McDonald’s Charges for Sauce Packets

[...] seems that, at least this McDonald’s, has started to charge for extra packets of sauce. Goodbye it is to courtesy sauce packets.  In my opinion this a bit of ludicris.  First off, this [...]

[...] of charging for sauce packets, this time institutionalizing it with a nice, professional sign.[Drivelocity] No tags for this [...]

Imagine that you ask for some extra buttons for the 5 dollar shirt you bought a K-Mart and guess what the reply will be. The McD’s deal is 1 sauce, so what’s wrong with the extra charge?

About time they started charging you for extra packets of sauce, we’ve been subjected to that forever in europe.

also i have to say I don’t entirely disagree with the idea. how many times have i seen people in asia ask for 10 packets of ketchup with their meals only to use 3 and throw away the rest…

Feel lucky they only charge you that much. My wife and kids like to dip their french fries in tartar sauce (I gotta love them), and I get charged 30 cents for each cup to dip them in. The amount of tartar sauce amounts to about the same that would be in a dipping sauce for McNuggets.

Lee, I’m not sure what your point is. Are you suggesting I buy my shirts at K-Mart, or simply comparing apples to oranges? The shirts I buy (not at K-Mart) come with extra buttons – more than I need. The McNuggets, if I were to buy them, would require more than the number of free sauce packets I would be allotted.

the hEad is dEad, I didn’t know that about Europe. Thanks for the info. Here, the ketchup and mayo are still free, apparently. And, from my experience, it’s the cashiers who usually give more ketchup than I need. I’ve noticed that more places ask if you want ketchup, so it’s not wasted. That waste is unfortunate, but the extra charge is more like a penalty for those of us who don’t waste. If I don’t use it, I put it in a drawer for the next time when I forget to ask for sauce.

Scott, Wow, 30 cents is a lot. But, another way to look at it is that tartar sauce is usually not for fries, so an extra charge may be reasonable; however, McNugget sauce is for McNuggets and one packet of sauce really isn’t enough and some people like a variety.

If it’s a matter of cost for packaging, they should use the same as ketchup, which would probably lower the cost considerably. Another point to my post is that McDonald’s not only started charging at at least one location, but has raised the prices, and charge extra depending on what kind of chicken item you buy. And at least one location doesn’t provide free water cups anymore.

There are plenty of sources that state that McDonald’s benefits from a weak economy. People can’t spend as much on food, so they go to a cheaper restaurant like McDonald’s. So what does this say about McDonald’s raising prices? Pure greed?

The packets for selects cost more because they assume you are going to ask for the ‘premium sauces’ (honey mustard, ranch, etc..) which are larger in size and contain more sauce..

I don’t ever want to know where they get off.

me, Thank you for pointing that out. It’s been so long since I’ve ordered their “chicken” that I assumed they were the same size and that only honey was smaller…

Phil, Good answer!

I just returned to the US from Zurich, Switzerland. After putting in 14 hours of work at a satellite office, I stopped into the McD’s across from the hotel. If it wasn’t bad enough paying about $15USD for a Big Mac Meal, when I asked for ketchup for my fries… .20 Swiss Francs for (1) 13 ml packet of ketchup. That’s about $0.17 USD, so we’re still making out like bandits here in the states!

A.) While the sign is better than a marker scribbled mess at other stores, it still looks like something locally done. I could see the local manager reaching out to a local print shop to put that together. A professionally produced sign will probably cause less issues around the policy.

B.) The policy isn’t that far out of line. Do you really need a 6 pack of sauces for a 6 pack of McNuggets? I think most folks are staying within the policy anyway and the sign helps keep the gluttons in check who see an opportunity to do their grocery shopping for sauce at the McDonalds.

C.) McDonalds sucks anyway. No one should be eating there. When you get the urge, kick in a DVD of “Supersize Me” and control that urge. If you’re going to eat horribly, I can think of much better, cheaper venues for your dollar.

rytchyrd, Thanks for the comment! That does seem like a lot, but is also very telling of the value of the USD…

JF, I agree, the closer I look at the sign, the less I think it resembles something that would come from corporate. Plus, something from corporate would probably be in every location. I also agree that a packet of sauce per McNugget is extreme, but I simply state that one packet is not enough for a six piece McNuggets or three piece Selects. And, yes, I agree about avoiding McDonald’s like the plague. I believe on that trip, I used a $5 gift card that was given to my <2yr old son and I was pressed for time. My son doesn’t need McDonald’s, so I feel I took one for the team

BTW, Supersize Me is a great documentary! Everyone should watch that DVD!

Oh man, that’s been happening for a really long time now in Canada. I know it’s not much, but the way that I ask for extras, it comes up to quite a bit at the end of the year….

