McDonald's sales down 4% YoY in the US

[Linux23]

To me, McDonald's has been the same as its always been, in terms of taste of their regular items, and their prices are probably in line with inflation. And you can actually eat "healthy" there, their Southwest Chicken Salad with grilled is something like 500 calories and is actually REALLY good.

IMHO, Wendy's salads are way better.

 

[Genx87]

They need to get better or cheaper... I can't think of a chain that has worse food and their prices aren't correspondingly low.

This is a good point. They are becoming the Sears of fast food. Pick one(cheaper or quality) and go with it.

 

[Homerboy]

I generally don't eat there as I rarely eat out and when I do I'm going to get something a little nicer. Most often if I do eat there, it's just grabbing the quickest food between kids' events or something. I'm always shocked at how much it costs. It's WAY too much for what you get...

 

[PricklyPete]

Last time I was at a McDonalds was to get a cup of coffee because I have as in the middle of no where SC. Can't remember the last time I ate food there.

 

[bshole]

I eat the McDonalds Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad every day for lunch. I bring in broccoli and cauliflower and throw them in. The result is absolutely delicious and I am addicted to it.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Their food is terrible, and now costs more than it is worth. It used to be McDonalds was a cheap alternative. But now they cost nearly as much as premium fast food joints. Why would I go to McDonalds? And how small can they make their patties? What are they down to, 1/16th of a pound?

Out of 20 fast food burger joints. McDonalds ranked 20th, right behind Burger King.

i dont eat there myself but when i have looked at they menu i thought it looked expensive for a fast food place--arent sandwiches around $5 and fries $2? i remember thinking u could eat at chilis for the same price and they have much better food

i was just looking through the other comments and it seems other people consider them to be on the expensive side as well so maybe that is a big part of their problem. hopefully they go out of business

 

[OBLAMA2009]

the new white meat mcnuggets suck ballz. give me the unknown chicken parts dark meat nuggets any day. 😡

oh and their old apple pies too.

man when i was a kid i used to love their fried cherry pies. then most place only started carrying apple. and then they switched from fried pies to that baked stuff that sits there all day

 

[Sonikku]

Their prices have gone up too high relative to their quality. I can eat at Five Guys at get a heartier burger and meal for around the same price.

 

[bshole]

man when i was a kid i used to love their fried cherry pies. then most place only started carrying apple. and then they switched from fried pies to that baked stuff that sits there all day

Oh my god! The old pies were to die for! They were like fantastic. The new ones plain out suck.

 

[Herr Kutz]

IMHO, Wendy's salads are way better.

They were...until they removed the good ones and made the remaining ones smaller.

 

[Genx87]

Their prices have gone up too high relative to their quality. I can eat at Five Guys at get a heartier burger and meal for around the same price.

This is exactly the argument I made to people when talking about this article. These premium fast food joints offer a better product for not much more money. Five Guys is tasty for being a fast food joint. I go to McDonalds and have regret after the first bite. Barely get out of the place without my stomach feeling like I ate rocks. The price difference isnt much.

 

[Linux23]

They were...until they removed the good ones and made the remaining ones smaller.

dam, i didn't catch it but they did make them smaller. and i miss the old salads with the chili, plus the chicken and bacon thing they had going. 🙁

 

[Linux23]

This is exactly the argument I made to people when talking about this article. These premium fast food joints offer a better product for not much more money. Five Guys is tasty for being a fast food joint. I go to McDonalds and have regret after the first bite. Barely get out of the place without my stomach feeling like I ate rocks. The price difference isnt much.

for some reason, my stomach has to adjust to their food. i ordered a bacon double the other day and started eating some in the car ride home and i felt sick to my stomach before i got home.

the only time i eat there is if i'm dead tired from work and don't feel like cooking.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Burger King beats the pants off McDonalds. Only thing McDonalds has going for it is their playgrounds which was nice when my oldest kid was younger, but he has since outgrown that. Now that we have a 4mo old at home so I imagine I'll be eating a bit more McDonalds in the near future, but I certainly wont be thrilled about it.

 

[finglobes]

Burger King beats the pants off McDonalds.

Speaking of beatings - yet another one in a McDonald's this week.

http://pix11.com/2015/03/11/video-4-teens-viciously-beat-girl-in-brooklyn-mcdonalds-as-crowd-cheers/

 

[Sonikku]

Only reason to go to McD now is for their Honor Competitor's Coupons policy. Burger King comes out with new coupons every month which are usable there. I can use a buy one big king get one free for a buy one get one Big Mac at McD. I have to special order them though to take out the middle bun. That adds nothing to the burger at all for me.

 

[soundforbjt]

I went thru a Hardees the other day (to get a soda), took a glance at the menu and saw their $6 dollar burger. They initially promoted it by saying it was as good as a $6 dollar burger at a regular restaurant but cheaper. Their price now was over $6. Don't they read their own menus?

 

[rstove02]

Could this be an indicator that the economy for the lower/middle class be rising? Recall reading that places like McD and WalMart tend to do better when the economy is rough, is this the possible opposite?

 

[Nograts]

Only reason to go to McD now is for their Honor Competitor's Coupons policy. Burger King comes out with new coupons every month which are usable there. I can use a buy one big king get one free for a buy one get one Big Mac at McD. I have to special order them though to take out the middle bun. That adds nothing to the burger at all for me.

