Burger King Charges 11 Cents For BBQ Sauce
Dear Consumerist,So, for dinner tonight I decided to make the least healthiest choice and go to my local Burger King. There I placed an order for a Tender Crisp Chicken Sandwich Large Value Meal (and the barista only says Large or King, and not Medium, which is advertised, but thats something I'll touch on another time). Upon paying almost 7 dollars and then a few minutes later receiving my food, I politely asked the barista working the counter for some barbecue sauce. The barista then told me that it would cost me 11 cents to get a little brownish-red stuff in a plastic square.
I was baffled. I asked if the barista was serious and he was. Then I asked to speak with his manager. She said, that it would cost 11 cents for me to have barbecue sauce because I had not ordered Chicken Fries or Chicken Tenders. So, I told them that I would not pay 11 cents for the barbecue sauce (because I would honestly keep the 11 cents and put it toward a real bottle of barbecue sauce) and instead wanted 20 packets of ketchup which they handed over without thinking twice.Dear A College Kid,What has happened to the days where vendors gave you condiments free of charge? I know gas prices have gone up and the U.S. economy has gone to shit but it's a little ludicrous when Burger King stops handing out barbecue sauce for free.
Sincerely,
A College Kid Looking for Some BBQ Sauce
Burger King has to raise condiment prices due to risky bets placed on the sub-prime burger industry. Furthermore, BBQ sauce cubelets are a premium condiment compared to catsup. You would have to fill an entire standard-sized Burger King with catsup packets to equal one BBQ sauce cubelet. This is due to massive government subsidies for the tomato industry, grandfathered into the Food Bill, which are left over from the war of 1872 when America wanted to undermine Spanish influence in Mexico by shutting them out of the lucrative tomato market.
(Photo: Morton Fox)
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Comments:
Sice When did everyone that works behind a counter become a "Barista."
Best . . . complaint . . . evar!
"So I ordered something extra and then (imagine this) they wanted me to pay for it!"
@BustedWheel: Since places like McDs are trying to refashion themselves in Starbucks mold. Ok, maybe not BK, but McDs is a total whore for that stuff.
wow. is this whole post a joke or is this serious?
I'm glad to be the first person to post this:
And it's even the right time of the year. :)
Why does Consumerist even post this crap? Slow news day? Seriously, can we keep it to real, interesting stories?
They've been charging for ketchup packets at fast food places in Europe for a loooooooooooong time now.
I like the idea of referring to everyone that works behind a service counter as a "barista" - like referring to all tissues as "Kleenex," it shows the owner of the brand that there are downsides to relentless branding.
In other news, I just paid $11 for a Tendercrisp combo at the airport - medium sized.
I'm fairly certian that it's against corporate policy to charge for these condiments, but franchises are pretty much left to their own devices to be cheapskates about it.
I'm also fairly certain I can;t see any of the comments for this article.
It depends what store you go into. Some charge extra while others don't.
It's been this way for a long time.
You even got lucky that they didn't charge for extra ketchup packets.
Quit your bitching and move on with your life...
Oh yeah, and "barista"?? douche...
Why .11, why not .10 or .15, that they would go for a .11 up charge just seems spiteful.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Burger King charging for BBQ sauce. When I worked for BK back in 2003 those little BBQ cups cost BK 8.9 cents each. By comparison ketchup packets where just under 0.5 cents. BK never had any intention of offering free BBQ or Honey Mustard sauce. They carry them because they are part of the chicken tenders and chicken fries meal. If you don't think BBQ sauce is worth 11 cents, then don't buy any.
I'm not sure if it's BK or McD's, but one of them charges one-fourth of a dollar for a 1e-14 oz container of tartar sauce.
I understand that some condiments may be more expensive than others, but why not just keep the expensive ones behind the counter and only dispense them when asked? That way you keep the freeloaders from stocking their refrigerator with condiment packets, and you still keep the honest customers happy.
@varco: "So I ordered something extra and then (imagine this) they wanted me to pay for it!"
Have you ever gone to a non-fast-food restaurant and been charged for condiments? Hell no. So why does BK or McD's need to charge you for condiments, when you're paying twice as much for sub-par quality food, and NEED said condiments to make the food any good?
@BustedWheel: Since when did some person who fills your coffee cup become a "barista" and not a "broke college kid"?
Okay, now this place is getting silly.
They probably charge .11 because that's what they cost for BK to buy them. They're selling them at cost, not making a profit.
and i thought i could have it my way!
Let's just take a minute and thank Consumerist for the impressive history lesson. In all honesty, I appreciate the info on tomato subsidies more than the cost of BBQ sauce "cubelets." Also, for the record, the main ingredient of some BBQ sauces is the mighty tomato. Additionally, if you mistype BBQ, it quickly becomes BBW which is a whole different post altogether. Fleshbot anyone?
I remember when McDees would have the 20 peice nugget on sale for like 4 bucks but wouldn't give you more than 3 sweet-n-sours with it for free you had to pay 11c for more.
So you're telling me that stuff costs money!?!
Seriously thats a bargain. I've heard people paying upwards of 27 cents for BBQ sauce at certain other burger place. I'm happy to pay it as I was once the person behind the counter that had to break the "stuff costs money" news to customers.
Bringing condiments is restaurants seems like an awfully good idea.
@macgyver314: "those little BBQ cups cost BK 8.9 cents each"
So how much does a seven dollar Double Whopper meal actually cost BK to make and serve? You don't think the profit from the meal is enough to cover a little bit of BBQ sauce?
