McDonald's, fast food chains respond to backlash over rising prices

We used to get 2 combo meals for $12 now it is closer to $20. Arby's is even more expensive. One of the better deals is Wendy's, you can get the Biggie Bag for $6 and you can get a small burger, nuggets, fries, and frosty. I haven't been eating much fast food since I am working from home now and and trying to watch my weight but I know that fast food is not always cheap, for what you pay you could eat a better meal at a sit down restaurant.

Corporations became very greedy after Covid.

They started raising prices due to "supply chain issues" and "shortages," and never stopped raising prices.

Fuck them.

Now I stay at home and make my own food.

Shrinkflation has ruined the food service industry. Everything is tiny and grossly overpriced.

Haven't had McD's in decades. I'd rather starve.

Well, how else do you think they're paying an average of $15/hr minimum wage to their employees?

Remember when the cunts on this board pearl-clutched about how expensive Big Macs would be if we raised the minimum wage?

So fast food is a career now?

They are paying 15 bucks an hour to flip burgers. That money has to come from someplace.

Their fries suck. Fuck them.

Pack a lunch. Go home and cook dinner.

I was swinging my Mcdiddys the other day and my buddy asked me to grab him a large fire. The large fire was 5.57 alone. I cursed them out canceled my order and went to the grocery store and made burgers. Great sex afterwards too.

TeaFAKE aka BrickPollitt now borrowing lexis and syntax from Sweet Brown.

Fry*

I assume posters like r7 have never been poor.

R14 Many of us have never been poor, doll.

You can still get some deals at Taco Bell

I was just going to say that Taco Bell's prices haven't gone up as much as McDonald's.

Too expensive. Just cook at home.

"McDonald's noted a drop in transactions with one of its core consumers: lower-income customers who make $45K a year or less.

"Eating at home has become more affordable," Kempczinski said. "The battleground is certainly with that low-income consumer."

Kempczinski posited that these customers may have opted for less dining out, with prices and inflation on groceries cooling faster than the Consumer Price Index category for food away from home.

"What you're going to see is more attention to affordability," he emphasized. "Think about that as an absolute price point, which is more important for that consumer to get them into the restaurants than maybe value messaging. We are set up well to go after that.""

ABC News

I haven’t had fast food since driver window knob fell off and I can’t open it.

A bit off topic- I bought a variety pack of Pepperidge Farm cookies at Stop & Shop- it used to be $6.99 . Last month I paid $10 for it and $3.50 for a gallon of washer fluid which used to be $2

That would suck r19 but it made me laugh

Happy to pay more if it goes to the employees, but it isn't. Those franchisees make bank.

for less than $15 I made turkey chili in my crock pot and froze my leftovers in individual containers. I got NINE meals out of it.

FAT WHORES MOURN!

I would be happy if they stopped their "Dollar budget" menu that attracts the homeless to camp out at their locations. If the budget menu were eliminated, the corporation could probably lower other menu costs.

McD's dollar menu attracts scores of homeless who camp around their restaurants. One franchise in my city took to playing loud bagpipe music to disperse them, engaging residents right next door who had to deal with the endless whine and squeal of BAGPIPES 6:00 a.m. to midnight.

^ ENRAGING not "engaging."

Because homeless people don't deserve food, right r25?

[quote] Pack a lunch. Go home and cook dinner.

Food prices are up everywhere.

You can buy a whole, roasted chicken at Costco for $6 and go home, shred that stuff up, add it to a pan with some black beans, corn, diced canned tomatoes, some taco seasoning and simmer it. Then spoon it into flour tortillas, roll them up and freeze them. For less than $10 that's about 12 meals.

There are so many creative and inexpensive ways to prepare good, quick meals. I eat fast food maybe twice a year. No one should be eating that shit on the daily. It's killing us.

R25 Ok Marie Antoinette...

It's not the dollar menu that people are complaining about. It's the high prices of most of the regular or "standard" menu items like Big Macs, breakfast, fries, etc.

They need to make more dollar menu items or 2 for... ___ deals.

That $15/hr seemed like a good idea at the time (it was a good idea!!). But I guess in all the furor over it, most of us neglected to think the economic impact it was going to have.

Businesses aren't hiring as many employees, restaurant prices have sky rocketed etc. That liveable wage is coming right out of our wallets. No business is going to absorb the higher payroll cost without passing it on to the consumers. Viva Capitalisem American Style.

^^ Oh, dearing myself.

I haven't eaten their food in years. The only fast food I can abide is Wendy's chili.

[quote]Businesses aren't hiring as many employees

Unemployment is at 3.9%. Clearly someone is.

If people are too fucking poor to go out and eat they should stay home and cook.

It's not a social justice issue because some fat fucking hog can't stuff their faces with a 2 for 2 deal.

R34 fair enough. Does it break down what sectors those people are being hired in or what salary levels?

I'm sure the drop also includes Door Dash, ride share etc. types of jobs. Guess what, you're STILL subsidizing those companies' payroll by the extortionist prices they charge.

