McDonald's jammies all sold out, Singaporeans not lovin' it

Let's face it, we Singaporeans love our Macs and probably everything under the sun that's related to the golden arches. Be it Hello Kitty plushies, My Melody food holders or Minion figurines, if there's any limited-edition merchandise, you can be sure to find a queue snaking out of the shops.

So what happens when McDonald's has special jammies going on sale on their website and mobile app on Monday evening (Oct 7)?

You guessed it — the platforms waved the white flag the moment the clock struck 6 pm.

Desperate to get their hands on the exclusive McDelivery Night In Bundle, a set that includes a happy sharing box and a hamburger/french fry-speckled pyjamas, netizens swarmed the website and mobile app, overwhelming them and causing the platforms to crash.

McDonald's Singapore apologised to hangry customers on their Facebook page at 7pm on the same day, citing high traffic as the reason for its platforms' malfunction.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/mcdsg/posts/2591698110876746[/embed]

Two hours later, the company posted another announcement imploring customers to "refrain from accessing the platforms" while maintenance was underway.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/mcdsg/posts/2591928657520358[/embed]

By the time netizens were able to access the website, it was already midnight and the prized pyjamas were labelled "temporarily unavailable".

Singaporeans left empty-handed were rather unhappy, to say the least.

Many took to McDonald's social media pages to voice their discontent, most of them criticising the company's inadequate planning.

To add fuel to the fire, scalpers who managed to get the McDelivery Night In Bundle had placed them up for sale on Carousell at exorbitant prices — the most expensive set being $120, and someone actually reserved it. Note: The set's actual price is $24.90.

Fortunately, pyjama hopefuls still have a chance at attaining the sleepwear. In another Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 8), McDonald's said that they were working on a dedicated pre-order website and that customers could expect to place their orders on Friday (Oct 11) afternoon.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/mcdsg/posts/2593240560722501[/embed]

AsiaOne reached out to McDonald's but they declined to reveal if there would be a cap on the number of pre-orders taken, or if there would a limit on how many sets one customer can order.

In the meantime, customers can console themselves with a free "dreaming of fries" eye mask that comes with a McDelivery order of at least $18. Though it's worth pointing out, the mask is also only available while stocks last.

rainercheung@asiaone.com