Burger King

June 8, 2023

To Whom It May Concern:

I often drive by the local Burger King located at 165 Main Street in South Paris, Maine and wonder why it does not have the volume of traffic the competition has less than 300 feet North on the same street. I learned June 7th why and am sharing my findings. Rewinding to approximately 1220 hours on that Wednesday I had taken 10 Firefighter candidates to their skills test that morning and we had successfully completed the testing with all candidates completing 100% of their rigorous test. The group of young adults were sore, exhausted, and famished. It was decided Burger King would be our destination to quench our hunger; A decision I now regret. I was welcomed by a young man who recognized me as ‘Chief’ and was well aware of why we were making the stop. Darren had also attended the technical school a few years past and recognized a young lady he knew that was currently enrolled and exchanged pleasantries. I had shared our success story and he seemed pleased and congratulated the group and thanked them for their commitment to public service. In conversation I asked if the public service discount was still in effect. At this juncture he had to ask a supervisor. This is where things deteriorated rapidly and I felt horrible for the response he received. He was belittled and spoken to in a manner I find unacceptable. This supervisor said quite loudly in front of my candidates and the other patrons “ You are an embarrassment – you are embarrassing yourself and me- discounts only apply to on duty in uniform customers- I will give a 10 % discount just because”. There was no need of this outburst on her behalf; Everyone in the building could clearly hear her and were made to feel awkward. My stomach turned and suddenly I no longer was craving the famous onion rings with a Bacon Jr. I told the supervisor I was not at all pleased with how she handled the situation and asked if I could speak with someone else. She pointed to the door and stated “There is a number posted on the door you can call” I did not expect that however instructed my fire fighters to find a seat and eat. I went to the exterior of the building and found the decal she referenced. That proved not to be helpful and I found myself in a continual loop and was directed to www.mybkexperience.com. In short, myself and ten others have concluded the South Paris Burger King does not have the volume of customers due to unprofessional and inappropriate interactions on the part of those managing.

Respectfully submitted,

Jon Longley, National Fire Instructor- Region 9 Maine

[protected]@region9school.org