No Small Value Meals at McDonalds

[Archivist]

I did the drive thru at McDonalds yesterday and ordered a small extra value meal. I was told that they don’t have small, just medium and large.

Medium is defined as “about halfway between two extremes of size.” If there are only two sizes then one is small the other is large. You can’t have medium if you only have two sizes. McDonalds needs to get it right.

BTW, friends have told me that this isn’t unique to McDonalds, some other fast food places do the same thing.

I did write McDonalds to file a formal complaint of their misuse of language.

Thoughts?

 

[FenderTL5]

I did the drive thru at McDonalds yesterday and ordered a small extra value meal. I was told that they don’t have small, just medium and large.

Medium is defined as “about halfway between two extremes of size.” If there are only two sizes then one is small the other is large. You can’t have medium if you only have two sizes. McDonalds needs to get it right.

BTW, friends have told me that this isn’t unique to McDonalds, some other fast food places do the same thing.

I did write McDonalds to file a formal complaint of their misuse of language.

Thoughts?

My daughter is a manager in a McDonalds.
Their supply chain has been effected by the virus shutdowns. The menus are being adjusted to reflect what they have been able to keep in the pipeline.
The small/medium language for the product is retained in the optimistic view that full menus will be available again at some point.

First world problems.

 

[HisCrossMyPeace]

Archivist,your story reminds me of some hotels having only superior/executive/deluxe rooms, indicationg that if you want a budget or standard room you should try another hotel. Pr defintion is the room a hotel has most of their standard room

 

[Archivist]

My daughter is a manager in a McDonalds.
Their supply chain has been effected by the virus shutdowns. The menus are being adjusted to reflect what they have been able to keep in the pipeline.
The small/medium language for the product is retained in the optimistic view that full menus will be available again at some point.

First world problems.

That’s easy to take care of—they have small and large. They can’t have medium without having a small and a large.

I’m eager to see what McDonalds has to say.

 

[FenderTL5]

That’s easy to take care of—they have small and large. They can’t have medium without having a small and a large.

I’m eager to see what McDonalds has to say.

I have three sizes of cup: small, medium and large.
I'm out of the small, so I have medium and large on the menu.
Yes, I could call the medium cup a small cup because it's smaller than the large one. However, that would be incorrect and would prove more troublesome with the complaining Karens when the small cup is back in stock. ie, "I was here last week and the small was bigger than this.."

 

[Archivist]

I have three sizes of cup: small, medium and large.
I'm out of the small, so I have medium and large on the menu.
Yes, I could call the medium cup a small cup because it's smaller than the large one. However, that would be incorrect and would prove more troublesome with the complaining Karens when the small cup is back in stock. ie, "I was here last week and the small was bigger than this.."

How is it incorrect to call the smaller cup a small when there are only two sizes? Yes some might later complain. That’s McDonalds problem.

 

[eleos1954]

I did the drive thru at McDonalds yesterday and ordered a small extra value meal. I was told that they don’t have small, just medium and large.

Medium is defined as “about halfway between two extremes of size.” If there are only two sizes then one is small the other is large. You can’t have medium if you only have two sizes. McDonalds needs to get it right.

BTW, friends have told me that this isn’t unique to McDonalds, some other fast food places do the same thing.

I did write McDonalds to file a formal complaint of their misuse of language.

Thoughts?

Does it really matter? Maybe they think they might bring it (small) back in the future?

 

[Arc F1]

I did the drive thru at McDonalds yesterday and ordered a small extra value meal. I was told that they don’t have small, just medium and large.

Medium is defined as “about halfway between two extremes of size.” If there are only two sizes then one is small the other is large. You can’t have medium if you only have two sizes. McDonalds needs to get it right.

BTW, friends have told me that this isn’t unique to McDonalds, some other fast food places do the same thing.

I did write McDonalds to file a formal complaint of their misuse of language.

Thoughts?

Last week was the first time I've been for a couple of years. They handed some kind of bucket out the window for the money and gave my change to me in a baggy. The food was good and the milkshake even better. I couldn't eat it all but my dog was more than happy to help me out.

 

[Albion]

I did the drive thru at McDonalds yesterday and ordered a small extra value meal. I was told that they don’t have small, just medium and large.


Thoughts?

It doesn't bother me nearly as much as some other things that the fast food places do. And I don't entirely agree with the complaint about the language.

Yes, there are small, medium, and large in whatever it may be, but the absence of one of them only means that there IS or WAS a small, but it's been discontinued, leaving only what the seller had previously, and correctly, termed their medium and large offerings.

If I were going to be outraged over this particular issue, I'd be more concerned over the fact that some of these places call a 20 ounce drink (for example), their "small" offering!

I read that the coronavirus restrictions had the effect of causing McDonald's to reconsider its line-up. As a result, the company decided that it could do with a slimmer menu hereafter. The elimination of the small meal was probably just one of the consequences of that study.

