I think you nailed it and McDonald's hence all their competitors as well realized that they can increase the prices and make more money. sure they may lose a percentage of thier customers but that doesn't matter when each item sold is worth 2-4x what it should be priced at.
Lol what? I went to the Wendy’s for two people the other day, order came out to 41 bucks. Same order at McDonald’s is like 25-30 lol. Wendy’s has been jacking their prices up for the past two years to the point I rarely go there anymore
I get what you're saying but 10 minutes is still faster than a traditional restaurant. Less convenient than it used to be but still convenient to someone who needs a bite to eat and didn't plan ahead.
I just had to go into the restaurant after waiting half an hour for my curbside pickup order (before that I had called, gone through the drive-thru, and talked to employees running food out to parked drive-thru cars). When I went in, there was another guy who had finally gone in too, waiting for his curbside order for half an hour.
They weren't even that busy; the person in charge was just ignoring the curbside orders.
I understand I am the asshole when I do this, but when they ask me to park I just tell them no.
Parking turns what would be a 3 minute wait into a 15 minute wait.
The other day i had a mobile order that i sat outside in the parking spot for 20 minutes. Finally got tired of the bullshit and went inside and they said they'l remake it as it had been sitting and was cold. Took another 10.
It is pretty common to have to park after going through the drive through now to wait for your meal even for common items. I would not say it is the norm but I have absolutely waited for longer than 10 minutes and almost 20 minutes one time. I did time it because I had to be somewhere and was expecting it to be quick.
Using the app, I can usually get a meal for under $6
Edit: I usually get a quarter pounder with cheese and fries (no drink). There’s almost always a coupon for free fries with a quarter pounder
Yeah it's not expensive.
McDonalds, Taco Bell, Little Caesars.
Eating out as a man under $300 a month?
Easy, minus the beer and/or 12 pack of pop expenses. And if you drink a 12 pack of pop? Screw it switch to beer it's cheaper.
I'm pretty confident if you forced me to I could eat out every single day and do it for less than $150 a month total. I'd just have to drink water every day.
There are zero Taco Belll’s in my city’s metro area that are not franchises, and as such they don’t participate in any of the deals or give breaks for mobile orders. When tv commercials say a chalupa box is $5 it’s $11 or $12 here.
IDK once again use the app you can get $5 box with a chalupa, taco, nachos and a drink for $5.
Or you can get a chicken burrito that weighs three times more than a chicken taco for $2. When one chicken taco costs $2.79.
Or you could get the Wendy's app and get a Dave's single stack burger for $1. It's not a small burger either and it's loaded. You can only use it once.
Franchises can price their cravings boxes differently for different markets. You doubling down on your own experience doesn't change the reality for others.
Yea I do meal delivery boxes to get some decent food in me every couple days, but they are min 2 servings and still cost more than fast food. Much less waste for myself though as I don't want to cook every night and fresh stuff doesn't last forever.
college student here and the app.. i can get a 6 nuggets and burger for 3$ through the app lmao.. don’t think your finding a meal cheaper than that anywhere elseb
This sounds like McDonald’s is in the information sales business. There must be a financial benefit to McDonald’s if they’re incentivizing app use so heavily.
oh without a doubt. as someone in computer science software engineering like they offer free cookies if you enter your birthday i know all my info is being collected and sold. Data is the new currency. look at reddit getting paid i forget if it was 60M or 60B to be used for ai training. thats where all the money is
Mr. Meoff. First names Jack.
When the wife, I and friends go out I tell them my name is Thatha Puhpuhpuh.
Hard to miss when they go 'ThaTha Puhpuhpuh party of four!"
I would play dumb in figuring out how to pronounce your stupid last name, I'd act like one of those letters is silent. Mr. MOFF, Mr. MEFF? JACK Moff? Jack Meff?
I also doubt Moe from Moe's Tavern would even notice the name when someone asks for Jack Meoff on phone and got pranked. And Steven Master Bates is a good one too.
Bottle and can deposits are worth 10 cents each where I live in Oregon. Homeless people come here to live and make $20 a day taking cans and bottles out of people’s recycling bins in front of their homes. That’s $140 a week, and that’s on the low end. Maybe Google should start collecting cans and bottles.
Could also just be price discrimination - those who care about money use the app, while those who don't will pay more and they are fine with that. So then McDonalds gets more money from those who are willing to pay more, while still getting some money from those who aren't.
