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Are McDonald’s and Wendy’s “Ham-Burglarizing” Customers?

Note: This article may contain commentary or the author's opinion.

For years, Mcdonald’s has used a masked bandit as part of its marketing. Wendy’s? No masked bandit, just that creepy red-haired girl, but I digress.

Well, if one man gets his way, that little bandit the Hamburglar, and that red-headed chick Wendy, will be paying up for allegedly misrepresenting the size of some of their burgers.

Here are the details according to Outkick:

Evidence is mounting that McDonald’s and Wendy’s are lying to their customers about the size of the burgers they sell.

And one man, a New Yorker called Justin Chimienti, isn’t going to take it anymore.

Tuesday, Mr. Chimienti filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s Corp and Wendy’s Co, accusing the restaurants of defrauding customers with ads that make their burgers appear larger than they are.



The burgers in question are the Big Mac and Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger, two of Chimienti’s favorite lunch sandwiches.

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Mr. Chimienti certainly sounds like he knows his way around a burger or two.

The Big Mac has been under fire, or on it, as the case may be, for years as fast-food chains continue to double down on size and portion sizes, while Mcdonald’s still insists on using the word “Big” in association with this burger.

It just ain’t that big. Apparently, Mr. Chimienti agrees and is taking the fight to the streets.

Outkick continues:

Chimienti alleges that McDonald’s and Wendy’s promote undercooked beef patties in their ads, thus making them appear 15 to 20 percent larger than the burgers that customers buy.

“McDonald’s also materially overstates the size of its beef patties using the same deceptive practice as Wendy’s,” Chimeienti claims.

Now, being a fellow of a certain age, I had the opportunity way back when to flip many, many of these alleged tiny burgers, as well as manage a number of these establishments.

As far as my faded memory can recall, the frozen patties aren’t much different in size from a fully cooked patty. I can’t speak to Wendy’s as that ginger tart wouldn’t hire me.

That’s not to be said there aren’t marketing tricks ALL companies use. Next time you see a fast-food commercial, note that you can see every ingredient on a burger. For instance, if you see an ad for the Big Mac, the visual of the finished burger will feature two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese,  pickles, and onions, on a sesame seed Ben.

Admit it, you just heard the jingle in your head. I did that on purpose.

Chimienti even lawyered up with the best, hiring Anthony Russo, who proposed a similar class-action lawsuit against Burger King last month.

Russo has one job: sue the burger chains for lying about the size of their burgers. Good work, if you can get it. 

Just to be clear, I don’t eat Mcdonald’s or Wendy’s. Not because I am any better than anyone else, including Mr. Chimienti, I am just a little bit older and try every day to not get dead. Avoiding fast food is just one part of my plan to not get dead.

On a serious note, if these claims are found to be true, let’s hope Mr. Chimienti gets everything he has coming to him. Minus the heart disease, of course, and Wendy’s, and particularly that Hamburglar fellow have to pony up for their malfeasance.