If you’re a Diet Coke girlie, buckle up—one woman just shared a horror story for soda stans everywhere.
Rachel Bednarowski (@rachelbednarowski on TikTok) went through a McDonald’s drive-thru to grab her favorite Diet Coke, only to find the employees sourcing the soda from a can. She revealed the entire story in a viral video on Jan. 21, and it’s racked up over 8,000 views.
The great Coke calamity
Bednarowski begins the video sitting in her car, holding up a McDonald’s cup of what appears to be Coca-Cola. “This is not what it looks like,” she states. “It looks like, possibly, a refreshing McDonald’s diet coke. It is no such thing.”
Bednarowski sets the drink down and explains that something unusual occurred during her daily McDonald’s Diet Coke run.
“As I pull up to the window, I witness a cup of ice, and then a can of Diet Coke being cracked open and poured over the ice,” Bednarowski reveals. As she finishes the sentence, she puts her palms together in a typical prayer motion and uses them to cover her mouth in shock.
“And then they put the lid on and they handed it out the window to me,” she says, vaguely acting out the scenario before clasping her hands in front of her again. She sits in silence for a minute, mouth wide, letting the shock sink in.
Dealing with the aftermath
“I didn’t even know what to do,” she admits. “I mean like, I can go get a can of Diet Coke, that’s not an issue. I’m coming to McDonald’s to get a McDonald’s Diet Coke, and I have now: this?” She holds up her cup again, rattling the ice.
“What do I even do with this now?” Bednarowski asks. She pauses for a minute, staring out the window. Then, she turns back to the camera and gestures pointedly toward it with her Diet Coke.
“McDonald’s, you wronged me,” she states. “You wronged me in this, and my Diet Coke girlies out there will understand and be upset with me, I hope. By whatever this monstrosity is.” She stops and stares at the cup for a few seconds, before slowly shaking it again.
“And with all of the stuff that’s going on in the world right now, I just wanted my simple joy of a Diet Coke from McDonald’s. And I can’t even have that,” she concludes, putting the Coke down once more. “Apparently, can’t even have that, OK? Hope your day’s going better than mine.”
“Making my first tiktok ever over this,” she added in the caption. “Felt it was best to get the feelings out of my system.”
Tales of McDonald’s betrayal
Many commenters could relate and mourned Bednarowski’s unfortunate Diet Coke mishap.
“The gasp I just let out,” one user said. “I’d be late for wherever I was going so I could go to another McDonald’s.”
“I once was given a regular coke in place of my diet,” said another commenter. “It literally ruined the entire rest of my day.” Bednarowski, no stranger to tragic Diet Coke circumstances herself, could relate.
“Ugh that’s happened to me too girl,” she replied to the commenter.
“Not even any carbonation in that!” an observant viewer pointed out.
“NO IT WAS DEVASTATING,” Bednarowski confirmed in a reply.
“One time I pulled up to the pick up window for my amazing perfectly carbonated Diet Coke and the worker poured a half empty 2 L into my cup!!!!” someone shared. Bednarowski’s reply was succinct.
“NOOOO,” she said, followed by a teary-eyed emoji.
@rachelbednarowski making my first tiktok ever over this. felt it was best to get the feelings out of my system. #dietcoke #whateven ♬ original sound – rachelbednarowski
Is McDonald’s Coke actually better than normal?
The widespread myth that McDonald’s Coca-Cola products taste better than the versions sold in stores or other fast food restaurants may actually have some truth to it. Last April, Gabby Romero of Delish looked into it.
The first big difference Romero found was that McDonald’s fountains added extra syrup to account for the soda’s flavor after the ice melted. “So when it comes straight out of the fountain, the Coke is more concentrated than your standard soda,” Romero summed up.
The other major distinction between McDonalds’ soda and your Coke cans at home is that McDonald’s Coke comes in stainless steel containers. “The material is better at protecting the syrup from light, heat, oxygen, and other factors that can compromise its quality,” Romero concluded.
The Daily Dot reached out to Bednarowski via TikTok and Instagram direct message, and McDonald’s via email.
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