Menu
Burger King Customer Service Phone, Email, Contacts

Burger King
reviews and complaints

www.bk.com
www.bk.com

Learn how the rating is calculated

1.2 4601 Reviews
Verified
The authenticity of the customer service contact information for Burger King has been meticulously verified by representatives from ComplaintsBoard using our proprietary verification system.
Share
Claim Your Business
Take control of your profile: address complaints and engage with reviews
Write a review File a complaint

Burger King complaints 4584

ComplaintsBoard
D
12:58 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Burger King fox news on tvs and rude response

I contacted Burger King to inform them of my displeasure with the only channel on the TVs in all the Burger Kings in the Philadelphia PA metro area which are owned by U.S. Restaurants (Fox News). I asked for a call back, and when I spoke to the representative from US Restaurants, she told me they CAN'T change the channel. When I said cable providers allow you to change channels - no response. When I said CAN'T and WON'T are not the same. She told me "thousands and thousands of customers don't complain and they won't change the channel." I informed her that I have heard many customers complain about this being the only channel to watch and find it offensive. She then told me I could sit in the restaurant where I can't see the TV. I informed here that I WILL NOT be eating at Burger Kings owned by U.S. Restaurants and that my money is good at ANY RESTAURANT. Don't eat here - they are extremely rude and NOT CUSTOMER FOCUSED. I think BK Corporation needs to visit US Restaurants and review CUSTOMER SERVICE and their attitude towards BK customers.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
G
11:35 am EDT

Burger King whooper

10/04/17 I ate lunch with three other people. We all had the Whopper. All of our sandwiches were bitter. I thought it was the lettuce, another thought it was a rotten tomato and the other 2 people thought it was the pickles. My one friend complained and the lady just said she would talk to the food prep employee in the morning. I couldn't even eat 1/2 of my sandwich. The both we sat in you could not even slide into. It was so gummy from being cleaned with a dirty cloth I am assuming. This is the Huntington, IN. 46750 Burger King. I will never go back there for sandwiches only for drinks and ice cream. My email is [protected]@att.net

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
R
10:32 am EDT

Burger King order correction

Well I am a loyal BK consumer I think I gave BK t he idea of Whoppers in the morning. I work at night and I asked for a burger one morning and it was wonderful. But my problem is the last few visits my order was wrong so I called to get a correction. But this last time the statement was made "The next time you need to check your order before you leave cause we will not fix the next one." That made me mad and when I got home I told my wife I will not go to BK again. We normally eat there 2 or 3 time a week

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
L
8:36 pm EDT

Burger King length of time to receive product, the product and www.mybkeperience.com

I am a pretty big burger king fan and in fact I don't feel I have traveled unless I eat at one. Anyway I went into the Loomis Ca unit 9937 and ordered a Crispy chicken sandwich at 12:53. I received the sandwich at 1:17, luckily I wasn't in a hurry and just decided to watch the poor crew suffer. I had decided not to use the drive up and walked in. Actually got my order in pretty quick but I could tell pretty quickly that the operation was not going smoothly. Customers from the drive thru that were waiting for the food to be delivered to them in the parking lot (I guess they were being sent around to not block the next car while waiting for the food) had to come in to get their food. I think the poor lady handled the customers frustrations very politely, but either the food was coming out very slowly and or she had a difficult time doing both jobs at the same time. I suspected that both problems were occurring. The lady at the car window was moving much quicker but since the food wasn't there the register woman inside was probably overwhelmed. Anyway I think though she was painfully not a "fast food person" she handled the customers politely. When I got my food which was to go, I ate it immediately in the car and it was almost cold, which of course is a bit disappointing.
The other comment I would have is when I went to WWW.mybkepericence.com it said to put in the code at the bottom of my receipt, there is nothing there except the date and time and T+0il I=1 C=300 and that didn't work since there were 4 spots for the code.

I am really not interested in a free whopper or whatever, but I think that if I owned this location I could probably increase business by at least 30% by just being there and working with the crew to create a flow and teach systems and productivity. Not sure if this is a company location or franchise, but in my past life I used to work in coffee shops and understand that today is harder to get great people, but was it the people or the system or both?

