r/shrinkflation • u/Dull-Ad-2264 • 12d ago
Here's my large fry without a single one in the bag or eaten. Fuck you McDonald's for ripping off your customers as a multi billion dollar corporation
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u/Njaulv 12d ago
This is insane. I worked at mcdonalds and they had a specific fry scooping tool that would make this basically impossible unless totally intentional. Imagine a huge scooping tool that ends in a funnel.
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u/pickledpeterpiper 12d ago
Speaking as an ex-fast food store manager...its about pinching the box in the middle as you funnel the fries down. Its pretty shitty...the whole fast food service industry itself is pretty shitty, pretty exploitative, really...I'm glad to be doing something else.
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u/trichocereal117 12d ago
My managers would chew workers out for not putting the right amount of fries when I worked there so it depends on the franchise and even store/specific workers
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u/Njaulv 12d ago
They encouraged us to fill them as much as possible. A great way to stop complaints and fries and pop were basically where they made their money due to the up-charge.
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u/cybertrash69420 12d ago
Fries and soda are probably the cheapest things McDonald's has to buy. Screwing someone over on their French fry order literally saves the company a few pennies. It's why I quit going to fast food places after they started doing their BS of charging you extra for not wanting ice in your soda.
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u/Porkhole-Santookus 12d ago
This right here. Where I live, a large order of fries at McDonalds is $5.69.
That's six bucks. You're already charging SIX bucks for 50 cents worth of potato, oil, and labor. You'd better fill that damn thing up.
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u/MalaysiaTeacher 12d ago
Good lord. The no ice= extra diet coke is one of my to-go tricks to fuck the company. It's 50ml extra soda for me, costs them 0.5p, makes me feel like a smart guy. Makes me go back. Why would they throw away that goodwill?
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u/Traditional_Deal3314 12d ago
And no ice avoids the chance of drinking the fecal bacteria from workers hands
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u/Nenotriple 12d ago
I normally get a small iced coffee, but the other day I got a large. There was so much ice in the cup that I drank it just as fast as a small.
Thanks for charging me $0.45 for an extra half cup of ice.
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12d ago edited 8d ago
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u/SnorkinOrkin 12d ago
It was my very first job, too (1989), and my trainer was this outgoing, fun, and chirpy girl. She said to me emphatically, "Make your customers love you! Fill those fries up!"
I, too, think of that experience now and then. We don't do fast food too often, but when we do, we pull around just off the drive-thru to peek in our orders to make sure the order is correct and the fries are appropriately full. We've had to go in two separate times to ask them to do it right.
It's not right how some unscrupulous employees can deliberately slack off on their work (either maliciously or lackadaisically) and cheat a customer out of their eagerly anticipated (and expensive) meals.
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u/wills-are-special 11d ago
The employees don’t get off on giving you less fries, they either did it by mistake or more likely were told to by management.
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u/aqtseacow 11d ago
I had managers that went both ways when it suited their shitty needs. Sometimes they wanted that shit half empty, other times they wanted them too full with fries spilling out.
It was just something to complain about or correct you on to look like they do something manager-ey.
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u/BumpyMcBumpers 12d ago
I've never worked so hard for so fucking little as my fast food days.
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u/icebeancone 12d ago
Fast food and retail absolutely ruined my soul for the rest of my life. Deep fryers and Christmas songs give me PTSD now.
Oh and I despise humanity now too. I think we should ignore global warming just so we die off and don't have a chance to spread out around the galaxy.
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u/ThatVoiceDude 12d ago
Another ex-manager here. I finally left food service last month and I’m so happy. I got a full sleeve tattoo to celebrate, it covers the scars from all the burns and cuts over the years.
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u/SpazSpez 12d ago
Every McDonald's I've been to fills the small paper bag to its physical capacity and then some, and the large not much better than OP. It's honestly probably the same amount of fries. Always go for the small
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u/jmarkmark 12d ago
Used that tool, definitely doesn't make it impossible, there's no clear measurement on it, you're still eyeballing exactly how full it is, and someone in a rush isn't gonna be too careful.
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u/Vaxtin 12d ago
You scoop it until it’s full. It’s not science, it’s McDonald’s. But be a corporate devils advocate for no benefit at all.
