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A lot. MCD corporate seems determined to get on the user data gravy train, and appears to be subsidizing it for the franchisees. Three large fries ordered at t

A lot. MCD corporate seems determined to get on the user data gravy train, and appears to be subsidizing it for the franchisees. Three large fries ordered at the counter costs over ten dollars.

crazygringo 2y ago
Sure they want user data to observe people's purchasing habits. But they already have that if you always use the same debit or credit cards like most people do. But the more people use the app, the less cashiers they need and the less ordering kiosks they have to install. Plus customer satisfaction goes up because you can order ahead and your food is ready when you arrive. And getting used to the discounts means you probably won't switch to Burger King or Wendy's. I think additional user data is a relatively minor part of it.
- packtreefly 2y ago
  > you can order ahead and your food is ready when you arrive That just sounds like a great way to get cold McDonald's... > I think additional user data is a relatively minor part of it. You're probably right about that, but I've always undervalued user data because I don't think it's ethical to exploit people like that. I'm sure that a well-timed push notification suggesting a personalized meal deal right around hungry-o'clock is the real goal of pushing this stupid app on their customers.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    >> you can order ahead and your food is ready when you arrive > That just sounds like a great way to get cold McDonald's... The idea is to order 3 or 4 minutes in advance, not half an hour before...
- butterknife 2y ago
  > But they already have that if you always use the same debit or credit cards like most people do. Don't they have only the last 4 digits and the issuer of the card? It is likely enough but there will be some noise. Not to mention any potential legal trouble if they used the card details without explicit consent. App contracts will get around that.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    They have your name too. From what I understand, the tracking is generally done via something like the hash of the card number though. I've never heard of any legal or compliance issues with that, since the card number itself is not stored.
    - butterknife 2y ago
      Submitted a Subject Access Request to McDonald's here in the UK. I'll update here on progress.
- cardiffspaceman 2y ago
  > your food is ready when you arrive. The food does NOT start cooking when you order it if you’re picking up at drive thru. It starts cooking when you pull up to drive thru and give the magic code. In fact if the food is not easy to prepare you get put in a special parking space, where you wait for your order to be prepared. If it includes soft drinks they might serve those before they make you go park.
- andy800 2y ago
  Disagree on not going to BK/Wendy's. The "deals" game becomes a habit, switching costs are basically zero, people start to comparison shop each app for the best deal (like shopping for air travel). It's a bit of work because there is no single consolidator but it only takes a few seconds to scan each apps offers. At this point, being a fast food chain that doesnt have an app with deals is probably not viable - but I am very skeptical it generates any loyalty.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 2y ago
    I treat food delivery apps the same way. There’s no stickiness for me, I just check all of them and pick the one with the best coupons for my restaurant. A sign that this kind of stuff is very much a commodity. I usually end up on DoorDash, but that’s mainly because the current credit card I use affords discounts for it and as a result wins in the bidding war for my business
mediaman 2y ago
It’s not about data, it’s customer segmentation. Frequent customers are more price sensitive, and are willing to use the app to get all the discounts, while occasional customers will not, so they can capture both the more price sensitive part of the market while getting higher margins from occasional buyers.
- andy800 2y ago
  As someone who spent many years segmenting customers and generating personalized marketing offers -- McDonald's is awful at this. I was a 2-3x/monthly customer (USA based) for years (even more frequent a decade ago, but I'm talking about since the app), ordering the exact same core items every time (except during breakfast). When they began "value meals" last summer (which don't include their flagship items) they also removed the best deals from the app, the ones that did include Big Mac, QPC, 10-nuggets. I've placed one non-breakfast order in 6-8 months, whenever they started this. I'm just one person, but if a customer declines from an expected 15-20 visits over a half-year period to 1, and you don't adjust your offer algorithm (and you're the biggest restaurant company in the world so no lack of resources), something is seriously wrong.
  - MoreMoore 2y ago
    They used to have great deals on the app in Germany. I used to go to McDonald's all the time. The deals suck now, and now I only go if I'm really craving a McMuffin Bacon & Egg. Whatever they're doing also isn't working for me.
  - packtreefly 2y ago
    > they also removed the best deals from the app They've captured the user base with the money that corporate was pumping into the app deals, and are in the process of enshittifying it by transferring the value to themselves instead of the users.
    - andy800 2y ago
      This can work in a lot of industries - I am skeptical fast food is one of them. Switching costs are low, alternates are plentiful, and collecting information (reviewing deals/prices across companies) is relatively easy. If McDonald's enshittifies its deals while continuing to raise prices, it's way too easy for loyal customers to go elsewhere. I'm saying this as a huge fan and extremely loyal customer of McDonald's for decades... they are at serious risk of losing people like me. As I stated, I've gone from 15-20 visits to 1 since last June/July, whenever they made the big change.
koolba 2y ago
> Three large fries ordered at the counter costs over ten dollars. Ask for a “bundle box” next time you’re there. They’re usually named after a local sports team. Two Big Macs, two cheeseburgers, two fries, and a 10-piece nuggets for $12-15 depending on the market. I think retail for just the Big Macs is that much these days. No app required.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 2y ago
  That is an incredible amount of cooked calories for that price. No idea this was a thing. I do remember being in college and local mcd’s doing the typical “if team wins chicken nuggets are $5 for 20” but never heard of this sports box concept
SOLAR_FIELDS 2y ago
> Three large fries ordered at the counter costs over ten dollars. This is kind of hilarious and depressing but I live in a high enough cost of living city in the states and I order mcd’s rarely enough that I cannot tell contextually whether your statement indicates this is overpriced or underpriced.
- ChristianGeek 2y ago
  It depends on how recently they came out of the fryer, how fresh the oil is, and the grease-to-salt ratio.
  - packtreefly 2y ago
    I will sadly admit that the high price of fries only angers me when they're not fresh.
andy800 2y ago
Much more - most McD's in USA charge over $4 for a large french fries.

