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The fast food chains seem to have a bifurcated response. Some, like McDonalds, seem to have cut crew, while retaining relatively low prices, so service is gene

The fast food chains seem to have a bifurcated response. Some, like McDonalds, seem to have cut crew, while retaining relatively low prices, so service is generally quite poor now. Others, such as Chick-fil-A, raised their prices, and a plain chicken sandwich at my local franchise is now about $7. Edit: In-N-Out Burger is the only one I can think of with low prices and good staffing. It is also privately owned

ec109685 1y ago
Chick-fil-A raised their prices everywhere, so it can’t just be because of this law: “That's right: A year ago, in January of 2023, Chick-fil-A implemented a 6% price increase on all menu items. The previous year, their signature sandwich increased in price by 15%. That means your favorite chicken sandwich is now significantly pricier than it was just two years ago” https://www.shefinds.com/collections/chick-fil-a-inflation/ https://www.shefinds.com/collections/chick-fil-a-inflation/
- dismalaf 1y ago
  Compare restaurant price increases over the last 20 years to that of the overall economy. Or especially to something like housing. Restaurants are currently incredibly cheap.
  - crooked-v 1y ago
    That's a bad comparison because the much more important factor is that housing is incredibly and disproportionately expensive right now, not becuase that's the 'natural' state of the economy, but because almost every major US city has made it expensive to build housing and impossible to build middle-density housing. Or in other words, your 'cheapness' comparison is only against a self-inflicted artifical high point.
    - dismalaf 1y ago
      Ok, then compare it to grocery prices. Or other forms of entertainment like tickets to professional sporting events. Or concerts, movies. Restaurants are cheap.
      - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        > compare it to grocery prices Do you have this comparison?
        rascul 1y ago
        For the price of approximately three Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches I can make approximately 8 chicken sandwiches from WalMart with lesser quality ingredients and no labor/tax/insurance overhead. According to my drunken wish-i-had-a-napkin math.
kilroy123 1y ago
To be fair, In-N-Out is an outlier. Privately owned, non-franchised, and probably makes a profit on massive volume with likely very small margins.
- pants2 1y ago
  In N Out also has the smallest menu of any fast-food joint and has a very vertically integrated supply chain: They own their own meat production plants, cut their own potatoes into fries, operate their own bakeries etc.
b112 1y ago
McDonalds? Low pricing?!?!
- dawnerd 1y ago
  Right they’re the most expensive fast food around me. They even got rid of their semi secret deals.
- georgeburdell 1y ago
  I avoid their trademarked items, such as the Big Mac, but even in California they have a robust value menu
- dymk 1y ago
  If you're savvy to the price discrimination. You have to use the app to get the lower prices.
  - Loughla 1y ago
    That's so ridiculous. The reason we would get McDonald's when we would get it was that it was fast, and cheap. Now it's neither unless I give them access to my smartphone. No thank you.
    - pests 1y ago
      The app makes a huge difference. Constant BOGO4$1 McDoubles and mcchickens. 25% off entire order if you spend $10. Buy a drink get a free large fry. 10pc nuggets for 50 cents or just earlier got a large drink and 10 nuggets for $2.99. Not using the app is getting ripped off. You also don’t have to have the app. Just go inside and use the self serve kiosk and you get the same prices/deals.
      - muixoozie 1y ago
        Would be truly living in a dystopian sci-fi universe if this shit gets normalized to being ubiquitous. And that seems to be the direction we're heading. Gamification. Tiered access. Implicit Data harvesting. Loyalty rewards or getting "ripped off" for opting out. Mundane corporate control and manipulation embedded in everyday consumerism. Next up: Daily deal lottery. Unlock new flavor packets.. Predicted craving "flash deals"

ec109685 1y ago

Chick-fil-A raised their prices everywhere, so it can’t just be because of this law: “That's right: A year ago, in January of 2023, Chick-fil-A implemented a 6% price increase on all menu items. The previous year, their signature sandwich increased in price by 15%. That means your favorite chicken sandwich is now significantly pricier than it was just two years ago” https://www.shefinds.com/collections/chick-fil-a-inflation/ https://www.shefinds.com/collections/chick-fil-a-inflation/

dismalaf 1y ago
Compare restaurant price increases over the last 20 years to that of the overall economy. Or especially to something like housing. Restaurants are currently incredibly cheap.
- crooked-v 1y ago
  That's a bad comparison because the much more important factor is that housing is incredibly and disproportionately expensive right now, not becuase that's the 'natural' state of the economy, but because almost every major US city has made it expensive to build housing and impossible to build middle-density housing. Or in other words, your 'cheapness' comparison is only against a self-inflicted artifical high point.
  - dismalaf 1y ago
    Ok, then compare it to grocery prices. Or other forms of entertainment like tickets to professional sporting events. Or concerts, movies. Restaurants are cheap.
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      > compare it to grocery prices Do you have this comparison?
      - rascul 1y ago
        For the price of approximately three Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches I can make approximately 8 chicken sandwiches from WalMart with lesser quality ingredients and no labor/tax/insurance overhead. According to my drunken wish-i-had-a-napkin math.

kilroy123 1y ago

To be fair, In-N-Out is an outlier. Privately owned, non-franchised, and probably makes a profit on massive volume with likely very small margins.

pants2 1y ago
In N Out also has the smallest menu of any fast-food joint and has a very vertically integrated supply chain: They own their own meat production plants, cut their own potatoes into fries, operate their own bakeries etc.

b112 1y ago

McDonalds? Low pricing?!?!

dawnerd 1y ago
Right they’re the most expensive fast food around me. They even got rid of their semi secret deals.
georgeburdell 1y ago
I avoid their trademarked items, such as the Big Mac, but even in California they have a robust value menu
dymk 1y ago
If you're savvy to the price discrimination. You have to use the app to get the lower prices.
- Loughla 1y ago
  That's so ridiculous. The reason we would get McDonald's when we would get it was that it was fast, and cheap. Now it's neither unless I give them access to my smartphone. No thank you.
  - pests 1y ago
    The app makes a huge difference. Constant BOGO4$1 McDoubles and mcchickens. 25% off entire order if you spend $10. Buy a drink get a free large fry. 10pc nuggets for 50 cents or just earlier got a large drink and 10 nuggets for $2.99. Not using the app is getting ripped off. You also don’t have to have the app. Just go inside and use the self serve kiosk and you get the same prices/deals.
    - muixoozie 1y ago
      Would be truly living in a dystopian sci-fi universe if this shit gets normalized to being ubiquitous. And that seems to be the direction we're heading. Gamification. Tiered access. Implicit Data harvesting. Loyalty rewards or getting "ripped off" for opting out. Mundane corporate control and manipulation embedded in everyday consumerism. Next up: Daily deal lottery. Unlock new flavor packets.. Predicted craving "flash deals"