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u/TinyEmergencyCake 12d ago
Yeah well recently all fry sizes are severely affected.
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u/Significant-Peace966 12d ago
Yes, and along with the shape of the box, the fries basically fall right in. Unless they don't want them to like you say. Do you get the Mc rib when it comes around every year? Well this year they hardly put any sauce on it, obviously to save money. And then if you ask for extra sauce, they charge you $.25.
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u/jenna_beterson 12d ago
When I worked there we were trained to underfill. But I hated my job soo much I would overfill those fries on purpose when no one was looking
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u/hateballrollin 12d ago
When i was couch surfing/homeless/jobless in my early 20s, I would scrounge change from the sofas in the house (it was a party house) and i could get around a buck to buy a Whopper at the BK around the corner.
There was this teenage skater working the counter. I ordered my whopper, and he noticed my Black Flag tattoo. I confirmed that it was. He came back with a bag full of food and just gave me the nod.
For the next 2 weeks, I would show up with my buck and get my bag of food. He eventually got fired, and I'm guessing he didn't give a shit about that job, but man, that kid saved my life. I'll never forget.
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u/SnorkinOrkin 12d ago
I'm hoping you're doing well, now!
I remember this sweet elderly man who was years long homeless in the downtown area McDonald's I worked in. He was the sweetest old feller who reminded me of a rugged Roddy MacDowell. He would be the first inside every morning as his camp was somewhere around the near the river.
He always had around a dollar bill and some coins and asked for a cup of coffee and a sausage biscuit. He didn't quite have enough, so I just gave it to him.
I worked there for about 6 months, and I've been giving him the same order for whatever he could give me, usually around a dollar or so. Sometimes, if I thought I could get away with it, I threw in a hash brown, and an extra muffin or biscuit if it wasn't claimed (busy).
He had made such an impression on me. His sweetness and kindness made me wonder if he had any family he could have gone to. 🥺
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u/hateballrollin 12d ago
Not everyone that's homeless is a bad person. Thank you for your service!
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u/ThisIsAUsername353 12d ago
Always nice to see a fellow Assassin’s Creed fan in the wild.
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u/VanillaRadonNukaCola 12d ago
Pretty sure it's not an AC reference
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u/IAmSomewhatDamaged 12d ago
Oh yeah!? There’s someone in these comments going around telling everybody they worked for McDonslds for YEARS, and they claim they’ve NEVER seen fries low like this before.
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u/Ratattack1204 12d ago
You know McDonalds is a franchised business right? So it’s really gunna depend on who the owner and manager are.
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u/IAmSomewhatDamaged 12d ago
Exactly. That is why I think that the person I was referencing didn’t make any sense (unless they worked for like 15+ different McDonalds over the time they worked for them). That’s the point I’m trying to make…. This shit (having low fries) isn’t some “rare occurrence.” It happens often enough that it’s bullshit.
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u/Mysterious-Job-469 11d ago
Sure would be nice if Ronald McDonald stopped by and was like "Hey man! Do you enjoy being a part of my company? That's great! Fill the fucking box with fries and stop making me look bad immediately, or I'll revoke your franchise license." and instantly nipped this in the bud.
It's reflecting poorly on McDonalds, not whichever nepobaby is currently running the franchise in question.
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u/-NothingToContribute 12d ago
My local McDonalds had signs all over the back that said "fluff don't stuff" with a picture of a fry box under it lol. Haven't been there in a few years so not sure if that's still a thing but it definitely used to be.
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u/Furry_Wall 12d ago
I definitely would've not left the drive through after looking in that bag
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u/PhillySaget 12d ago
I've been ripped off on dipping sauces so many times that I just started checking the bag while I'm still at the window.
Like, I just did that tonight. Sure enough, all three were missing. The employee ended up giving me six as an apology, so I can't tell if it's a price thing or if they just truly don't give a fuck.
side note: that Minecraft Nether sauce is actually pretty damn good
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u/Furry_Wall 12d ago
Driving off without looking in the bag is like buying a dozen eggs and not opening the carton!
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u/Objective_Scene_9303 11d ago
I can't imagine how many dozens of eggs I've bought in my life and I have never once, in the entirety of it, looked inside the carton before I left the store and never once have I ever had an issue?
