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Hey Americans, does it work the same down there as it does up here where the McDonald’s menu is a colossal ripoff unless you bring coupons, which are ubiquitous

Hey Americans, does it work the same down there as it does up here where the McDonald’s menu is a colossal ripoff unless you bring coupons, which are ubiquitous, that bring prices down by about 50%? Are they basically creating two price tags: for those who do and don’t really care enough? Ie. we’ll take your money if you’re fine paying a whole lot more for a meal. Otherwise here it is for half off.

hhh 2y ago
you use the app to save money, generally that's the closest to a coupon I've used at maccas
megraf 2y ago
I don't go to mc'ds very often and wasn't even aware of their coupons. Perhaps you're right
dragontamer 2y ago
Yes but no. Coupons are obsolete. The actual deals are on the App. Same idea except the App probably tracks my email or something, so they get more info on what deals I'm browsing or thinking about. (I'm sure it's watching what I click on and browse....) I'd say coupons disappeared about 5 years ago? Somewhere around COVID-19.
- vundercind 2y ago
  Can confirm, the answer is “yes, but the coupons are in the app”. The app deals get prices down to where they’d be if the menu prices hadn’t gone up waaaay faster than the rate of inflation, and sometimes down to what actual coupon or sale prices should be. The menu prices are batshit crazy.
  - hakfoo 2y ago
    TBH, the fast food experience is getting so damn weird. The local McDonald's has big signs out screaming "Link your payment card! Order ahead with the app! Give us some sort of reward points code!" Last time I went inside one, the till was unmanned, and I had to flag down an employee because I wanted to pay cash (and couldn't find what I wanted on the ordering kiosk). I can see why that customer flow appeals to them-- if they can remove the underpaid high-school kid at the till from the loop, he's not handing discounted items out to his friends, or making change wrong, or simply bollixing up data entry. That's a feature for the BUSINESS, not the CUSTOMER, though. Don't try to sell it to me as something I want. I assume that's why they've pushed so much of the reasonably-priced items through app ordering-- they've got to convince people to use it SOMEHOW. Fast food is supposed to be cheap and easy-- more of an impulse purchase. Expecting me to install an app and pre-plan my visit, if I don't want to pay sit-down prices, is a hell of a lot of friction. It's easy to imagine someone driving up to the menu, all the kids looking and deciding what they want, then proceeding straight through, pulling into a parking spot, making an in-app order, and coming back to pick it up. Otherwise, the $40 order becomes $65. Their marketing consultants probably told them we'd pull up their app/website before we got there, but obviously they have never been in a family where going out for lunch consists of 20 minutes of driving past restaurants and horse-trading before a consensus can finally be reached. What was their user persona exactly?
    - willcipriano 2y ago
      The best is sitting in the drive thru while people install apps and troubleshoot problems with apps in the cars ahead of you lest they pay three extra dollars.
- rchaud 2y ago
  Coupons are anything but obsolete, I get them in the mail constantly. The app's data sharing disclosure on Android includes home address and some payment information. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mcdonalds.app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mcdonalds....
- soupfordummies 2y ago
  I feel like this is a meme. I tried to prove this by pricing out meals in person, on the app, drive thru etc and it was the same price every time. ATL, GA fwiw
add-sub-mul-div 2y ago
I believe there's discounts only if you use their app, so they can monetize you with surveillance. It's still garbage food, though. I can't imagine what the $5 tier is like.
- thundermuffin 2y ago
  I hadn't paid much attention to their $5 deal, so I looked it up out of curiosity. It's the same food but in smaller portions, which sounds more appealing to me. I wish more places had appropriately sized & priced portions of food instead of "here's 2500 calories and a drink with enough sugar to give you diabetes for $10". Sometimes I get random cravings for certain fast foods, but I always feel like a sucker when I opt to get less food but pay almost the exact same. The idea of getting the bigger sizes of fast food and reheating leftovers makes my stomach churn a little, though, haha.
swaginator 2y ago
Prior to covid, yes. I haven't eaten McDonald's since covid, but in college I would use the app + whatever promotional "buy one get one" coupons they had going on to hit some devious combos. Usually I could get 3 burgers for like $2.50 with free fries. Each purchase usually gives you another bogo coupon, or a survey that you can fill out for free fries, so you end up in infinite loops of coupons.
- to11mtm 2y ago
  When I worked at a bike shop there was a BK that would give you a survey, you could fill it out and on your next visit get a chicken sandwich or whopper with a drink purchase (I think it was a drink, anyway). Looping that one paid for a loooot of bike parts lol.
to11mtm 2y ago
They like to make us use the app nowadays. It's a frustrating experience in my experience, because you either have to: - go handle your phone in the drive thru and wait to put it 'just in time' - try to put it together before and pull it up there, the app might eat it - 'pre-order' which will totally fuck you over if you get there and the line is backed out to the street for whatever ungodly reason. If it isn't, you'll either get your food normally, or somehow you wind up getting something that almost feels like it was made before you even placed the order. - Speaking of above, using the app seems to result in a higher probability of getting stuff that definitely feels 'aged' in some way or otherwise put together like trash.
- bdcravens 2y ago
  I've never had any issues pulling up to a curbside spot and ordering there, and have the food brought to my car (Houston area - not sure if it's common elsewhere)
nathanasmith 2y ago
People who order at the counter subsidize those who order with the app. That's basically how it works now.
- lotsoweiners 2y ago
  You can still order at the counter and have them scan your phone.
- seanmcdirmid 2y ago
  Counter ordering isn’t available anymore in ,y market, you choose kiosk or app. Since the app is so horrible, I just use kiosk whenever I go in, which is rarely these days.
silisili 2y ago
In my market, they nearly doubled the price of a Big Mac, but had a perpetual in app coupon of 'buy one, get one for .29' which evened it back out on two. Wendy's largely does the same. I imagine it's to take advantage of hungry passerby's and such.
- justsomehnguy 2y ago
  You spent .29' more while the costs are clearly less than that.
Hamuko 2y ago
>Are they basically creating two price tags: for those who do and don’t really care enough? There's a term for that: price discrimination.

