Ciao!

I don't like Big Macs, but you did create a craving for a whopper. Interesting about the "help" not "serve" . In the spanish commercial .. (Since I never saw a McDs com in Bolivia) did they say "avudar" or "Servir" ? I remember Enrique saying that McDs tried to get kids to work at McDs ... but like you stated this is not normal nor accepted tradition.

I strongly support american corporations such as McDs, Starbucks and Nike to do more PR work and change the perception of american MNCs in conservative islamic countries.

What happens if such companies show commercials that have, say, a Muslim woman working at the counter with her tudung (headscarf)? Commericals with Muslims and caucasians chatting and working together? Or ads of women bosses and male employees? Or commercials that show a biracial couple? Ads such as these would reveal a different angle and perhaps change some old beliefs.

you should send this to someone over at the headquarters at McDonalds. they might appreciate it. good comments, I agree with you completely. I never thought about it like that.

i'm glad you are enjoying your last month here miguel! getting in one last 'burger' while you can...
now. you can have all my burgers as well if you wish. i am one of the few people in america who don't go to mcdonalds. i haven't been to one in 9 years. just a personal choice before i was vegetarian.
i read somewhere, i could be wrong so don't be too mad!, that only 4% of americans don't go to mcdonalds at least once a year.
it is far cheaper to get a bigmac value meal rather than an organic pita wrap...
but still.

um, Miguel, that was the stupidest thing i ever read...in a blog.
love ali

Sam
Yeah, why not? I will write to the headquarters and hear what they say. Thanks!

As much as McDonalds may be a genuine example of what's good and wholesome in the USA, it is certainly not considered that in Western Europe. Actually I think McDonalds is one of the worst ambassadors the USA could have. While for instance Coca Cola is considered to be somewhat hip and cool, McDonalds (at least here in Western Europe) is usually considered to represent everything that's 'wrong' with the USA. If you ask the average Western European what comes to mind when he thinks about McDonalds, it would probably be words like: "cheap", "shallow", "obese", "no culture", "no taste".
And McDonalds does a very good job at strengthening our opinion that all Americans are fat because hamburgers is really all they ever eat.

Now don't get me wrong: of course this is a very biased opinion and Western Europeans are quite hypocritical in that they do often eat at McDonalds (or there wouldn't be so many here). Also I personally don't believe all this crap (although I do think that in general the fact that in the Netherlands we pack our own lunch and in the USA you'll usually grap some fast-food has something to do with the higher percentage of obesity in the USA). I think McDonalds is a decent company (although I prefer Burger King) and I eat there from time to time.
All I'm saying is that if there is anything that Europeans love to use to proof that they're more culturally refined than Americans it is McDonalds.

Now I continuously talk about Western Europe because in Eastern Europe (at least before the fall of the Berlin Wall), McDonalds is usually seen as a symbol of Freedom and people are much more enthousiastic about it.

And that's my whole point. Sure, McDonald's isn't "culture" the way Opera is "culture" (then again, isn't that somewhat elitist?). And I think McDonald's is pretty rotten food for the most part. But in much of the world (like in East Europe), it's still a symbol of freedom (for better or worse).

But my point was really only focused on what simple thing: McDonald's promotes some idea of egalitarianism between worker and customer. Now, that's clearly not the reality of it (and I'll readily admit that). But if you're a young Latin American who desperately wants to be "more American" -- and you see McDonald's ads that promote this idea that people who work at McDonald's aren't just stupid poor brutish peasants w/ no dignity -- it can be quite an impact. Essentially, it tends to say this: "You want to act like Americans? Stop treating your waiter like shit."

I remember reading an essay that had this great line: "Only in America do you call a waiter 'Sir' as if he were your equal."

To be honest in Western Europe working at McDonalds isn't really considered a premium job and usually only people that can get nothing better work there. At the same time, hypocritical and untrue as it may be, the people that eat at McDonalds aren't really considered upper class either. So in the eyes of a Western European naturally there is equality at McDonalds because the people that eat there and work there are both lower class.

But I'm sure this idea of promoting equality does work well in South America or Eastern Europe during the communist era. At that time McDonalds was cool, McDonalds was freedom, working at McDonalds was an honor and eating there a privilege. I've seen the lines for the only McDonalds restaurant in Budapest, Hungary before the fall of the Wall.

By the way, I always address a waiter in the Netherlands as 'sir' and use the formal form of "you" (in Dutch we have two forms, just like French, German or Spanish). If McDonalds helps promote this idea in other parts of the world, I'm all for it.

Yeah, I'm sure McDonald's is viewed completely differently in Western Europe than in Latin America. In the US, too, most people who work at McDonald's are "lower class" and most people who eat there (at least regularly) are, too. But in Latin America, McDonald's is someplace where rich people eat. It's falls in line w/ all the "Americanized" behavior of the upper classes. So, sure, it's vulgar in some respects. But the ads still convey that message.

I'm glad you call your waiters "sir" (rather than the dismissive "garçon"). In Spanish, a waiter is called "moso" (also a dismissive term).

Actually, in France a waiter is not called "garcon" anymore, but simply "monsieur" or "madame". Unfortunately, this important change has not really made his way to all high school text books yet, sometimes leading to embarrasing situations when foreigners visit France.