 

[Chesterton]

Thoughts?

Oi vey, you're being a total Karen.

While your position may have some merit in the abstract, in actual reality the words for sizes are likely going to refer to absolute measurements, not relative values. Like men's underwear that's labeled "medium" refers to a certain range of inches around, a medium drink will refer to a certain number of ounces, and this will hold roughly true everywhere on planet Earth.

I am jealous of you. I wish my life were so problem-free that I had the luxury of spare time and energy to manufacture problems out of nothing. I think you should leave McDonald's alone. Some actual human being who's probably already over-worked and under-paid is going to have to waste time reading and maybe responding to your communication.

 

[Albion]

That’s easy to take care of—they have small and large. They can’t have medium without having a small and a large.

That's one way of looking at it. Another is that the customer has something in mind when he decides to order small, medium, or large.

If he were to order "small" he's not expecting either the kid's size or what used to be called "medium," and if he were to order "large" he also has some general idea of what he should be handed. To that extent, McDonald's sizing is a help, not the opposite.

 

[Archivist]

Does it really matter? Maybe they think they might bring it (small) back in the future?

They currently have small, they are just insisting on calling it medium.

 

[Archivist]

Last week was the first time I've been for a couple of years. They handed some kind of bucket out the window for the money and gave my change to me in a baggy. The food was good and the milkshake even better. I couldn't eat it all but my dog was more than happy to help me out.

I have no complaint with their food although I prefer Arby's or Wendy's over McDonalds. Our Wendy's correctly has small, medium and large.

 

[Arc F1]

I have no complaint with their food although I prefer Arby's or Wendy's over McDonalds. Our Wendy's correctly has small, medium and large.

Arby's is really good. A little on the expensive side but really good.

 

[Archivist]

It doesn't bother me nearly as much as some other things that the fast food places do. And I don't entirely agree with the complaint about the language.

Yes, there are small, medium, and large in whatever it may be, but the absence of one of them only means that there IS or WAS a small, but it's been discontinued, leaving only what the seller had previously, and correctly, termed their medium and large offerings.

If I were going to be outraged over this particular issue, I'd be more concerned over the fact that some of these places call a 20 ounce drink (for example), their "small" offering!

I read that the coronavirus restrictions had the effect of causing McDonald's to reconsider its line-up. As a result, the company decided that it could do with a slimmer menu hereafter. The elimination of the small meal was probably just one of the consequences of that study.

Then it is an easy fix. If they only have two sizes one should be small, the other large.

 

[Archivist]

Arby's is really good. A little on the expensive side but really good.

Agreed!

 

[eleos1954]

They currently have small, they are just insisting on calling it medium.

I understand ... just don't see where it's a big deal. Seems like a minor thing to me.

 

[Archivist]

Oi vey, you're being a total Karen.

How does posting this make me a member of an indigenous people of eastern Burma and western Thailand?

While your position may have some merit in the abstract, in actual reality the words for sizes are likely going to refer to absolute measurements, not relative values. Like men's underwear that's labeled "medium" refers to a certain range of inches around, a medium drink will refer to a certain number of ounces, and this will hold roughly true everywhere on planet Earth.

Except drink sizes vary depending on where you are getting them. Large at McDonalds is 42 ounces, at Sheetz it is 64 ounces.

I am jealous of you. I wish my life were so problem-free that I had the luxury of spare time and energy to manufacture problems out of nothing.

My guess is that you have probably manufactured many problems out of nothing. I simply posted something for discussion and wrote the business to complain. I don't know why I'm getting berated.

I think you should leave McDonald's alone. Some actual human being who's probably already over-worked and under-paid is going to have to waste time reading and maybe responding to your communication.

That is their job.

 

[Archivist]

I understand ... just don't see where it's a big deal. Seems like a minor thing to me.

I never said that it is a big deal. I'm not spending hours dealing with it. I spent five minutes typing an e-mail mail to them, no more than that starting this thread. I started the thread simply because I thought it would make for an interesting discussion.

 

[Chesterton]

I don't know why I'm getting berated.

Well I'm sorry. It's just that you have some kind of mindset that is completely alien to me. I'm aware that there exist people who do the kind of thing you're doing, but I don't think I've ever known one in real life. I try and put myself in your place but I can't for the life of me figure out what your motivation is. It's mysterious to me.

Arby's is really good. A little on the expensive side but really good.

Agreed!

If you guys like the basic beef and cheddar I found a good copycat recipe once which is really simple. It came from a former employee who swore the sauce they use is Kraft Classic Catalina dressing. If it's not, it's very close, IMO.

Onion hamburger buns
Any packaged, processed, sliced roast beef
Rico's Premium Cheddar sauce OR Frito's mild cheddar cheese dip
Kraft Classic Catalina dressing