McDonald's — Restaurant in East Brunswick Township

Don't know what happened to McDonald's. There has doubtless been a push in the past two decades or so to make McDonald's less kid-friendly, in a misguided effort to discourage kids from eating there (which has clearly worked very well, as more kids eat at McDonald's than ever, and obesity rates have skyrocketed in recent decades). McDonald's was once a fun place to eat not-so-great food which is certainly bad for us, but which is enjoyable nonetheless- the quintessential "comfort food." There were colorful characters, and bright colors, and birthday party rooms (I remember having and attending many birthday parties at this very McDonald's as a child), and by the early 90s, there were play places, where kids could go burn off those gratuitous amounts of carbs they had just ingested after eating. Now all of the fun is gone. McDonald's looks less like a fast food restaurant and more like a cheap, knock-off coffee shop, with a Chipotle style dining room, replete with mismatched furniture, and utterly lacking in bright colors. No fun characters (there is not one Ronald to be seen), no birthday rooms, and certainly no play places, ensuring that the greater numbers of children eating there will store all of the foods' metabolites away as fat. The outside looks even worse; more like a bank than a restaurant. It is a most aesthetically displeasing establishment. The food isn't quite as good as it was when I was a kid, but it still satisfies, and the service at this McDonald's is usually pretty good, but the experience is definitely not the same. Without the fun atmosphere, McDonald's is just a place to get cheap food that is terrible for your health, and that makes you question why you let yourself eat this garbage, because you'd save more money if you just cooked and...

On Sunday, I went into this specific location and made an order with the kiosk inside with a coupon that was linked to my mcdonald's app and finished the transaction with my credit card. I waited for about 20mins and felt something was odd because my order never arrived and people that ordered after me already got their orders. So I went to the cashier and show them the receipt on the mcdonald app as a prove that I already completed the transaction and my food never came. The cashier refused to believed that I already paid while I SHOWED THEM THE ORDER HISTORY'S RECEIPT on the app and my credit card already have a pending record of the transaction. The cashier then processed to call another people over and I showed him the receipt and STILL REFUSED TO BELIEVE THAT I ALREADY PAID AND FINISHED THE TRANSACTION and the just IGNORED ME and walked away. I then have to call him back at least 3 more times and then when he finally gives me my order, THE ORDER WASNT EVEN COMPLETED! I LITERALLY HAVE TO CALL THEM OVER AGAIN AND SHOW THEM THE RECEIPT TO SEE WHAT IT WAS STILL MISSING AND THEY STILL TRYING TO ARGUE THE ORDER WAS ALREADY COMPLETED! I felt so disrespected that why is it MY FAULT that your system wasn't working correctly and I （as a customer) GETS BLAME FOR IT??!?!??!?! oh yea , and guess what! THEY ALSO NEVER GAVE ME THE SAUCES FOR MY 10 PCS...

I've always loved this particular McDonald's because when I was growing up in South River, my Mom would take us there as like, a treat or reward. Like for example if my sister or myself had a doctor's appointment and got a shot, my Mom would promise McDonald's as long as we would just chill out and get the shot. It worked every time! And this was the McDonald's we went to when we'd sneak out of the high school and cut lunch. The one we stopped at while still very drunk after various high school parties lol... Or the next morning all hungover, this was the McDonald's. There's another one also on route 18 only a mile apart, but that one isn't "my McDonald's" lol. I'm sorry for all the rambling- I just have memories of the Racetrack Road McDonald's going back like 35 years or so .. it's always been GREAT. I've never had a problem that was something I felt I needed to complain about. Like my door dash order didn't have a straw yesterday. No big deal! Honestly, I didn't rate them lower or even mention it I just tipped and gave them 5 stars. And I'll ALWAYS give them 5 stars, it's been consistent and a part of my life, I'm sure they've probably had like 20+ GMs over the years- but whatever they're doing they're always on point....