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
P
12:31 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Burger King staff

At 11:40 a.m. Burger King on 6th in Lawrence Kansas was out of nuggets and chicken fries. Manager constantly yelling at staff. Even complaining about her boss. One staff member complaining about being in window without being trained for register. Manager even uttered the S word which is not appealing while eating. The TV was only playing a commercial for Dish network. Terrible experience.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
R
12:31 pm EDT

Burger King extremely slow and unprofessional service

I went through the Burger King drive thru at Columbus and 22nd in Tucson on Sept 30th and placed an order for cheesy tots and chicken tenders. After paying, I was told to pull ahead and someone would bring my order out. I waited a good 10 minutes (with another car pulled up behind me also waiting for food) before finally going inside to find out what the hold up was. There was another customer at the counter having a conflict with one of the employees in regards to service. I finally asked for a refund as I needed to be somewhere - by then nearly a half hour had passed. As the manager was trying to figure out how to give me the refund, my order finally popped up so rather than stick around any longer while they tried to give me the refund, I opted to take the food. However, the service was incredibly slow and the employees not at all apologetic or friendly. When I asked for a name to reference to file a complaint, I was told to use Chance's name. Very unprofessional and EXTREMELY SLOW!

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
P
11:30 am EDT

Burger King time to get our food

Weekend of 1 October we were taking our grandkids back to Fargo nd and stopped at burger King in Hillsboro nd for lunch we went in to order and eat inside for a break. We waited for our food for 18 minutes at a fast food resturant..no good the grandkids were hungry and me also. It was not just us waiting drive thru had 2 cars waiting in the side of the place. No good. Must say the food was good the wait was long... thanks

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
A
10:16 am EDT

Burger King breakfast this morning.

I came thru the drive thru this morning around 9:30 -9:40 ish this morning. The customer service was horrible, the hispanic lady failed to give me the correct flavor of jelly i asked for. Slammed the window in my face as i was askn for some zesty sauce. I asked them specifically for fresh food, bt yet my hashbrown peices were soft and luke warm and my fully loaded crossant sandwhices i could tell were just microwaved because my bread was chewy and warm for about 2 minutes then instantly hard. I know thus was unacceptional because i to have worked at burger king so i know how the food and performance should be. I am very upset about these actions and i hope this isnt the way your store is being ran and i would like for something to be done about this.please and thank you

Read full review of Burger King
View 0 more photos
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
R
6:23 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Burger King service complaint

The individual who opened up the Burger King at Fairlane Mall (Dearborn, MI) on 10/3 was extremely rude.

I walked in at 7:00 am and approached the counter. I did not receive service for at least 4-5 minutes. A lady who worked there eventually asked for my order in a tone of disgust. Her voice tone was as if she didn't want me to be there. It was very poor taste in how she handle me. Very poor service. I will never go back to that burger king location again.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
M
8:47 pm EDT

Burger King rude customer service and bad hygiene of the place.

My family and I always eat at Burger King restaurants. But on friday September 29, 2017 we order by the drive thru and after a while of waiting to order, I was ready to leave when the girl who took the order was like in a hurry pushing me to order fast. I was the only one ordering, no cars behind me. She did not took my order right and did not even asked me the type of drinks I wanted. I drove ahead I paid at the window and she gave me cokes but I did not even complained it was OK I said to my self. After that, I received my order and asked her for straws because she did not gave me any. She did handled to me in a bad way and I ignored it. Then she gave me the rest of the order and I opened the bag to see if my order was right because it happened 3 times that I dont get what I order in the past 2 months. So, everything was correct but my number 1 burger did not came in the box like it used to but I did not said anything again, there was no ketchup nor even napkins the french fries everywhere in the bag like if the bag was shaked but I did not said nothing like always I don like to argue with people. So, right after cheking my order the manager opened the window and with a mean attitude and grumpy face look begun yelling at me asking me if I need it something else because there were cars behind but I saw only one car ordering already. This time, I got very angry and aswered the lady that I did not need anything else that I was just checking on my order because is been 3 times I dont get what I paid for and she ignored me and closed the window so hard and mad. I left the place then. I understand that workers work hard and are very bussy in those job places but they should be trained with some customer service classes to learn how to treat and talk to clients and first of all starting with this lady manager who lacks of professionalism and must be a good example to their coworkers in all the aspects. I recognize also that there are excellent service in other burger king restaurant I go too, but this workers and management in this restaurant is very rude to customers. This restaurant is located on 13433 Leopard St, Corpus Christi 78410. Also, another point I would like to report is the hygiene of the restaurant. Since I know, with my own eyes and nose, I mean years, the restaurant always smells very awful like toilet, and the restrooms are very dirty and furniture looks unclean. The floors looks very dirty all the times, and many people I know who used to go there they stop going for the same reason and similar experiences with the way they treat customers. So now prefer to go to the one in Copus Christi even if the have to drive more miles because this place is has a bad reputation within the time. The one in Corpus is better customer service they are more kind and is clean and dont smells bad. Me personally and my family will no go anymore to this restaurant until things change to better specially how they treat people and the nasty smell. I apologize for all the comments but it's been many many times of this experience ( years that with the time got worst) I never reported anything but I am not the only customer who is been treated mean and rude . And who is disappointed of these disgusting experiences in this Burger King restaurant. I appreciate the attention and time for looking to do something about this situation. Thank you!