[quote]You can buy a whole, roasted chicken at Costco for $6 and go home, shred that stuff up, add it to a pan with some black beans, corn, diced canned tomatoes, some taco seasoning and simmer it. Then spoon it into flour tortillas, roll them up and freeze them. For less than $10 that's about 12 meals.

That is not what this thread is about. Everyone posting on this thread knows that you can probably make a dinner at home for far cheaper than what you're paying at fast food places. Sometimes some people just want a Big Mac and some fries.

It's a shame that the prices have increased, but where did people think they were going to get the money to pay $15 an hour. It wasn't going to come from the bottom line.

R35 yeah because groceries are sooooo cheap. Have you been to a market lately?

[quote]Grocery prices have jumped by 25 percent over the past four years, outpacing overall inflation of 19 percent during the same period. And while prices of appliances, smartphones and a smattering of other goods have declined, groceries got slightly more expensive last year, with particularly sharp jumps for beef, sugar and juice, among other items. Stubbornly high grocery prices represent a critical drain on the finances of tens of millions of people and remain, along with housing, perhaps the most persistent economic challenge for the Biden administration as it tries to convince Americans the economy is back on solid footing. For all the attention on gas prices and housing, more than two-thirds of voters say inflation has hit them hardest through higher food prices, according to a November 2023 survey by Yahoo Finance/Ipsos. That’s more than 50 percentage points higher than any other category.

I'd wager it's more about what feeds a broke family of four cheaper than the grocery and less about just wanting a burger and fries.

The price hikes were not about the workers as much as everything went up in price, AND many corporations decided to price gouge no matter their costs, during and after COVID. Gouging is RAMPANT.

Fast food has NEVER been cheaper, for a family, than meals prepared at home.

Think about when we eldergays were young. I grew up solidly middle class and fast food was a treat because money was tight, women didn't work, and a meal for a family of 6 was a consideration. Also my parents were not ignorant of health and nutrition.

We all consumed so much less until the 80s, I'd say. We didn't have houses overflowing with consumer items, and cupboards filled with crap convenience foods. We didn't buy expensive snacks all day long.

Here is a McDonald's menu board from 1975. You could get a cheeseburger, fries, and a drink for under a $1. According to the inflation calculator $1 then equals $5.89 today.

I stopped going. For as crappy that food is it’s too expensive.

I wouldn't trust the quality of a burger that cost only $2.

R42 and a cheeseburger today is $2.79. You can't get a small fry, soda and cheeseburger for 6 bucks today?

Thank you, R42.

THAT is the point of this thread.

And no, R45.

You can't.

How much is a cheeseburger at McDO. Internet told me it's $2.79.

According to this menu, a cheeseburger meal is $6.59

so what are you going on about, "no you can't"?

Wow. A quarter pounder where I live is almost $9. I've been cooking at home way more as of late, but the difference is the time it takes. Sometimes you just want to relax and not cut up broccoli florets in the evening.

Your colon will thank you after 50 for the time you spent cutting up affordable vegetables at home.

I just had McDonald's for lunch today and it cost a smidge under $20. This is in Southern California.

Totally agree that corporations globally use COVID and the lockdown to absolutely fuck us over on all ends in present day. Everything sucks and is expensive as hell when most of it shouldn't be.

It’s not a problem if employees get paid something closer to a living wage and customers eat less fast food.

It’s a problem if food items like milk, bread, eggs, and basic fruits and vegetables become unaffordable.

I don’t eat a lot of fast food from chains, but I used to grab take out lunch most days. But the prices have increased and the quality has plummeted. Now I don’t bother. I’d rather bring a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread and an apple from home. I don’t really look forward to it, but it’s marginally better than the other options and far cheaper.

McD's in particular has prices that vary a LOT depending on region/franchisee.

Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald's, was paid over $20 million in 2021, over 100% more than the year before.

[quote] You can buy a whole, roasted chicken at Costco for $6 and go home.

You have to pay a membership fee, dummy.

R54, that’s not a lot. Not enough to lower prices. Get over your love of communism.

R56 That's obscene. Get over your bootlicking fuckery. No way he deserves 20m.

Executive compensation is OUT OF CONTROL in the USA.

[QUOTE]Because homeless people don't deserve food, right [R25]?

Of course, they do "empathic" sir. But would you like them defecating on your property, setting up camp on your very doorstep, or threatening you with knives as you take your trash out in the middle of the day?

Homelessness in the olden days meant mostly untreated mental illness the Ronald Reagan GOP created and scoffed at. . And then there's meth. Do you think people should bend over and let the meth addled take over? They have anyway... "But, but, but a McDonald's Dollar meal will fix 'em right up!"

R8 Cunt, I can tell you've never worked in a kitchen or restaurant before.

[quote]I just had McDonald's for lunch today and it cost a smidge under $20.

Did they at least stamp "SUCKER" on your forehead for free?

Stop paying these absurd prices and they'll stop being able to charge them.

[QUOTE]That $15/hr seemed like a good idea at the time (it was a good idea!!). But I guess in all the furor over it, most of us neglected to think the economic impact it was going to have.

People complain about high housing costs in California, but seem totally unpreoccupied that an unliveable working wage will put many more out in the streets even as they work for low wages serving the upper class.

