8 ms·
What a bizarre statement about a place of business that's tried to irrelevance themselves into non-existence this year. Fast food pricing is now equal or beyon
by munk-a 2y ago
What a bizarre statement about a place of business that's tried to irrelevance themselves into non-existence this year. Fast food pricing is now equal or beyond the prices of quality food with non-chain fast food (i.e. doner/local pizza joints) becoming the new affordable option.
- jajko 2y agoYes but they are not everywhere. As much as hate the below mediocre junk McD mostly produces, sometimes they are the only place open for miles around.
- markus_zhang 2y agoCostco is my new restaurant. Food is more fresh and costs way less.
- paulpauper 2y agobut not as convenient as McDonald's . fewer locations, need membership afik for food
- markus_zhang 2y agoYeah that's true. Fortunately we have one 15 mins of drive away.
- calmworm 2y agoIf only they had a $1.50 hamburger option!
- AnimalMuppet 2y agoI have thought that, if you're on a road trip, Costco could be pretty good. Stop there, get a rotisserie chicken, feeds 2-4 people, costs $5. (I mean, you still need a trash bag, paper plates, and a large number of napkins...) And you were going to stop for gas anyway, and they have that.
- kube-system 2y agoMaybe at mid-day during the week. On Sunday, the Costco parking lot is the last place I'd want to be if I'm trying to get miles on the road.
- markus_zhang 2y agoYeah that sucks. It really depends on the time.
- markus_zhang 2y agoYeah man, almost perfect, and they have desserts too! Sadly no coffee...well just packaged ones.
- kube-system 2y agoMcDonalds is financially quite healthy. They've never been the cheapest nor the best quality. McDonalds excels in having food at the right place at the right time and a minimal effort to transact. If you are traveling at any random place in the US, and you are in a hurry and want something you are familiar with, McDonalds is the most likely thing you will come across first. There is a huge cognitive anchoring this has.
- observationist 2y agoDon't forget consistency - you can get chicken nuggets and barbecue sauce and french fries that taste recognizably the same at any of their 42,000 restaurants. The food preparation and storage, shipping logistics, and other underpinnings of their consistency trick are admirable, even if the other issues with fast food detract from the overall picture.
- euroderf 2y agoBack before teh interwebz consistency was the key to other successful nationwide chains like Howard Johnson's and Holiday Inn.
- sabbaticaldev 2y agomy friend, people just recently died for eating mcdonalds.
- kube-system 2y agoThat's what I was hinting at "something you are familiar with" and "effort to transact". People hopping off the highway for a quick stop with their family don't want to mull over SlopBowl's menu for 10 minutes, even if it's better quality... they know if they roll into a McD, they can grab a happy meal and the kid won't complain.
- namibj 2y agoBut a strawberry shake in the US tastes horrible to those used to the DE version.
- 2y ago
- alwa 2y agoHave you spent much time in their dining rooms? Niche as Chris Arnade’s expertise may be, it sure seems hard-earned: > I can answer both questions. I’ve spent over a decade sitting in McDonald’s all over the United States—I believe I’ve visited over 500 franchises. Roughly half the conversations I had for my 2019 book Dignity took place in a McDonald’s—in fact, my working title was, Everything You Want to Know About America Can Be Learned in a McDonald’s, because I sincerely believe this.
- mcculley 2y agoI have been wondering if this should be seen as a success of laws raising minimum wage. In some states, the rapid rise of minimum wage means that it is no longer viable to have someone else make a sandwich for you. Isn't that a victory for those who want equality?
- amelius 2y agoReminds me how one-type-fits-all smartphones are sold as premium devices.
- tokinonagare 2y agoIt's indeed crazy how expensive McDo meals had become. When I was a student I used to eat 2/3 hamburgers 1€ each, and something the 2€ local thing too. Now those doubled or tripled. A maxi best of is at least 12€. Sorry but at this price I'll eat anywhere else. The only thing I'm eating these days is the 5€ menu with 4 items in it, the happy meal at 4€ when there's Pokémon cards as toy and the Mac First when it is at 6€ (spoiler: it's often closer to 7€ in most place now). That being said even kebabs are a luxury now. What used to be 3€ or 5€ with fries and drink is now 7/8€ alone, or 12€ in combo with fries or drink. Well, one more think I'll eat way less than before.
- ghaff 2y agoOr you make your own meals.
- johnnyb9 2y agoThe meals are pricey, no doubt, but the app is where the real value is. In NYC, I’ve scored insanely cheap deals—last week I got 10 chicken nuggets for $1. Right now, I’ve got a 50¢ double cheeseburger offer staring me down. I’d redeem it daily if it weren’t for health reasons (it says once a week, but for me, it’s somehow available every day). And don’t sleep on the $6 meal deal: a McDouble, 4-piece chicken nuggets, small fries, and a small drink. For six bucks, that’s tough to beat!
- munk-a 2y agoGiven that the app exists and will save you money it's hard to discourage its use but it seems pretty clear their goal is to obsolete in-store menus to obscure the real costs of their meals. Customers get deals in the short term to encourage conversion but in the long term it will be used for price gouging.
- ghaff 2y agoThough long pre-app I remember McDonald coupons in at least school newspapers and the like. I remember one pretty silly case where a coupon gave you cheeseburgers for less than hamburgers. The local McDonalds wouldn't let you order a hamburger at the cheeseburger price so you ordered a cheeseburger "hold the cheese."