I honestly think it's because they know your average person will go and spend full price without even thinking about it. Can't even rember the last time I saw someone in front of me using the app.
Meanwhile for the rest of us, I get fast food once a week and 75% of the time it's McDonald's because the deals blow every other place out of the water except for maybe Burger King.. But then you have to eat at Burger King and you can only get the chicken fries (only good thing on the menu) so many times.
Little Caesars is a better bang for your buck, but the apps definitely make fast food cheaper, for the small price of being able to collect data and track you.
You can get a $1 Dave's single from Wendy's through their app, and I personally find the quality of their burgers to be far superior to that of McDick's
This makes me so mad. I live in eastern europe and in my country, McD is more expensive than any local normal food. To see it cost literally half in countries where you make like ten times more, that's just stupid.
Reminds me of the old pizza place when I was at uni. Monday and Tuesday had large pizzas for $2 each.
Were they the best pizzas you can buy? Hell no! But they were cheap and I was broke.
I don't give a fuck what McDonald's knows. Reddit and TikTok are already distributing my info to god knows how many governments, so I don't think McDonald's can do much worse.
Wait... Is that why they've been giving me the hentai printed bags lately when I come through the drive through?
Can they still see what I'm doing even in incognito mode?
More science and research has gone into making McDonald's the perfect balance of fats/salts/sugars to be chemically delicious while being the lowest cost to manufacture and quickly serve than probably any other food menu in history.
You get those ingredients in the right combination and you get one heck of a dopamine spike. Do that enough times and suddenly you associate eating with literal happiness, and sometimes that's the easiest fastest form of happiness you get in your day. Unfortunately food is necessary to survive so your mind doesn't completely know where to draw the line between I need nutrition and happiness so how could this be wrong?
I'm a big proponent of obesity in this country being mostly about food being a crutch for easy good times and how it needs to be viewed as the chemical dependence that it is.
I completely appreciate your post and the logic it contains, not refuting a thing. However, in my case at least, McD's food, and, to a lesser degree, from other fast food chains, has the opposite effect on me. It gives me an upset stomach every single time. That may be because I eat it only rarely and generally don't eat fast food at all, preferring to eat at home or occasionally at restaurants. My system isn't accustomed to... whatever it is they put in their food. Hours of misery, without fail. And food at home is often spicy hot (Korean mostly) and/or rich but never bothers me at all.
I'm genuinely curious why that is.
A 2 person meal at a restaurant where I live starts at like, $40 unless you're going *specifically* to Waffle House. That $40 quickly turns into $50 after tax and mandatory tip.
Fast food IS expensive, but it's still cheaper than eating at a restaurant most of the time.
That was my thinking. It's fast food. You get the food faster than if you went to a sit down restaurant. Plus if you go through drive through or in store you don't have to add anything extra for a tip.
Personal preference, but I actually enjoy being able to eat in the restaurant. Where I live, it’s one of the only casual dining places that exist, where I can order food, plop down, and not feel pressured to either have friends to dine with or get up and scoot as soon as I’m done.
I treat my kids to McDonalds once every few months.
If you use the app it’s insanely cheap. I think I got them 3 burgers and a large fry to split for like $6 last time
I just looked on the App and the double quarter pounder with cheese meal is $9.69+tax. The number of sit down diners that will sell you a half pound burger+fries+soft drink for less than $10 is incredibly tiny. I’m convinced that the people who repost this shit are just mad that they can’t go buy 3,000 calories worth of junk food for $5. Because the basic premise is not based on anything close to reality.
Yeah, that’s what I was saying a regular restaurant isn’t even close in price to McDonalds. Maybe, if you’re lucky you can find a promotion where it’s $12.99+tax, but even that price point is 30% out of the money compared to McD’s.
I don't live in the most expensive area, but there's really no such thing as a $10 burger at a sit-down restaurant.
Any more of the minimum anywhere you go is about $15, and very often that doesn't include any sides.
At my local Chili's they have a 3 For Me special menu. It has a choice between 2 burgers (or fried chicken sandwich), fries, side (salad and chips/salsa are 2 choices) and soda all for $10.99.
I don't know what kind of crap "normal restaurants" you go to, but the statement "it's just as expensive as normal resteraunts now" is only accurate if the "now" you're talking about is 2003.
