McDonald's Sued Over Nude Photos

[Chronojam 3]

Since there was no comment from the manager or the staff, how the **** do you know they even had it? Also, stop trying to defend their stupidity. You just do not leave something like that on something you can so easily lose. End of ******* story, next ******* case.

 

I don't lose my phone for one thing, mine auto-locks after being idle as do most new phones so there is little excuse for these morons now. If it's new enough to hold pictures, it's new enough to be set to auto-lock.

 

OH YEAH! Call our carrier! Why didn't we think of that?! Idiot.

Oh and the difference this couple and my brother is simple - he didn't have anything worth taking on his phone. He's not a dip****.

I'm giving the couple the benefit of the doubt and trusting the news stories to have confirmed beyond their sense of doubt that the reports stating the couple contacted the manager regarding the phone, and he in turn alleged he would keep is in safekeeping, are accurate. You're so fast to write this off without actually looking at it, and now you're somehow taking this all with a ... surprisingly personal edge to it.

 

I'm not defending their stupidity. Losing a phone doesn't make you "stupid," people with doctorals lose cell phones just like anybody else. Wouldn't it be far more stupid to not look for the phone, contact places where you might have left it, and just taken it on the cheek when you were effectively backstabbed by somebody you claim there is record of saying they'd protect it? Ideally we'll have to wait and see how this case turns out before we move on to the next one, besides.

 

1. I didn't say you lost your phone, I am fairly sure we were both talking about your brother but correct me if I got confused somewhere.

2. Who says they have the latest-and-greatest phones, mine's from 2 years ago and doesn't auto-lock and even if it did I would disable it. Few if any people I know (aside from Mac trendwhores) regularly upgrade their phones.

3. Lots of people have information worth stealing on their phones, even if it's nothing more than the phone number for their girlfriend or boss.

 

(ps if you don't go around embracing the concepts, phrases, and mannerisms of 4chan... it would be less of a deal altogether)

 

they are humans. they had every right to sue, but it was their own damn fault. they really didn't deserve that kind of money. i mean seriously, $3m to cover the cost of his wife's naked form, a lost phone and some call bills? now i'd understand if his wife was say... sarah michelle gellar or scarlett johansson, or some high level celebrity who has never given naked pictures or footage (notice scarlett doesn't really apply for that...) heck, even paris hilton could sue for that and she helped spread her own sex tapes all over o-O

 

Give me a break. You've got entirely the wrong perspective on this entire thing.

Edited November 29, 2008 by Chronojam

[Doctor Destiny 41]

You're so fast to write this off without actually looking at it, and now you're somehow taking this all with a ... surprisingly personal edge to it.

It's things like this that continually drive product cost upward. No one stops to think what this actually does to a company, and then to everyone else has to suffer because someone was stupid enough to leave nudie pictures on a phone.

 

I'm not defending their stupidity. Losing a phone doesn't make you "stupid," people with doctorals lose cell phones just like anybody else.

It's not the phone losing that's the issue here. It's the contents of the phone and leaving it there. I'd have a look and delete it so in the event I did lose a phone, nothing really bad happens outside of a few obscene phone calls.

 

Wouldn't it be far more stupid to not look for the phone, contact places where you might have left it, and just taken it on the cheek when you were effectively backstabbed by somebody you claim there is record of saying they'd protect it? Ideally we'll have to wait and see how this case turns out before we move on to the next one, besides.

Why should they be awarded $3 million for this? This ain't worth that kind of money.

 

1. I didn't say you lost your phone, I am fairly sure we were both talking about your brother but correct me if I got confused somewhere.

We were but only briefly.

 

2. Who says they have the latest-and-greatest phones, mine's from 2 years ago and doesn't auto-lock and even if it did I would disable it. Few if any people I know (aside from Mac trendwhores) regularly upgrade their phones.

I don't upgrade my phone very often either. My current one isn't even sold any more and it's advanced enough to hold images and auto-lock. If mine can, so can theirs.

 

3. Lots of people have information worth stealing on their phones, even if it's nothing more than the phone number for their girlfriend or boss.

But would that be worth millions? No. Hardly.