Perhaps paying more for mystery meat and factory poultry will finally kill off the weakest and worst of these chains.

[quote]That $15/hr seemed like a good idea at the time (it was a good idea!!). But I guess in all the furor over it, most of us neglected to think the economic impact it was going to have.

Literally everyone with a brain thought about the economic impact it was going to have.

R41, I too, am an elder gay. We NEVER had fast food growing up. Almost every meal was cooked at home. We went out maybe once every two months for a family meal and we either went to Bob's Big Boy, Love's Wood Pit Barbeque, or Van De Kamps. Of course, this was the 70's when only the father's worked and the mother's stayed home and did housework and cooked and a family could own a house and two cars on just the father's salary. We were always excited to go to Bob's because it meant Chocolate Hot Fudge cake for dessert.

It's truly shameful what the country has now become thanks to corporate greed.

I’d actually eat there if they made a veggie burger

R5, do you complain about CEOs getting raises and making millions?

R31, now do CEOs making millions

Weird how the states with low minimum wages are usually the poorest states. Looks like crappy wages don't really make things better

What kind of monster whines about people making $15 an hour but not CEOs getting exorbitant salaries?

Bitter miserable unfucked eldgergays do.

We may be "Elder" but that's likely because we didn't eat that crap. Good luck with your first heart attack at 36

I've just looked up prices in New Zealand on Macca's website. Big Mac NZD$9.60=US$5.87. Big Mac Combo NZS15.00=US9.18. Minimum hourly wage for an 18 yr old NZ$18.00=US$11.01. We don't have any takeaway food chains in our town thank goodness and haven't ever eaten any of this. (we love to cook at home) Hope this helps? Your prices in the States sound exorbitant.

I don’t know about turkey chili R23. I gave up ground poultry years ago. I can always taste the difference and low fat ground beef seems just as healthy.

People commenting here that the $15 wage is the problem couldn't do competent cost accounting if they had a gun to their head.

[quote]What kind of monster whines about people making $15 an hour but not CEOs getting exorbitant salaries?

I have no problem with people making $15 an hour, just don't bitch about the price increases in the same way that I don't have a problem with a CEO making 20 million a year. That's a silly argument.

I think there are certain jobs in society that are what I call after school jobs, summer jobs, earning some extra spending money jobs where I think a reasonable minimum wage is perfectly fine and probably helped keep costs down. These jobs were never meant to be feed a family type jobs. I'm not sure a McDonald's job is a $15 an hour job, no one is making a career out of McDonald's unless they're in some type of management position or out of options.

R74: Your historical basis for "intentionality" is meaningless. People used to make careers of retail sales--you could get buy pretty well. Not any more. The price increases are much greater than the wage increases.

Fast food places realized they didn't need all the promotions they usually ran during COVID. Franchises hate those, because they are so unprofitable. They're just keeping prices at whatever level they think the market will tolerate given how trashy this stuff is.

There are now much better places to buy burgers and for the first time relatively successful chains with health food like Sweetgreen or menus that can create fairly healthy meals like Bibibop. The crappy chains have very little room to maneuver--people can get better quality or even healthy options for just a little more. They lose money with promotions, but there are plenty of people who won't bother with them.

It's cheaper to make something at home than go to McD's. If I want a sandwich I can get a decent cheap one from Wawa or Potbelly and much better ones with a little more effort and expense.

After reading some of this thread, i decided i wasn't going to buy prepared food today for dinner (my local market usually has some things at the hot bar that end up being the convenient "fast food" nearest to my house). Instead of buying something from the hot food bar, i went home, popped open a can of black beans, drained them, then added them with some jarred salsa and some frozen bean broth cubes. Cooked for a bit, then mashed and covered with 2 corn tortillas to steam for a few minutes.

Grated some cheese, and had two soft black bean tacos w/cheese and sour cream. The total cost for this meal was probably in the $4 range and i have leftovers for another meal as well. I could have cut up some sweet peppers and sauteed/softened them to add to the mix and perhaps added some corn, but i was feeling lazy so i went with simplicity.

I've decided to stop eating "convenience food" most of the week, and what i make at home is much more delicious than what i can get at a fast food restaurant anyways, and much cheaper as well.

R72, I prefer the taste of beef too, but it's red meat no matter the fat content and its really bad for us. I find that turkey works fine for things like tacos, chili, etc. To each their own! The healthiest "red meat" is probably Bison but its expensive.

The industry "expert" in that video had the worst vocal fry and monotone I've heard recently. Kill me now.

Would you like some french fries to go with that vocal fry?

R75 Makes a good point. In the 70s and 80s there were far fewer options. Now there are more options everywhere.

It does seem like when I go in a McDonald’s or Burger King now it’s filled with teens, but anyone older doesn’t exactly seem like the best and brightest society has to offer (yes I know I’m there too haha).

Though I will say in rural-ish urban strips in America, BK, McDonald’s and Taco Bell are the only fast food options. They do not have Sweetgreen or Wawa or places like that. Everything’s old school.

A lot of this boils down to location and class.

