McDonald’s, Uber Eats customers protest botched swag eventMcDonald’s, Uber Eats customers protest botched swag event

McDonald’s billed its third annual McDelivery Day as “A Night In to Remember” as fans were encouraged to relax at home and order at least $10 worth food in exchange for free exclusive brand merchandise.

But many consumers were raging instead of relaxing Thursday night.

Customers took to Twitter to protest the late-night event, saying they were duped into ordering a minimum of $10 worth of food at participating restaurants only to get no merchandise when their meal arrived. At issue for many was transparency. When ordering, the Uber Eats app indicated that a “McDelivery Night In Collection” item was still available to add to their cart for free.

If supplies were gone, there was no message to state merchandise had sold out once the Collection item was added to their basket order.

“That awkward moment where you participate in the McDelivery Night In collection promotion and you get ZERO merch, AND everyone in the store acts like you cray,” one person posted.

Another said: “I ordered #McDeliveryNightIn from @McDonalds through @UberEats and they didn’t give me my item!! I’m so so so disappointed and upset. That’s the only reason I ordered.”

Another user pointed out, “Really upset about #McDeliveryNightIn #McDelivery my food was completely wrong and I didnt get of the merch. Why would I spend that much money for food I dont want to not even get a pair or socks or a scrunchie?? #ubereats failed me tonight”

The free line of merchandise, available for one night, included a World Famous Fries T-shirt, three different types of socks, a deck of cards, plush slippers with a sesame seed bun print and a pack of French-fry branded scrunchies.

Each $10 minimum order would come with a random item that customers added to their Uber Eats shopping cart. It would be like a Happy Meal-style toy surprise.

Some consumers said they later found swag like the McDonald’s-themed scrunchies being sold at a high mark up on Ebay.

McDonald’s Corp., who said merchandise would be available from participating global restaurants while supplies last, did not return a request for comment. Uber Eats also did not return a request for comment.

The Twitter account for Uber Eats Support responded to one person’s complaint by stating: “Our team is currently reviewing and will be in touch shortly via email. We appreciate your patience while we look into this.”

Later in the morning, Uber Eats sent this user an email denying the person's request for a refund. "This promo is valid only while supplies last. For the inconvenience, I am adding $5 that you may use for your future orders," the company said in an email. 

Contact Nancy Luna at [email protected] 

Follow her on Twitter: @fastfoodmaven

Update, Sept. 20: This story was edited to include an updated response from Uber Eats.