 

(ps if you don't go around embracing the concepts, phrases, and mannerisms of 4chan... it would be less of a deal altogether)

Astonishingly, they make a half decent point most of the time.

[Chronojam 3]

It costs McDonald's 47 cents to make the chicken sandwiches they sell for around five bucks, so don't give me any of that "product price" ******** when they're making that kind of profit margin. And you'd realize where the 3 million figure comes from if you had any familiarity with this facet of law, and read what resulted from all of this. The fact we're sitting here talking about it, cleraly enough, proves that this family will now be known as the "Nude McDonalds Phone People." Arguably that might impact everything from interviewing for a job to applying for a loan.

 

The fact they are suing McDonald's itself, the franchise operation company, AND the manager for such a high amount is because that's how you "play the game." You don't approach these things saying "Hey, that cost me precisely $_____ and I'd like it if you said sorry and paid up." You attempt to go for quite a large amount and demand somebody accept responsibility, from the on-the-ground management up to the parent company. When you go after a company like McDonalds, you need to come to the table realizing they have their own strong legal representation, huge amounts of international income, and will likely want to just settle with you out of court in exchange for a much lower amount of money... saving everybody the legal fees, and sparing the franchise operator of the hassle/stigma.

 

Even when you go in to buy a new car, you never agree to pay the price displayed up front; you definitely low-ball the hell out of it and work your way up. In the end when they most likely DO settle out of court, it will end up stripping that RISK of a $3 million lawsuit finishing unfavorably, and save them a fair share in legal maneuvering and time spent going through the system. Following this? They're NOT going to get $3 million; I doubt that they'd be awarded that much unless they actually went to court and then displayed a critical arrogance of accepting zero responsibility and downplaying the issue similarly to how some posters here have ("Oh, they're not even celebrities! And if they were in business they'd be failures!").

 

I think the issue is that people just don't "get it" so I hoped I've helped to clear it all up. I'll admit I'm not sure how the legal process typically goes down on other continents but I'm sure you've got a similar setup; you pass the buck to the highest point on the responsibility ladder that you can (McD's), threaten with the highest amount so they'll feel the sting and want to settle ($3m), and then handle it out of court to get both damages-incurred and some punitive bonus (the actual cost of relocating, the phone charges, and a little extra to make the legal hassle worth their while and send a message to people who **** up).

[Nmenth 291]

The fact we're sitting here talking about it, cleraly enough, proves that this family will now be known as the "Nude McDonalds Phone People." Arguably that might impact everything from interviewing for a job to applying for a loan.

It is absurd that you would say this.

Allowing their phone to be stolen and nude pictures exposed made them embarrassed in their town.

Suing McDonalds because of it is what made them the latest laughing stock of the world.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

It costs McDonald's 47 cents to make the chicken sandwiches they sell for around five bucks, so don't give me any of that "product price" ******** when they're making that kind of profit margin.

You're a tard. I doubt you know how much it costs to make one, and you clearly have no idea that most sandwiches are sold for under $3 except for the doubles. Even still, they don't make that much when they have to pay their employees and if this couple gets millions for being dumb, everyone else has to suffer for the company to recuperate its losses.

 

And you'd realize where the 3 million figure comes from if you had any familiarity with this facet of law, and read what resulted from all of this. The fact we're sitting here talking about it, cleraly enough, proves that this family will now be known as the "Nude McDonalds Phone People." Arguably that might impact everything from interviewing for a job to applying for a loan.

IT SHOULD HAVE AN EFFECT! This makes them a risk. If I lost a phone with nudie pictures or vital secrets, should I be looked at the same as someone who has not? No. Why? I AM A HUGE RISK. Additionally, it provides a simple lesson - don't leave things on a phone you don't want someone else to see. At the very least, lock your phone.

 

You don't approach these things saying "Hey, that cost me precisely $_____ and I'd like it if you said sorry and paid up."

What makes them deserving of more money? There are lots of people who sue companies for the exact amount it costed them for hospital time or lost wages. But you never hear about them since they're all sensible people and not just greedy ****s trying to pass their buck for their own dumbassery.