Sincerely,

A Burger King customer (For years)

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
L
6:05 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Burger King service

The person who bagged my items today was very professional and
pleasant. However, he forgot to include a napkin and I had to use
the bag. He also added 18 pepper packets and 10 salt. I don't understand why they waste so many...it must cost you money. I used a coupon and the burger iI ate was good but could have been hotter. I don't need anything from you, but I think it is important to inform companies so they can make improvements.
MON. OCT.2, 2017 1;02 PM T-12L I=10 C=147

ORDER 94

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
S
9:29 am EDT

Burger King job discrimination

I'm Getting treated unfairly..after my fience got terminated from the same job from getting hit in the head by a kathup bottle by another employee..it's not fair she gets terminated for getting hit in the head and the person who thru it is still employed.Now I'm getting treated unfairly cause I'm still employed there now..can someone please come out to envestagat in this store on Erie Blvd Syracuse NY 13224 the place is not being ran fairly they have new management that started last month (September 2017)the place and time when it all took place.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
S
8:05 am EDT

Burger King drive thru and food

So thus morning I stop at the burger king location on Plymouth road near Inkster Rd in Livonia. My husband is with me for the first time n I explain to him watch they are going to ask me to back up because their timer is limited to one minute per customer.
We order 2 ham and cheese croissants and eggnormous burrito. I intentionally wait near the ordering speaker to try n prevent the request to back up off the timer sensor. However the cashier waves me forward. So I pull ahead. He take my cash and without returning my change he asks me to back up. I said no can I please have my change. He looks at me shocked and says you don't have too. And slowly returns my change.
I get my order and everything is refrigerator cold. Not luke warm cold. So I return to the drive thru. The manager approaches with a attitude and mumbles under her breath very rudely with nasty looks. I knew they would just throw my food in the microwave so I asked to please just have my money back. Her attitude increased and she demanded my receipt. I informed her not to worry I would not be returning ever and would be writing a review on her and the store.
I do not have the receipt or know the store location number as I stated she insisted on having my receipt.
I have been visiting this location for 3 years since we moved here. And EVERY TIME I am asked to reverse in the drive thru for their timer. This issue needs to be addressed with their area manager or general manager. The employees are asking customers to help them fraud their service times by doing this. And I have absolutely no doubts that because I refused to reverse my car my food was never heated to make up for the time.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
B
3:11 am EDT

Burger King 2 whoppers for $6

I work in the Palisades Mall in West Nyack New York, I have visited your location several times and asked about the two whoppers for six dollars. I have been told they do not run that promotion at this location I see advertisements all the time for 2 Whoppers for $6. Any reason this location does not honor the commercial? It seems like false advertising to me, would like some feedback please.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
M
11:34 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Burger King drive thru service

We went to burger king at 1030 tonight (Saturday Sept 30th] on veterans and commerce in Bloomington Illinois we were in the drive thru for a good 5 minutes before then drove around to window...honked still no response then back to drive thru honked and a girl came over the speaker "you know if you gave a person a minute" I responded "i have been sitting here for 5 minutes " she then proceeded to tell me that Steak n Shake across the street was open 24 hours...the kicker there was a guy behind me who said he was going to report her because this happens all the time at this location...hmmmm maybe you should reconsider her employment even though my business is minimal in the big picture of things my order would have paid the hour wage of the employees at this location... I will not be back!

