It was raining cats & dogs and the drive thru was quite busy - as is usual when no one wants to get out of their car. We braved the rain, ran through the puddles, and entered the dining room ... only to find a long queue. We quickly discovered that there were 8 customers ahead of us, already waited on. It was a massive McShuffle. So, there we stood. And more customers were coming in.
It turned out that many people were buying the Snack Wrap - and that there was a problem. Finally a manager announced that the Snack Wrap is made with Chicken Select pieces, and that they had just had a run on these items. It seems that it would take a while to replenish the stocks.We waited ten minutes to get served!
The McChronicles has made note of the fact that certain chicken items require special (long) preparation. This represents a bottleneck and a problem - for everyone on both sides of the counter. The crowd didn't seem to mind too much, but this issue could be a real problem for a popular new product.
Secondly, The McChronicles' sense of taste hints that the Snack Wrap may be a bit high on the calories. We reviewed the in-store nutritional info and found no data. Perhaps the info hasn't yet been updated. Next, we noticed that our tray liner was a full-page ad for the Snack Wrap - and on the flip side was a big nutritional info table. Figuring that, since they had had time to get the ad on side 1, they must have had time to get the nutritional info on side 2. Nope.
So, we went online and found nothing on the product - even after a product-specific search.
With all the hubbub over nutrition, McDonald's HAS to know the scoop on this product. We wish they'd let us know, too.
The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McDonald's website.
7 comments:
Here's the deal on how we do our nutrition testing: We don't. At least, not until the product is going to be a staple on the menu and stay for good. That's why you won't find the nutrition facts on the McRib or the Johnsonville brats or even the popular cappuccinos or hot chocolate. It's frustrating all around, even for employees. Some of us try to watch our weight but it's difficult when we don't have the nutrition info. And if you email corporate, that's exactly what they'll tell you.
The snack wraps are also incredibly time consuming to make. We can't make them up before-hand like the breakfast burritos because they are supposed to contain 1 fresh, large chicken select and they take nearly as long as the premium crispy chicken to cook. You've also got to understand that there are people who are not considerate of space in the UHC cabinets where the meat is stored and come through and order 10 wraps. That's an entire tray of chicken selects (They are quite large and bulky.)
As for the calories, one chicken select is about 125 calories thanks to all the nooks and crannies that hold the grease, the tortilla is about 135 calories, the cheddar jack cheese about 90, and the ranch somewhere aroun 80-100. That's aroun 440 calories. Yeah, not that healthy. But what can I say? The entire crew at our restaurant is hooked on them.
Thanks, Zen.
That's what we think happened. Someone came in, ordered a ton of Snack Wraps, then we all came in and ordered more.
The McChronicles fears that the "time consuming" element is a real problem - because the crews are going to resist this product (and we LOVE it).
Thanks for your informed and insightful comments.
I found out today from one of my managers that McDonald's is "officially" saying that the snack wrap has 360 calories...although everybody knows that it'll vary depending on who's making them. We're human so it isn't regulated.
We don't know who "Calorie King" Allan Borushek is but, on his website (http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-sandwiches-burgers-snack-wrap_f-Y2lkPTE1NDA5JmJpZD02MjUmZmlkPTEyNzM4MCZwYXI9.html) he states that a Snack Wrap provides 330 calories. That's 43% from fat and 40% from carbs.
According to McDonald's (http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html) a large Coke delivers 310 calories, a small shake is ~420 calories, a bacon ranch, crispy chicken salad is 340 calories, and one hamburger is 260 calories - for perspective.
Thanks for the input. The McChronicles feels this data is important because we LOVE the Snack Wrap and want to know the trade-offs we need to make.
McChronicles, next time you can experiment with a Ghetto Big Mac instead of waiting in the Chicken Selects bottle-neck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO6Bq4lQRZ4
Does anybody know an online source to see current McDonalds commercials? I like the new Snackwrap Ads and want to send a link to a friend of mine.
EricRClarke@aol.com
thanks
Well I decided to make a "snack wrap" at home and checked the calories for all the components. Shocked that it weighed in at 390 calories, I went online to see how McDonald's snack wrap compares. I figure it has to be more because my torilla was smaller than theirs. Woe is us, that dastradly good "snack" packs a wollop in calories along with the 103 more calories for my 8 oz. Coke!
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