hhh 2y ago

you use the app to save money, generally that's the closest to a coupon I've used at maccas

megraf 2y ago

I don't go to mc'ds very often and wasn't even aware of their coupons. Perhaps you're right

dragontamer 2y ago

Yes but no. Coupons are obsolete. The actual deals are on the App. Same idea except the App probably tracks my email or something, so they get more info on what deals I'm browsing or thinking about. (I'm sure it's watching what I click on and browse....) I'd say coupons disappeared about 5 years ago? Somewhere around COVID-19.

vundercind 2y ago
Can confirm, the answer is “yes, but the coupons are in the app”. The app deals get prices down to where they’d be if the menu prices hadn’t gone up waaaay faster than the rate of inflation, and sometimes down to what actual coupon or sale prices should be. The menu prices are batshit crazy.
- hakfoo 2y ago
  TBH, the fast food experience is getting so damn weird. The local McDonald's has big signs out screaming "Link your payment card! Order ahead with the app! Give us some sort of reward points code!" Last time I went inside one, the till was unmanned, and I had to flag down an employee because I wanted to pay cash (and couldn't find what I wanted on the ordering kiosk). I can see why that customer flow appeals to them-- if they can remove the underpaid high-school kid at the till from the loop, he's not handing discounted items out to his friends, or making change wrong, or simply bollixing up data entry. That's a feature for the BUSINESS, not the CUSTOMER, though. Don't try to sell it to me as something I want. I assume that's why they've pushed so much of the reasonably-priced items through app ordering-- they've got to convince people to use it SOMEHOW. Fast food is supposed to be cheap and easy-- more of an impulse purchase. Expecting me to install an app and pre-plan my visit, if I don't want to pay sit-down prices, is a hell of a lot of friction. It's easy to imagine someone driving up to the menu, all the kids looking and deciding what they want, then proceeding straight through, pulling into a parking spot, making an in-app order, and coming back to pick it up. Otherwise, the $40 order becomes $65. Their marketing consultants probably told them we'd pull up their app/website before we got there, but obviously they have never been in a family where going out for lunch consists of 20 minutes of driving past restaurants and horse-trading before a consensus can finally be reached. What was their user persona exactly?
  - willcipriano 2y ago
    The best is sitting in the drive thru while people install apps and troubleshoot problems with apps in the cars ahead of you lest they pay three extra dollars.
rchaud 2y ago
Coupons are anything but obsolete, I get them in the mail constantly. The app's data sharing disclosure on Android includes home address and some payment information. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mcdonalds.app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mcdonalds....
soupfordummies 2y ago
I feel like this is a meme. I tried to prove this by pricing out meals in person, on the app, drive thru etc and it was the same price every time. ATL, GA fwiw

