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?

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.