McDonald's apologizes for notice banning homeless people at outlet

The new sign states that entry will be refused to those deemed likely to “cause trouble to other customers, such as by making a rumpus with loud voices, sleeping and having poor hygiene”

That pretty much describes the entire MacDonald's clientele. And I'll believe it when I see them refuse entry to high school girls.

The new sign states that entry will be refused to those deemed likely to “cause trouble to other customers, such as by making a rumpus with loud voices, sleeping and having poor hygiene”.

Does that include staff with missing teeth due to poor or lack of dental hygiene as well?

Pot-kettle-black Mikky D's....you ain't perfect in the long run and should be ashamed for this as well!

I think they have gone the wrong way about it and made it quite prejudice. All the had to do was set a time limit on table use of 45 mins to an hour. That would filter out the squatters pretty quick.

Different words. Same substance. Gawd people are stupid.

Sudden corporate downsizing and the disappearance of lifetime employment has created an underclass of men in late middle-age who find themselves virtually unemployable.

Nonsense, the largest percentage of homeless in Japan are the same as they are in America, either mentally ill, or alcoholics. Older men who need work can find it, just look at whoever is driving the next time you take a taxi, or take a look at the number of older men working at construction sites.

I'm glad McDonalds changed this. It shows someone up there has some decency. The homeless are treated very poorly here, despite making huge efforts to live as normal a life as they can, creating homes out of plastic and cardboard, hard at work trying to get a few bob collecting recyclables before most of us are up. A lot of the homeless are mentally disabled, and god help them, for society won't, and they cannot help themselves.

@Yubaru-san Mac has been losing business in USA. Anyone paying money, it should serve gladly.. Fresh to see your enjoyable comment !

McDonald’s where you can relax for a long time for a 100 yen per cup of coffee sure is an oasis for the necessitous. But as a private company basically it's at the discretion of the store which customers they choose.(if there is reasonable cause).

Grubby company. They should be happy to get ANY customers. The "food" is dreadful - probably the worst to be inflicted upon Japan.

Student of mine spent a year in the UK. We were talking about McDs, and I asked her if she'd noticed any differences between the Fukuoka version and the Cardiff version. "You don't get people injecting heroin in the Fukuoka stores" was the answer.

Just as any restaurant or retail store can legally implement certain dress codes, McDonald's is completely within its right to bar entry to anyone it chooses (of course, except for racial, gender, etc reasons). The way they choose to word their signs is simply a matter of being rude or civil.

If I owned a store, I would not hesitate in refusing entry to homeless people and / or "riff-raff". McDonald's is a business, not a service! How would you feel letting someone into your premises who probably hasn't showered in years? Not to mention the illness? As slight as they may be, there are already various government-funded initiatives that feed the homeless (take Ueno Park, for example). Convenience stores in Tokyo throw out an average of ¥15,000 worth of unsold food products a day - how about starting there?

I've worked in hospitality for over 10 years, and this would not go down well with the health inspectors. Not to sound too cynical, but you have to put the paying customers first!

Here's a proposal for McDonald's: Put a touchscreen at the entrance and ask each customer to confirm that they are not a homeless just the way you are asked to confirm you are over 20 when buying sake at a Lawson.

sighclopsNov. 02, 2013 - 09:22AM JST If I owned a store, I would not hesitate in refusing entry to homeless people and / or "riff-raff". McDonald's is a business, not a service! How would you feel letting someone into your premises who probably hasn't showered in years? Not to mention the illness?

With all due respect, homeless does not mean lacking in self-respect. Many of the homeless people I saw in Tokyo were virtually indistinguishable from others until they pulled a blanket out of a bag and began laying it out on a sheltered bit of street. This is the problem with this notice, it confuses "Homeless" with "dirty, diseased, loud, mad, etc.". It is nothing more than a prejudiced stereotype and is inherently discriminatory.

