Consumerist
Reader Rachael went into McDonald's today to get her usual morning Coca-Cola and was denied a large cup, despite the fact that she paid the "large" price, because it was "breakfast." Instead, Rachael ended up with a medium Coke which the McDonald's employee called a "breakfast large."
Rachael writes:
Long story short, McDonalds is the only place near to my home or office that's convenient to grab a quick bite or drink. Not good... but convenient.
I tend to pop in in the mornings for a small breakfast and always order a large coke since it's really the only time during the day that I will be out... and it will last until it's time for me to go home so again, convenient...
Anyway, I always order a large coke... Always get a large coke.
Today, I order a breakfast meal with a large coke. They give me a medium cup. I look at my receipt. It clearly says "large coke 1.59", which is the price of the large. I think the medium is $1.35.
I tell her I ordered a large and she says no, that's the "breakfast large - at breakfast, a large is a medium, a medium is a small and a small is a child's cup"
Now, I used to work at McDonalds in the not so recent past... But recent enough to know how this works. When you order orange juice, that applies. A large orange juice is served in a medium cup. It's the way they have always (at least around here) sized their orange juice. If you order a large soda, you get an actual large. I think the thinking is that orange juice is more expensive so they're basically charging more for it.
But now, all of a sudden, if I order a large soda and pay at the large soda price, I get a medium - simply because of the time of day??? I'm in a really shitty mood anyway this morning and the manager wasn't available and I really didn't feel like arguing with her and being in an even worse mood for a stupid soda... But dammit - everybody's feeling the credit crunch and there they all go basically reaching into my pockets to pad their profits...
ARGH. Could the extra $0.24 mean so much to them? The kicker is.... you know how the movie "supersize Me" made McDonalds discontinue the supersize line? Well.... wanting a large soda (and I mean a real large, not medium - breakfast large), I asked for a supersize soda. Thinking they would downsize it to the real large that I wanted. Nope. I was told they no longer offer supersize. No shit, I just wanted a large soda.
It shouldn't be so hard to get a large soda at breakfast time....
Is McDonald's pinching pennies or was the the work of one rogue agent?
Comments
Sounds like poor training to me, the employee is probably thinking of the juice (and coffee?) sizing.
I really want to say "who needs a large soda at breakfast time" but it's her business if she wants one. Maybe a new/young employee? That's pretty awful though and I probably would have told them to remove the soda from the order. They make so much profit on the sodas that it's ridiculously silly to try and squeeze more profit from them.
I've found that McD's around me all have different "size versions" depending on the location and time of day. I've never been able to figure out the code (nor do I fight it--I don't have the time). Most of the time it's with OJ in the AM. Some give a large in a medium cup, others give a large in a large plastic cup. Sometimes they screw up larges later in the day too.
Wtf bitch, waste my Consumerist time with your coke story!?
Go buy your Coke at one of the other 1,000,000+ fast food store!
Here's your solution: Stop drinking Coke in excessive quantities.
Damn you, Morgan Spurlock!
@deedrit: Seriously?
You have taken blame the consumer to a whole new level.
I think just employee error rather than penny pinching.
Asking for a supervisor probably would have resolved the issue if you had the time to doit.
No one needs a large size coke in the AM. Its funny people want McD's to take responsibility for their food and sizes, but then we criticize them for not serving large sodas at 10am.
A large Coke @ breakfast. My stomach hurts just thinking about it.
I can't see this as being a real rule at McDonalds...Surely a dumb employee.
"Mom can I have a Pepsi" "No, YOU'RE ON DRUGS" "Mom... I just want a pepsi" "No Mike, You're on drugs"
"Could the extra $0.24 mean so much to them?"
Well, it means so much to YOU, so why not to them too?
No, she saw how OBESE Rachael is and felt compelled to slow her eating rampage. Because someone who orders Coke in the AM has to be obese.
@spince: Umm excessive quantities constitutes 1 coke over approximately a 9 hour period?
I would imagine that the same price issue would apply to all fountain drinks. So what if i REALLY wanted a LARGE lemonade (which would also be a fountain drink) in the morning? Then would you tell me to stop drinking excessive quantities of that too?
Sounds like an confused employee to me. Like the complainant said:
A large OJ comes in a "Medium" cup.
A large COKE comes in a "Large" cup.
If you did indeed work at McDonald's, you would know the most effective means of conflict resolution is grabbing the person wearing a tie with no hat, commonly referred to as a manager.