A lot. MCD corporate seems determined to get on the user data gravy train, and appears to be subsidizing it for the franchisees. Three large fries ordered at the counter costs over ten dollars.

crazygringo 2y ago

Sure they want user data to observe people's purchasing habits. But they already have that if you always use the same debit or credit cards like most people do. But the more people use the app, the less cashiers they need and the less ordering kiosks they have to install. Plus customer satisfaction goes up because you can order ahead and your food is ready when you arrive. And getting used to the discounts means you probably won't switch to Burger King or Wendy's. I think additional user data is a relatively minor part of it.

packtreefly 2y ago
> you can order ahead and your food is ready when you arrive That just sounds like a great way to get cold McDonald's... > I think additional user data is a relatively minor part of it. You're probably right about that, but I've always undervalued user data because I don't think it's ethical to exploit people like that. I'm sure that a well-timed push notification suggesting a personalized meal deal right around hungry-o'clock is the real goal of pushing this stupid app on their customers.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  >> you can order ahead and your food is ready when you arrive > That just sounds like a great way to get cold McDonald's... The idea is to order 3 or 4 minutes in advance, not half an hour before...
butterknife 2y ago
> But they already have that if you always use the same debit or credit cards like most people do. Don't they have only the last 4 digits and the issuer of the card? It is likely enough but there will be some noise. Not to mention any potential legal trouble if they used the card details without explicit consent. App contracts will get around that.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  They have your name too. From what I understand, the tracking is generally done via something like the hash of the card number though. I've never heard of any legal or compliance issues with that, since the card number itself is not stored.
  - butterknife 2y ago
    Submitted a Subject Access Request to McDonald's here in the UK. I'll update here on progress.
cardiffspaceman 2y ago
> your food is ready when you arrive. The food does NOT start cooking when you order it if you’re picking up at drive thru. It starts cooking when you pull up to drive thru and give the magic code. In fact if the food is not easy to prepare you get put in a special parking space, where you wait for your order to be prepared. If it includes soft drinks they might serve those before they make you go park.
andy800 2y ago
Disagree on not going to BK/Wendy's. The "deals" game becomes a habit, switching costs are basically zero, people start to comparison shop each app for the best deal (like shopping for air travel). It's a bit of work because there is no single consolidator but it only takes a few seconds to scan each apps offers. At this point, being a fast food chain that doesnt have an app with deals is probably not viable - but I am very skeptical it generates any loyalty.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 2y ago
  I treat food delivery apps the same way. There’s no stickiness for me, I just check all of them and pick the one with the best coupons for my restaurant. A sign that this kind of stuff is very much a commodity. I usually end up on DoorDash, but that’s mainly because the current credit card I use affords discounts for it and as a result wins in the bidding war for my business

