It's not often you can get something for nothing but it appears McDonald's might be the place to get it. Howerver there is a catch - you need to be pregnant and ordering something else.
A manager of a Derbyshire branch of the fast food chain has told how they give out free gherkins to women who are expecting a baby or babies. And while many customers ask for the pickle to be removed it seems that some expectant mums like to dine on them.
It has long been known that some women experience cravings when they are pregnant. And while many of these can seem strange to others they do seem to affect many mums to be - they even get a mention on the NHS website.
Now it seems that McDonald's is prepared to help satisfy a powerful craving for the tangy foodstuff. And they will do it for free too, reports Derbyshire Live.
Because a box of gherkins does not appear as a menu item, it is hard to charge for it individually, so it is often given away free. Dan Luke, manager at a Derbyshire branch of McDonald's explained how a whole box of pickles isn’t as uncommon an order as you might think.
“We do see orders of just gherkins," said Dan, who runs the Rutland Street restaurant in Ilkeston. It’s common knowledge these days that McDonald's crazy customisation options means that you can remove all the other parts to a burger to leave just a slice of cheese or the bread if you are so inclined. But with gherkins, it’s much easier than that.
“They just ask. We won’t charge them for something like that. There’s no way of really processing it through the till anyway. But yeah. It’s one of the cheaper ingredients. It’s fine. As long as they’re ordering something else."
The quirky request does have to come in addition to something else though. Only paying customers are eligible for the free box. They can’t just walk in off the street, get a box of pickles and then leave.
The odd phenomenon was revealed during a Derbyshire Live trip to the newly refurbished Rutland Street McDonald's. It’s one of the first UK stores to be upgraded in line with McDonald's new ‘Convenience for the Future’ plans.
Once upgraded, new look stores will include features like a reduced-noise seating area with a kitchen separate to the customer space and a separate courier entrance to reduce congestion at order points. Other notable points are furniture made from recycled materials and a focus on staffless orders through LCD screens or the new McDonald's app.
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