I'd also remind everyone that many of the homeless in Tokyo at the moment are refugees from Fukushima who went to the big city (Tokyo) looking for work and found that in Japan if your registered address is in Fukushima no-one wants to employ you, for precisely the same prejudiced reasons, they think everyone from Fukushima glows in the dark.

I do, agree that it is up to the store owners to decide who they admit, just like it is up to me who I let into my house. This is Japan after all, where "No foreigners" signs can still be seen.

"the homeless are not an uncommon sight in Japanese cities."

I see them every day around the train stations and the city office.

They can't ban homeless people. They eat McDonalds sandwiches also.

@sighclops:

Not to sound too cynical, but you have to put the paying customers first!

Homeless people can't be paying customers? I'm quite sure they can be and are.

I once complained to McDonalds HQ about high school kids who hang out in a particular branch after school and smoke on the premises, which is illegal. The branch put up signs for a while, but the ban appeared to hit their business so they took them down and now we're back to square one. I often see people sleeping at McDonalds' tables, but then, I see people sleeping practically everywhere in this country, and the ones who are awake don't look that alert either.

I'd rather be homeless than heartless. Heartless is more profitable.

This is the problem with this notice, it confuses "Homeless" with "dirty, diseased, loud, mad, etc.". It is nothing more than a prejudiced stereotype and is inherently discriminatory.

Uh....I think its a bit more than a stereotype. Just because you saw a guy pull a blanket out of a bag does not mean he was homeless. I was slept on a park bench waiting for the next train. I was not homeless.

Everybody knew what the sign meant. It meant bums, which is what most homeless people are. That is how Japanese use the term "homeless", they mean bum. A guy with a job living in his car who showered regular would not be phased by the sign.

This is nothing more than a change in semantics and not policy. A filthy unkempt bum with good money in his hand will still be turned away. One who just lumbered in and crawled into a booth for a nap would be tossed out.

after it was revealed one of its outlets had posted a notice banning homeless people for more than a year.

So, after more than a year, homeless were allowed to enter the outlet?

With all due respect, homeless does not mean lacking in self-respect.

I agree, but...I object to the Japanese objection to "houmuressu." Living in a cardboard box under a park bench? I'm sorry to have to break it to you, but you are homeless.

McDonald's has the right to refuse entry to people whose personal hygiene is a problem for others - homeless or not. My local izakaya often has men in working gear covered in paint and oil and their body odour can be a serious issue in summer. I'm not being snobbish here. I'm a grease monkey by trade but always had a good shower and scrub before going for a pint or meal. I could also mention the questionable hygiene of some of the men at my place of work. Not all homeless conform to the unhygienic stereotype, and this apology was necessary.

Not all homeless are disgusting, It takes one person to ruin it for everyone as they say. I'm glad someone finally said something to McDonalds about it. Honestly everyone should treat each other with respect and dignaity, because you have no clue what theyre going through.

Why did they try to alienate half of the target audience....?

Maybe McD wants to sanitize its customers with ammonium hydroxide (commonly used to clean floors) as it does with its beef.

(of course, except for racial, gender, etc reason)

im pretty sure in japan they can ban you for racial reasons

I have seen McDonald's outlets in major city hubs that attract the homeless. Some of them are difficult to pick out as they dress quite well, but they seem to "live" there. If you like sitting beside such people, then feel free to do so. As for me, I try to find a more suitable seat somewhere else in the establishment.

I wonder if any of the people objecting to the sign have ever gotten on a train with a homeless person in one of the carriages.

If you have, then I would think that you'd understand the reason behind the sign. One homeless person and the smell they carry with them can clear out a whole carriage, and part of both carriages on either side.

I wonder if any of the people objecting to the sign have ever gotten on a train with a homeless person in one of the carriages. If you have, then I would think that you'd understand the reason behind the sign. One homeless person and the smell they carry with them can clear out a whole carriage, and part of both carriages on either side.

Batakusai na gaikokujin da.