R66 I miss the old-school veggie burgers that were a patty made of potatoes, different veggies, grains and spices. So good on a bun with lettuce, tomato, mayo, onion and a slice of cheese!

Now it feels like every “vegan” option at a place known for burgers is a synthetic meat substitute variety, like the impossible burger. Meh.

R81 I remember Whimpy’s in the UK made a great one. This was in the 80s. Definitely old school.

This food is not healthy anyway

R80 R81 That is old school 80s “vegetarian.” I miss it too. That’s when it was cool to be vegetarian and vegetarians eating cheese, and fries made in partial animal fat was a-ok!

I’m glad fast food employees are paid a living wage.

R80 There are huge swaths of flyover country where fast food and the likes of Applebee's are the only options.

I saw something on YT last year where some yokel in Kansas or Oklahoma, I think, wept profusely because their town was deemed "special" enough to get a high end restaurant......Texas Roadhouse.

Well don't those towns in flyover country have LOCAL eateries?

R87 Not many. And a lot of those kinds of things have closed in the last 15ish years, between the real estate crash and then COVID.

This is what massive corporatization has done to the US. Consolidated companies, reduced jobs, and now most of the interior of the US, which used to look unique depending on location, looks exactly alike. McD's, Subway, whatever other fast food, Walmart, Target, Kohl's, rinse, repeat.

Many consumer prices are currently artificially inflated and I wish something could be done about -- this is greed pure and simple.

We camp a lot and as an alternative we order food from Wawa's and Sheetz in our area. Much cheaper than traditional fast food and it is made for you. Plus having the ability to fuel up.

Back in the 70’s, McDonalds advertised “change for your dollar.” Now it’s “change for your twenty.”

If you never eat at McD's, why do you care about the price? Lots of discussion about fast foods on DL from posters who (supposedly) never eat fast food.

[quote] I was swinging my Mcdiddys the other day and my buddy asked me to grab him a large fire. The large fire was 5.57 alone. I cursed them out canceled my order and went to the grocery store and made burgers. Great sex afterwards too.

$5.57 is too much. Cursing out minimum wage employees who don't set the prices, then canceling your order. MARY.

I wouldn't find it sexy if someone was not willing to pay $5.57 to buy french fries.

[quote]This food is not healthy anyway

Nor is it food.

R15, fuck u, DOLL.

This has nothing to do with fast-food wages increasing because that is only in a handful of states. They're using that as a reason - but why would the price increases then go across the country?

The CEO's have literally been talking about the 'tolerance' of increased pricing and moving the prices up to pressure points. Now that fucked around and found out that people will stop buying as much.

Here's the item they DO NOT consider - once you create a negative association "they're fucking ripping me off - greedy bastards", it takes a LONG time to get people to come back. Some never will.

They're shooting themselves in the foot for increased profits in the short term. For me, I used to maybe buy an Egg McMuffin for breakfast - I don't anymore. And I have an active negative feeling about prices every time I drive past a McDonalds or similar fast food place.

People don't want to be fucked with - we'll see how this pans out. But it is NOT the wage increases causing this. Corporate greed.

The combo actually comes with two cheeseburgers and a medium size fry and drink vs small.

Here's another interesting conflict between paying a decent minimum wage and higher costs for the consumer.

Not sure what to do about this.

Anybody who thinks any price gouging from a fast food corporation is because of increased wages is just dead wrong.

If a local restaurant - barely skating by with razor thin margins - raises their prices? Yes. For sure it could be because of wages.

For McDonald's??? Are you fucking joking. It's just greed.

Yup, greed.

Same with the airlines, all of them got billion dollar bailouts TWICE in the last 20 years and they haven't shown any appreciation or support for their customers....they just cut more routes and try to squeeze yet more people into flying sardine cans, all while charging passengers more.

Friend of mine turned 50 and had a major stroke. He's still recovering and that was two years ago. When the doctors asked him about his diet, he said he ate fast food every single day because he didn't like to cook.

Needless to say, they know why he had his stroke and so does he. He told me, "yeah, I was still eating as if I was a teenager and getting no exercise at all." He's changed in big ways. The stroke scared the hell out of him. Another friend had his first heart attack at 37! for the exact same reasons.

Let these place keep increasing their wages because soon, they will either price themselves out of the market which is a good thing or they will be forced to lower their prices. I'm from the days when CD's used to cost over $20 until people stopped buying them and started with torrents. The prices of CD's crashed after that, never to return to their outrageous prices. Capitalism works both ways. Happened to cable too with streaming services and sadly, the streaming services are going to start learning this lesson too with each price raise. I've already dropped a few of them that raised their prices, including Amazon Prime. You can still get free shipping on Amazon without prime. It just takes a bit longer. If more people would use their heads this price gouging would stop.

The airlines really have people by the balls because a lot of people absolutely have to travel. No one has to eat at McDonald’s.

well, r102 there are other options for travel too. Trains, boats, etc. Hell, I barely drive anymore and was thinking of selling my car to avoid the insurance and gas costs. I have a bike and it could get me to most places like the grocery store. For longer distances I could rent a car or take Uber or Lift.

There are always options. They may not be as convenient but they exist.

