The cost of eating in America has significantly increased in the past two years or so— it doesn’t matter whether you’re buying groceries for cooking at home or you’re going out to eat: inflation has hit the food industry hard.
This has caused several people online to share their money-saving “hacks” when it comes to getting their grub on. For instance, one woman ordered kids’ meals to-go from popular restaurants, citing their relatively low costs as a solid option for ensuring she’s fed without breaking the bank.
But others have been shocked after heading into the drive-thru of some of their favorite franchises only to be met with sticker shock on popular meal options. And for TikToker Nicole Rossey (@nicolerossey), her ire didn’t just end with a high price tag, but pitiful portion sizes. This left her with a meal that cost a significant amount of money but still left her hungry.
@nicolerossey Excuse me as i go eat my children’s meal i just paid nearly $13 for #chickfila ♬ original sound – nicolerossey
“I am never ordering Chick-fil-A again. Straight up I am boycotting Chick-fil-A. Is this a joke?” Rossey asks in a TikTok after looking into her bag and back up at the camera. “I just paid $12.65 for my order. $12.65 OK? Let me show you what I got.”
She then pulls out an item from the Chick-fil-A bag and shows it off to the camera. “It’s not even filled up all the way? This is the kale crunch salad,” she says before removing another item from the bag. “8-count of chicken nuggets,” she says. Rossey then grabs a beverage from off-camera, saying, “And a diet Coke.”
Rossey was shocked at just how little food she ended up receiving for the amount of money she paid.
“I’m still gonna be hungry after this. What the fuck? Literally what is wrong with them,” she rants to the camera. “The sad part is, with inflation, Chick-fil-A is probably just testing the market to see if people will pay these prices and people are paying these prices and this is just bonkers to me. Like, never again. Never. Who? Who will be full off of this? What?”
She adds in a caption for the video, “Excuse me as I go eat my children’s meal I just paid nearly $13 for.”
Other TikTokers attributed the high-cost but smaller portions to inflation as well, with a viewer writing, “Inflation is crazy. Me and my man went the other day and it was $32 for 2 people.”
Another user said this is an issue they have spotted at other restaurant chains, not just Chick-fil-A. “Every fast food is coming crazy expensive,” they shared.
Someone else was also just as shocked as Rossey that the small container of kale crunch salad she showed off in the video wasn’t even filled to the brim.
“The audacity for that tiny salad to be half empty,” they wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Rossey via TikTok comment and Chick-fil-A via email.
A number of other fast-casual chains, like Chipotle, have also been heavily criticized by diners for their portion sizes. The customers say that while they are being charged premium prices, they are not receiving amounts of food they believe should be commensurate with the amount of money they’re spending.