Most gas stations profit between zero and four cents per gallon on gasoline. But I have yet to be charged a damn dime to be able to use the squeegee and napkins. Most even give out free paper funnels. Why? Because they make so much profit on what the sell inside the store, they can afford to provide me a squeegee.
Likewise, fast food joints make a killing off of the food; they can afford to give me some damn BBQ sauce.
Why yes I'll gladly pay you money for those little tubes of salt. Thank you for ramming it in tightly!
No surprise. Wendy's charges 35 cents for honey mustard.
Many McDonald's in Chicago have signs stating that you get 1 sauce packet with a 6 piece nuggets, 2 with a 9 piece & 3 with a 20 piece & that extras are 10¢ each.
But they will give you unlimited ketchup packets with fries.
Once I asked why, got no answer, but did get more BBQ sauce.
When I first noticed that they charged for condiments in Europe, I was a bit taken aback. But now I think it's a good idea. The cost is nominal and most importantly, it prevents waste. While I couldn't care less about profits at fast food chains, I do care about people taking more than they need and tossing it.
this college kid probably has a kings ransom's worth of fast food condiments in his dorm.
There's no effin' way I'm calling a fast food cashier a barista.
Didn't an employee at Arby's get shot over something like this for some packets of Horsey sauce?
Love the fingerprint on the tomato in the pic...
@aaron8301:
I don't know what a Whopper costs, but I did see the "Waste Sheet" at McD's & it had a Big Mac as costing that McD 51¢. That was earlier this year & Big Macs were around $2.39 each to buy..
@zouxou: What I can't stand are the people that take a six-inch stack of napkins, use two or three, then throw the rest away.
Yeah so? Do you think the restaurant gets if for free? Sheesh. Stop freeloading.
BBQ sauce is made with tomatoes as well.
for a 75 cents sandwich being charged 7 bucks, they better pour that shit down my throat.
Im sorry but the apologists can BITE ME. These food is cheap cheap cheap. Burger King, Wendys McD's make MILLIONS in profit a year. They can stand to pay a couple thousand for stuff to put on the damn things.
This is like Consumerist for hillbillies.
This would be a much better consumer blog if there were far fewer postings on fast food.
Well now that I'm out of college, I'd call it freeloading. But a few years ago, my roommates and I used to stock our fridge with free condiments. Whatever saves a buck, right?
They charge because of unclear policy. Most 'baristas' don't care so they don't ring it up.
What you should do is charge $0.11 to your credit card. Then they get stuck for a CC fee. Eat that BK Lounge!
@aaron8301: Restuarants often charge for nonstandard condiments or ones that have non-trivial costs.
Businesses have to make the decision whether they want to charge and consumers have to decide whether they want to buy, but no one is owed any extra sauce packets (no matter how much they want them).
Aaron8301,
It's true that gas stations give you paper towels and a little window cleaner when you buy gas. Those things are both very inexpensive and, more importantly, they chose to provide them free when with each gas purchase before they set their gas prices. If you fill up your tank would you expect them to give you a free cup of coffee (food cost on which is probably less than 10 cents making it cheaper than what BK pays for BBQ sauce these days). Of coarse you wouldn't, because that's not something they offer for free with a gas purchse.
Bk offer lots of freebies with a food purchase. Ketchup, napkins, salt, etc. Those things are very inexpensive and, more importantly, they are included in the price. They choose not to inculde free BBQ and Honey Mustard sauce. Okay. I don't see the problem. If you want some, they'll sell it to you at cost.
This is old news. McDonalds has been pulling that shit for years.
@aaron8301: Seriously, do the idiots here not understand the concept of loss leader? OMG WE CANNOT LOSE MONEY ON BBQ SAUCE PACKETS! OTHERWISE WE MUST RELY SOLELY ON RIDICULOUSLY MARGINS CHARGED ON FRIES AND SODA, AND WELL, EVERYTHING ELSE! WE'RE DOOMED! DOOMED!
That's what you get for calling the guy behind the counter a Barista.
BBQ sause cups cost more then ketchup packets - so they don't want to give those away. They have been charging a small amount around here for at least 5 years.... then again, for the 5 years before that, I ALWAYS asked for a BBQ cup so I could dip my fries in it.
TIP when in drive through: Wait until you hand the person your money and or food, and ask for some ketchup & a BBQ sause - if there is a line of cars, many times they won't bother trying to charge you for it.
TIP when you dine inside: Take food to table, wait a minute, then go back up to counter and say "I just got some nuggets and need a BBQ suase packet" - unless it is a very slow day and you are the only one in there, they will give it to you without question.
Don't ask for the Grey Poupon, the creepy King will eat your firstborn.
I think that if you make a food purchase, you should be entitled to a reasonable amount of condiments. There's no reason to deny someone some free BBQ sauce for their value meal. I agree that they could/should be kept behind the counter, but good customer service is worth the extra nickel/dime/quarter that it costs to supply it for a customer.
I swear today has to be one of the funniest days of commenting ever on Consumerist.
@coan_net: TIP put a baby mouse into an empty bottle of beer (when it's still small enough to fit). When it grows up, you can go back to the beer factory and say "Hey, there's a mouse in my beer" and they'll give you a new case of beer. I saw a Canadian documentary on it once.
I love this. A BK Barista. Classic - burn both BK and Starby's at the same time.