Article 14 of alt.mcdonalds.ketchup:
Path: lard.ftp.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!news.columbia.edu!usenet
From: carl@nibelheim.cc.columbia.edu (Carl Hansen)
Newsgroups: alt.mcdonalds.ketchup
Subject: Re: no more ketchup bag
Date: 31 Jan 1994 19:56:04 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Lines: 46
Message-ID: <2ijnok$jlb@apakabar.cc.columbia.edu>
References: <1994Jan28.225306.21207@chemabs.uucp>
NNTP-Posting-Host: nibelheim.cc.columbia.edu

In article <1994Jan28.225306.21207@chemabs.uucp> dsl69@cas.org () writes:
> I went to my local Micky Dees yesterday and I swear I saw a HUGE rat
> sucking on one of those little packets of ketchup that had been squashed
> under the wheels of a car at the drive through.  As I approached in my  
car
> it scurried into a small shrub where it evidently had a den (or warren?)
> that had previously been covered by snow.  Disgusting.  Anybody know a
> National Complaint number or address where I could complain? Or do you
> think I should just call that restaurant and tell them to control the
> litter/vermin?  I go there all the time and never had a problem before.
> (Except for the burning mulch... but that's another story).
> 
> Thanks, my first post to any group ever.
> Debbie

There's a similar problem at the Arby's restaurant at Penn Station (NYC's  
subterranean railway terminal).  The rats have gnawed holes in the ceiling  
tiles above the cash registers, & the moment a customer pays the cashier  
and collects his or her food a rat will drop down on the customer's head,  
biting the ears, nose, etc.  This generally causes the customer to drop  
the food, at which point other rats which have been loitering around on  
the floor will converge upon the food & drag it off through holes in the  
floorboards.  I've complained to the Arby's managers but they're very  
unresponsive-- the fact is they've worked out a certain arrangement with  
the rats, namely that the rats will return a percentage of the stolen food  
to the kitchen, which is then re-sold to customers and often re-stolen by  
the rats many times over until it's completely rotten, at which point the  
rats allow the customer to eat it. In return for their cut of the food the  
Arby's employees allow the rats to conduct their operations in the  
customer area unmolested.  Another advantage to the employees is that the  
rats generally refrain from biting or menacing anyone wearing the Arby's  
uniform.   For this reason if you go to that Arby's it's a good idea to  
dress up as an Arby's employee, or at least bring a tennis racquet with  
which to swat at the dropping rats.  Also, don't bother complaining to the  
Dept. of Health-- they're getting payoffs from Arby's, and also have some  
pretty lucrative arrangements of their own with the rats and therefore try  
not to alienate any organized rodent groups.  If you end up getting  
bitten, be sure to get tananus shots & especially an AIDS test, since many  
of the rats are HIV+ from hurling themselves upon the syringes that  
addicts leave lying around in order to get a free buzz.  But you probably  
won't have much to worry about so long as the rat that bites you doesn't  
appear sexually promiscuous or like a smack addict, and the roast beef  
sandwhiches are pretty good.

 -ch