — and then I straight up bit into ice! A tomato in ice, the "iceberg" lettuce living up to its name, and so on.
As a result, for the first time in my life, I went to demand a refund. Having them remake the salad no longer suited me — I'm too big of a fast food hater, and especially of its icon.
Meanwhile, we had to catch a train, and all this needed to be done at a waltz tempo. Fat chance! The cashier first finished his own business, then called the manager. The guy was a head shorter than me, but fought for those 8 francs like a lion. "This salad is five degrees Celsius, that's how it should be. Look, the (vegan) patty is hot, the salad is cold. That's the dish!" I say back to him: "A salad with ice?"
I was very, very pissed off, just from the fact that I was left hungry, and from the very fact of visiting McD's, and I had absolutely no patience left to listen to this nonsense too.
In the end, he kept the dough for the Coke Zero I drank, and gave me 7 francs for the salad in coins, even though I'd paid by card. And even during the refund process, he kept on arguing.
Later, my friend, whom I'm staying with, told me that McD's in Switzerland is the absolute bottom of the barrel, and there's hardly anything to be surprised about here. Nevertheless: in the US, they would've given me the cash back with absolutely no questions asked, and they sure as hell wouldn't have been so petty as to keep the money for the Coke. More likely the opposite, they would have thrown something else in for free.
Our other guys, who had left earlier than us, ended up chowing down on an excellent kebab for less money.
Later on the train, I read the reviews for this McDonald's, at least cheered myself up a bit.
"Food scraps and Coke on the floor", "Reeks of feces", "They constantly mix up orders, the staff is rude", "The manager talks to the employees like slaves in front of customers" and things like that.
Never again will I set foot in a McDonald's, except maybe to use the toilet. That's the only thing it's good for.
Lucerne
