How to Save McDonald's.

[Markbnj]

I recently had one of those. Pretty good. A week or so later I had a Wendy's double cheeseburger with bacon. Way better.

Wendy's absolutely has them beat. Better fries too, and usually nicer restaurants.

What really puzzles me is why Fuddrucker's seems to be struggling. They closed some locations, and the last time I visited the one near us it was really disappointing. That used to be our go-to burger joint when we wanted a dinner out with the kids. How do you screw up the boom in the fast casual burger segment when you're already positioned right smack in it?

 

[ImpulsE69]

Everyone is struggling. McD's is feeling it because they have TOO MANY out there. People are still eating at them, they've just overgrown themselves in a changing climate. They are never not busy, if they are not able to make it, closing stores is exactly what they need to do. If they think they are hurting now, it is going to be doubly worse as the minimum wage is increased everywhere. How can you staff people for $15/hr when everyone is ordering off the value menu?

Wendy's used to be pretty good, but now it is like everyone else. Carl's Jr may be the only one who's food quality seems to have improved over the years rather than costing more and being less/looking worse (at least around here). It 'used' to be the worst around here.

 

[VirtualLarry]

What I don't get, is what happened to the burgers with Jalapenos at McD's, and the one spicy chicken at Wendy's with them. They entice me, then they stop carrying my favorite sandwich, so I don't feel like ever going back again.

 

[Ackmed]

I'll be honest, I love McDonald's. I like most fast food though and eat it pretty regularly. Wendy's spicy chicken is my fav sammich though. Big Mac close second.

 

[Imp]

Are they really in trouble, or is this a shareholder-type issue (e.g. we're not growing 60%/quarter anymore)... I was hearing nothing but "McDonalds is kicking ass despite the shitty economy" since 2008 up until recently.

 

[OverVolt]

Are they really in trouble, or is this a shareholder-type issue (e.g. we're not growing 60%/quarter anymore)... I was hearing nothing but "McDonalds is kicking ass despite the shitty economy" since 2008 up until recently.

Revenue is down. Their A la carte menu was great while it lasted. 10 Nuggets and fries for $4.

They have too much trans fat in their beef and I haven't had their beef in years. When beef prices skyrocketed Mcdonalds got rid of stuff I liked (Whatever the chicken #5 was) and replaced it all with beef and moved the chicken down to the double digits.

So the chicken was never very good (Sits under a heat lamp too long as the number 14 woo) and the beef I refuse to eat and they have like 8 beef value items at the top.

I doubt raising coffee prices helped. When their "Hey we got rid of most of our chicken during a beef price spike" idea didn't pan out they have been panicking ever since. Typical corporate brain trust fail.

Ingredients are changing faster than Mcdonalds can change.

They've now changed their menu more times than a restaurant on kitchen nightmares and I pulled up to a Mcdonalds and was dumbfounded and just drove off since I'm usually pretty good at gaming a menu for the most value, they change it too much so I don't bother.

Pretty easy to walk into a chipotle and be like... oh they charge the same for veggie and chicken so chicken is the best value then just say yes to one of everything from every category. Nailed it.

 

[bradley]

Might as well index this thread in with the current disease de jour threads of posters being diagnosed with diabetes and cancer. But don't worry a corrupted medical science will fix me. They even promised I can continue eating the same shit like McDonalds and other fast food establishments. I just have to take this little red magic pill, and then several others to counteract the negative sides.

 

[Nograts]

This is what Jesus would eat. Are you too good to eat what Jesus would eat?

 

[techs]

Interesting topic since I just had a couple of quarter pounders with cheese. This was the first time I have been to McD's in well over a year. I just got an urge.

So, since Monday I have had an upset stomach. Nothing I have tried has helped at all from Pepto Bismol to Zofran. The burgers tasted ok, but clearly something was wrong with them.

Damn, I miss the old McD's. Fries cooked in beef fat were heaven. Quarter pounders would come with the fat sizzling on top, not the dried out flavorless "patty" they serve lukewarm nowadays.