TrainWreckIdeas´s last blog post..MAYBE THIS IS A REVELATION

Prices and policies are set by the franchisee EXCEPT when a special is mandated by McD’s corporate. profit is 2-3 CENTS PER DOLLAR, so giving 4-5 sauces per product kills any profit( Profit is paying workers, all the operating expenses and something for the owner/investor. Raising the prices covers the cost of the food, wadda want, somebody to sell at a loss.

Lee, I think that most people will agree that that’s hard to believe. McDonald’s does not need to charge 15-20 cents per sauce packet to make up for any supposed losses to profit. Check out these numbers:

“McDonalds sales and profits were $23.7 billion and $4.6 billion in the past 12 months and its stock is actually up 11% in the last year.”

Source

I just got charge 40 cents per sauce in poket rd Sacramento, CA this is abuse

lol reading your post makes me feel hungry
.-= sandrine´s last blog ..Let’s Know About : Happy Birthday MOM (L) . =-.

I recently went to a McDonalds in the UK ordered 2 quarter pounders with cheese, asked for it without cheese as I prefer it without and they dont offer a regular quarter without cheese, so I then asked for extra onions, I was promptly charged 30p per burger for the extra onions, when I tried to argue the point I was told simply that they cannot discount for removed items and do not swap items therefore its classed as an extra…Absolute ****

Corporate in the UK stood by the decision of the store when I proposed that it was a litte unfair…what a joke…Im gonna be spending my money somwehre else from now on…

That’s how it is at most fast food restaurants here too. The closer it is to a real restaurant, the more they care what you want. Papa Murphy’s, the take and bake pizza place, tried that, but I convinced the employee that what I wanted cost less than the meat I didn’t want. It’s not really fast food, but serves to prove my point.

We used to give sauce for free, but customers abused the privilege. 5 sauces for a 4 piece nugget??
10 sauces for a medium fry??,
if we allowed this to continue, our condiment cost would be close to 5%. Since we have charged for extra sauce, our cost has gone from a 3% to a 1.5 which equates to quite a bit of money.

Hmmm… That seems a little far fetched. I could see capping the number of packets before it gets to that point, but to use that as an excuse to charge for a minimal number is absurd.

I used to think it was me that started the whole charging extra for sauce.
I live in a smaller town, and I used to ask for mayo to dip my fries in.
One day, they told me it would be 10 cents.
I payed it, but then it grew.
Apparently an epidemic was coming about. McDonalds was losing their shirts to those of us that took them to the cleaners asking for a squirt of mayo.
Obviously, I wasn’t the only one that was asking, but I doubt me plus the others wasn’t that bad.
I am willing to pay a price, but things have gotten out of control.
Now, if I want mayo, it’s 20 cents.
Now, I know that even I can buy a jar of top quality mayo on sale for a price that if I was to sell it non-profit, I could give someone like 1/2 a cup of mayo for 20 cents.

I kind of assume that McDonalds mayo is probably not top quality, it probably is bought by the tanker load, and that they could probably sell me what I want for a penny. Maybe two, I dont know.
It just seems that McDonalds seems to have decided to capitalize on their customers wanting to have it their way.
They are likely laughing all the way to the bank on their condiment sales.
“Can I get some mayo on my $1.39 bacon cheeseburger?”
“Absolutely sir, although you must understand that the mayo you are asking for is very pricey, accounting for 1/6th of your burger purchase and we must charge you or we will go bankrupt”

I’m sure.
“Hey, I want a big extra, no tomato. And I’ll have mcchicken with a slice of tomato.”
“Ok sir, but that will 20 cents extra.”

“Can’t you just take the tomato from the big extra, and put it on the McChicken?”
“I’m sorry sire, the computer doesn’t let me do that.”

It’s nuts, by their logic I should be able to save big time by ordering with no condiments.

Can I get a double cheeseburger($1.79 here) without ketchup, mustard, onions, or pickles? and get my $1.79 burger for 99 cents?
If that’s the case, I’m in.

If I’m going to get raped every time I go there, I’m out.

I understand there are losers out there that do treat places badly, but just create a limit on extras, and charge if necessary.

See I understand the barbecue sauce cups. But they are doing this for the tiny ketchup sized packets for hot sauce for their breakfast burritos…..a little tiny packet cost me 18 cents. WTF

Bastards! Well here in Holland they’ve been charging for this stuff for ages (and no, we don’t just eat mayonnaise here )

My complaint is that I ordered two filets with extra tartar sauce and only one had extra. Now I have ordered “extra” and never got charged extra. It is not via a sauce packet but when made.
Okay, it was a mistake on one but I checked the receipt and there were two 20 cent charges!
WHAT!! Thats when I said I am DONE with MCD here in UT. Funny thing while I was in CA there were no extra charges ever. By the time you get a Filet meal and extra filet the bill was $9.09.
For a buck more you can go to Dennys for a lunch/dinner.

Where in K mart can you order extra buttons on your 5 dollar shirt. A suit order but not in store bought – BAD ANALYSIS buddy.

Rob – great Post buddy.