If you have the McDonald's app on. your phone you can save a lot of money there. I know because I'm one of those fat whores that people speak so fondly of here. Right now you can get a Big Mac meal with a medium fries and medium drink for only $6.00. Of course I'm in Oklahoma, a very poor state so our prices are usually cheaper even without the app.

R103 pedestrians get hit all the time where I live, it’s simply not pedestrian friendly in a lot of states. Trains and boats are expensive. When I say people have to travel, I was talking about people who had to travel for work or things like funerals.

From the Washington Post article posted upthread… a comment from a young woman struggling with grocery bills… she said she wasn’t going to vote as both candidates were “too similar”!? Then… “At the moment, Trump is looking like the better guy,” she said. “Last time, I thought he had too many scandals. But now with inflation going on, with prices the way they are, it seems like he wants to make the economy better for people like us.”

People are quite stupid. Not just in the USA. That lady is STUPID and poorly informed.

The poors complaining about crap.

R74 So what you are saying is, fast food stores, often open 24 Hours, should be run by 16 yr old high school students? You don’t think there should be any adults in management roles at all? You trust a kid to handle payroll, scheduling, food orders, and all other duties? Fascinating.

The following article is proof that consumers can make a difference by boycotting companies and products that are price gouging us.

I encourage you to boycott any product/company that you think is ripping us off.

We need to send a message to Corporate America!

[quote] PepsiCo profit gets a bump on fewer charges, but sales slip after repeated price hikes

PepsiCo got a bump to fourth quarter profits thanks in part to lower charges and continued price hikes, but higher prices have weakened consumer demand for the company's snacks and drinks.

The New York company said Friday that it expects organic revenue growth of at least 4% this year, less than half the 9.5% growth that PepsiCo booked in 2023.

The company's stock ended Friday down 3.6%, even as the company announced a 7% boost to its annual dividend, and said that it would buy back about $1 billion of its shares.

For the three months ended Dec. 30, PepsiCo earned $1.3 billion, or 94 cents per share. That compares with $518 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding an impairment charge and other items, earnings were $1.78 per share. The performance topped the $1.72 per share analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected.

Revenue slipped to $27.86 billion from $28 billion and it was a rare miss for the company. Wall Street had projected revenue of $28.24 billion.

Those revenues retreated in tandem with volume as the company got more money for products, but sold less of them.

Volume for Frito-Lay North America fell 2% in the final quarter of the year, and beverages North America in North America slid 6%. Volumes for Pepsi convenience foods in Latin America also declined 6%, and there was a 1% decline in Europe. In Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and the China region, convenience foods volume fell 4%.

Volume fell 8% in the Quaker Foods North America unit, as the division dealt with a recall.

Pepsi has wrestled with higher prices and how to pass those costs along, raising prices by double-digit percentages for several quarters.

Global supermarket chain Carrefour said last month that it will stop selling PepsiCo products in its stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy due to price increases for popular items like Lay’s potato chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton Iced Tea and its namesake soda.

PepsiCo said at the time that it would continue to engage in good faith with Carrefour to try to ensure that it products remained available.

Its profits are up, though higher prices have dragged down sales as people trade down to cheaper brands. PepsiCo has been shrinking package sizes of some products in that environment.

PepsiCo Inc., based in Purchase, New York, has said price increases should ease and largely align with inflation, which has fallen considerably.

PepsiCo has pointed to higher costs for grain and cooking oil as it has raised prices. Costs for those food commodities surged following Russia’s invasion in Ukraine but have since retreated on global markets from record highs in 2022.

I met coworkers at Applebee's (it was not my pick) and I thought it was expensive for microwaved food.

GMA did a story on this too.

I'm glad that the media is putting fast food chains on BLAST.

Maybe they'll pay attention, and lower prices.

But I won't hold my breath. They're too greedy.

I don’t understand how people can ascribe a characteristic like greed to a company, much less a fast food company. It’s not like they are selling insulin or clean drinking water and people are going to be hurt if they can’t afford it. They are selling something that’s bad for you. You are better off if you can’t afford it.

If they overcharge egregiously for any length of time people will get pissed off and find a replacement and competitors will step in and undercut them. They know that. And, sure, it doesn’t happen instantaneously and there is some friction in system and all restaurant prices seem unrealistically high right now, but it’s very competitive industry. They aren’t charging double what they need to to cover their costs.

Wow, I had no idea about the new California law.

Fast food workers will now make $20 per hour!

That's... incredible.

If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean!

$41,600 is the annual salary at $20 an hour. In a very expensive state.

It’s hazard pay. Customers act out.

Christina Applegate said in a promo interview for “View From The Top” that her character acted as if there was a video camera on her at all times.

This is now true for most people, I believe. We’re in a transactional society where we are out in public to consume or we are viewed as worker drones or bums.

Fast food is an after-school job for high school students, or a summer gig for college students, or something for a retired person to do to stay busy and supplement their income. It’s not a career for able-bodied adults of working age.

I don't eat fast food

I don't eat at chain restaurants.

but, yeah, thanks

R118 have you informed McDonalds and the U.S. Department of Labor?

