Senior Patrons Peeved at McRush Put on Eating : Fast food: Older people, savoring golden years, object to being harassed for ‘lingering’ under the Golden Arches at outlet in Boston suburb.

What you want isn’t always what you get at one fast food restaurant.

Older patrons at a restaurant in this Boston suburb say they’ve been harassed for being too slow with their fast food.

The manager of a McDonald’s, exasperated with lingering diners, even imposed a 20-minute limit on how long they could remain seated after finishing their meals.

After six months and many howls of protest from older customers, that policy was abandoned.

The situation points to a larger problem, experts say. Senior citizens who have time on their hands don’t always have someplace to spend it.

The town, which is home to about 55,000 people, has about 10,000 residents over the age of 60, said Ruthann Dobek, staff coordinator for the Brookline Council on Aging.

But there is no center for older people. And the bustling Coolidge Corner intersection where the one-story restaurant is located doesn’t have as many coffee shops as it once did, according to Michael Merrill, chairman of the Board of Selectmen.

“We all need places to go,” said gerontologist Eric Kingson of Boston College. “There’s a certain irony here. Usually, we think of young people loitering. Here we have a group of older people making use of the time-honored tradition of sitting around and having a nice chat in a pleasant place to be.”

The golden years mean nothing under these golden arches, some older residents say.

The time limit was ended in December, said owner Allan Bowermaster. Signs came down, but manager Bob Wilson continues to give some people the bum’s rush, several said.

“When you come in, he says, ‘Buy something or get out,’ ” said David Godes, 62. “He won’t bother young people. They make noise, rip the place apart, but he says nothing.”

Some believe the 55-seat restaurant discourages older people from lingering because they are able to buy food and beverages at reduced rates. Coffee costs only 25 cents for seniors.

In any case, the treatment is hard to swallow, they said.

“I’ve been in a lot of McDonald’s, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Thomas Vocase, 66.

“I don’t think it’s right to rush people out. People can’t rush their food, especially elderly people who have false teeth. They have to chew their food,” said Gladys Cooper, 73.

Wilson would not answer questions. He referred a reporter to Bowermaster, who denied that customers are being harassed.

“When we found out it (time limit) wasn’t working, we stopped it,” said Bowermaster.

“Our goal in the business is to provide a good experience to all customers. In the past, we thought we had to limit the length of the visit, but we learned some people objected to the idea,” said Bowermaster.

Bowermaster said he met with several older customers, who made the point that they had nowhere else to congregate.

“It’s obvious why they want to be there. There’s activity, people talk politics and current events, and there’s an energy level people want. That’s what keeps people young, talking with other people and having that interaction,” said Dobek.

Jane Hulbert, a spokeswoman for McDonald’s Corp. at its Oak Brook, Ill., headquarters, said she knew of no McDonald’s that put a time limit on customers. And she said the company strives to include senior citizens, both as customers and as employees.

“Senior citizens at McDonald’s is part of our culture,” she said.

McDonald’s restaurants sponsor bingo games, mall-walking groups, shuffleboard contests and other programs for older people, she said.

“We’ve always had older people working with us. We’ve always reached out to the senior community. They are wonderful customers and wonderful employees,” she said.

To Dobek and others, it’s a sociological issue.

“We all have needs for public places for private conversations and socializing,” said Kingson.

Kingson said longer life expectancy can have a down side.

“The current cohort of older people are probably the first group that has this gift of extra years. It raises lots of questions about leisure.

“Some say today’s old are the pioneers of the next generation of old. This is one of many issues of leisure that comes up,” said Kingson.