WHAAAAAAAT!? How have I not known this?! I get those cramps BK coupons all the time!

 

[Triumph]

This is exactly the argument I made to people when talking about this article. These premium fast food joints offer a better product for not much more money. Five Guys is tasty for being a fast food joint. I go to McDonalds and have regret after the first bite. Barely get out of the place without my stomach feeling like I ate rocks. The price difference isnt much.

Just arguing cheap, a regular burger (the two patty version is regular), regular fries and regular drink at five guys around me will run you about 14 dollars. I dont consider five guys to be cheap. I mean, if you get a little hamburger its like 3.69, what i usually get, but if you want a little cheeseburger its like 4.39, to throw on a piece of american cheese!

I do find it strange all the people in this thread who complain that it isnt as cheap as it used to be, as if they never heard of inflation. And that the quality has gone down - no it hasn't, it sucked just the same when you were in high school and college, you just didnt care. If anything, McDonalds, like Budweiser, are some of the best companies in the world at controllong everything about their production of their product. Sure its shitty, but it is consistently shitty.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I stopped going to McDonalds about age 11 once I no longer wanted the toys in Happy Meals. Though I would go back if they'd ever bring back the fried cherry pies.

 

[MiniDoom]

Just arguing cheap, a regular burger (the two patty version is regular), regular fries and regular drink at five guys around me will run you about 14 dollars. I dont consider five guys to be cheap. I mean, if you get a little hamburger its like 3.69, what i usually get, but if you want a little cheeseburger its like 4.39, to throw on a piece of american cheese!

I do find it strange all the people in this thread who complain that it isnt as cheap as it used to be, as if they never heard of inflation. And that the quality has gone down - no it hasn't, it sucked just the same when you were in high school and college, you just didnt care. If anything, McDonalds, like Budweiser, are some of the best companies in the world at controllong everything about their production of their product. Sure its shitty, but it is consistently shitty.

yeah, but who eats that much? my wife and I split a five guys burger and bag of fries and i'm stuffed, so it's really like 7$ each. They give you a shitload of food for that price.

 

[borosp1]

The issue with Mcdonald's I see is the following in which they have a huge bad perception problem:

1 - New generation of kids in which there parents are in their 20s and 30s do not eat at McDonald's and choose the competitor. When I was a kids there was less choices and McDonald's was a destination for kids...remembering the happy meal, cheeseburgers, and playgrounds which today's parents don't care for.

2 -The PRICE of there products has gone up to much to support there clientele.. When charging $5+ for sandwich that taste like it came out of a microwave there is disconnect with management and the customer.

3 - Competition from fast casual and other burger places (Red Robin, Five Guys, Meat Heads, etc...) which charge around $6 for a premium burger which taste and looks much better than McDonald's premium burgers.

4 -American Consumer tastes are switching now as people have become more aware of processed foods where gluten free used to be a fad (still somewhat is) you see in grocery stores whole shelves dedicated to no gluten products in which you never saw that 10 years ago. Green Kale smoothies which people never heard of 10 years ago has become a very popular fad amongst the American Consumer... People are now aware that McDonald's fries are made up of 19 ingredients compared to there competitors like five guys are less processed.

5 - The Mcdonalds brand has a perception amongst the American Consumer that it is a unhealthy processed product that harms ones health. Also the consumer taste preference thinks MCdonalds food taste much worse than the competitors.

6 - I see McDonald's similar to RadioShack in which the perception as this is a dated company (look and taste) stuck in the 80's thinking the consumer is still stuck in that time frame in which they are not... Consumers are moving on to the competition and there is really nothing a dinosaur brand can do to change consumer preferences.

 

[bshole]

6 - I see McDonald's similar to RadioShack in which the perception as this is a dated company (look and taste) stuck in the 80's thinking the consumer is still stuck in that time frame in which they are not... Consumers are moving on to the competition and there is really nothing a dinosaur brand can do to change consumer preferences.

Um.... NOT. Delicious and healthy. Dunno what world you are living in. Go eat a grilled chicken salad from McDonalds and then get back to us.

 

[Sonikku]

Just arguing cheap, a regular burger (the two patty version is regular), regular fries and regular drink at five guys around me will run you about 14 dollars. I dont consider five guys to be cheap. I mean, if you get a little hamburger its like 3.69, what i usually get, but if you want a little cheeseburger its like 4.39, to throw on a piece of american cheese!

I do find it strange all the people in this thread who complain that it isnt as cheap as it used to be, as if they never heard of inflation. And that the quality has gone down - no it hasn't, it sucked just the same when you were in high school and college, you just didnt care. If anything, McDonalds, like Budweiser, are some of the best companies in the world at controllong everything about their production of their product. Sure its shitty, but it is consistently shitty.

At 5 guys you can't order the large fry. The small fry at 5 guys already is bigger than the large fry any where else and is best shared with another person. (They need to get an "extra" small fry 😛 ) Same deal with their burgers. A little cheeseburger for them is about as big or bigger than a premium one for McD. McDonalds wants $3.99 for the Big Mac and goes up from there. As for Soda... it's always a total scam. $2 for a cup of Pepsi/Coke is retarded. (at 5 guys, McD or anywhere for that matter) I would sooner pop in a family dollar for a refrigerated 1.5 liter of coke/pepsi/sprite for $1 they keep in their back cooler.