Keep the change: Payback time at McDonald's

Ten teenagers, who were upset after a long wait in line at a so-called "fast-food" counter, decided to take original revenge and paid for meals worth NIS 600 ($150) with 10 and 5 agorot coins (nickels and dimes).

A, 17, told Ynet: "It all started four years ago. Shay, a friend of mine stood in line, waiting way too long for a glass of orange juice. He became upset and decided to punish McDonald's. He asked us all to start collecting change, with which we eventually bought a few meals."

The friends, however, did not want to settle for a few meals here and there, and started planning the big one. "We collected coins for over a year. We even asked our friends and parents to pitch in whenever they received change. I kept this secret from my mother, so she did not think I was crazy and stopped me. When she found my change collection, she could not believe her eyes," A related.

'The cashier thought we robbed a piggybank'

The 10 friends eventually went to the McDonald's branch at London Ministore in Tel Aviv, each carrying a bag full of coins. "When we arrived there, we ordered NIS 600-worth of meals while two of us waited outside with the bags full of money. When the orders were ready, we called them and put our money on the counter," A said.

The branch lost a day's work

The boys said that at first, the cashier laughed because she thought they were just kidding. "Soon, however, she realized what was happening and started sulking. She called another employee to help her count the money. The branch lost an entire workday and had fewer workers because of us. Long lines were forming and they had to apologize to those who waited.

"When we came there, they thought we robbed a piggybank, but we had our revenge. It was not only against McDonald's, but against all those places that sell junk food," A said, announcing that his crew intends to pull a similar trick with NIS 1,000 in small change before they join the army.

"It started for revenge and continued for laughs," A said. "It may have been because there is nothing to do in the summer, but eventually we did it because Kiryat Ono is a boring town."

McDonald's officials chose not to react.