Later,
Chrome...
Yay! Diabetes!!
Yea they fucked up.
Soda is always the same size, OJ is one size smaller.
deedrit:
Bitch? You've chosen to read this post and are wasting OUR time with your asshat post.
Go read another one of the 1,000,000 online posts that are more of interest to you.
I pretty much hate soda (and coke in particular), but this customer is totally right: she was charged for a large, they should give her the fricken large coke. Or a refund for the difference.
I have a feeling if she stood there holding up the line, the cashier would've caved before she did.
Recent McD story: Order McNuggets, want Honey Mustard. That will be an extra 24 cents a pack but I can get the BBQ and not be charged. WTF?!
To add to that, back in my high school days, I worked at a McD's.
One day I was in the back cooking and a manager came back and yelled at me for putting 2 slices of cheese on a double cheese burger.
I took him out to the front and showed him the picture, clearly showing 2 pieces of cheese offset by 45 degrees.
He still insist that it was one slice. I told him to go into the back and find me the 8 point slices of cheese. He then dropped it.
The point of the story is that to become a manager of a McD's all you need it the ability to not be able to find another job.
probably someone who is dumb and decided to just mess with people. Unless the store was owned by an owner/operator and the just changed their policy randomly. If its owned by McDonalds, stuff doesn't just change. I would have asked for a manager and made a HUGE stink, especially if its a privately owned store.
WAIT! they don't have supersize anymore? after... GROOVY!
I am a morning cola drinker. I find it humorous when the coffee fiends comment about my morning pop. They get their caffeine hot, I take mine cold.
I had a coke this morning, and I'm not obese. Its call exercise.
Coke is my preferred form of caffeine. Some people dont like coffee.
Is a coffee in the morning filled with sugar and milk really that much better then a Coke?
@deedrit:
Please, more blame the customer posts.
Who cares at what time of day she wanted the soda, or how much she wanted? It's on the menu, and obviously she got shafted for the medium. Not a huge issue, but it would piss me off a bit too.
When I used to live in CA, a large is a medium cup...however, now I live in TN and when I say a large OJ, they give me a large OJ.
And yes, I do get large sizes when I have the crave but I do burn it off when I get my daily exercise @ the office gym.
Come on people. Look at how many of you have missed the point of this post. It's not about the rights and wrongs of drinking soda, be it in the morning, super size, or at all. The consumer was wronged and you waste your comments. Suppose she ordered a large bottled water and got a small one? All you people would think about is that silly chemical in the plastic.
She lost 25 cents, plus tax probably. As a proportion to McDonald's sales, it is so close to zero it doesn't matter. But as a proportion to the cost of her meal, it is probably 7 to 10%.
So stop bitching about what people put in their body. She isn't complaining that she got a bellyache from the Coke and McDonalds should be held responsible. Let her put into her body what she will.
Keep your posts on topic, please.
To all those fussing about her buying a soda at breakfast.
First of all, so what? You don't have to drink it.
Second, are you condemning her as you sit with your ultra-large Starbucks next to you?
Some people don't like coffee.
However, I do agree this is a stupid thing to focus on.
One idiot employee on a random morning makes for a Consumerist article?
Sheesh.
McDonald's does have the best Coke. It's just better than the can or any other merchant. Sad.. but very true.
@amyschiff: A "large" Coke at most fast food places is pretty much excessive no matter how slowly you drink it, in my opinion. Now that I don't drink soda regularly, drinking more than 6 oz or so of that stuff starts to make me feel gross due to all the sugar.
Large morning Coke.
Yeah, that's healthy.
Is this the part where we're supposed to feel bad for her or something?
@chicagocooper: You know, now that I think about it, you're right.
Maybe it would be better with pure cane sugar?
@SkokieGuy: Truely hilarious! I laughed very hard at that one.
btw: I love an ice cold coke or MD in the morning! It's my "cofee". I just had this same bs experience this morning at bk but I just took it like a little bitch and drank the damn shit. I wish I was petty damn it!!!
I don't think it's any malicious intent to scam you out of pop. It just seems like the girl really didn't know better.
If you really want to save money, get a two-liter from a grocery store. At least by me, they're usually on sale for $1.25-1.50ish. It's probably the cheapest option out there.
I always get a Diet Coke in the morning (from my local 7-11 it's cheaper) but this would piss me off. Some of us prefer Coke over coffee.
Yeah have you ever had syrup on pancakes? Well there's syrup in coke so get off it with you doughnut eating asses.
