Well, honey child, I was not born yesterday. When this gimmick was rolled out by McDonald's, I could not tell the difference between the old way and the new marketing way.
So I decided to try this gimmick again which would mark the second time in 2019 that I've eaten at McDonald's. I have considerably cut back on my purchase of all quick service food since I refuse to pay the outrageous prices so that the LaQuesha's of the world can get paid more than minimum wage (a pay rate twice as high as they should be paid based upon how much customer service effort they put into their job).
Today I was out shopping on my time off celebrating our Great Nation's Day of Independence (I took today off as well) so I was hungry and stopped by one of the better McDonald's that at least seemed to have mastered customer service.
I was stupid wrong.
I've noticed a trend with McDonald's - the more ordering Kiosks they have inside, the greater the degradation of service you can expect from the front counter help (that are invisible now). I ordered AND PAID for my transaction at the kiosk (and that was the best customer service I have had at a McDonald's in a half year) and saw my order number 973 was "in progress" and then witnessed the number disappearing never to show again. Minutes disappeared quickly while LaQuesha was pulling together drive thru orders and didn't notice my number and order had also disappeared from the front service screen that is used to show you orders in progress. Of course LaQuesha was oblivious to this because her back was turned to the front and no one seemed to notice that there was a human in the front. I am human whether you think so or not.
After about five minutes LaQuesha happened to catch that someone was standing in a yellow sun dress with a matching hat and long white gloves and exquisite high heeled shoes that had been tapping furiously. I did have time to make sure my anger was well accented with perfect makeup as I reached into my purse and touched up my makeup using my mid-century compact/mirror.
She asked what my order was and then she barked back to the other hired help slaving away in the heat of a modern McDonald's that somehow had functioning A/C. that she needed a double quarter.
I was the one stewing in heat. My order for a fresh double quarter pounder with cheese was nowhere to be seen. That bothered me.
Knowing this business better than most owners of franchises do, I knew that the cook time on this new product was about five minutes. I had already waited that time and now my order was in progress. Guess this is what they meant by "double quarter". I waited double the time.
Having so much time to spend contemplating the error of my ways giving over $9 for a McDonald's lunch worth only $3, I stopped to think that the difference - the real difference - between a previously frozen burger and this new gimmick of fresh meat is that the frozen burger was always cooked and then thrown into one of those amber plastic holding trays and consigned to remaining there for hours. The fresh meat has to be served directly from the grill surface (according to McDonald's information). So I'm waiting five minutes for a fresh burger when I could have also waited five minutes for a frozen burger served fresh.
If you don't get my point, re-read the prior paragraph.
Maybe the difference in the fresh v. frozen situation is that one was never served fresh while the new one has to be served fresh. Is the solution to horrific and tough Quarter Pounders have been resolved by just serving hot off the grill (like Wendy's) rather than spending money and resources to impersonate Wendy's never frozen beef? I can tell you that there is precious little difference between what a previously frozen beef patty tastes like served hot compared to a fresh burger served hot.
My five minute sentence of being the best looking patron (well, I was the only one) in the front area had expired and I was handed my bag (no longer folded over to prevent me from putting condiments inside - another change by McDonald's apparently) and I was on my way out the door into my wonderful gleaming black Hyundai.
Had McDonald's found the cure for the shit it serves just by concentrating on serving freshly cooked items immediately instead of stashing them into those amber holding trays which get emptied as often as an Egyptian Pyramid tomb?
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