In an effort to keep up with our national obsession with cheap-n'-shitty fast food, Burger King has just revealed a new deal for their BK Stacker burgers. The new deal is elementary in concept: $1 for a single stacker, $2 for a double and $3 for a triple. Basically, it's a dollar per patty. But as anyone with eyes and any cognitive ability may perceive, a burger is not just a patty. In this case it is also, bun, cheese and bacon. If you do a little math, you can see some inconsistency in what you're paying for.
On the BK site (BK.com), you can see exactly what you're getting when you order. Your $1 stacker is beef, bacon and cheese.
When you go for the double, you not only get an extra patty, but also 1 extra half-strip of bacon (yes, that reads half-strip, apparently whole strips were just too much). When you go for the triple, you get the extra bacon with that third patty, but you also get a second slice of cheese. Quite the deal. Except for the fact that you can 3 $1 burgers for the same price as the triple.
I am sure the geniuses at Burger King understand the impliations of this, but let me explain. With your $3, you can get (1) burger with 3 patties, 3 bacon (half)strips and 2 slices of cheese (and the accompanying condiments) OR you can get (3) burgers, totaling 3 patties, 6 (half)strips of bacon and 3 slices of cheese. For those who would rather not do math, that's 3 extra half strips of bacon and an extra slice of cheese as well as 2 whole burger buns more you would get if you buy these individually. For the logician, this seems like a grave mix-up for the accountants over at the Home of the Whopper.
The only reason I can think why the higher ups agreed to this is to appeal to the simple, convenience-oriented mind of American consumers. The appeal of 1-2-3 may lure in those burger eaters a bit more than say a marketing ad of 1.25-1.75-2.50 or something similar. It also may just be a way to make more money off their heavier patrons, as there may be more repeat business for the $3 fare if the correlation of fast-food trips to then high-calorie choices is true.
As you may know, I am concerned with the obesity of our fellow Americans and am constantly disappointed in how apathetic people are when it comes to weight. This new offering only continues the trend of cheap, un-nutritional food, available to be handed to you while you drive around in your motorized chair. Adding to the dearth of good choices is that these stackers have some sort of special sauce that I'm pretty sure is even less nutritional than your standard ketchup/mustard toppings. Add this to the fact that I'm pretty sure a normal cheeseburger costs more than a dollar, meaning you can get now more calories and more fat for your money. Gross.
Perhaps this new deal is just a temporary selling point to get people in the doors. Or, these burgers are so damn cheap to produce that it doesn't matter that the math doesn't make sense. If they can still make a profit on the $1 version, then anything else is just money in the bank. For the consumer, it's more weight in the tank and stomach and face. But if you decide you don't care about your health and still want that delicious stacker burger taste (I admit, they are kinda good), at least make the right economic decision. Then at least, you can burn some calories by deconstructing your individual burgers and reassembling the pieces into your own burger monstrosity. You gotta start somewhere.
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