Order a cup of water and fill it with soda for free.
personally who gives a crap about if others chose to eat healthy. I'm glad some of you do eat healthy but it seems you now have a new disease: SMUG!
@deedrit: You know, because you were forced to not only read it, but comment on it as well.
@snoop-blog: Calm down... There's no reason to bring donuts into this!
Oh the humanity!
What is with all the comments implying that the McDonald's worker is basically doing Rachael a favor, since no one needs a large soda in the AM?
The fact is she's the consumer. If she wants a large soda in the morning, she should be able to have it. It's not fair for McDonald's to change the soda terminology throughout the course of the day. That's just confusing. A large is a large, a medium is a medium, and a small is a small.
How would you like it if your large coffee in the morning suddenly became smaller at night because McDonald's doesn't think people need caffeine before bed?
Well their costs are most likely going up due to gas prices (as about any business' would be) and this could be there way of keeping steady. Those .24c could be a huge deal to them when many people attempt to buy morning cokes, that'd be really simple way of bridging the profit gap that was created.
So they're not 'padding their pockets'
Now, you see, that's a problem. You order a large coke, pay for a large coke, and they give a medium coke and a lie. Bad move McDonald's. Then, you think you'll offset this by ordering a supersize drink? Bad move consumer.
If you think you've been cheated, you're not getting anywhere by accepting the price and then complaining later. You've still been cheated. Ask for a refund on the cup or the whole order, then go somewhere else or do without. If you really, really need that large coke from that McDonald's, and you're willing to eat the extra cost, no matter what the reason for it, then by buying it you have just told McDonald's that you think their price is fair. You get one or the other: the purchase or the complaint. Not both.
Sweet the trolls have arrived.
try another mcdonalds?
Here's the real issue.
Customer unhappy. Wants a large Coke. Cost to McDonald's: almost zero.
Answer: Give customer large Coke.
Problem solved!
Came to make fun of Mcdonald's pricing for soda, stayed for all the abject trolling.
I thought the clerk's explanation of "A breakfast large is really a medium" to be hilarious. However, the whole "blame the victim, she must be fat...because she drinks coke" is just crazy.
What about us people who work midnights? That coke at 7AM or so is NOT breakfast for us.
PS - soda for breakfast? Yuck. But if it's what you want - get what you paid for.
I'm not going to criticize anyone's choice of morning drink. What you drink is your choice.
However, I noticed that you ate in-store. Just about every McDonald's in the country offers free fountain drink refills to customers that eat in-store. Why not just buy a small and fill it three times if you want that much soda? Yes, you should have been given a large cup and McDonald's was in the wrong for saying otherwise. However, I think as a consumer, you can make a better purchase by buying a small drink and refilling it.
Happy happy flame war. Sheesh!
@chicagocooper: McD's went to Coke and asked for a special recipe that would only be sold at McDonalds. They use a special mix of HFCS and sucrose. Plus, the stuff is "made fresh" for them, so it doesn't contain any preservatives. But, this is true only for regular Coke. Diet coke and other drinks have the same sodium benzoate/potassium sorbate poison that you get everywhere else.
filed under "choose your battles"...next to "who gives a shit"
@apotheosis: Morgan Spurlock is the worst thing to happen to free choice. All his self-righteous movie showed is that addictions are self-destructive and self-imposed.
@ the "Stop drinking so much soda" crowd.
She said this soda "Lasts all day". I know people in my office who down at least 2-3 "large sodas" worth of soda each day. Sure I'm as un-fond of watery-luke-warm soda as the next person, but go find a real soap box.
FTR: I drink the equivalent of maybe 1 can of soda per week on average.
my mother in law drinks unsweet tea. she used to get it for like $.99, all of a sudden they started charging her 1.49. she went to complain after sometimes they charged her the old price and sometimes the new. it turns out that if you buy a sweet tea and hold the sugar you still get it for .99
and as for the cokes in the morning my mcdonalds gives me the senior discount on cokes and im only 30. lol. ohh and it pissed me off when they got the monopoly game and took the size of the 1.00 menu fries down to a small. man that made me mad.
These comment threads just get more awesome all the time. It's like waking up Christmas morning and unwrapping a big festive box of agitated howler monkeys every single day!
A giant box full of angry, obese howler monkeys.
Yeah, I said it. You fat. All of you.
Gimme a liter o' Cola!
It's breakfast? Gimme a liter o' Cola, or I'll punchasize your face!