Whopper w/ Cheese: An Entirely Different Sandwich

College diploma & BK uniform;
Summer, 1993.

After graduating from college, I briefly worked at Burger King to get by while I looked for a better job. During this time, BK was offering their Whopper for 99 cents, which was normally around $2.25 or something like that. The Whopper with Cheese, however, retained its original price of $2.49 (or whatever) because the manager claimed it was “an entirely different sandwich” and was not subject to the regular Whopper discount.

Justifying that arrangement and explaining the distinction to customers made my first week of work pretty annoying. It was a customer service nightmare because people kept ordering the 99-cent Whopper and requesting cheese on it, then freaking out when they were charged $2.49 instead of the expected $1.09. They’d look at me in disbelief and say, “You’re trying to charge me $1.50 for a piece of cheese?”

Then I was required to say, “Yes, we are,” and explain to them that the Whopper with Cheese was an entirely different sandwich, which was not on sale at this time. I felt like a real dick, and in that stupid hat too.

[Originally posted on Rebel Leady Boy, May 14, 2006]