McD's is supposed to be bad for you. It was a treat. Something you ate occasionally. It seems today McD's wants to be your primary food source and the "healthier" options are a poor middling substitute that satisfies very few.

 

[Demo24]

Wendy's absolutely has them beat. Better dries too, and usually nice restaurants.

I agree that Wendy's has them beat on taste and cost. If i go out to a ff place for burgers, etc, its usually Wendy's (for burger snobs recognize they are easy to find down here, and cheap). Although I do go to mcds for iced coffees, smoothies, and fish sandwiches.

However, down here at least the actual Wendy's stores are....a bit less than pleasant. Most are a good 30 years old and have seen very minimal attempts at improvements. Best idea is to use drive thru and try not to think about it.

 

[Genx87]

McDonalds is a Walmart trying to be a Target or worse, Macys. What I find amazing is how regardless of what I eat off their menu. About 30 minutes later I get the same coma like feeling in my body. Muscles get tight, feels like I am carrying around 50 pounds of weights. It makes me feel like all of their food is made from the same mushed up by product and formed in a factory to look like menu items.

Anyways McDonalds has an image problem. They are perceived to be the cheapest\worst brand in the market. Yet they are selling their product like they are in the middle to high end. Corporate McDonalds answer is not inspiring. They acknowledge this by trying to push the costs onto the franchises by divesting themselves of store ownership. Corporate is saying we cant fix this so lets have the franchises take on all the financial risk of running these stores. This will make McDonalds corporate bottom line look better but not help the overall picture.

 

[Genx87]

Are they really in trouble, or is this a shareholder-type issue (e.g. we're not growing 60%/quarter anymore)... I was hearing nothing but "McDonalds is kicking ass despite the shitty economy" since 2008 up until recently.

They arent in any kind of real financial trouble yet. However the trend is not looking good. They are planning to shutter about 900 stores this year.

 

[angminas]

$4.29 for a Big Mac. Lolno.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I read that the franchise owners hate the value menu because it cannibalizes sales and remodel costs begin at $650k(?). Apparently in the fast food business its critical to keep an up to date clean look.

 

[slag]

Also, 24 hour breakfast.

and WTF did they do to their apple pies? This new fried pie shit is disgusting.

a local mcdonalds has 24x7 breakfast already. I'd eat it but I can't taste anything.

sometimes, I just crave a big mac and fries.. its almost comfort food from when I was a kid.

 

[slag]

in 2015, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to go to any local fast food place, subway, mcdonalds, BK, arbys, etc, and get a large sandwich or 6 inch sub, fries (chips), and a drink for $5.00. 5 bucks is a perfect price for a lunch meal and quickly adds up over the course of a week.

Bring back the 5 buck big mac or 1/4 pounder meal deal and sales will rise. They will still make a profit.

 

[Ruptga]

This is what Jesus would eat. Are you too good to eat what Jesus would eat?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am.

 

[wabbitslayer]

I just want to find out who all these people are at McDonald's everytime I drive by one that don't have Internet access. I wonder because every discussion about McDonald's that has ever been on the Internet is entirely "I hate McDonald's, I never eat there, my body is a temple, I treat it so much better, blah, blah, blah..."

I guess all those people seen there are just that filthy 99%. I must say, though, this thread makes me feel like slumming for a bit, I think I'll swing by Old Homestead here in a bit and have a Kobe burger.

 

[Brainonska511]

in 2015, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to go to any local fast food place, subway, mcdonalds, BK, arbys, etc, and get a large sandwich or 6 inch sub, fries (chips), and a drink for $5.00. 5 bucks is a perfect price for a lunch meal and quickly adds up over the course of a week.

Bring back the 5 buck big mac or 1/4 pounder meal deal and sales will rise. They will still make a profit.

But there is a reason they can't do $5 anymore. Costs have gone up over the last 10 years. Haven't you noticed anything in the grocery store? Cereal boxes have gotten thinner, orange juice lost 5 oz, ice cream went from a half gallon to this bastard size (and these 3 things in particular were happening way back between 2004 and 2006). And recently, meat costs, particular beef and pork, have risen.

 

[DrPizza]

mcdonalds problems started when they raised coffee prices.