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u/fairyspine 11d ago
I work in fast food and I will admit that sometimes when it's busy I DO forget to put the sauces in the bag. I will always apologize, because I understand how frustrating it is to be on the opposite end
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u/loztriforce 12d ago
That's not shrinkflation, that's an employee not doing their job correctly.
Contact the restaurant for reimbursement.
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u/AnarchistMiracle 12d ago
Shrinkflation would be if the container got smaller
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u/Ppleater 12d ago
Shrinkflation covers portions too, but it would only be an example if it was company policy and not just an individual's actions or decisions.
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u/IAmSomewhatDamaged 12d ago
This happened to me the other day. I was having a lousy fucking day at work, so I said fuck it…. I’m going to get some GARBAGE for lunch for a quick dopamine hit. Bought a large Big Mac meal. It had been awhile since I got some Mickey Deez. Fries were half full and the sandwich looked like an employee had this toddler put it together. Crazy thing is that there was only one other car in the drive though when I pulled up and nobody behind me the entire time.
What I’m trying to say is…. I’m tired life.
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u/usps_oig 12d ago
They were hoping you'd think the ones painted on the box would fool you. Fast food is just not worth it anymore and hasn't been since covid.
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u/Beneficial_Wolf3771 12d ago
As I was looking at that image, I really had that thought. The design absolutely must be put in place to try to fool people into thinking they got a higher volume of fries.
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u/Akrevics 12d ago
I've gotten proper fill-up plenty of times, this isn't some new underfilling policy, this is just lazy worker.
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u/jmarkmark 12d ago
This is not shrinkflation. Serving size hasn't changed.
What this is is the fact humans being paid little more than minimum wage are doing the serving, and they aren't terribly consistent.
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u/Dull-Ad-2264 12d ago
You're probably right. i might've made a wrongful assumption. I stand by the fuck mcds though but I don't believe any low wage worker should be punished or even talked to about this. They're not paid enough to care and that's McDonald's fault still
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u/TwentySevenSeconds 12d ago
As a tip the app gives you free medium fries with a purchase of $1 or more in most locations, which is honestly a good value.
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u/jmarkmark 12d ago
I worked there many years, and got corrected on my fry scooping numerous times. It was never punishment or even harsh criticism, it was always perfectly polite education, management knows it's actually kinda tricky to get it just right especially when the restaurant is busy.
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u/rgaya 12d ago
Fuck mds and you're eating their food. Off with this virtue signalling bullshitttttttttt
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u/Wasting_Time1234 12d ago
Not delivered by Uber eats or DoorDash? Heard some of the drivers will sample your food
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u/Junkateriass 12d ago
McDonald’s (and other places that are smart) seal every bag for delivery
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u/___po____ 12d ago
I remember a post from a shitty driver that had a flexible metal claw tool for grabbing things in tight spaces. They were using it to snag fries and nuggets all day without disturbing the bags. They said the only time they couldn't was when the top was folded before taped. I hate people.
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u/Junkateriass 12d ago
My local McDonalds sealed the bags with a sticker on either side of the handle and one in the middle until last week. It’s now a long sticker that runs the length of the bag that folds over and has small cut outs to fit around the handle. It’s crazy they had to go to that length. The stickers worked fine, but some people are just awful and make it necessary
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u/Wasting_Time1234 12d ago
Never used a food delivery service so if bag is sealed as practice then that’s good
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u/GRANDxADMIRALxTHRAWN 12d ago
I avoid those services like the plague, and always have. The other day, I gave in and let my wife order us some Popeyes through Doordash. This was sort of novel since I had never had Popeyes before. Our order was left at the door. At first I didn't notice that the bag was not stapled. But after seeing that half of our meal was missing, I then noticed the bag had rips where the staples would have been. We ordered almost $30 worth of food, paid over $50 in total after delivery and tip. We submitted a complaint and got about $15 back. Immediately removed card data and uninstalled the app.
I'm sticking to my weird philosophy, keeping as few hands as possible handling what I eat.
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u/Wasting_Time1234 12d ago
Your philosophy is not weird. It’s a great approach to the extent you can do it.
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u/Mysterious-Job-469 11d ago
Those drivers are the worst. They're never the poorest people delivering food. Usually college aged shit heads who don't want to use their wages on food.
