Why McDonald's Can Be So Stingy With Its Sauces

There is something suspicious afoot beneath the golden arches. Customers all over the world have noticed a suspicious lack of sauces included with their meals at McDonald's, which is a concerning development for condiment lovers. After all, the global fast food chain has many delicious sauces, each of which has a set of devotees. Many McDonald's sauce fans won't even eat the nuggets if the right sauce isn't included, so a lack of dipping sauces is not good news for many customers. But what's the lowdown on stingy sauce distribution? Apparently, McDonald's is limiting the number of sauce packets included (for free) with McNugget and McCrispy tender orders. As to why McDonald's has gotten short on its sauces, some alleged McDonald's employees on Reddit have said that this policy is an attempt to deter sauce hoarding by customers.

In accordance with the sauce policy, customers ordering a four- or six-piece nugget meal will only receive one sauce packet. Ordering a 10-piece ups the sauce packs to two; and if you order a 20-piece nugget, you will get three packs of sauce in return. For some, of course, this is no matter, but for those who love their sauces, it simply isn't enough to account for proper dipping of the nuggets or a side of fries. This policy doesn't extend to certain sauces, such as ketchup or mustard. These you can get for free and aplenty. You can also order extra sauces of your choosing. However, this will cost you extra, at least at certain McDonald's locations.

Now, there isn't a lot of in-depth information on this spare sauce policy. It is not known exactly when it was put into place, though it seems to have gained traction over the past few years. The exact parameters of sauce rationing are also unclear, as it is likely a location-dependent policy, guided by franchise owners rather than corporate directives (as most McDonald's locations are owned by franchisees). Many franchises guide pricing policies based on the unique conditions of their locations. This means that prices and certain policies can vary from one location to another. Some locations still do not charge for additional sauces, for example. So you might get lucky and find a location that will give you the historically rich Sweet and Sour sauce aplenty and free of charge.

If you do come across a McDonald's that charges for additional sauces, the price will vary, again, based on location. Some have reported that extra sauces are about $0.22 in price, which isn't much, but does stack up.