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
R
10:24 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Burger King employees

My mother and I walked into the Burger King restaurant and the 3 employees at the register ignored us completely. They went on talking about clocking in process and one of the employees had their back turned not even acknowledge us. After about 5 minutesstanding there we left without them saying a word to us. This was very rude and disrespectful plus a terrible way to treat a potential paying customer.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
M
7:51 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Burger King rude customer service/ lukewarm food

We stopped our local Burger King in West City, Illinois tonight about 6:45 pm to order a quick dinner. I went through drive-thru I was met with a very temper mental cashier while making the order, when we arrived at the drive-thru window I ask for some ketchup was given this snarky look by the young lady. When we received the food i looked in my bag to quickly check my food and did not see ketchup, however she had already shut the window and walked away, she finally came back to the window and I politely said can I get some ketchup please? The young lady (she wasn't wearing a name tag) very rudely said "It's in the bag" I said OK and reached under my burger and there was some ketchup. We left drove home which is about 5 minutes away from the restaurant and our food was lukewarm at best. This is not the first the food has been lukewarm or cold, however the rudeness was not acceptable I work hard for my money and to get the rudeness when I am purchasing something makes me not to want to go back and spend money here.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
K
3:57 pm EDT

Burger King manager yelling at an employee

I was at Burger King in Mount Washington Kentucky at approximately 1:30 today and saw a female manager come back into the area where I was paying for my food (the first window) and she started yelling at the employee. I couldn't hear everything she was saying because the window was closed, but I could hear that the manager was yelling at the female employee and being very irate. I have dealt with this female employee before, I have seen her at this window on many occasions when I pay for my food and she is always very pleasant. I was pretty upset when I saw what happened because the manager didn't care who witnessed the berating. I felt it was very unbecoming of a manager. I felt it was something that no one should see or have to deal with.

Thank you.

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
S
12:31 pm EDT

Burger King incorrect & burnt food items in my drive through order

I went to the Burger King, located at 1919 Channing Way Center
Columbus, OH 43232 at approximately 12:15pm today 9/30/17.
I ordered 2 #9, crispy chicken sandwich combos. Both sandwiches had burnt regular chicken (the cheaper smaller chicken patties, NOT the tedercrisp chicken we were charged for and paid for.)
One of the sandwiches had cheese and bacon on it which was not ordered.
This is the most recent instance of receiving incorrect food and bad service. Several times I've tried to get breakfast before taking my daughter to school and though the sign states they're open at 7:00am and it was around 7:15am, they appeared to be open however an employee walked out past the drive thru to tell me they weren't ready yet. One time they were actually open a little after 7am and my food looked as if someone had crumbled the hash browns up and threw them in the bag.
It appears as though no one cares about the restaurant, food, or the customers. The staff is usually nice. I worked fast food for over 4 years so I know how stressful it can get however I cannot waste any more money at this location. I'm beyond surprised this has been allowed to continue. The Google reviews for this location are horrible yet accurate. Does the Burger King corporation have any enforceable standards or means of doing quality assurance?
I won't be returning to this or any BK location for a long time. There are far too many options to keep wasting money on a restaurant/corporation that doesn't care about the very customers who keep them in business.
Thanks for your time
S. Smith

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
B
8:33 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Burger King my order

I had ordered a bacon egg and cheese croissant and the lady came back with a bacon and cheese croissant then when I get the croissant it had egg and bacon so when I brought it to their attention she said the receipt said egg and bacon so they were supposed to fix it and all they did was slap on a piece of cold cheese and rewrapped it so I got stuck eating a cold sandwich

Read full review of Burger King
Hide full review
How to file a complaint about Burger King?

1. Log in or create an account: Ensure you are logged in to your ComplaintsBoard.com account. If you do not have an account, please register by providing the necessary information and verifying your email address.

2. Navigating to the complaint form: Once logged in, locate the 'File a Complaint' button situated at the top right corner of the website and click on it to access the complaint form.

3. Writing the title: In the 'Complaint Title' field, concisely summarize the main issue you have encountered with Burger King. Make it specific and clear, for example, "Incorrect Order at Burger King Downtown Location" or "Poor Customer Service at Burger King on Main Street".

4. Detailing the experience: Provide a detailed account of your experience with Burger King. Include key areas such as:

  • The specific location of the Burger King outlet.
  • Date and time of the incident.
  • A clear description of what happened.
  • Any particular staff members involved.
  • The condition of the food or facility, if relevant.
  • Any communication you had with Burger King representatives.
  • Steps you have taken to resolve the issue, including any correspondence with Burger King customer service.
  • The outcome of your complaint with the company, if applicable.
  • The personal impact of the issue, such as inconvenience, illness, financial loss, etc.

5. Attaching supporting documents: Attach any relevant documents or images that support your complaint, such as receipts, photos, or email correspondence. Be cautious not to include sensitive personal information like credit card numbers or personal identification numbers.