add-sub-mul-div 2y ago

I believe there's discounts only if you use their app, so they can monetize you with surveillance. It's still garbage food, though. I can't imagine what the $5 tier is like.

thundermuffin 2y ago
I hadn't paid much attention to their $5 deal, so I looked it up out of curiosity. It's the same food but in smaller portions, which sounds more appealing to me. I wish more places had appropriately sized & priced portions of food instead of "here's 2500 calories and a drink with enough sugar to give you diabetes for $10". Sometimes I get random cravings for certain fast foods, but I always feel like a sucker when I opt to get less food but pay almost the exact same. The idea of getting the bigger sizes of fast food and reheating leftovers makes my stomach churn a little, though, haha.

swaginator 2y ago

Prior to covid, yes. I haven't eaten McDonald's since covid, but in college I would use the app + whatever promotional "buy one get one" coupons they had going on to hit some devious combos. Usually I could get 3 burgers for like $2.50 with free fries. Each purchase usually gives you another bogo coupon, or a survey that you can fill out for free fries, so you end up in infinite loops of coupons.

to11mtm 2y ago
When I worked at a bike shop there was a BK that would give you a survey, you could fill it out and on your next visit get a chicken sandwich or whopper with a drink purchase (I think it was a drink, anyway). Looping that one paid for a loooot of bike parts lol.

to11mtm 2y ago

They like to make us use the app nowadays. It's a frustrating experience in my experience, because you either have to: - go handle your phone in the drive thru and wait to put it 'just in time' - try to put it together before and pull it up there, the app might eat it - 'pre-order' which will totally fuck you over if you get there and the line is backed out to the street for whatever ungodly reason. If it isn't, you'll either get your food normally, or somehow you wind up getting something that almost feels like it was made before you even placed the order. - Speaking of above, using the app seems to result in a higher probability of getting stuff that definitely feels 'aged' in some way or otherwise put together like trash.

bdcravens 2y ago
I've never had any issues pulling up to a curbside spot and ordering there, and have the food brought to my car (Houston area - not sure if it's common elsewhere)

nathanasmith 2y ago

People who order at the counter subsidize those who order with the app. That's basically how it works now.

lotsoweiners 2y ago
You can still order at the counter and have them scan your phone.
seanmcdirmid 2y ago
Counter ordering isn’t available anymore in ,y market, you choose kiosk or app. Since the app is so horrible, I just use kiosk whenever I go in, which is rarely these days.

silisili 2y ago

In my market, they nearly doubled the price of a Big Mac, but had a perpetual in app coupon of 'buy one, get one for .29' which evened it back out on two. Wendy's largely does the same. I imagine it's to take advantage of hungry passerby's and such.

justsomehnguy 2y ago
You spent .29' more while the costs are clearly less than that.

Hamuko 2y ago

>Are they basically creating two price tags: for those who do and don’t really care enough? There's a term for that: price discrimination.