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What stops McDonald's from doing the same? Advertising 99¢ burger and then charging 25% handling fee? Competition, I'd say. Seems that these abusive practices a
by dplgk 7y ago
What stops McDonald's from doing the same? Advertising 99¢ burger and then charging 25% handling fee? Competition, I'd say. Seems that these abusive practices are evidence of a monopoly.
- drewg123 7y agoLess friction. Switching to a different fast food chain is as easy as walking next door in most cases. Switching cable providers is impossible for many (Comcast is my only choice), or may require hours lost from work while dealing with customer service, returning equipment, waiting for installers, etc.
- johndubchak 7y agoWendy’s, Carl Jrs, Burger King, local places that sell quality burgers. Remember people only choose McDonalds because of the consistent quality, for whatever definition of “quality” you want to ascribe to them, and low cost.
- oarsinsync 7y ago> people only choose McDonalds because of the consistent quality Indeed, this is the only reason I eat McDonald's when I do - it doesn't matter where in the world I am, I know exactly what I'm getting, and I can pay in USD cash (although change is returned in local currency)
- LeoPanthera 7y agoMcDonalds accepts USD in other countries?
- oarsinsync 7y agoIt's part of the terms of the franchise. Greenback accepted globally.
- LeoPanthera 7y agoDo you have a citation for that? A quick Google doesn’t reveal anything obvious.
- oarsinsync 7y agoI do not. However I’ve spoken to a franchise owner after visiting 7 countries where they accepted USD who explained why. Don’t take it as gospel, but try it yourself next time you travel and see what happens.
- skizm 7y agoThe hours lost are worth it in the long run though if a competitor is going to cut your bill by 20-25% per month. If there is a valid competitor that is (almost never in the US).
- yabadabadoes 7y agoWith 2 competitors, you essentially need to negotiate with a willingness to swich every year or 2 at the most. That ends up being a substantial amount of time.
- readams 7y agoAll the restaurants in the bay area now charge 3% living wage surcharges on their bills. So.... Yes. There's that.
- johndubchak 7y agoLiving in the Bay Area and knowing how far workers have to commute for that job - because they’ve been priced out of the area - is something I’m willing to pay to the extent that money is going to the workers.
- distances 7y agoThe point is though that this should be part of the list price, not a fee added on top.
- HarryHirsch 7y agoThe "living wage surcharge" doesn't count, it's a political gimmick from restaurateurs against minimum wage increases designed to stoke public outrage. The biggest share in operating costs for a restaurant is rent. Now if we could see a "the-rent-is-too-high" surcharge, that might spark a movement against excessive prices for apartment rents in the Bay. Fat change this will happen.
- joezydeco 7y agoBecause McDonald's can hide profits in other items. The $0.99 burger is a loss leader to get you to buy the $1.00 soft drink. Soft drinks are have incredibly high margins.
- jacquesm 7y agoI suspect the $0.99 burger still isn't a loss leader.
- scarface74 7y agoThat’s still not the point. McDonalds tells you on the menu how much everything costs.