6. Filling optional fields: Use the 'Claimed Loss' field to indicate any financial loss you have suffered due to the issue. In the 'Desired Outcome' field, describe what you would consider a satisfactory resolution from Burger King, whether it be a refund, an apology, or any other corrective action.

7. Review before submission: Carefully review your complaint for clarity, accuracy, and completeness. Ensure that all the information provided is correct and that your description clearly conveys the issue and your desired outcome.

8. Submission process: Once you are satisfied with your complaint, click the 'Submit' button to officially file your complaint on ComplaintsBoard.com.

9. Post-Submission Actions: After submitting your complaint, check your ComplaintsBoard.com account regularly for any responses or updates. Engage with any follow-ups and provide additional information if requested by either ComplaintsBoard.com or Burger King representatives.

Overview of Burger King complaint handling

Burger King reviews first appeared on Complaints Board on Aug 21, 2006. The latest review Your kiosk ordering and receipts was posted on Apr 12, 2024. The latest complaint 1+ month ,still no refund.the KING is DEBO was resolved on Jun 14, 2023. Burger King has an average consumer rating of 1 stars from 4601 reviews. Burger King has resolved 230 complaints.
Ratings on other sites
Trustpilot
Trustpilot
1.8
53 reviews
Trust badge
Collect Your Trust Badge
Be recognized for outstanding customer service
  1. Burger King contacts

  2. Burger King phone numbers
    +1 (866) 394-2493
    +1 (866) 394-2493
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +1 (866) 394-2493 phone number 4 4 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +1 (866) 394-2493 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +1 (866) 394-2493 phone number 18 18 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +1 (866) 394-2493 phone number
    United States
    +1 (844) 576-0546
    +1 (844) 576-0546
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +1 (844) 576-0546 phone number 4 4 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +1 (844) 576-0546 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +1 (844) 576-0546 phone number 2 2 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +1 (844) 576-0546 phone number
    33%
    Confidence score
    Canada
    +61 130 085 2326
    +61 130 085 2326
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +61 130 085 2326 phone number 7 7 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +61 130 085 2326 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +61 130 085 2326 phone number 14 14 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +61 130 085 2326 phone number
    Australia
    +64 800 425 464
    +64 800 425 464
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +64 800 425 464 phone number 5 5 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +64 800 425 464 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +64 800 425 464 phone number 13 13 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +64 800 425 464 phone number
    New Zealand
    +43 122 602 260
    +43 122 602 260
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +43 122 602 260 phone number 4 4 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +43 122 602 260 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +43 122 602 260 phone number 10 10 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +43 122 602 260 phone number
    Austria
    +90 850 222 5464
    +90 850 222 5464
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +90 850 222 5464 phone number 5 5 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +90 850 222 5464 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +90 850 222 5464 phone number 9 9 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +90 850 222 5464 phone number
    Turkey
    +86 212 422 6000
    +86 212 422 6000
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +86 212 422 6000 phone number 3 3 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +86 212 422 6000 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +86 212 422 6000 phone number 11 11 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +86 212 422 6000 phone number
    China
    +81 120 945 630
    +81 120 945 630
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +81 120 945 630 phone number 5 5 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +81 120 945 630 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +81 120 945 630 phone number 7 7 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +81 120 945 630 phone number
    Japan
    +82 80 228 163
    +82 80 228 163
    Click up if you have successfully reached Burger King by calling +82 80 228 163 phone number 9 9 users reported that they have successfully reached Burger King by calling +82 80 228 163 phone number Click up if you have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +82 80 228 163 phone number 13 13 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Burger King by calling +82 80 228 163 phone number
    South Korea
    More phone numbers
  3. Burger King emails
  4. Burger King address
    5505 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami, Texas, 33126-2029, United States
  5. Burger King social media
Burger King Category
Burger King is related to the Fast Food Chains category.

Our Commitment

We stand for unbiased reviews

We make sure all complaints and reviews are from real people sharing genuine experiences.

We help resolving issues

We offer easy tools for businesses and reviewers to solve issues together. Learn how it works.

We advocate freedom of speech

We support and promote the right for reviewers to express their opinions and ideas freely without censorship or restrictions, as long as it's respectful and within our Terms and Conditions, of course ;)

We ensure transparent and fair ratings

Our rating system is open and honest, ensuring unbiased evaluations for all businesses on the platform. Learn more.

We care about your privacy

Personal details of reviewers are strictly confidential and hidden from everyone.

We are easy, free and open to everyone

Our website is designed to be user-friendly, accessible, and absolutely free for everyone to use.