McDonald's sign sparks debate as fans ask 'What happened to family friendly?'

The demise of the third place has been discussed at length, with many pining for the days where low-cost or free hangout spots were the norm.

Nowadays, limited seating, store policies and a post-pandemic shift towards more takeaway options have got the bell tolling for what remains of the third places once common to the UK and US.

It seems that McDonald’s, one of the few remaining bastions of places to hang out with your mates when the park is a no-go, is making moves to get bums out of seats a little faster.

McDonald's has seemingly become more takeout-focused post-pandemic (cmspic/Getty Images)

Posting to Reddit, a user shared an image of a sign put up in their local McDonald’s that reads: “Please - no loitering. Time limit: 30 minutes while consuming food. The manager must enforce this rule. Your cooperation is appreciated.”

Naming the thread ‘What happened to family friendly?’, the Redditor captioned the image: “2nd McDonald's I've been to like this in less than a week... Only 5 tables in the restaurant, no self serve drink machine, no condiments out, not even napkin dispenser... What happened to McDonald's being a family friendly restaurant for kids to play at like in the 90s?”

Half an hour isn’t necessarily the stingiest time slot, but it’s nevertheless disappointing for those who see McDonald’s as a place to catch up with their pals over a burger when the weather isn’t great.

The thread drew tonnes of responses theorising on why McDonald’s is making this move, with many believing it’s a reaction to homeless or drug-addled visitors spoiling the ambience.

“That no loitering sign is probably just posted to allow staff to kick out homeless people who stay there all day or something,” suggested one comment. “I've loitered for 2 hours in a McDonald’s that has that sign working on my laptop while sipping coffee and they didn't care.”

“It's for unruly guests and the homeless. I've never seen it enforced on someone that's just chilling,” said another. The homeless really can’t catch a break, it seems.

The sign was spotted by a Redditor at their local McDonald's (tgyo90/Reddit)

Others have suggested it’s in response to reported issues with teenagers. One McDonald’s in the US recently imposed a ban on unaccompanied customers under 21 after a brawl broke about at the site between local high-schoolers.

“Probably also a way to kick out teenagers who come in and buy 1 cheeseburger between 10 of them and then torment the workers,” said another. “It was a huge issue back when I worked there.”

The sentiment that non-problematic visitors likely being excused from this rule was common in the thread, too.

“Here is the answer. Just don’t be a problem and just use the dining room to eat, one comment suggested. “There are probably groups of teenage kids who cause issues and are there for too long. They want the dining room to be … family friendly. So they get rid of the issues.”

For others, it’s simply a sign of the times and a shift back to a strategy of yesteryear.

“Back in the day, McDonald’s did research on how hard their chairs had to be to get the average person to sit comfortably during a meal, but get right up afterwards,” claimed another comment. “So this trends.”