Restaurants, especially the largest chains and franchises like McDonalds, have been data-driven for many, many years. They don't guess. They know year-over-year

Restaurants, especially the largest chains and franchises like McDonalds, have been data-driven for many, many years. They don't guess. They know year-over-year sales and recent regional trends. They haven't been using intuition in a very, very long time. They might get it slightly wrong less often than in the past, but they haven't been "very wrong" in a long time. We knew how many burgers we would sell in a day decades ago when I worked fast food, within about 5% most days. The data-driven decisions at this point are corporate offices working out how to make an extra $0.25 off every transaction. The enshittification is coming from the franchisees who are working out how to maximize their profits after whatever corporate royalties are paid. These days, they have a stranglehold on the best real estate and they know it. If you want OK food at an OK price in an OK restaurant, they know you'll go to their place. If you personally won't go, five other people nearby will and they don't need you. They don't need an exceptional experience. Customers will be there.