Irritable Woman Sues Kraft After Taking Too Long to Make Mac and Cheese

In a world where we expect everything to be instant, it’s no wonder that people are suing over things that take more than a few seconds to happen. The latest case in point is a woman who is suing Kraft Heinz because her macaroni and cheese took more than 3.5 minutes to make. Apparently, the woman expected the meal to be “instant” like the package said, but it didn’t quite live up to her expectations.

While the woman’s lawsuit may seem frivolous, it does raise an interesting question: when did we become so entitled that we expect everything to happen instantaneously? It wasn’t that long ago that instant coffee was considered a revolutionary product. These days, we have instant access to information, entertainment, and each other thanks to the internet and smartphones. We even have instant gratification in the form of online shopping, which delivers our purchases right to our doorsteps within days or even hours.

Is it any wonder then that we’ve come to expect food to be just as instantaneous? We want our meals cooked for us and delivered to us without having to lift a finger. And when those meals take longer than a few minutes to prepare, we start to get antsy—or even angry.

Of course, the woman who is suing Kraft Heinz is probably never going to see her day in court. But even if her case is thrown out, it highlights a growing problem in society: we’ve become so used to getting what we want immediately that anything less than that is unacceptable. What’s even worse is that this entitlement mentality is only going to get worse as technology continues to advance. So, brace yourselves for more lawsuits like this one in the years to come.

“The statement of ‘ready in 3½ minutes’ is false and misleading because the Product takes longer than 3-and-a-half minutes to prepare for consumption,” the lawsuit states.

“…according to the directions on the back of the packaging, there are four steps in preparing the Product.” It then shows a picture of the directions on the back of the box.

“Consumers seeing ‘ready in 3½ minutes’ will believe it represents the total amount of time it takes to prepare the Product, meaning from the moment it is unopened to the moment it is ready for consumption. However, the directions outlined above show that 3-and-a-half minutes is just the length of time to complete one of several steps.”

“The label does not state the Product takes ‘3½ minutes to cook in the microwave,’ which would have been true. To provide consumers with a Product that is actually ‘ready in 3½ minutes,’ the Product would need to be cooked in the microwave for less than 3-and-a-half minutes, so that all the preparation steps could be completed in the 3-and-a-half minutes timeframe.”

The lawsuit alleges that Kraft “sold more of the Product and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers.”

We’ve become a society of instant gratification seekers, and it’s only going to get worse from here. Thanks to the internet and smartphones, we’ve come to expect everything—including our food—to be available immediately. Is this entitlement mentality indicative of a larger problem in society? It’s hard to say. But one thing is for sure: if you’re ever feeling entitled and need a reminder of how good you have it, just think of the poor soul who sued because her mac-and-cheese took more than 3 minutes to make. Chances are you’ve had worse things happen to you in less time than that!