[Chronojam 3]

You're a tard. I doubt you know how much it costs to make one, and you clearly have no idea that most sandwiches are sold for under $3 except for the doubles. Even still, they don't make that much when they have to pay their employees and if this couple gets millions for being dumb, everyone else has to suffer for the company to recuperate its losses.

 

 

IT SHOULD HAVE AN EFFECT! This makes them a risk. If I lost a phone with nudie pictures or vital secrets, should I be looked at the same as someone who has not? No. Why? I AM A HUGE RISK. Additionally, it provides a simple lesson - don't leave things on a phone you don't want someone else to see. At the very least, lock your phone.

 

 

What makes them deserving of more money? There are lots of people who sue companies for the exact amount it costed them for hospital time or lost wages. But you never hear about them since they're all sensible people and not just greedy ****s trying to pass their buck for their own dumbassery.

Forgive me if I still get the feeling you're taking this all a bit too personally. Do you have family that owns a stake in McDonalds?

 

The reason I quoted 47 cents as the cost-to-make is because that is the cost at a US establishment where a friend of mine worked, and the reason I cited a five dollar price point is because I honestly hate McDonalds and am glad I don't well know how much any of their food costs or tastes; I do fly a lot though, and while airport pricing is often 50% greater than typical franchise pricing, sometimes it's the only food you can get. How much is soda there these days? Purchased in a supermarket, you're still paying well more for the packaging than the product whereas fast food establishments purchase bulk syrup in cheap polybags instead.

 

So hey, even if they only tripled their money on every single purchase for every single item internationally, with the sheer volume of sales they somehow achieve it would not matter worth a damn, would it? They boast openly about their sales volume, putting it up on their signs. A lot of their employees in the US are not making much more than government mandated minumum wage, which is about the total retail price of let's say two meals per hour. If you honestly believe this is going to ripple on down to the international or national public as a price increase, you've either bought into the same corporate fear mongering that claims piracy has made PC gaming an unprofitable industry, or you just don't understand how these things work.

 

I'm highly getting the feeling that you don't understand how any of this works, and you're just getting angrier/louder to compensate. That, or you have some stake in this.

[Nmenth 291]

I don't see how the wealth of McDonalds is relevant. Does owning a lot of money mean you are more deserving to be sued? You mention hating McDonalds and accuse DD of personal feelings? Seems your words are indicating otherwise. I too, hate McDonalds, haven't eating their greasy lard cakes in a very long time, but that doesn't mean these stupid people should get to take $3 million from them. Or $1 million. My previously pointed out observance that the couple is even more famous for suing McDonalds than they were via scandalous pictures just proves they are hypocrites.

[Chronojam 3]

I don't see how the wealth of McDonalds is relevant.

Of course you don't.

[Nmenth 291]

Of course you don't.

A sound argument, I guess you've bested me and exposed the errors of my perception.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Of course you don't.

Oh so you're theory is that rich companies are allowed to be sued. I get it now.

[Chronojam 3]

Thanks for arbitrarily making up "my are" theory to suit your need to have a strawman, instead of actually getting things straight from my earlier post.

 

But really, look how slow you are. Then look at my long post up there. I know it's a lot of words but I'm sure you can manage. You can both go ahead and try to pretend like I didn't already explain things, but anybody reasonable would've already seen it before scrolling down to see your reactions. The core problem is that you DON'T see how things pertain to this case, and you just quickly write them off with an air of arrogance and a flip of the hand. No amount of explanation on my part can change your perception here, you just don't "get" things that you have to already understand in order to make sense of this whole situation. I'm sorry, it's like I'm trying to explain that 2x3=6 and you're upset because you know that 2+3=5 and simply laugh at the fact I tilted the + sign on you and therefore clearly must be the wrong one.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

You're guilty of the same thing you're saying we're guilty of, you douche. NO ONE is saying that this isn't a ****** thing to have happen and no one says that they should take it on the chin so to speak. WE'RE saying that McDonald's the company should not be held responsible for one store's ineptitude, and one couple's greediness. It's THE STORE and THE COUPLE who should be held accountable, PERIOD. Give them what they lost and end it; that is all they should even be entitled to.

