Reader “Thunderpants” says that she was in McDonald’s yesterday during their free chicken sandwich promotion. The deal: Buy a medium or large drink and the sandwich itself is on the house. For some reason, however, this particular McDonald’s declared that only soft drink purchasers qualified for sandwiches. Nothing, not even a customer who claimed to have written the actual ad copy for the promotion, could convince them otherwise.
Yesterday, McDonald’s was giving away free southern-style chicken sandwiches if you purchased a medium or large drink. I went down to the location in my office building, where there were three lines. It was busy, but nowhere near riot status.
As I stood in line, I repeatedly heard the employees telling customers that purchasing a “Sweet Tea” didn’t count for the free sandwich. Some left, some rolled their eyes and ordered a “drink” instead, but all of them were pretty peeved about it.
As it happens, someone in the line ahead of me worked for the ad agency that McDonald’s uses and said she WROTE THE AD COPY. She asked to talk to the manager, because she said that Sweet Tea was part of the promotion.
They made her wait. By the time I had ordered and was waiting for my food, two managers came out from the back looking decidedly hostile. When the ad exec tried to explain the ad to them, they immediately cut her off and shouted “No, No, No” and pretty much told her to get lost.
My curiosity was piqued, so I called McDonald’s customer service hotline to find out who was right. Guess what? The managers were completely wrong. The CSR told me “you could buy a milk chug and get a free sandwich. Any drink!” She offered me free coupons for more chicken sandwiches, but I declined because I didn’t want to give my name and address, especially since I wasn’t directly involved.
So, BOO to the local franchise managers, but way to go Customer Service Rep.
Sincerely,
Thunderpants
Nice investigative reporting, Thunderpants. It’s good to know that ad agency people are forces for justice, trying to keep McDonald’s honest, but it’s too bad they didn’t listen to her.
(Photo: Paxton Holley )
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McDonald’s is shit food anyway even among other fast food joints, why is everyone up in arms to get a free crappy chicken-biscuit thing
Wait, isn’t the whole thing about the new Souther theme? They drink sweet tea by the gallons in the South, so I figured that was the reason McD’s put out the Southern style chicken sandwich at the same time…
@christoj879: BK is the worst on cheese. I have been charged 80 cents a slice when asking for it on a chicken sandwich. There’s cheaper ways to clog my arteries than that.
I love how they shame you at BK. If you ask for extra of any condiment, they read it back to you as “HEAVY”!
@Triterion: Not only do they have sweet tea, but the commercial for it says “sweet tea” in a quasi-southern accent. It’s pretty funny.
However, I doubt you can order “unsweet tea” at a northern McDonald’s.
Thanks for all your comments.
Just to clarify:
I didn’t ask for the Sweet Tea, other people were. My real shock/issue has nothing to do with the promotion itself, it was how rudely the two managers treated the alleged ad exec/customer, and I called Customer Service out of my own curiosity to see who was right. I didn’t throw anyone under the bus, and I didn’t accept freebies.
On a personal level, I don’t eat McDonald’s frequently, but I was curious about the sandwich since I had heard people saying good things about it.
McDonalds – Washington & Wacker, Downtown Chicago – I got the breakfast chicken free with a coffee. About a quarter of everyone who ordered the free chicken there did not order a soft drink.
Sadly, I ate at McD’s yesterday. I ordered the 10 piece McNugget value meal and when I got home, to my surprise, there was a free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich in there too. I thought that was cool, since I assumed they wouldn’t count the value meal as “the purchase of a drink”. Either way, it was more chicken than I could eat, but I tried a bite of the sandwich anyway and it was so grease laden I couldn’t eat it. The bun was covered in grease as well, there was no sauce or mayo on the sandwich. I thought the whole thing was GROSS!
While This McD’s was wrong in denying correct action based on an ad, there was no actionable proof presented to them. Someone should have presented the actual ad. I didn’t see that mentioned.
@wesrubix: They should still know the rules of the offer. This reminds me of the Dunkin Donuts faux pas; all of the branches of the company need to be aware!
To the person who has registered the name “Thunderpants:” I hate you.
@Elcheecho:
Aww, I just bet you broke TPants’ heart!
Maroon…
Didn’t bother, as I saw the drive-thru line encircling the building yesterday AM. However, my girlfriend did bother but went inside. They ran out of ALL size coffee cups. The guy in front of her ordered a large “orange.” The little white girl at the counter looked at him, puzzled as to what “orange” he was looking to consume. Eventually he begrudgingly added “drink.” “Orange drink” is orange soda I assume, but if I were in her shoes I would figure he’d want orange juice at 9 AM. She didn’t make any assumptions and just waited for him to clarify himself.
