A McDonalds In Crisis

The Tonopah sunset was approaching, so I stopped at McDonalds for a bite to eat.

I was struck at first by the absence of customers, and then the smudged windows. Odd. Inside, it was blazing hot: a broken air conditioner and the absence of blinds had turned the the glass box building into an oven. Propped-open doors barely helped. The bathroom was non-functional too. This clearly was a McDonalds in crisis.

Food was nevertheless being served, by a small, stressed staff. The clerk misentered my $20 as $10 into the cash register. He was very worried that his till would be off, but his superiors assured him repeatedly that, as long as he gave me the proper change, everything would still be OK.

I wonder what happened here? The location is good - comparatively lots of traffic, and it's located near the high school. But something was amiss....

Reminds me of a standoff I once witnessed at a Las Vegas McDonalds, located in the basement of a Strip casino (since replaced), about 1986. There had been a labor shortage that year, and everyone on the graveyard shift was mentally-challenged, with the exception of the manager. A show had just ended, and a wave of demanding, rude customers began hurling abuse at the slow service. Wounded, the staff rebelled, and refused to give service. There was nearly a riot! I saluted the rebellious staff!

Here. who knows?

[Update here]