After studying at university in Canada and working at the headquarters of the Italian Insurance Company Generali in the US, I returned to Turkey and enlisted within two months. I was fortunate enough to do my military service in the 11th Infantry Brigade in Denizli. My days in the military were truly fascinating. It was like a “welcome home.” Everything, especially in the first weeks, was incredibly surprising. I remember saying to myself repeatedly, “Oh, come on, this can’t be enough.”
There were approximately 5,000 soldiers in our infantry brigade. More than half of them came from the provinces of Eastern Anatolia. Most of the rest were from the Black Sea region, with some from Central Anatolia, the Aegean, and the Marmara regions. There were some who didn’t speak Turkish, some who were illiterate, and, to put it bluntly, even some who used stones to clean the toilets.
The “bread and butter” in the military canteen
I witnessed many incidents in such an environment. One of these is the day I first went to the canteen during my recruitment period. I was hungry and wanted to eat cheese toast. In the canteen, I was surprised to see this fried potato sandwich on the menu hanging on the wall above the counter behind the counter. The following conversation took place between me and the soldier working the cash register:
– Am I misunderstanding? Is there anything else between the potato sandwiches?
– Yes, we do put ketchup. We can also add mayonnaise if you like.
– I understand that, but isn’t there something like meatballs, for example?
– We don’t sell meatballs here. You can get that in Denizli.
– (I’m the one who still wants to be sure.) Just bread and fries?
– Yes, man. I recommend it; it’s delicious and filling.
– It’s certainly filling, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this.
– Should I order it?
– I’m craving cheese toast right now, maybe I’ll have it later. Thanks.
I actually ate it to try it the next day. After all, as someone so accustomed to both bread and fried potatoes, the taste didn’t surprise me at all. As the guy at the counter in the cafeteria said, it was especially delicious with ketchup and mayonnaise, and of course, once you finish half a loaf of bread, you don’t need anything else. The combination of bread and fries, placed side by side, was surprising to me. It was also the cheapest item on the menu. I saw this clearly back then.
“Give me a cheese toast, man!”
I experienced another surprising incident that first day in the cafeteria. I’d previously written about this in my article titled “A Look at the Nation’s DNA from Military Service”: https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/memleketin-dnasina-askerlikten-bir-bakis-1. I’m quoting from this article and rephrasing it:
Especially over long periods of time, I’ve encountered many people who were illiterate, couldn’t speak Turkish (I’m not talking about speaking with an accent, I genuinely couldn’t speak Turkish), didn’t know how to handle a knife and fork, had no sense of etiquette, and were prone to violence.
Some truly didn’t understand politeness, requests, or being treated like a human being. They’d been hit over the head all their lives. You might be wondering how I managed to deal with such inexperienced individuals for so long. Let me answer right away. We had a cafeteria and common areas. I remember the first time I asked the cafeteria worker, “Can I have a cheese toast?” The guy didn’t look at me. I repeated it. He still didn’t. Someone came up behind me and said, “Give me a cheese toast!” The guy responded immediately, saying, “Okay, man, I’ll throw it away now.”
After seeing this, I thought to myself, “Serhan, you need to put aside that politeness, or you’ll starve.” Then I forced myself to make my words more rude: “Give me a cheese sandwich,” I said. The canteen worker glanced at me but still didn’t respond. I thought to myself, “Oh, come on, I missed it again, you need to be more forceful and forceful.” Then I called out a third time, “Give me a cheese sandwich,” I said. Thankfully, the third time, he didn’t need any “dudes,” so he said, “Okay, I’ll give it to you,” and handed me my toast. I was trying to adjust to this environment. I was also thinking about how painful it was that I was trying to fit in when it should have been the exact opposite.
We’ll just have to contemplate it!
And the year is 2023. Just a few months before the Centenary of the Republic, the following menu appeared on a billboard in the heart of Beşiktaş
First, I looked and kept walking. Then, unable to believe what I was seeing, I turned back and stared at it again, my experiences in the military flashing through my mind like a movie reel. The menu at a global establishment like McDonald’s bore similarities to the one I saw in the military canteen. There, the cheapest item was French fries sandwiched between bread, while McDonald’s offered potatoes sandwiched between lavash sandwiches as the cheapest.
