Burger King throw in a free apology after manager tries to 'trick' Blenheim customer

Monday, 10 June 2019

One diner was left with a sour taste in her mouth after the store manager's whopper drive-thru disaster.

A Blenheim woman is furious after her local Burger King 'falsely advertised', treated her rudely and then tried to fob her off with two free burgers.

After trying to order a Mix or Match deal, Amber Clark was told the offer had expired.

She said the manager told them he would honour the deal, but instead swivelled the sign around, said it wasn't there, then walked to his car and started smoking.

'I couldn't believe how they tried to trick me,' she said.

* 'Yuck that's mould': Kiwis complain of mouldy Burger King burgers in Auckland

* Burger King in NZ removes 'offensive' Vietnamese chopsticks advertisement**

Clark said she was disappointed with the way 'the whole thing' was handled.

'Some lady calls me up and says sorry we'll give you a free burger. We're not interested in a few burgers, we want an apology, it's the principle of the whole thing,' she said.

A Burger King spokesman has 'sincerely apologised' to Blenheim woman Amber Clark.

Clark was going through the Burger King drive through with her mother on May 3 and tried to order the Mix or Match deal, which advertised two burgers for $10.

She was told the deal was no longer valid. Clark said the sign was in front of them, and didn't have an expiry date. She was told the deal ended a month earlier.

'I thought this was outrageous that it was still clearly being advertised so I asked if we could to speak to a manager about still getting the deal as it was clearly on display'

They explained the issue to the manager and asked him to honour the deal.

'We were still going to spend $20,' she said.

'He agreed to this very politely and asked us to wait around the corner as we were still in the drive-through.'

Clark and her mother parked up and saw the manager walk over and check the signs. The manager yelled over from a distance that the Mix & Match sign wasn't there, she said.

Amber Clark says the Burger King manager swiveled the sign and told her the Mix or Match deal wasn't on the menu.

So Clark went to have a look. 'I told him that someone must have just changed it while we were waiting as it was definitely there before.

'He insisted that wasn't possible as he had the key to the display case.

'I told him someone definitely has turned it while we were waiting and became annoyed that he was trying to insinuate I hadn't seen what I had seen.'

Clark realised you could swivel the sign.

'I told him he should have honoured the deal like he said he would. He then said sorry 'I'm on a break' and went over to his car and started smoking.'

'I was completely shocked,' she said.

Driving away, Clark said she felt angry with how they were treated.

'I felt it was false advertising and the deal should have been honoured.

'I understood it was a mistake and they should have removed the sign but these things happen. The way this has been handled was so silly.'

The Mix or Match deal for all to see, until the manager got involved, Clarke said.

Clark said she used to own a pizza shop in Auckland and 'never treated customers like that'.

'It was just the way we were treated and fobbed off, that was what we were so annoyed about.'

Following Stuff's inquiry on Friday, Burger King general manager marketing James Woodbridge made contact with Clark.

'We are going to do a follow up on our end,' Woodbridge said.

'We've apologised sincerely for our lack of customer service on the day. I've said that I will follow up with her early next week.'