mediaman 2y ago

It’s not about data, it’s customer segmentation. Frequent customers are more price sensitive, and are willing to use the app to get all the discounts, while occasional customers will not, so they can capture both the more price sensitive part of the market while getting higher margins from occasional buyers.

andy800 2y ago
As someone who spent many years segmenting customers and generating personalized marketing offers -- McDonald's is awful at this. I was a 2-3x/monthly customer (USA based) for years (even more frequent a decade ago, but I'm talking about since the app), ordering the exact same core items every time (except during breakfast). When they began "value meals" last summer (which don't include their flagship items) they also removed the best deals from the app, the ones that did include Big Mac, QPC, 10-nuggets. I've placed one non-breakfast order in 6-8 months, whenever they started this. I'm just one person, but if a customer declines from an expected 15-20 visits over a half-year period to 1, and you don't adjust your offer algorithm (and you're the biggest restaurant company in the world so no lack of resources), something is seriously wrong.
- MoreMoore 2y ago
  They used to have great deals on the app in Germany. I used to go to McDonald's all the time. The deals suck now, and now I only go if I'm really craving a McMuffin Bacon & Egg. Whatever they're doing also isn't working for me.
- packtreefly 2y ago
  > they also removed the best deals from the app They've captured the user base with the money that corporate was pumping into the app deals, and are in the process of enshittifying it by transferring the value to themselves instead of the users.
  - andy800 2y ago
    This can work in a lot of industries - I am skeptical fast food is one of them. Switching costs are low, alternates are plentiful, and collecting information (reviewing deals/prices across companies) is relatively easy. If McDonald's enshittifies its deals while continuing to raise prices, it's way too easy for loyal customers to go elsewhere. I'm saying this as a huge fan and extremely loyal customer of McDonald's for decades... they are at serious risk of losing people like me. As I stated, I've gone from 15-20 visits to 1 since last June/July, whenever they made the big change.

koolba 2y ago

> Three large fries ordered at the counter costs over ten dollars. Ask for a “bundle box” next time you’re there. They’re usually named after a local sports team. Two Big Macs, two cheeseburgers, two fries, and a 10-piece nuggets for $12-15 depending on the market. I think retail for just the Big Macs is that much these days. No app required.

SOLAR_FIELDS 2y ago
That is an incredible amount of cooked calories for that price. No idea this was a thing. I do remember being in college and local mcd’s doing the typical “if team wins chicken nuggets are $5 for 20” but never heard of this sports box concept

SOLAR_FIELDS 2y ago

> Three large fries ordered at the counter costs over ten dollars. This is kind of hilarious and depressing but I live in a high enough cost of living city in the states and I order mcd’s rarely enough that I cannot tell contextually whether your statement indicates this is overpriced or underpriced.

ChristianGeek 2y ago
It depends on how recently they came out of the fryer, how fresh the oil is, and the grease-to-salt ratio.
- packtreefly 2y ago
  I will sadly admit that the high price of fries only angers me when they're not fresh.

andy800 2y ago

Much more - most McD's in USA charge over $4 for a large french fries.