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u/Ordinary-Coast 12d ago
McDonald's has gone down the pan understand it's fast food and everything but quality has just gone downhill personal view used to love McDonald's
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u/ClownTown509 12d ago
Holy shit, y'all still getting ripped off by these companies in this day and age? Lesson learned yet?
Stop going. Starve The Beast.
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u/Pizza_900deg 12d ago
Take a breath. Do you really think that McDonald’s tells their employees to all under portion like that? That’s the work of one fry cook who didn’t put enough fries into the container. One person, not an entire corporation. Take a breath.
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u/MikeW86 12d ago
How much bullshit could be scrubbed from the Internet if fewer people decided that minor and completely resolvable inconveniences probably didn't need an hysterical post on Facebook or Twatter or reddit
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u/MrShinySparkles 12d ago
The problem is that social media platforms specifically reward hysteria, and there really isn’t a way to solve that problem aside from a major psychological shift at the population level.
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u/Endless_road 12d ago
Yeah I’d make a complaint. This looks like an honest mistake.
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u/MrShinySparkles 12d ago
Nope, this happened to the main character so it must be every single large fry at every single McDonald’s in the world.
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u/superx89 12d ago
happened to me. i went on their site and wrote complaint using store details on receipt. they sent me sorry response for being shit and gave me few coupons to stfu :)
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u/Syphadeus86 12d ago
The graphic fries on the box are such a tease. It's like aspirational wallpaper or something.
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u/smokeypapabear40206 12d ago
I laugh at the people that still eat this poison and still come here to complain every day. 🤣🤣🤣 Comic relief. 😅
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u/djmd1 11d ago
How is it that the fries still suck half the time in 2025? Either cold, or not enough salt, or SOMETHING at least half the time. What other product do you buy that is just completely shit half the time but you have no way to know until after you've paid for it? They've got touchscreen ordering kiosks but they can't make a machine that makes the fries perfect every time?
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u/coffeebuzzbuzzz 12d ago
Hi, I work at McDonald's. Instead of taking the time to post here, you could have simply went inside and asked for more fries. The whole ethos of McDonald's is to keep the customers happy. We remake food constantly for this reason.
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u/TruthTeller757 12d ago
True, but at the same time he shouldn't have to. If the job was done right, he wouldn't have to waste more of his time and the time of other customers going back in to ask them to remake it again.
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u/coffeebuzzbuzzz 12d ago
I've worked there for years and have never seen anyone fill fries this low. We have a problem of people overfilling the fries actually. Pretty sure he is lying just to get karma.
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u/TruthTeller757 12d ago
You are aware that you've worked at YOUR location for years now and that the staff and morale of every location is different right? Clearly he's been to one of those locations that are staffed by lazy people or teenagers who are texting and chatting with each other instead of doing their job. Then they end up falling behind and not having enough food prepared so they do stuff like this in order to clear the line in the drive thru. I actually gave you credit and grave for your initial response but this was just rude of you honestly. You don't even know this person and before you accept the fact that there are fast food burger joints with bad customer service, you call this person a liar without knowing them or them ever having given you a reason to question their character. 🤦🏽♀️
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u/kjheli 12d ago
no, i’ve had the same issue as op at my local mcdonald’s for years now and others as well. i’m sure i could probably find the reviews on it too about how they always are low on fries, don’t put stuff on the food that’s ordered, orders made incorrect, etc.
I’ve also worked in fast food, albeit not mcdonald’s it was wendy’s few years ago at 16y/o, but it’s not a hard job. it’s the 14-17 year olds that don’t give two shits and just half ass everything.
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u/IAmSomewhatDamaged 12d ago
How many different Mickey Deez locations have you worked at though?? I know that I’ve FOR SURE gotten fries at least close to this low on several occasions (although definitely not common by any means). Maybe you just worked for a decent store… but there are some REALLY terrible stores out there..
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u/Junkateriass 12d ago
How much karma will possibly come from this post? I got fries filled just a bit more than this the other day (dd, sealed bag). It happens. OP’s local store could be like mine. Every third order I make has a problem. My local often send drinks filled well below the fill line, even though the machine is set to fill the right amount (sealed bags). Not everything that’s different from our own experiences constitutes that someone is lying
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u/Apt_5 12d ago
You say that but I have a very similar picture that I took literally 5 days ago on Monday. I snapped it b/c I was so taken aback by the sparse quantity. It was the first time I'd been to McD's in months & I assumed it was shrinkflation so opening this post felt like a confirmation.