I think the franchise model is a scam. Anyone who can get a decent enough business loan or has a trust fund to burn can open up a doomed location. They'll be on the hook for all of the risk. It has the added benefit of allowing McDonalds corp to whine and pretend their business is less profitable than it is by including the poor numbers of incompetent and stupid franchisees.

r118 You can't have both infinite growth and expansion while still saying that staffing the place is just for teens and temps. At what point in the McDonalds ladder do you feel it's appropriate for someone to earn enough money to survive? Should the shift managers make enough money to live or should that privilege only be reserved for the corporate employees?

R118 - The fact is that not all people who finish high school have the intelligence or ability to embark on "careers " that don't involve restaurants or retail like Walmart or warehouse work. Doubly so for those who don't finish. They have to work at unskilled labor. Why begrudge them a living wage? What kinds of jobs would you have them do instead and what kind of a wage do you believe is fair for them, r118?

[quote]So what you are saying is, fast food stores, often open 24 Hours, should be run by 16 yr old high school students? You don’t think there should be any adults in management roles at all? You trust a kid to handle payroll, scheduling, food orders, and all other duties? Fascinating.

No, I didn't say that. I said that there are some jobs that are afterschool/summer jobs for kids and retirees and that no one makes a career out of fast food unless they're out of other options or in management. These types of jobs were never designed to be take care of a family type jobs. It's in and out employment for some extra spending money. And because it was cheap labor, the prices remained low. There was probably that one kid who worked at McDonald's in the summer and stayed and became a manager or something.

Bottom line for me is, I have no problem with increased minimum wage, but I also have no problem paying $10 for a Big Mac if that's what I want that day. I also think it's silly to bitch about what a private company pays its CEO.

This is all voluntary, people. If you don't like McDonald's employment practices, salary structure, and prices, then go across the street to Chick Fil A or Burger King or Wendy's or go home and make your own damned sandwich.

Hissssssss!

I think someone who cannot figure out on his own that no one wants to pay $18 for a Big Mac, fries, and a Coke has not earned a $20m salary.

R125 Wishful thinking, not attached to reality, and have painted themselves into a corner so they can't admit to themselves that they have completely fucked up. I had a client with a product and the same problem, the dim-bulb underlings talked him into it, and now he's stuck.

I said it above - but they've fucked around and they're now gonna find out. It takes a TON of work to change consumers' behaviors and to have brand loyalty. WIthin a year, they may have single-handedly changed millions of people's spending habits because of their greed.

And it's not easy to gain that back.

As far as the McD app to get cheaper prices, fuck that. I'm not giving them access to all of my personal data to save $2 on a shitty burger.

Imagine complaining about homeless people eating alongside you when it's a fucking McDonald's.

I Refuse , quite simply Refuse to pay the price for a crappy meal.

[quote] I said it above - but they've fucked around and they're now gonna find out. It takes a TON of work to change consumers' behaviors and to have brand loyalty. WIthin a year, they may have single-handedly changed millions of people's spending habits because of their greed

I agree with the conclusion, but not labeling firms’ pricing policy as greed. They know how to do the math. They know if they will make more selling x burgers for $6 or y burgers for $12. And they have done projections to see how that is likely to evolve in the future. That they can do. They ALWAYS charge the price that’s going to make them the most money, with some potential variation based the length of the time horizon and some relatively minor variation due to modeling choices and assumptions. It’s not like they weren’t being greedy five years ago and have changed. It’s not greed. Cutting corners wrt employee or customer safety to earn more? That’s can definitely be greed. People will draw the line in different spots, but. there is a lot of potential for green and it clearly happens.

The missteps are when they go too far and alienate people, and that is a real possibility now. But that’s failure to give adequate weight to that possibility. It’s not greed.

Give me a fucking break, R130.

Capitalism IS greed.

It's based on the seller making the maximum profit from the buyer.

That is greed.

Now SHUT THE FUCK UP!!

Hey r130 , I'm r126 . "They know how to do the math" is true, but whether they implement it or not for various reasons is another matter. I think in McD's instance, corporate understands, but the endless line-up of greedy (and frequently foreign) blockheads that own franchises, maybe not so much.

I wonder if they are chasing the outcome of Netflix. Netflix increased their rates, and experienced revenue growth by (luckily) predicting fewer consumers paying more for their product is better for their bottom line. So McDonalds just might make out if they sell fewer meals at this higher cost, and the shift may alter the composition of their clientele. It’s like a gamble, but the secondary win is a bump in stock price if they succeed.

There might also be a value perception at play. I’d be curious if they plan to reformulate any of the popular items, and reposition them as “fast casual” food like Shake Shack.

I read that a giant amusement park like Six Flags increased their admission fees to refine their audience. The elasticity of pricing is sometimes used “price out” rowdy consumers. Over the longer term McDonalds might be shaping their model by serving fewer yet more “prosperous” guests, and at the same time improving the conditions of their front line workers. Selling more expensive food to fewer people may make it easier to recruit employees.

R133 - "price out" is exactly correct. There are cruise lines that will sail their small ships next to empty, just to keep out DL commenters and other undesirables.

