Oh, I know I will miss it. I might even pop in once in a while for the nostalgia; whose to say!? And I know this might sound like a 1st World problem (d’ya think?) but my Micky-Dees, cranberry orange muffin just isn’t what it used to be. So what, right?
Well, it all started back around 2006 or ’07; anyway it was a long time ago. Country Style Donuts, my favorite and regular-stop, coffee shop, went out of business in my town. Tim Hortons, wasn’t a replacement option for me because their coffee made my stomach burn and left a skunky aftertaste in my mouth. It was time for me to face the truth…I would have to give up coffee. BUT WAIT! I remember seeing some bloke, not long ago, sipping from a McDonald’s coffee cup. Hmm…mmm…
I said to myself, “why not! Let’s do this thing!”
So I set out for the golden arches, I got up my nerve, climbed the steps to the entrance, pulled open the door and strode purposefully to the counter, hoisted a dollar and twenty-five cents from my trousers pocket (a loonie and a “special” Alberta quarter), and casually articulated, “One medium coffee please…oh…double cream.”
As I recall, the lady at the counter was about to hand me my change when I told her, “no, you go ahead and keep it.” But she informed me that there was “no tipping at McDonalds”, and she handed me a nickel. This was going better than I expected, but the moment of truth loomed and I had to know. I punched the tab on the lid and took a swig..wait a minute! hold the phone…something went ZING and I thought OMG, where have you been all my life!!
As I was about to leave, I noticed something called a Cinnamon Melt, sitting behind the glass display. “Next time”, I told myself, “good things come to those who wait”.
Next day I left McDee’s with coffee and a Cinnamon Melt. Life was good. This little scenario continued a couple times a week for a couple years. Then, I saw the muffins. One of them was cranberry orange. Oh, how I love cranberries and oranges baked into things. It did not disappoint! And so the story went. I hardly ever thought about Country Style, anymore, except when I bought gas, because the lady at the Canadian Tire gas bar, used to work there. But that’s besides the point. The point is I looked forward to my Micks and soon everyone in town knew that I was a regular there. It put a little swagger in my step to know that. Sometimes an acquaintance would yell across the street…”Hey McColl! ‘you goin’ to McD!@#$ today?”, and I would just smile and nod.
Plot twist. Recently, McDonalds changed the muffin. Its sticky and softer with rocks of sugar on top. It also tastes different, and when I add it all up…I am disappointed. If they hadn’t gotten rid of Cinnamon Melts, I would just switch back to the them. I have given the “new” muffins a fair shake for the last while, hoping they would grow on me…but they haven’t. Its the classic case of someone in the corporation erroneously thinking that it was time to change things up. And in their haste to fix a muffin that wasn’t broken…they broke me. I have been feeling slightly sad about this. Then I started brewing and bringing my own coffee from home.
As I was toting my enormous thermos of home-brew today, I thought about how much money I was saving! About $7.50 a week ($2.50 x 3 visits a week). Over 50 weeks in a year that is $375 bucks! My home brew and wife’s cookies costs about a dollar a week…so my net savings is $325 a year.
I will miss my old muffins, and who knows what I will do if they bring back Cinnamon Melts, but for now I will just reminisce and think of the money McDonalds is saving me. So thanks McDonalds, for the memories of friendly staff, great in-store customer service, your coffee and former muffins, and for helping me save money.
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