McSleepers | Fast food workers tolerate homeless sleepers

Homeless and low-income individuals, as well as those with mental disabilities, are increasingly taking refuge in 24-hour stores – a phenomenon that drew significant attention when a homeless woman died last October at a McDonald’s in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong.
The “McSleepers” case underscores a growing problem at expensive locations in China and Japan, where high property and rental prices lead the ‘working poor’ to seek shelter in 24-hour stores and fast food chains. Many homeless people settle in venues with controlled micro-climates, a comfortable alternative to the streets during parts of summer and winter.
The problem is only slightly less severe on the Macau peninsula. The Times spoke with numerous fast food staff and customers to explore the extent of the phenomenon and how fast food companies have responded.
In a quiet 24-hour McCafe in Macau’s Northern District, student and customer Vic Ieong plays games on his smartphone. He visits numerous McDonald’s branches up to three times a week to do his homework, often staying for two to four hours.
Ieong told the Times that he sometimes sees “old people sleeping” in the restaurants in the early hours of the morning, and recalled that he had recently seen people napping at another branch until 2:30 p.m.
When asked about the company’s response to the ‘McSleepers,’ Ieong said that he “has never seen staff ask any of them to leave, but they also don’t ask the students to leave,” even when they are not purchasing anything.
Meanwhile a staff member at the same branch, who asked not to be identified, told the Times quite openly that homeless people often visit McCafe to sleep. “Lying down is not okay,” he said, “but if they are just sleeping at the table, we don’t mind.”
He adds that the phenomenon used to be more common but he now only notices ‘McSleepers’ during one in 10 of his night shifts.
“There used to be many more, but not so much these days. Some McDonald’s have it worse than others… Rua do Campo, mostly, where the people sleeping are poorer.”
The Rua do Campo McDonald’s was the busiest of those that the Times observed on the evenings selected for visits. Late at night and in the early hours of the morning, several people were spotted toting numerous bags and possessions.
The Times did not see any sleepers save for an individual resting his head on the table, as well as another reading a newspaper.
A staff member cleaning trays told the Times that customers sometimes fall asleep in the branch in the early hours of the morning. She added that she didn’t know the company’s policy on such behavior, the number of sleepers or the frequency of their visits.
Several staff members were reluctant to discuss the ‘Mc-
Sleepers’ upon further questioning. Other staff at the Rua do Campo branch refused to comment, saying they were not authorized to do so.
An employee at another McDonald’s restaurant on the peninsula, which is not open 24/7, said, “Sometimes people come here to sleep, but not that often as we are not [open] 24/7.” He was unaware of the situation at other branches in Macau, but clarified that he and his colleagues do not ask sleepers to leave.
A second worker hinted that the McDonald’s near MGM was known as a popular destination for ‘McSleepers.’ He speculated that these individuals were not ‘working poor,’ and had instead lost money gambling in the casinos. Staff reporters