Earlier this year, the third season premiere of Rick and Morty kicked off a renewed interest in McDonald’s Szechuan sauce which culminated in last weekend’s “one day only” return of the suddenly popular condiment. And to say that the event did not go as planned would be a huge understatement. Instead of being a fun branded way to celebrate the show, the outcome of this promotion didn’t make the fans look good at all. Today’s Nerdist News is taking a look at what went wrong with the return of the Szechuan sauce.
Join host and the only McDonald’s customer to order a “Pickle Rick BLT,” Jessica Chobot, as she dives into the nationwide chaos. As reported by The New York Times and various other outlets and fans on Twitter, McDonald’s was extremely unprepared for the fan demand, and it provided several stores with less than 100 packets of Szechuan sauce for crowds of hundreds and even thousands of irate customers. Fights broke out, and there are currently unconfirmed rumors of a stabbing. Police were called to restore order across the country. In Los Angeles, there was at least one McDonald’s that was overrun by fans who demanded to get the Szechuan sauce.
Even though the corporation wildly underestimated demand and put its franchises in the crosshairs of some unruly crowds, the fans behaved, on the whole, in the extreme. The employees of the McDonald’s and the ordinary patrons were swept up in something that they had no control over, and it’s shameful to see the way this played out in city after city. From an outside perspective, it appears that people felt that they “deserved” to get their Szechuan sauce, and that justified some of their ugly behavior. It is just a condiment, and the entitlement, whether sarcastic or genuine, simply made fans of the show look bad.
According to CNBC, scalpers have been selling the packets of Szechuan sauce for hundreds of dollars on ebay. And it’s certainly possible that greed played a part in driving the crowds at the participating McDonald’s. While we sympathize with the fans who waited in line for hours and left empty-handed, this entire debacle has left a black eye on Rick and Morty‘s collective fandom. It may take a long time for that impression to go away.
You spoke. We’ve listened. Lots more #SzechuanSauce and locations. Details soon. And that’s the wayyy the news goes! pic.twitter.com/ooIrbZBsOw
— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) October 8, 2017
McDonald’s has promised that the Szechuan sauce will make another return soon, presumably with the supply issues addressed. Hopefully they’ve figured out how to avoid these issues next time. Perhaps Rick and Morty fans should also take a moment to learn from this incident. You are the ambassadors for this series and for the larger fandom. Please behave accordingly. Despite what Rick Sanchez says on the show, there’s a lot more to life than just a few packets of dipping sauce.
How do you feel about the Szechuan sauce promotion and the accompanying response? Let’s talk about it in the comment section below.
Image: Adult Swim
