Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Lies in Advertising are the Norm with McDonalds et al

I pulled into the local Mickie D's to get myself a sandwich
As I gazed hungrily at the menu I placed my order
I opened the wrappings to find a crooked sandwich
Pickles and mustard all on one side and cheese on the other
One lonely thin leaf of lettuce and a slight sliver of tomato
Why are companies permitted to lie in their advertising? Sometimes I think it is funny, other times it just makes me mad but one thing for sure – I am really getting tired of all the lies being blasted out at us by marketers and ad agencies.

And what about restaurants? Have you ever gotten a sandwich or plate of food from a restaurant that looked anything at all like the picture on the menu? I have not. In fact the actual sandwich barely even resembles the ‘doctored up’ photo they display. It doesn’t matter if you go to a fast food joint like McDonalds or Burger King or a fancier place. They have these pictures advertising their food yet the food looks very little like the photos! Can anyone tell me why they are allowed to do this?

Maybe someone should create a website specifically for this. I can see it now. Here is the photo that they present to sell you on that sandwich and here is a photo of the actual sandwich! Any similarities? Very little if any at all!

Places like McDonald’s are bold faced liars and we need to stand up and tell it like it is. If I were to try the same thing with selling cars, or a house or nearly anything other than food could I get by with it? Would I be permitted to show you a picture or a model of a house or car, sell it to you, then give you something completely different? No! People would be outraged and law suits would be filed. But when it comes to restaurants all bets are off and lies seem to be acceptable.

The next time you order food at a restaurant why not ask for a manager and ask them why your food doesn’t resemble the picture on the menu. Why not ask them if they think it’s acceptable to lie so blatantly to their customers?

In the words of Neil Young “You pay for this but they give you that”.

According to the corporate website McDonald's wants every customer to have a great experience every time they visit. You can submit your feedback be it negative or positive -
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/contact_us/restaurant_feedback.html

Of course this isn't limited to McDonald's. It includes, I am guessing, a very high percentage of fast food type places as well as many other restaurants. Next time you go to one of the higher priced "sit down" places note whether or not your food looks like the promo materials.

I do not expect my sandwich to look exactly like the picture in that every seed and every piece of lettuce is in the same place, but I do expect there to be a close resemblance and especially to the quantity and quality.

When you have a problem with the food you order let them know about it. Ask for a manager and tell them what you think and what you want. If you don't want to be confrontational you can wait until you get home and call back. Almost no one complains or informs management, most people just "go on".

4 comments:

  1. This sort of thing should be illegal and lawsuits should be filed against McDonalds, Burger King, Hardees, Arby's, etc for this deceitful practice!

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  2. I agree! I doubt other types of businesses could get by with this! Oh and I like the Neil Young quite very appropriate and I think thats what he was talking about!

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  3. I loathe places like McDonalds! About 7 or 8 times out of ten when you go through the drive thru you have to park and go inside because they messed up the order. They give you half filled containers of old soggy fries and then give you a dirty look when you ask for replacement.

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  4. I havent read the article yet but I can already see where it is going. I often thought the same thing! I want s sandwich that looks like the picture!

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