A McDonald’s customer sparked a viral discussion after uploading footage of a location’s bag charge. Kate (@katekurczy) didn’t seem too happy with the fact that the restaurant was appending a fee just to get a paper bag with her to-go order.
Her viral TikTok garnered a whopping 3.8 million views, with over 1,600 viewers sounding off in the comments section.
“Where will you enjoy McDonald’s?” a message reads on a self-serve kiosk at a Mickey D’s location. The TikToker taps the screen and selects “To Go.” Next, another screen pops up, asking them if they would like a bag. If they select yes, they see that a 5-cent surcharge will be appended to their order.
A viral TikTok sound of a man protesting and swearing once the selection populates the terminal can be heard in the background of the video.
Paper or plastic?
Currently, there are 10 states in the US that have banned or limited business’ usage of plastic bags. Maine, New York, Oregon, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Delaware, Vermont, and Washington.
At many of these retailers, store owners will offer more eco-friendly, reusable bags for a surcharge. This is ultimately believed to be beneficial for the environment at large. That’s because recent estimates indicate America produces around 4.2 million tons of plastic waste via “bags, sacks, and wraps” each year.
So the idea is that if folks are paying for eco-friendly bags, they may be more inclined to reuse them. However, many consumers have expressed their disdain that retailers are now charging for paper bags, too.
One Redditor posted about the “new bag fee” that was implemented at the Golden Arches in the r/McDonalds employees subreddit. It appears that the bag fees, however, vary from location to location. As evidenced in a photo attached to their post, the total screen indicates a 10-cent bag charge.
The same Redditor remarked that they’re working in Southern California, but others mentioned similar charges in different areas. One Canadian commenter replied that customers at the restaurant they work in dislike the charge. “They do that in my stupid a*s city in canada too, everyone hates it,” they wrote.
Other fees next?
Additionally, several other commenters speculated that additional tariffs would be appended to Mickey D’s orders.
“Fr. Next it’s gonna be a fee to wrap the burger up like let them at least just factor this in to the price it would make more sense,” one Reddit user wrote. “At the same time tho I’m usually getting a single burger and a drink. Personally I don’t actually want a bag.”
There were some folks who argued that bag fees are implemented because businesses need to recoup money. The same individuals went on to argue that these products cost money to manufacture, and consumers are footing the bill for them.
However there were others, like this Reddit user, who said that these are just poor business practices. “Most businesses don’t charge for things like ketchup packets, salt or pepper packets, plastic cutlery, napkins, straws, etc,” they said. “All of those are built into the cost of the product/service. You can’t justify having a separate charge for friggin bags because they should be factored in just like everything else.”
Someone else replied that these fees are automatically appended to customers’ orders. Like taxes, they argued, the government gets a cut of that money in order to “fund recycling programs.”
While the receiver of bag fees can vary by state, this is generally true, according to a 2023 report by The Hill.
TikTokers were equally irate
One person who responded to Kate’s video replied, “They gonna charge u to get a tray too?”
“They’re gonna charge u for straws and napkins?” another echoed.
Someone else replied that they thought the bag charge was ludicrous. “This is getting out of control,” they said.
While another said they were ambivalent about the bag surcharge: “I agree with both different sides because yea it’s just 5 pennys but yea HOW BADLY DO THEY NEED 5 PENNYS.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to McDonald’s via email and Kate via TikTok comment for further information.
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The post ‘They gonna charge u to get a tray too?’: McDonald’s customer places order at kiosk. Then it asks her if she wants a bag appeared first on The Daily Dot.