 

Besides, whoever said the couple gained more fame from suing instead of the pictures is right. Suing gets headlines, nudie pictures on the web do not.

[Nmenth 291]

Besides, whoever said the couple gained more fame from suing instead of the pictures is right. Suing gets headlines, nudie pictures on the web do not.

That was me, so nice of you to remember.

 

Anyway, Chronojam, to say that we can't see your point is purely wrong, we are debating your points and you are merely restating them. We want you to tell us why our arguments aren't valid, not just why yours are. Because, frankly, your views seem pretty arrogant to me.

[Mina Synd 0]

note; for the lazy readers there is a quick sum-up at the bottom. feel free to ignore my ramblings x3

 

 

i notice DD has resorted to his insulting opponents stage xD;

but yah chrono, you're siding with the couple too much. did they deserve to sue? yes. to some extent. THEY put the pictures on the phone and THEY left it there. but someone in that store between it being left and between it being picked up stole the photos and put it online. it happened in the store, therefore the store has some responsibility to it, mainly because they said they would look after the phone until it was picked up.

 

but they had no right to sue for that level of money. you said it yourself, that's "how you play the game". let's face it, that isn't worthy of the emotional trauma. that is simply greed. trying to get as much as possible out of them. if they had told McD's they were going to sue for $3m then taken them to court, and halfway through McD's had privately talked to the couple and offered them $2.5m to drop the case and not press further charges, do you not think it would have been a smart thing to do? the couple has still made a heck of a profit. enough to move away from the town and get a bigass house... if they had settled out of court before/quickly enough so it didn't get mass-media attention, no-one would know about this either...

 

therefore the couple WOULDN'T have this character damage which is -now- going to stay with them the rest of their lives. THAT is how you play the game. they were being greedy. a little extra money at the cost of ritual humiliation the rest of their lives. i have no sympathy for them - they were asking for it.

i mean darn, $1m plus all the costs it takes to get a nice big house in a new town and a change of identity and money until they can get jobs there would be more then enough of a consolation for their suffering.

 

on a different issue, let's have a look at some quick little McD's info from wiki (simply because it's close enough to reliable information for this topic, and can't be bothered to search the sources to find the location for the same numbers)

 

Market cap US$ 60.07 billion (2008)

Revenue ▲ US$ 22.79 billion (2007)[2]

Operating income ▼ US$ 3.879 billion (2007)[2]

Net income ▼ US$ 2.359 billion (2007)[2]

Total assets ▲ US$ 29.391 billion (2007)

Total equity ▼ US$ 15.279 billion (2007)

Employees 390,000 (2008)[2]

 

not to mention the 31,000+ stores worldwide...

 

but the fact the net income is a nice big DOWN arrow... with the amount of income a small (probably third world) country has... so yah, they COULD afford the $3m... but the way i understand it, they are losing out on money constantly here... could be wrong. i specialize in games, movies, history and other such things, not so much accountancy terminology... but generally if the bottom line on the monthly money chart is a down arrow you know you got issues...

 

if that is true, this news story is really not going to do anything to aid a failing brand. and although certain people here may dispise their food, i happen to love it with a passion (or at least, i did until they stopped putting salt on the chips. however with the discovery of the chicken select pieces, which are rips of KFC's crispy strips, and the fact you can pick up the little salt packets in store for free, my faith has been pretty much reunited xD)

 

my only complaint is the price of the chicken strips. a five piece meal is EASILY one of, or the most expensive item on the menu, coming in at around £5... (a whole $8 - $10 depending on currency fluctuation! =O)

 

 

 

so yah... to sum it up, the couple was greedy and could have got an insanely high amount of money slightly LESS then in court if they had just settled with McD's privately. they could have avoided the public scandal. therefore sympathy for couple = zero.

[Chronojam 3]

Hey remember the thread just a little while ago where somebody insisted you should be banned for abusive antics? You still haven't learned, you still have your temper, and I'm done talking to somebody who's so incredibly unreasonable and flippantly dismissive of others.

 

I really mean it, I do understand it's a games forum and not an academic convention, but I'm honestly disappointed.

