I am a man that is full of pet peeves. I have either learned to control them better or I am mellowing as the years roll on. There is one that festers though.

Back in the mid eighties when I was managing a gas station in Houston, I was single and surrounded by fast food places at work so that was what my diet consisted of mostly. Now I was a big guy but had a hefty appetite and higher metabolism than today so i used to order multiples of things. One day I was at the drive through at  McDonalds and ordered a quarter pounder meal and a cheeseburger and some large drink. Well when I asked for some BBQ sauce for mr fries I was informed there was a 10 cent charge for them since I didn’t order nuggets. I was in a particularly sour mood that day and informed them in no way was I going to pay for a condiment and if they couldn’t give it out I didn’t want any of the meal. Now this caused a nice back up in the drive through as they had to fetch the manager to get my money back. This was the day of my first official boycott of a business. I did not eat at McDonalds for at least 5 years and the boycott was broken by the fact I was in Mexico and I felt like being in a foreign country was a good enough reason to break a boycott. Incidentally this was the same McDonalds that I had worked at years earlier, and walked out  on. Earlier post on that can be found here.

So what does this have to do with anything anyway?

Last night we went to Zaxby’s because neither of us felt like cooking. I ordered two meals and a side appetizer for a grand total of $12.41. When they called our number, I dutifully went to pick up food and asked for a BBQ sauce. I was told they were 25 cents. I told them no thank you. I never carry cash and did not feel like pulling out the plastic for a quarter. In hindsight I should have as their credit card fee per transaction may not cover the cost. I also thjought I should buy one and then stand at the coke machine and push all the buttons until i was satisfied I had poured more than 25 cents worth of syrup.

Instead, since I have mellowed as pointed out earlier, I ate my fries sans sauce.

Why is that BBQ sauce lovers get discriminated against and ketchup eaters get a free pass?

In the end, Zaxby’s received a strongly worded e-mail and I got a form response back letting me know how important by business is and someone will be back in touch with me.

We shall see.

I don’t think Zaxby’s has any international locations so this boycott could last quite a while.