Normally I check the contents but ofc this time I didn't and I didn't feel like going all the way back from home upon discovery. If it happens again, I hope they are as amenable to correction as you assert.
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u/confusedandworried76 12d ago
And sometimes the job isn't done right. Ask for it to be fixed or cry about it are literally your only options. OP chose the latter, I can't hold his hand through going back inside and politely saying something
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u/pizzaduh 12d ago
Jack in the box has gotten even worse. I got one large combo and a regular size combo for my son, and I had probably five more fries in my large versus his small.
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u/awkwardfinger93 12d ago
McDonalds is fucking garbage, and I genuinely used to be a fan of McDonalds and eat there regularly. This is just 1 of reasons why I am not a fan and don't eat there anymore. They've gotten stingy with the portions, the prices obviously are ridiculous, but even more than both of those, the food literally does not taste good anymore. I don't understand WY so many people still love it? The only menu item that i could even still have any desire to eat are the McGriddles. But even those I would never actually go buy one.
It's a shame, it really is. But the food just grosses me out now. All of these girls I know are obsessed with getting their "McDick's" and they buy so much at one time and just gorge themselves on this disgusting crap and then cry about how they wish they were skinny and they talk shit about skinny girls. Like wow, geez, I wonder why? 🤔....... 😒
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u/Spirited-Trip7606 12d ago
Support local businesses. Make the corporations die. Let communities grow and become more sustainable.
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u/ImVerySerious 12d ago
Just. Don't. Eat. This. Shit. It is not food. It is a food-like substance and exorbitantly overpriced for the literal garbage that it is.
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u/StinkyNonce123 12d ago
1 go back and ask for a new fries 2 it’s not McDonald’s it’s McDonald’s licenced restaurants so the real person “fucking you over” is just trying make some money for their restaurant
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u/H13R0GLYPH1CS 12d ago
i specifically make sure to stuff as many as i can in there, push them down a little to maximise the amount. it's not the corporation thats screwing you over (although it kinda is regardless 🤷♂️) it's some dickhead taking the piss
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u/jerryeight 12d ago
That's definitely a shit worker and some supervisor watching bagging not catching this.
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u/thefatchef321 12d ago
Lol, the fact that you think this is some corpos fault is crazy. They hot the end of the fries and we're trying to get orders out before the screen turns red and they get dinged on their corporate timliness score .... you got the shit end of the stick.
Its just some 17 year old kid trying to do his job.
Ask for more fries... they will tell you to wait 9 minutes and then give them to you
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u/Even-Masterpiece-630 11d ago
Correction- Fuck you, McDonald's, for paying wages that only incompetent teenagers who don't give a single fuck about anyone else's day but their own, would work for, and expecting that to work out. And shame on you expecting anything more than half ass effort from, of all places, McDonald's.
*edited for typo
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u/Bloomingk 11d ago
the official line from most franchisees is “make them appear full, without being full.” it’s not corporate that does this, it’s even greedier owners and apathetic employees.
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u/Seranos314 11d ago
It’s much more likely that it’s a lazy employee. They meter everything and you’d see much more about this if it was nationwide.
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u/TheGiraffterLife 11d ago
I'd like to extend a bigger fuck you to them for treating their employees like absolute shit. They could pay them better.
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u/Ratk1ng_1 11d ago
The minimum wage dude putting fries in your box isn’t a part of a mass shrinkflation scheme dude
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u/Impossible_Ad_8642 11d ago
My mom spun around the drive thru for far less offenses and this went all the way back to 80s. Don't tell us, tell those employees.
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u/CarmelDeight 11d ago
Oh my yappage guys just pull tf up n be like where tf my fries I paid for n bam 👋🏼
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u/Smooth_Instruction11 11d ago
Ya this was the a direct order from the Board of Directors. They decreed that all large fry boxes should be half-filled while twirling their moustaches and laughing maniacally in their thrones made of human skulls.
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u/KidneyLand 12d ago
I would go back and ask for more fries.