[Duke 0]

Yeah. Ah well, another day, another debate, we'll try again. Cheer up!

 

 

*whistles*

[Julbri 0]

He took the risk of having it on his phone and its not mc d's fault hes to stuipid to manage that risk.

whats with the repetitive arguement, if it needs repeating its not good enough

 

p.s mina thanks for the summury, your posts are huge recently

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Hey remember the thread just a little while ago where somebody insisted you should be banned for abusive antics? You still haven't learned, you still have your temper, and I'm done talking to somebody who's so incredibly unreasonable and flippantly dismissive of others.

 

I really mean it, I do understand it's a games forum and not an academic convention, but I'm honestly disappointed.

I gave you a reasonable response, save for the first line of course, with emphasis on my points and you turn around and act dismissive, then turn around and say the same thing to me! Christ, you're living, breathing hypocrisy. If ever we could embody hypocrisy, it would be Chronojam.

 

Does this count as irony yet? He is entirely dismissive of everything I've said and instead of hitting the arguments, he attacks me. As far as debates go, BlyTwo didn't have a shred of insight but at least he had the good sense to hit the arguments.

[Chronojam 3]

Look chief, you clearly just are just grasping at straws and continuing personal attacks to somehow cement in place whatever you think you've "proven" so far, after I already said I'm done with your ******** (but you've tempted one last reply here). Seriously knock it off, what kind of example are you setting? It's a chronic pattern for you and I'm not the only one here who's noticed it. Bonus points if you call that a personal attack to try to ramp up your can't-hold-water hypocrisy claims, because anybody can just glance through your recent posting history and come to a similar conclusion on their own; I mean, how else can you explain this, just a few posts up--

i notice DD has resorted to his insulting opponents stage xD;

 

By the way, have you ever heard of Aircraftkiller or are you too new around C&C? If you're trying to paint ME as the poster boy for hypocrisy, I'd have to wonder if you ever wandered to see some of the people at say C&C Den in your entire life, or heard of a place called Electronic Arts at all.

[Julbri 0]

Bonus points if you call your personal attack that diverted from topic and boosted this personal battle

I mean, how else can you explain this, just a few posts up--

 

I'm done talking to somebody who's so incredibly unreasonable and flippantly dismissive of others.

 

If your so disappoint then why come on cncnz? or do you just like to start fights?

 

 

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Look chief, you clearly just are just grasping at straws and continuing personal attacks to somehow cement in place whatever you think you've "proven" so far, after I already said I'm done with your ******** (but you've tempted one last reply here). Seriously knock it off, what kind of example are you setting? It's a chronic pattern for you and I'm not the only one here who's noticed it. Bonus points if you call that a personal attack to try to ramp up your can't-hold-water hypocrisy claims, because anybody can just glance through your recent posting history and come to a similar conclusion on their own; I mean, how else can you explain this, just a few posts up--

I like how you accuse me of the same thing and then turn around and act the same way. People like you never cease to amuse me.

 

By the way, have you ever heard of Aircraftkiller or are you too new around C&C? If you're trying to paint ME as the poster boy for hypocrisy, I'd have to wonder if you ever wandered to see some of the people at say C&C Den in your entire life, or heard of a place called Electronic Arts at all.

I know ACK. I used to frequently chat with him, and I'm a fairly active lurker at the Den. So far, no one has qualified for hypocrisy more than you.

 

Accusing me of being a n00b? That's low, even for a useless turd like you. I was around when Eclipse was a great place to be, I was there when the C&C Guild and Origin merged into Revora, I was active on the Den two crashes prior and was active at Dee's place long before it was a n00b heaven. I even remember PPM on entexplode.com and Sleipnir's Stuff when it was paul.chote.net for crying out loud. Before you accuse me of being "new", try to be less pompous. It would help you, it really would. My name may have changed into what it is now but that's all that's changed, just like my opinion of you will never change. You are, forever will be, my posterchild for hypocrisy.

[Duke 0]

Aaannnnnnnnd that's a wrap!

 

Take it outside if you have to. Msn, skype whatever but not here.

 

It's a pity we couldn't even have a decent debate