I think the fast food market is more competitive because of the growth of In-N-Out, Shake Shack and “tastier” but still fattening and high sodium foods. I wonder if they are seeking to recover clients who are willing to pay more for fast food that “feels” upmarket and somehow better.

McDonalds may have lost middle class customers to these expanding brands (Chick Fil-A is another, but has a uniquely shitty PR issue with social conservatism). Maybe McDonalds is simply trying to avoid turning into White Castle, or a brand that is known to be moderately tasty but straightforwardly skanky and lowbrow. White Castle is hanging in by keeping their customers and maybe finding new ones in states with legalized marijuana. I bet those little burgers taste amazing when you’re stoned. I see they sell them now frozen at CVS and Walgreens, too.

American McDonalds would need to improve their ingredient quality 200% to approach edibility and nutritional value.

For example the oil used for McNuggets: Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with TBHQ and Citric Acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

Fair enough, R126, R132. I didn’t realize the franchise owners had pricing discretion.

Different Prices

Funny thing is that the people who have money usually avoid these places like the plague.

R19 What in the low rent hell?

[QUOTE]Imagine complaining about homeless people eating alongside you when it's a fucking McDonald's.

Where did you get this characterization of eating elbow to elbow with urine-soaked homeless people?

Did your mother tell you grocery stores were only for the "help" or non-Michelin rated restaurants are beneath you?

[quote]Funny thing is that the people who have money usually avoid these places like the plague.

Such a silly statement.

[quote]but I know that fast food is not always cheap,

At one time, wasn't being cheap the whole point of fast food?

I think it was more the "fast" part, genius, or the convenience of it.

Also it was tasty. It still is tasty for people who like that kind of stuff.

[quote]I think it was more the "fast" part, genius, or the convenience of it.

You really need to take a business history course before making "genius" comments.

The thing about McDonald's is that no one can make a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder or French Fries the way they do.

If you catch them on a good day, a Big Mac, Fries, and a Coke can be HEAVEN.

R147 The secret is getting fries made in absolutely fresh oil, and getting a burger made with stuff that hasn't been sitting in the freezer for six months.

I live alone, it's too much of a hassle to make myself a hamburger when I can grab one through a drive through. My favorite is Culver's but unless you get the value meal with a coupon they can be pricy, but I do think they are a better quality fast food.

Just once I'd like to unwrap a Big Mac and have it looked presentable. For the most part, the location near me throw everything together and when I unwrap it, it looks like a pile of garbage. I remember a few years ago, another customer brought his Big Mac back to the counter and showed the cashier how disgusting it looked (he was a real cute man of color). He asked them to make him a new one - 'and make it like you're making it for your dinner - put a little care into it' . They did - it looked much better.

You can get a three course burger meal at Chillis for 10.99. You can get two med pizza meal at Dominos for 19.99. Bigger chains are coming for fast food places.

R150 Lawd you need to take that as a sign.

It's all too soft, and too salty.

"I live alone, it's too much of a hassle to make myself a hamburger when I can grab one through a drive through."

I live alone, too and making a burger is the easiest thing ever. I guess if you're opposed to chopping up some onions and tomatoes (it take minutes). Hell, I make myself a turkey burger at least once a week with caramelized onions, roasted red bell peppers, lettuce, smoked gouda cheese and horseradish on a toasted brioche bun. It's SO fucking good. And healthy. I've lost a ton of weight just cooking for myself. But I guess if one can't be bothered to learn how to cook, then enjoy your heart attack at 40!

Somebody always has to come on a restaurant thread and tell us to cook at home (eyeroll)

Culvers is a couple steps up from McDs.

Naw, r155. When someone says "cooking at home is a hassle" it just amuses me. It means that the person A. doesn't know how to cook. B. Is too fucking lazy to learn. C. doesn't want to clean up after themselves.

That statement indicates immaturity and a lack of interest in self care. It's different if someone says, "I prefer to go grab a burger from a fast food place because I'm too lazy to cook" then that's a fair statement. But don't say it's a "hassle" when all it really is is a basic life skill you don't want to learn. Adults who don't know how to feed themselves without relying on Mommy or Fast food are ridiculous and should be embarrassed.

r157 you are assuming I don't know how to cook. I don't know why I am bothering to explain myself but when it comes to making a burger just for myself I find it easier to go to the drive thru because I don't want to buy all those ingredients (buns, meat, tomato, etc. for one burger). In the summer when I have people over I do like to grill burgers.

You can freeze the buns and the meat. You only have to buy the stuff you want to put on them.

$15 an hour comes out to $31,200 a year BEFORE taxes. It's sad that some people think this is too much money for someone working a full-time job.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 52% of minimum wage workers are older than 25. The idea that minimum wage jobs are not "real jobs" and that minimum wage workers are all teenagers living at home is not based in reality. Many of these jobs are held by full grown adults and it's their only means of survival.

The person who keeps saying fast food jobs are just for high school kids or people who need a little extra spending money is probably extremely old and thinking about how things were in the 60s or 70s.