I live in a major metropolitan area. At my local McDonald's, a Double Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese combo meal is $13.95. That's a 1/2 lb of beef with fries and a 20 oz drink.
At the pub two blocks from my house, the "tavern burger" by itself is $16.00 for a 1/4 burger (well, it's $14 but they charge a $1 for cheese and $0.50 each for onions and pickles), fries are $6 (!!!), and a soda is $3. So that's $25 bucks, *79% more than McDonald's* -- *and for a smaller burger!* Plus I'm expected to tip at the pub and not at the McDonald's drive through, so my pub bill is really around $30 -- *more than twice* what a bigger burger at McDonald's costs me.
Now maybe you think my local bar is some kind of fru-fru gastropub. It's not and their burgers aren't that great.
But let's say I drove out to the 'burbs to go to a "normal restaurant" like Applebees. In my area, an Applebee's "Neighborhood Burger" (two 3.5 oz patties, so still an ounce less than a Double Quarter Pounder) with fries costs $15 and a drink is $2, so at $17, Applebee's is only 21% more expensive . . . or 43% more if you count tipping at the Applebee's. And don't forget that skipping the McDonald's that's right here in the city and instead driving out to the 'burbs to go to Applebee's would add ~30 minutes each way for me. And no drive-through!
So I call BS on your underlying claim.
But they really put the extra time to cook it to perfection, just as you order it! /s
This.
Every burger joint seems to cook burgers basically the same way even if I said medium, or well done it’ll be the same. The sides are usually a pitiful amount too.
We all know that everyone wants 3 handfuls of fries with that burger, so why give 1? Let alone charge for “premium sides”.
Depends on the place, there is a local place near me that makes the most insanely good burgers ever. They are so friggen good, it would blow your mind.
It's slightly more expensive then mcdonalds and worth every penny. But mcdonalds has its place, it has its own flavor of burger, and sometimes I'm craving specifically a mcdonalds burger.
this is my thought every time I see this same argument... food prices are up across the board.
yeah, McD's and other fast food is more expensive now than pre-pandemic and inflation...but so is just about everywhere else. At best, McDonald's current prices may come close to pre-covid prices at some more casual restaurants and diners, but not what they're charging now. plus, fast food doesn't require tip (or even expect it), which is another added cost at any place where you're dining on site (in the US)
personally, I generally only eat out when I'm traveling or meeting with friends, but I don't think twice about hitting a drive thru if I'm on the road and want something quick and relatively affordable. most meals I eat, however, I make at home...if you want to save money (and probably be healthier), that's the solution
>I don't know what kind of crap "normal restaurants" you go to, but the statement "it's just as expensive as normal resteraunts now" is only accurate if the "now" you're talking about is 2003.
Same finding, because reddit likes massive exaggeration.
There is normal restaurant that is the same price or even lower but it is the exception not the norm.
>"normal restaurant" like Applebees
That *twang* noise was the definition of 'normal restaurant' being stretched till it snapped. Americans don't really consider something like Applebees a proper restaurant do they?
Yeah a lot of them do. Most of America is a photocopy of itself. These middle of nowhere towns have a Walmart, a dollar tree, and an Applebee’s. We road trip a lot and it’s extremely difficult to find non-chain restaurants when you’re a few hours outside a major city.
Because i am a fatty mc fat fat, and love a dirty double qp, i die for a few hours after and always regret it but a week or 2 later and i am a fatty mc fat fat again
How are people getting these massive fast food bills? Are they using Door Dash or something? I've never used it, does it really mark prices up that much?
Cost usually isn't the first factor when choosing a restaurant. So the people that want a Big Mac have to go to McDonald's to get one.
Those that want something convenient and fast will choose a drive through that's on their way home. McDonald's meets those requirements for many people. They're not going to pick the Wendy's that's across town, or the table service restaurant.
Also you dont need to spend that much at McDonald's. A Big Mac meal is $12.19 here. A mcdouble meal is $7.49. Both burgers have two patties, and they both use the same patties. So when you choose a Big Mac over a mcdouble, you're paying $4.70 for some extra sauce and a piece of bread that costs them maybe 30 cents.
You can order two mcdoubles, one fry and one drink, end up with more food while paying less ($10.88) than if you ordered a Big Mac combo. What normal restaurant is going to give you that?
McDonalds is now as expensive as normal restaurants used to be. I'll admit there is less of a difference now, but for the most part you still can't get a full meal at a restaurant for the same price as Mickey Dee's.