Near me, they've had coffee on sale almost continuously for a long time - more on that after the next quote.

The problem right now with McDonalds is that it's not really that cheap anymore and I think that's a big reason why it's hurting. They've tried to expand into the premium market to reach "fast casuals" but they raised the prices on everything as well. They have the taint of shitty food on them but are asking premium prices for it. I'm sure part of it is that the cost of beef has gone up enough that you can't really have a super cheap burger anymore. You can serve cheap, shitty food that people will love, but you have to charge less for it.

I think another problem is market saturation. Many areas used to have a McDs, a BK, and one or two other chains. Now, those areas are mile long strips of nothing but fast food options - and by the time you get to the end of the mile, you've passed another McDs along the way.

But, I agree with you on price. Wife and I were on a trip somewhere - gas stations were far apart - like one station every 2 or 3 exits; the food signs at exits were pretty scarce. So, we settled for a McDs. Got the 1/3 pound sirloin with cheese and mushrooms, made it into a meal. I thought, "hey, this isn't half bad." But, at nearly $20 for 2 people, I realized that for that $20, I could have gotten a hell of a lot better of a burger elsewhere.

Now, re: coffee on sale. I'm next to a small village of just a few thousand people. There isn't a Wal-mart in my entire county; and very few fast food places. We're right along an interstate in NY, with plenty of cheap land available very close to the offramps. There have been plenty of rumors of a Dunkin Donuts or a Tim Hortons opening up here. But, at least to me, it seems that the local McDs franchise has figured out that their best bet for long term profits is make it appear that a new place is going to have a tough time competing. And, really, if McDs has coffee for 25 cents (for a small, last time I looked at their sign while driving by), do you really think you're going to get a lot of the locals to pay $3 for a cup of coffee? You might be a *little* better in quality, but it appears that the McDs are using the price for what is a very cheap product to sell, in order to keep the coffee types coming through their drive-thru and ordering their breakfast items (on which they make the profit).

 

[Nograts]

I just want to find out who all these people are at McDonald's everytime I drive by one that don't have Internet access. I wonder because every discussion about McDonald's that has ever been on the Internet is entirely "I hate McDonald's, I never eat there, my body is a temple, I treat it so much better, blah, blah, blah..."

I guess all those people seen there are just that filthy 99%. I must say, though, this thread makes me feel like slumming for a bit, I think I'll swing by Old Homestead here in a bit and have a Kobe burger.

I went from fast food weekly to quarterly once I saw how many calories are in booze. 100 calories a shot? Yikes. No thanks Big Mac. Yes Big Bender.

 

[CPA]

What really puzzles me is why Fuddrucker's seems to be struggling. They closed some locations, and the last time I visited the one near us it was really disappointing. That used to be our go-to burger joint when we wanted a dinner out with the kids. How do you screw up the boom in the fast casual burger segment when you're already positioned right smack in it?

Because it's $60 for a family of 4.

 

[nageov3t]

Chipotle FTW! w00t

I actually like Chipotle, as far as Mexican chain-restaurants/fast food goes, but they don't fill the same driving niche as McDonalds.

I can't picture eating a burrito bowl while driving down the highway with the same ease as one can eat a cheeseburger and fries.

 

[brandonb]

I used to go to McD's mainly because it was cheap.

$1 Double Cheeseburger (got replaced by the McDouble)
$1 McChicken
$1 Large Drink
---
$3 Lunch

Today its:

$2.57 Double Cheeseburger
$1.87 McChicken
$1.69 Large Drink
---
$6.13 Lunch.

This has happened over the last 5 years.

No way. But I suppose MN did raise the min wage recently.

 

[waggy]

reasons why i dont go to mcdoanlds:

1) the burgers are crap.
2) workers at the one near me make mistakes %50 of the time i order. Manager gives zero shits about it.

They don't make the burgers "fresh" anymore and it's not even faster. What they do now is make the burgers, put them in warming bins then make the burger and put it in a low power microwave.

go back to making it fresh. sure it took a slightly longer but the burgers were far better.

reduce the menu.