I see what you mean, but as a consumer I'd much rather pay extra for a good coffee than $1 for a crappy one and I'm fairly sure this is not an uncommon sentimen

I see what you mean, but as a consumer I'd much rather pay extra for a good coffee than $1 for a crappy one and I'm fairly sure this is not an uncommon sentiment. If I opened up a coffee shop, it wouldn't be to attract the kind of crowd who get their coffee exclusively at McDonald's, so McDonald's pricing wouldn't be that relevant, right? Tangentially, I'm also curious how McDonald's in the US can charge $1 if they also have to pay a living wage. Does their size mean they get cheaper materials from suppliers and can drive costs down or that they make up that loss by selling some of their other products? I've never gotten coffee from McDonald's in my country, but I'm _pretty_ sure it's not that cheap. Even _more_ tangentially, I noticed a popular local chain driving their prices higher and higher to ridiculous amounts. It's not even great coffee--it's like Starbucks in my country (Starbucks apparently didn't get a good footing here because this other chain is just so established). Their usually mediocre coffee costs more than one at a boutique high-end roastery! I suspect it's because they're pushing people to instead sign up for their monthly subscription, that lets you get a coffee every 2 hours. I've begrudgingly signed up, because I like using their cafes as a work space and this way I do not feel guilty about sitting around there all day. When I want legit good coffee, I still go to a good place and get one. As annoyed as I was to see how much they charge for a mediocre cappuccino, I've got to hand it to them on the interesting monetization shift.