McDonald's "New" Burger and Dessert Are Just Plain Lazy, Customers Say
McDonald's announced yesterday that it was launching a new burger and dessert in a few weeks, branding the duo the "It" combo of the season, but fans are already crying foul. According to a debate that sprung up on Reddit, dressing up a Quarter Pounder and a McFlurry with some new bells and whistles hardly qualifies as innovation.
The new Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder with Cheese, slated to launch on Nov. 21, has almost the exact same components as a Quarter Pounder with cheese and bacon, with the addition of a mysterious smoky sauce and bacon, lettuce, and tomato instead of ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions. And it didn't take fans long to notice that.
"Man what happened to mcdonald's? They used to come out with new menu items pretty regularly, now it's just a sauce. This all already exists, they literally just added liquid smoke to something and are calling it a new item," one Redditor said.
While the chain didn't release just what makes the sauce "smoky," fans are guessing the chain went the lazy route. "I was thinking big mac sauce just looking at it, probably with liquid smoke for the flavor. Kind of a lazy "new" thing," wrote one.
As for the "new" Oreo Fudge McFlurry, McDonald's isn't even creating anything new. Again, many aren't duped, claiming the combo already exists. "You can add hot fudge to any McFlurry already BTW. It's definitely worth the upgrade imo." That's assuming you can actually get one at your location, as the ice cream machines are notoriously always broken.
One fan looked on the bright side, however, "at least now you don't have to pay 30 to 50 cents for it," although the price of the new McFlurry hasn't been confirmed yet.
A few acknowledge the lack of ingenuity, but see McDonald's side of the issue, noting that brand-new items are difficult for the staff to master. "Every time I've gone inside any, they are struggling to keep up with demand and lack of staff, so adding a totally new product that could take an additional minute to cook up could create a domino effect of long wait times and backed up drive-thrus."
Whether the smoky sauce makes this version of the Quarter Pounder worth it will be revealed in mid-November when it lands in stores. It doesn't help that this release follows the gimmicky "Farewell Tour" of the McRib sandwich, when fans are pretty certain will be back again next year.