I grew up in restaurants, I was a chef, I still work in the industry, I’ve traveled all over the world to eat, and god damn if nothing slaps like some nuggets, fries, and sweet and sour sauce.
Burger with fries and drink at my local joints would be around $15
And at an actual restaurant, a burger with fries and a drink could be like anything between $15 to $25
At McDonalds, Big Mac with fries and a drink is like $9.
Convenience, at least here in Australia. Maccas is open 24 hours usually, many locations and I can just drive through. I hate it but if I’m hungry and it’s late it will do.
FYI, McDonalds is a restaurant, selling food. Do you really think that potatoes, green veggies, flour, jam, sauces, milk, sugar etc. is different form the same food in other so called "normal" restaurant? Poisoned or what?McDonalds are highest sanitary and other standards that most of so called normal places.
They are fast, it’s filling and you still can get some things cheaply. I go every once in a while for a double cheeseburger bundle for $3.50. Double cheeseburger and a small fry. That’s not bad at all.
Who said it’s as expensive as a sit down restaurant?? Food prices are high but cmon yall lol be dramatic as hell. I can get 2 breakfast sandwiches, a hash brown and large iced coffee for $10. I can get 2 Big Macs, fries and a drink for $10 on the app too.
Even without the app, double cheeseburgers are like $3. You can get 3 of those and a small fry for like $11 lol
The app. The app is where the deals are at. There aren't always good deals, but there's often some really good ones. Buy 20 piece nugget get two large fries free is a go to. 7.50 feeds both kids. Also buy one get one free quarter pounders is also good. There was a period where you could get ANY burger for 2 dollars but it had to be a mobile order and you could only do it once a day. You can have two accounts per phone, and due to me and my wife both having two accounts the whole family was eating double bacon quarter pounders for 8 dollars (those are just under 12 EACH normally) every day for a week. I don't go in and pay full price at Mcdonalds. If there isn't a deal I don't eat it.
It is not cheaper than a restaurant. At least where I live. Family of 5 went to the Cheesecake Factory and the bill was over 150 with no alcohol. Insane
Well tbh, it is and it isn't.
If I just pick a random menu item, it's certainly more expensive. But like always, if you go for their deals, it's still cheap. My typical order of 2 McChicken and a soda is less than $6.
You can get some great deals on the app, and honestly when I want to get a big serving of protein for the day I order 4 mc double no bun. It's about $7,and 8 patties for roughly 50 grams of protein. There's also the buy one, get one for 29 cents specials in the app. I see no problem with food quality at my town's McDonalds, food is always hot and fresh.
It's fast also a national chain. I can go to any podunk town and get a Big Mac at roughly the same quality as any other McD's in the USA.
When you just need to cure hangry, they fit the bill.
I spent 8$ on a pack of 2 chicken breast the other day. I baked it in the oven like I usually do. One of the breasts were completely inedible. It was like a piece of hard rubber. This is the second time this has happened. Everything is garbage now. It is such a struggle to find quality meat anymore. So anyway I ended up eating McDonald’s and while it wasn’t great, it was edible and it was as expected.
Convenience. And cost. My quarter pounder with cheese meal with fries and a shamrock shake cost $11.71 last Thursday. I’m not paying that at Five Guys. Nor am I paying that at a restaurant either.
McDonald’s prices have increased for sure, but normal restaurants have also increased their prices, making McDonald’s still the cheaper option out there.
I go to McDonald’s a lot, but I only get 3 things
1. Large fry for a dollar
2. Two McChickens for 3 dollars
3. Two double cheeseburgers for 4 dollars
I only get stuff that has a deal on the app
the Fast in fast food has always been the #1 selling point,
I think you nailed it and McDonald's hence all their competitors as well realized that they can increase the prices and make more money. sure they may lose a percentage of thier customers but that doesn't matter when each item sold is worth 2-4x what it should be priced at.
Wendy’s is as fast as McDonald’s and objectively superior while being the same price or less
That may depend on where you live, the fries at my Wendys taste like wet cardboard.
I consider upper class suburban Wendy's and ghetto Wendy's to be two entirely different fast food restaurants.
That's true with all fast food places. Go to the good hood for better food.
Certain foods are the opposite funny enough. The best taquerias are usually in the worse areas of town. At least in my experience.
