Burger King
Customer Service

Saturday February 20th I took my son on our first father-son outing to the Motorama event in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. It was a fairly long trip for a 4 year old but he wasn’t totally melted down by the time we arrived at the Agricultural Center on North Cameron Street just off of US 81.

We parked in the Go-Kart parking lot just across the street and headed inside for a full day of looking at cars, watching bicycle demonstrations, as well as plenty of head to head racing in all sorts of different motorsport events. It was a long day for both of us and we wrapped it up around 7:15pm. After a little coaxing on my part we made it out of the building without too much complaining on his part. The moment we pulled out of the parking lot I heard what every parent of a toddler has heard moments after leaving anywhere. “I have to use the potty! ” was the grumble in the back seat, and it couldn’t wait. Luckily for me as soon as I turned out onto North Cameron Street there was a Burger King just past the next stop light. Thank goodness.

I pulled in to the lot, unstrapped his car seat and we made it in before his bladder erupted. Our short pit stop seemed like the perfect time to sit down and have a bite to eat. I had hoped for something a bit better than fast food since we had already had “event” food for lunch but convenience won and we stayed.

The lobby was fairly crowded with other people filing out of the Arena across the street as well as some chatter from a boisterous man talking about his run in with a state trooper that day. After the man in front of me ordered four or five separate meals for his friends still stuck wherever he worked I made my order. The cashier was just about off of her shift and she made it clear that her ride would be rather upset if she couldn’t leave in “a few seconds.” She took my order, forgot to give me my cups, and before my son could decide which toy he wanted we had our order. We would have been in our seats from the counter but had to wait for the manager to get some large lids as there were none next to the soda machine.

My son’s new trick to eating is to have a race so he proceeded to scarf down his food all while telling me to slow down. He was done his fries and half way through his nuggets before I could even have a chance to catch up. It was almost a tie but I had a couple of fries left so he was the clear winner. After a few tries of the newest wind up toy I decided to head off to our hotel for the night. Wesley was tired, I was tired and it had been a long day.

I cleared our table, tossed our bags into the trash and headed out to the parking lot. It was nearly empty. The only cars there were a cab and a minivan with people sitting in it listening to music. My car was gone! Confused, I walked around the front of the restaurant just to be sure I wasn’t losing my mind. Wes was just as confused and was asking where our car was. I didn’t know. I looked on the light post and there was a sign that said all unauthorized cars would be towed to Hutch’s Towing at the owners expense. I was in the restaurant for less than a half an hour. At 8:17pm I called Hutch’s towing on a whim. We were standing outside next to the sign so I could get the phone number off of it. Sure enough they had my car.

Wes was standing next to me in tears. His stuffed dog ‘Bolt’ and both of our overnight bags were in a towing lot somewhere in Harrisburg. I went back inside to confront the manager about why my car had been towed. Steve, the on duty manager, informed me that they had a full lot with no customers earlier in the day and the General Manager had a contract with Hutch’s towing to remove the cars on the lot throughout the day. He told me that they normally announce to the lobby that they are towing out and if anyone is parked out there they should speak up. I had heard no announcement, no one asked me if I was parked on the lot, and yet my car was gone. The voice on the other end of the phone at Hutch’s said they towed out around 8:00pm. I told him I was in the store at that time. He then informed me that his drivers follow strict rules to announce in the lobbies, check the bathrooms and to see if anyone has a car parked before he tows out. If no one speaks up all the cars go. The time on my receipt showed 7:51pm. I was there. The manager said I should show the towing company the receipt and plead that it was towed in error. He, however, would not call and admit the mistake to the towing company. I asked him who could rectify the situation and he said to try back the following day and that he would leave a report for the next manager. Supposedly the General Manager wasn’t even there at the time of my incident, yet he was the one that placed the call to have cars towed and was the only one who could fix it when he was next at the location. He then gave me directions on where me and my 4 year old son could walk to get to the towing lot because it was “only” two blocks up the street.

According to Weather.com it was a balmy 30 degrees farenheit that night. Not exactly ideal conditions to send a man and his four year old son out in due to a mistake neither were responsible for. Steve told me that I would have to straighten it out with the towing company and if I didn’t like their answer that I should call the police. He maintained a compassionate tone but was less than helpful. All the while my son was next to me sobbing and the lobby was no doubt focused on our exchange. Before I left it was clear to me that I was not going to be reimbursed for their mistake.

On the walk to the towing company I tried to move as fast as I could to keep warm. If you’ve ever been on North Cameron Street you’ll know that it is a business section and not very well lit but it is a main route. Plenty of traffic, plenty of puddles from a recent snow, and plenty of patches of ice along the way. I spent the entire walk there on the phone pleading with the guy, who still remains nameless, at Hutch’s towing that it was towed in error and I had a receipt to prove I was in the lobby when his driver supposedly announced he was towing cars out. He adamantly stated over and over that his drivers follow strict rules and there is no way I was there. I entered the small office where he and his team of drivers stood and offered no option but for me to pay for my car to be released. My receipt meant nothing to them and he said I would have to take it up with Burger King as they called him to remove the cars. I gave him Steve’s name and asked that they called but he only said that I needed $135 and a valid drivers license. That was his only reply from then on out.