Ah the joys of living in the ghetto of Atlanta on free fried chicken sandwich/biscuit day.
Geez. So many people go to McDonalds? I buy all my food at Target and Monoprice. Plebs.
But yeah, I tried the sandwich, because I occassionally do go to McDonalds, even though I’ve been known to think for myself now and then. I actually preferred the McChicken. It wasn’t that this new sandwich isn’t ‘bad’, its just that I could barely tell I was eating it. The dollar menu version is better spiced in that it has actual spices.
As for the promotion? Yeah, sucks that this persion had a bad run in. Oh well. It wasn’t company-wide however.
@Nihon no Purin: I said it before during the whole Ben & Jerry’s fiasco a few weeks ago and I’ll say it again. If you’re a franchise owner, you should not be allowed to take advantage of the fame of the franchise name and yet not participate in the nationwide activities of the franchise.
If you want to do your own thing, open up an independent burger stand.
@Breach: The food itself is irrelevant to the issue at hand – poor customer service.
This is Consumerist, by the way.
I burnt my tongue on the free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich yesterday. True story.
Can I sue?
@wesrubix: McDonald’s doesn’t issue “ad”s anymore. I found about it from Bargainist, and there was a poster in the window of my local McD’s that said basically the same thing: “Free chicken biscuit sandwich with medium or large drink purchase.” I think the salient point here is that the local manager interpreted “medium or large drink” to fit his or her profit goals for the store. Which goes against the basic premise of a “promotion”.
I don’t agree with the franchise, but consider another view. Corporate headquarters for franchises such as McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King, et cetera, come up with these “great” promotions. Customers just love ‘em.
And guess who pays for these promotions? The franchisee, who in many cases is already being strangled by corporate with never ending fees and costs.
It would be nice sometime to read a view from one of the franchisee sometime to hear their side of the story…
And just to add, I most certainly do not agree with the rudeness from the managers… there’s no reason for that, period.
@twophrasebark: Boo hoo. People go into a McDonalds because of the name, not because Joe Schmoe owns it. If Joe Schmoe thinks he can run a better burger joint without McDonald’s name, he should take the signs down and go for it. He signed an agreement to honor McDonald’s promotions when he put up the big golden arches that drew thousands of customers into his store. Now he feels so strangled, because he’s got to give away some cheap-ass biscuits and chicken. We should all feel sorry for him. Poor Joe.
Do the words, “at participating McDonald’s restaurants” mean anything to anyone, anymore? I’m sure it’s on the ad somewhere. Didn’t really pay attention because I’ve been boycotting McD’s for about three or four years now, ever since I’ve read the book Fast Food Nation.
Besides, I remember the coupon actually saying that a medium or large drink was required, but doesn’t say if you can get something other than soft drinks, like Powerade or lemonade, which are fountain drinks. I suspect that the reason for the “medium” or “large” purchase requirement is so that they’ll still break even, even though the sandwich was “free,” since the profit margin on the sodas is so high. On the other hand, if you would’ve gotten a “SUPER SIZED” for 69¢, they would’ve lost money, so that’s why it doesn’t say “medium” or larger.
I look at it this way: you buy the sandwich, and get a free soda! Since I’ve been on another one of my “no soda for a year” self-imposed bans again (third one in the last three and a half years, the first two being successful, 12 and 14 months “dry,” respectively), I have no stake in this crappy new promotion, much like the stupid Starbucks’ Pike’s Peak burnt coffee promo, but that’s another rant for another day…
I recently decided to give up soda.. an unfortunate decision, considering the hundred-degree temperatures I’ve been experiencing in the last couple of days. So I randomly decide to hit up a McDonald’s and get something to cool me down, like a McFlurry or a Fruit & Yogurt Parfait or something. As I get into the drive thru, I see an ad for a $1 Sweet Tea.. so I decide to try that. And then I see an employee stick an ad for the free chicken sandwich in the ground on the other side of my car.
These two together, I decide, would be a good combination, considering the relatively low cost. I ask if I can get a sweet tea and still get a free chicken sandwich; the employee tells me yes, but I’d have to order a medium or a large. So I get a medium sweet tea for $1.39 and a free chicken sandwich and go home to enjoy.
Too bad the sweet tea was way too sweet and the chicken sandwich was a bun with a piece of chicken and two slices of pickle. So these people were probably better off without either..
That’s the McDonald’s in downtown Manhattan, NY. They used to have great food and the place was sparkling clean. The occasional live piano music and great decor gave this McDonald’s a different air about it. But hey, it’s still a company whose CEO belittles everyone by calling it’s health conscious consumers cave people.