A shout out to McDonalds

As a wedding photographer, we usually get to eat quite well…we have REALLY long days and most of my clients appreciate that myself and my fantastic second shooter may need some food during the day.  And on the whole, most caterers supply food for all the suppliers at the wedding.  It’s hardly ever an issue, so much so that I have often considered removing that particular clause from my contract.

Jane and I were shooting at the most perfect wedding recently (I won’t say when or where and I won’t mention the caterers name…although I may leave some crumbs for you to follow if you so wish) and although we had started very early, we were still running on a huge high at 7pm, when all the guests had started to eat.

We waited patiently for the caterers to finish feeding the guests the main course…and we continued to wait and wait and wait until I asked if we were going to be fed?  The person in charge came back to explain that this ‘professional’ catering company had actually ran out of food and there was nothing for us to eat, not even bread rolls.

I have had the absolute privilege to shoot huge budget weddings and some small budget weddings, and never have we not been fed…and never has the bride and bride’s maid felt the need to go to the main house and retrieve some sandwiches for us to eat, because the catering company did not have enough food to feed us.  I was so annoyed at the caterers that I actually gave the sandwiches back to them so that THEY could feed their team.

Looking back, this wasn’t the wisest move as it left me very hungry at 12:00 am on my 3 hour journey home.

I spotted the McDonalds sign in the distance, and although I almost never eat fast food…I was SO prepared to make an exception on this night.I entered the restaurant, dragging my camera case behind me and asked for a burger.  The guy behind the counter looked at me and explained that they had closed for the evening and had cashed up and could NOT sell me a burger.

I thanked him and turned away…he then explained that he couldn’t SELL me a burger but he was prepared to GIVE me a burger.

This guy, working behind a McDonalds, at 12:00 AM on a Saturday night on a main road somewhere in West Sussex, showed me more kindness, more professionalism, and more understanding than a team of ‘professional wedding’ caterers could earlier in the evening in a plush marquee sitting in the gorgeous grounds of a huge farmhouse.

So my shout out really does go out to McDonalds!  And their team training program.  My only hope is that the caterers decide to read my blog post and maybe look at ways that THEY can improve their customer experience too.

The burger by the way was excellent!  Just what I needed to make the journey home more bearable and safer.  Well done McDonalds and thank you.  It was ‘just’ a burger to you, but to me, it made ALL the difference.