What is a father to do? Walk back to the store in 30 degree weather with a still sobbing toddler and try again to deal with a manager that has no power to do anything but refer me to a nameless General Manager or pay the fee, get my car and my possessions and try to regroup at the hotel. It was after 9pm at this point and my nerves were shot, my son was in no shape to even be in a towing office and we were too far from home to put up any kind of a fight. I paid the fee, hopped in my car, which still had my parking tab from the Go-Kart lot and drove off to the hotel.

My wife had heard of the situation and had called Steve to try and get more information while I retrieved the car and she was confident she would hear from him later in the night as he was on duty until 2am. We agreed that Wes and I should get some sleep and see what happens when Steve calls back with whatever information he could offer. He contacted my wife at 11:00pm with the customer satisfaction phone number and I decided I would try it out the following day.

My son and I attended the second day of the Motorama event and again parked in the Go-Kart lot. Oddly enough I drove past the same Burger King on the way in and there was a tow truck already there from Hutch’s towing. I wouldn’t be the last car towed out that’s for sure. Wesley and I had another fantastic day of watching racing, playing games, and making memories. He asked me several time through out the day why the man took my car and I could see that it was still on his mind and I answered him as best I could and tried to change the subject. I didn’t want him worried that we wouldn’t have a car when we left the show. After 6 hours of cars and racing we left to head home around 3:00pm. I decided to wait until I was home to call the store again as Wesley was asleep in the car before I could get out of the Go-Kart lot. Besides, I had the customer service line and it was Sunday. I doubted they would be open.

We were home around 5:00pm and I immediately pulled out my receipt, tow bill, and the phone number of customer satisfaction. Turns out Steve gave me the phone number off of the back of the receipt that directed me to a phone survey about my visit. Needless to say I was less than pleased but took the entire 11 minute survey and answered it honestly. I hope they get the score!

I then contacted the store again to express my dissatisfaction with the way I was treated and to talk to the general manager. Harvey was too busy to talk to me. I couldn’t get his direct attention as I restated my case. He told me that they do lot surveillance using camera’s and if my car was towed it was due to having been there for too long and that they had it on film I walked away from the car and not into their lobby. That was not the case and I asked that he look for himself. He was clearly operating the drive through window and not taking me seriously. His resolution was that Burger King doesn’t reimburse for parking illegally and that I should call back Tuesday February 23rd after 3:00pm and to “try” to talk to Bill. I had had enough.

I searched the internet for the corporate phone number and found that they were not open. I took Steve’s advice and contacted the Harrisburg police department and spoke with an officer there about my incident and was informed that it was a civil matter and that Burger King was liable since they initiated the tow. She assured me that I was not wrong and that if the store kept video surveillance that it would show I was in fact there. I took down her badge number and hope that I don’t need to contact them again. The moment the corporate office opened today, Monday February 22nd, I called and spoke with Wilmaria and opened a case with her. She listened to my plea and gave me a reference number only to inform me that I would have to wait three to five business days for the district manager to be contacted and for him to get back to me. I was sure to leave all of my contact information in hopes that John would call me back by Friday.

So here I sit, having spoken with 5 different people about Burger Kings mistake, and have no resolution after two days. My phone survey has netted me a free Whopper or Chicken Sandwich if I go back and purchase fries and a drink but even free food isn’t going to have me back in a Burger King any time soon. I’ve learned that even when the manager on duty admits fault there is nothing he can do to help a patron out. I’ve learned that anyone can call and set up towing even if they aren’t there to oversee the operation personally. I’ve learned that my son will follow me down a dark street in the cold and cry for several minutes even if I console him when a situation genuinely stresses him out. I’ve also learned that no matter how many people I call that a hopeless feeling won’t go away. I honestly don’t think this will be resolved. I am meeting resistance with everyone at the Burger King store and no real sense of accomplishment from the corporate office. I know I should be patient but my patients wore thin on Saturday night.

I only seek to have my money reimbursed to me for the cost of the towing and perhaps to have the cost of my meal refunded. I don’t think that a mere $144.94 is too much to ask of a franchise, a corporation, or anyone responsible for such a gross oversight as having a patrons car towed while they are inside paying for your products. The way that this has been handled to this point is beyond frustrating and speaks to the disregard the management staff has toward its guests when they are truly in need. This wasn’t a matter of cold fries or not enough pickles, a family trip was disrupted because of a managers decision to hire a company to blindly keep his lot clear. Me and my son were literally shown out the door into the cold with no recourse but to call back and hope to talk to the manager responsible in several day. Unacceptable.

Company: Burger King
Country: USA
State: Pennsylvania
City: Harrisburg

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