Way more fast food is consumed now. If hypothetically only high school kids took those jobs there wouldn't be enough to fill them. The types of people working there now would have had manufacturing jobs in the 60s or 70s that no longer exist in high numbers in the US now. Either they work fast food and make an amount they can scrape by with or they live on welfare (taxes go way up) and/or steal and commit other crimes to get by.

r156 meh not really

It need not be a big showdown. All that's needed is for 5-6 GP House members to vote with the Dems and pass the damned thing.

r163 you tell them!

[quote] You can freeze the buns and the meat. You only have to buy the stuff you want to put on them.

You are TEDIOUS.

If I have a sudden craving for a burger, I'm not going to wait for everything to defrost, cut the vegetables, and cook it, then clean up the mess.

That's why fast food was invented!

To satisfy cravings immediately.

Moron!

You don't have to wait for anything to defrost, idiot. You put the frozen patty in the pan and within 10 mins, you have a burger. You put the bun in the toaster oven for a few.

I'm not the tedious one.

R165’s boundaries have been stated.

arguing with lazy fat whores who shove fast food in their pie holes to instantly satisfy gaping black hole cravings is like arguing with MAGAts. Not worth a single fucking wasted breath. They are proudly and intractably trash people.

One of my most memorable meals ever was at a McDonald's.

It was on New Arbat in Moscow 1995. It had nothing to do with the food, it was the Great Triumph over communism by a striped-stocking clown.

R168=screechy effeminate persnickety unfuckable bottom who just CANNOT.

The last time I ate McDonald’s I ate a Caesar Salad. It was 10 o clock in a Flyoverstan town and that was my only option. Yes, it’s been that long.

[quote] You can freeze the buns and the meat. You only have to buy the stuff you want to put on them.

Some people only eat at McD's (or other fast food hamburgers) maybe once every 6 months. It's just not worth the freezer space to store buns and meat and condiments, etc. By the time you're ready for Burger # 2, your stuff is all freezer burned and/or you forgot you had all that stuff in the freezer.

[quote]I remember a few years ago, another customer brought his Big Mac back to the counter and showed the cashier how disgusting it looked (he was a real cute man of color). He asked them to make him a new one - 'and make it like you're making it for your dinner - put a little care into it' . They did - it looked much better.

You can be sure that they put a very special ingredient in his new burger.

When I want a burger, I also want fries. Even if the burger is easy to make, fries are a PITA to make at home, and almost always not as good as a drive-thru.

Only fucking Americans would think it's appropriate for an over 65 person to be working at a fast food restaurant doing backbreaking work.

Only fucking Americans would say it's a teen and retiree job so they could just separate themselves from the problem a d write it off, like everything else.

R174 they sell "fast food fries" bagged in the frozen section of your grocery store. You put them in the toaster oven at 400 while you're cooking your burger and in 15-20 mins you have have fries that are pretty damn close.

Oh I thought it said “greasy assholes.” I think my misread works better tbh.

Hold the pickles

Hold the Lettuce

Special Orders don't upset us

All we ask is that you let us serve it your way

Have it your way at BURGER KING

[quote]You put them in the toaster oven at 400 while you're cooking your burger and in 15-20 mins you have have fries that are pretty damn close.

You're having a laugh, right?

Yes, at the stupidity on this thread. It's blaringly obvious that most of you have never set foot in a grocery store or cooked for yourself. Bunch of sad Momma's boys that can't be bothered.

R180 has been wearing his mother’s apron (and panties) since he was knee high to a duck.

[quote] You can buy a whole, roasted chicken at Costco for $6 and go home, shred that stuff up, add it to a pan with some black beans, corn, diced canned tomatoes, some taco seasoning and simmer it. Then spoon it into flour tortillas, roll them up and freeze them. For less than $10 that's about 12 meals

The chicken shredded and reheated twice seems like it would taste rubbery and dry. No thanks.

[quote] I'm not sure a McDonald's job is a $15 an hour job, no one is making a career out of McDonald's unless they're in some type of management position or out of options.

People deserve a living wage whether it is a “career job” where you can slide your way up into management or not.

Some people buy a whole roasted chicken AND, on occasion, a McDonald's meal.

R184 That’s a fat whore.

R166 do you have ANY friends!? You ARE incredibly tedious. If someone feels like having a fast food burger even if they are perfectly capable of making one… that’s their business. It’s not a personal affront to you.

It’s an affront to MOTHER R186!

Starting Monday, they will earn more than most of Datalounge!

The burgers taste like shit. Fries are ok

[quote] where did people think they were going to get the money to pay $15 an hour.

When I pushed the bill I knew you mooks would never think that far ahead. You never do.

R186 sounds like the mealy mouthed Mary who practically wept a few years ago when teased about her McD's consumption. It was her SPECIAL TREAT and she felt attacked that anyone would dare question her!

Can you imagine how fucking dire your life would have to be to have a McDonald's burger be the one treat you allow yourself?

Eh, R191, I'll defend that. My partner (RIP) used to get a McDonald's cheeseburger every now and then, but it was a nostalgia thing because that was the special treat he had growing up poor. I understand that better now even tho I think their burgers are terrible.