Crisis At McDonalds
I have always been impressed with McDonald’s. They know how to do fast food right. I can actually understand the order taker in the speaker phone! McDonald’s is top-of-the-line, the fast food equivalent to Walmart in retail and QuikTrip to convenience stores. However, my faith was severely shaken with the most recent trip. I ordered a couple of double-cheeseburgers from the Dollar Menu- another incomparable feature of McDonald’s- and asked as usual for extra pickles. That is how I like my burgers, plus it always assures that my order will be freshly made. Well, when it was time to pay, I noticed right away that I was charged 30 cents extra, per sandwich! Can you believe that- 30 cents for pickles? I expressed my incredulity, but got nowhere since the Afghani-Bangladeshi cashier struggled to understand the word “pickle” and therefore had no idea the meaning of the word “incredulous” . I recalled the old commercial jingle, “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce- special orders don’t upset us…” and I was sure it included something about no charge for extra condiments. Reluctantly I ponied up the 60-cents and sat down to watch my granddaughter play. It was an amazing play area, spotless, huge, air-conditioned. Did I tell you that McDonald’s also offers the best play areas for kids? It’s probably worth paying a little extra for pickles.
Now, if they start charging for refills of Diet Coke, then I ‘m writing the corporate board. It will be all-our war, and I’ll bring them to their knees.
05.17.08 (2:14 pm) [
edit]
posted by:
squirrelzone (
reply)
post date:
05.17.08 (11:36 am)
I can already hear the chants of mad patrons of McDonald's:
Pickles pickles should be free
YOu don't want a killing spree.....
posted by:
bawdy (
reply)
post date:
05.17.08 (11:48 am)
"Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce- special orders don’t upset us..."
I think that was Burger King.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.17.08 (11:57 am)
Reply to: bawdy
I checked with Yahoo Answers, and.... you are right! It is a Burger King jingle from the 70's. You and I are probably the only ones around here who remember it. So, let's just pretend it is McDonald's, and no one else will ever know.
Does this mean McDonald's has always charged for extra pickles, all these years, and I have only now noticed? That means they have likely charged me thousands in an unfair tax on pickles. I've a good mind to swoop into the restaurant and quickly sieze all of their pickles and throw them into the parking lot, my own tea-party-protest. Would it win me freedom from tyranny, or a night in jail?
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.17.08 (12:02 pm)
Reply to: squirrelzone
Pickles should be free. They are tiny, and come from the cucumber, which produces prolifically. It does not cost much to grow cucumbers. Surely their cost is already figured into the overally cost of the burger. Why charge me for the simple and reasonable request for a few extra pickles? And, 30-cents provides a monster profit margin. I'll not stand for this. If I do not get satisfaction from corporate McDonald's, then I will be bringing my own pickles from this point forward. And I'll offer them free to every patron. If the gesture catches on, and is repeated across country and around the world, then there will come a day when every McDonald's customer will have his own pickle jar and the bigshots at corporate headquarters will rue the day they every offended PastorDave.
posted by:
fractalmom (
reply)
post date:
05.17.08 (1:02 pm)
Reply to: PastorDave
Sorry guys. Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us, all we ask is that you let us do it your way...have it your way..have it your way, at burger king, have it your way...
now mcky d's was Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles on a sesame seed bun....(big mac song).
and out here, it's BK that has the playground LOL. You take what you get I guess. They call it the BK Dad Night playground unofficially. That's where all the dad's take the kids on the wednesday night visitation in the winter !!
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.17.08 (3:46 pm)
Reply to: fractalmom
This is a brand new McDonald's and their playground is spectacular. It's a 3-story-affair, with slides and windows. It is all enclosed and safe, and lots of kids can all play at once. One silly mother kept crawling into the playground to rescue her precious little child, who actually was doing quite well without her overprotective self.
Around her, McD's had BK beat. Well, except with the pickle matter.
posted by:
ruined (
reply)
post date:
05.17.08 (3:59 pm)
Pickle tax. It's another way The Man is trying to beat us down!
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.17.08 (4:02 pm)
Reply to: ruined
You are so very right. There are many things I cannot have in life because of my misfortune to not be rich and powerful. But, I will have pickles. I WANT MY PICKLES, AND I DO NOT WANT TO PAY EXTRA FOR THEM!
posted by:
bawdy (
reply)
post date:
05.18.08 (12:17 pm)
Reply to: PastorDave
Your great pickle revolt should fall under freedom of expression. Feel free to let Ronald McDonald know you're not clowning around.
posted by:
auntconi (
reply)
post date:
05.18.08 (9:38 pm)
I order my burgers 'plain' from McDonald's and at Burger King I ask them to 'hold the ketchup/mustard/pickle'
So when you order your 'burger' at McDonald's next time, just them 'auntconi said to give you her pickles' ~ that should solve the problem ~ ya think?
They have all of my 'unused pickles' just waiting for someone like you to come along. You are actually doing them a favor ~ and they should NOT charge you 'pickle tax' ~ of course, no one asked me, did they?
you
deserve
a
break
today ~ at McDonald's . . .
posted by:
auntconi (
reply)
post date:
05.18.08 (9:39 pm)
..."just TELL THEM 'auntconi said..."
*durn typos ~ guess I should go to bed...
posted by:
surrogate (
reply)
post date:
05.19.08 (6:08 pm)
Reply to: PastorDave
I've noticed that some franchise stores do that sort of thing. The corporate stores around me don't seem to. In Western Michigan, a large coffee at the corporately owned stores is $1.39 plus tax, whereas at the McDonalds in Rockford by my house, which is a franchise store it's $1.59. Here in Des Moines, I'm not up on which stores are Corporate and which aren't, but so far, every one has charged me $1.19 plus tax for a large. Go figure.
posted by:
ggirl (
reply)
post date:
05.30.08 (11:19 am)
It's unAmerican to charge extra for pickles. What's next? Charging extra for getting to sit down?
