Customers have a beef against Burger King. The problem is there’s not enough beef on the Whopper sandwich. Feeling cheated by in-store pictures of the sandwich, customers banded together to propose a class action lawsuit.
In short, they feel the Whopper is wimpier than depicted in Burger King restaurants.
A U.S. District Judge Roy Altman denied Burger King’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.
The customers claim the picture on the in-store menu board makes the burger look like it overflows from the bun. They say the picture makes it appear the burger is 35% bigger with double the meat than what the chain actually offers their customers.
Burger King countered by claiming it was unreasonable to expect the burger to match the picture exactly.
Judge Altman will let jurors decide if the picture of the Whopper on menu boards is misleading to reasonable customers, which would be breach of contract. He is also allowing customers to make negligence-based and unjust enrichment claims.
However, Judge Altman dismissed claims that Burger King’s TV and internet advertisements were misleading. He noted in ads, Burger King doesn’t guarantee a burger size or weight.
It seems class action lawsuits against fast food restaurants are trending. McDonald’s and Wendy’s are defending a similar lawsuit against people who feel their food doesn’t look like the pictures.
Customers feel the size of McDonald’s hamburger patties and the amount of toppings put on the sandwich is much smaller than advertised. The customers were particularly upset about how Wendy’s Bourbon Bacon Burger is smaller than their pictures show.
Last month, a man filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Taco Bell. He claims the pictures of the Crunchwrap Supreme, Vegan Crunchwrap, Grande Crunchwrap, Mexican Pizza, and Veggie Mexican Pizza over-embellish the appearance of the actual item a customer given. He also claims some of those items have only half of the advertised beef.
In March, Buffalo Wild Wings was sued by a customer who claimed their boneless wings aren’t really wings, but chicken nuggets.
In July, Subway had a lawsuit dismissed claiming their tuna wasn’t actually tuna. Allegedly a marine biologist tested the tuna at 20 locations and determined 19 of the samples had DNA from cattle, chicken, and pork instead of tuna DNA.
As a customer, do you expect the food you order to look exactly how it is pictured on the menu? Do you think the customers filing class action lawsuits are being unreasonable? Do you hold the standards you set for fast food restaurants the same as a family diner or privately owned restaurant who have pictures on their menus? I’d love to read your opinions in the comments!
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