And a brilliant advertising agency, as a joke, coined the word “dürüm” (wrap), replacing “stop and think” with “dürüm” (roll and think). Bravo! Congratulations, a brilliant invention. You’ve continued to mock the nation’s intelligence with a piece of writing.
Wrap debacle on social media
Later, when I read the news article titled “McDonald’s ‘potato wrap’ menu launched in Turkey is trending on social media: Is this what you’ve done to young people?” at the link http://cuts2.com/pIfZp , I decided to share my thoughts in a blog post.
You can also read the Twitter comments in this article, which summarize the topic beautifully. I’m sharing my favorites (some of which tackle the topic in a humorous way) below:
Then I came across this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT_2mf6BV0M
I also read the article in Yeni Çağ: https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/mc-donaldsin-fakir-menusu-sosyal-medyayi-salladi-631642h.htm#9 . I’m also sharing some tweets I liked that were shared in this article below:
Not in any other country
My favorite Twitter comment was the one above. Musa Özsoy rightfully asked, “Have you offered this menu, which you deemed suitable for us, to other countries?” As someone who has spent years in food retail, I can answer this question: Such a menu doesn’t exist in any other country. It’s only suitable for Turkey.
In an environment where inflation is skyrocketing, people are struggling to find affordable food. McDonald’s executives were clever enough to come up with a solution of their own. They probably calculated that this menu would sell well. Since lavash and fries are already quite inexpensive (much like Starbucks’s coffee is very low), they designed a product that would allow them to make a significant profit (despite the 40 TL price tag) and profit from the spread. However, they probably didn’t anticipate the public outcry. I find it unbecoming of McDonald’s to lower its standards so low that it sells a degrading product consisting of low-priced, added carbohydrates, like the canteen in our military.
McDonald’s, which targets lower- and middle-income consumers in many countries around the world, has thus adapted to the Turkish market and set the bar even lower. It has exposed us to all the wrongs we wanted to fix in Turkey.
When I was CEO of KFC Turkey, we opened the first LEED-certified green restaurant at Yum! International, the brand’s owner. This was my last job at the family business. Our KFC Bostancı restaurant boasted a solar energy system (SPP) on its roof, specially designed kitchens and restrooms (minimizing water consumption), and numerous other environmentally friendly features. After opening this restaurant, I proudly contacted industry representatives, urging them to open a green restaurant as well. We achieved this with a 20% additional investment. Calculating the financial advantage we gained from the savings, this 20% additional investment paid off within three years.H. Serhan Süzer – Gıda perakendesinde enerji ve su verimliliği (serhansuzer.com)
Blinded by the thirst for quick profits
I tried to explain this to everyone, even before I left the company. I even called executives at other food retailers to ensure they implemented similar standards. Among those I called was the general manager of McDonald’s. He answered my call very kindly but explained very politely that they had no intention of doing anything about it. Outside of McDonald’s, not many people paid attention. Unfortunately, the mentality in Turkey is that everyone is focused on the money they can spend and earn in the short term. That’s why sustainability, while it’s a legitimate issue, hasn’t really caught on.
Those who don’t care about sustainability have always been concerned with increasing sales. It’s been this way for as long as I can remember: increase sales, reduce costs, and maximize profit margins. Those who manage this are rewarded with hefty bonuses by their bosses. This has always been their forte.
This unwavering mindset has led us to once again present McDonald’s Potato Wrap menu with the mentality of a canteen operating on low margins. If we were McDonald’s investors (as we were once investors in KFC and Pizza Hut), I personally would never have allowed such a campaign. I was able to do this because I was in the executive branch, and campaign approvals were handled through me. This is crystal clear.
When I saw this ad, I immediately concluded: Potato bread once again stood as a symbol of a mindset that keeps our nation poor, needy, and ignorant. An environment where even McDonald’s lowers its standards should not be the fate of the nation. It’s time to change this unchanging, dark cycle.
Tag: education
