When is 4+4 < 6?

When buying Nuggets at McDonalds apparently.

My kids are growing up and have, for the most part, outgrown the Happy Meal portion sizes at Mickey D's. My eldest has started enjoying healthier fare (a side salad and a chicken Wrap) while my middle child has at least graduated to more Nuggets (2 four-piece packs).

When we stopped for lunch while out running around on Saturday, I ordered a little out of my usual order and got confused, missing my sandwich entirely. When I got back to the table, I realized my mistake and went back to order something for me. I wasn't very hungry and the nuggets smelled good for some reason so I decided to get a 6 piece for me. At $2.99 it seemed a little pricier than I expected, but I realized that prices had gone up lately so I just paid and went back to join the family.

I knew that the four-piece Nuggets used to be on the Dollar Menu, but checking the original receipt, the price had raised to $2.58 for his two packs of four ($1.29 each). Checking my receipt, it showed $2.99 for 6 pieces.

Hmmm... Eight pieces for $2.58, but only six pieces for $2.99? That didn't seem right. Perhaps they charged me for a small meal instead (and forgot the rest of the items). It's so hard to tell individual prices nowadays because they don't list all of the "ala-cart" items on the menu any more.

When I questioned the manager, she stated that the rationale was since the 4-piece was on the Dollar Menu, but no longer is, they were incrementally raising the price back to what it was beforehand as opposed to raising it all at once. I could tell as she was trying to explain this to me, and looking back and forth at my receipts, she was trying hard to make up something that she thought I would believe, as opposed to "an official Corporate statement."

I know it's only a few cents in this case, but I can't think of a justifiable reason for this price discrepancy.

With 3 kids and a busy life, we spend hundreds of dollars a year at McDonalds. It was only by chance that these two items ended split enough for me to really catch the price difference.

What's the rationale for this pricing scheme? ("As adults, we expect to pay more for the same stuff we buy for our kids." "We thought you wouldn't notice." "Pricing is a store by store decision and we stay out of it." "Most people can't afford the 6 piece Nuggets anymore anyway, so we're trying to earn a few more cents occasionally." "Oops, there must be something wrong...")

It may seem like a little thing, but it's the little things that can make a big difference these days.

Mickey, you got some splainin' to do...