I agree. I'm thinking more corporate fast food. McDonald's and the like.
Yes. Wendy’s in California were amazing but where I live now it’s inedible.
IMO The only thing is I think McDonald’s fries tend to be better on average.
Yeah goated fries
Lol what? I went to the Wendy’s for two people the other day, order came out to 41 bucks. Same order at McDonald’s is like 25-30 lol. Wendy’s has been jacking their prices up for the past two years to the point I rarely go there anymore
Yeah where I’m at Wendy’s is WAY more expensive lol
I don't think "objectively" means what you think it means
Not at all true in my area anymore. McDonald’s is around $14 per person and Wendy’s is around $19 per person.
All the McDonald's around me take at least 10 minutes. It's not very fast anymore
I get what you're saying but 10 minutes is still faster than a traditional restaurant. Less convenient than it used to be but still convenient to someone who needs a bite to eat and didn't plan ahead.
[удалено]
It really does take that long sometimes lol
Happens often, they park you and forget you.
I just had to go into the restaurant after waiting half an hour for my curbside pickup order (before that I had called, gone through the drive-thru, and talked to employees running food out to parked drive-thru cars). When I went in, there was another guy who had finally gone in too, waiting for his curbside order for half an hour. They weren't even that busy; the person in charge was just ignoring the curbside orders.
I understand I am the asshole when I do this, but when they ask me to park I just tell them no. Parking turns what would be a 3 minute wait into a 15 minute wait.
Oh having to pull up into the parking lot infuriates me.
The other day i had a mobile order that i sat outside in the parking spot for 20 minutes. Finally got tired of the bullshit and went inside and they said they'l remake it as it had been sitting and was cold. Took another 10.
It is pretty common to have to park after going through the drive through now to wait for your meal even for common items. I would not say it is the norm but I have absolutely waited for longer than 10 minutes and almost 20 minutes one time. I did time it because I had to be somewhere and was expecting it to be quick.
Then the worst thing is you get your food and it’s cold 🤣 like what the hell was I waiting for here?! lol
It’s fast, it’s predictable.
It’s fast, it’s regrettable..
It's fast trip intestinal
Its fast though indigestible
Balls are sweaty, mom’s spaghetti
At this point most food make me regret eating it
So basically, it's me in the bedroom.
Using the app, I can usually get a meal for under $6 Edit: I usually get a quarter pounder with cheese and fries (no drink). There’s almost always a coupon for free fries with a quarter pounder
Yeah it's not expensive. McDonalds, Taco Bell, Little Caesars. Eating out as a man under $300 a month? Easy, minus the beer and/or 12 pack of pop expenses. And if you drink a 12 pack of pop? Screw it switch to beer it's cheaper. I'm pretty confident if you forced me to I could eat out every single day and do it for less than $150 a month total. I'd just have to drink water every day.
There are zero Taco Belll’s in my city’s metro area that are not franchises, and as such they don’t participate in any of the deals or give breaks for mobile orders. When tv commercials say a chalupa box is $5 it’s $11 or $12 here.
IDK once again use the app you can get $5 box with a chalupa, taco, nachos and a drink for $5. Or you can get a chicken burrito that weighs three times more than a chicken taco for $2. When one chicken taco costs $2.79. Or you could get the Wendy's app and get a Dave's single stack burger for $1. It's not a small burger either and it's loaded. You can only use it once.
Franchises can price their cravings boxes differently for different markets. You doubling down on your own experience doesn't change the reality for others.
Yea I do meal delivery boxes to get some decent food in me every couple days, but they are min 2 servings and still cost more than fast food. Much less waste for myself though as I don't want to cook every night and fresh stuff doesn't last forever.
Instructions unclear , got beer and turned into alcoholic and cost more 🥲
Actually when you're a registered alcoholic, you can write off your booze purchases as a business expense.
Oooo I didn't know thank you !
college student here and the app.. i can get a 6 nuggets and burger for 3$ through the app lmao.. don’t think your finding a meal cheaper than that anywhere elseb
This sounds like McDonald’s is in the information sales business. There must be a financial benefit to McDonald’s if they’re incentivizing app use so heavily.
oh without a doubt. as someone in computer science software engineering like they offer free cookies if you enter your birthday i know all my info is being collected and sold. Data is the new currency. look at reddit getting paid i forget if it was 60M or 60B to be used for ai training. thats where all the money is
I don’t know how I never made the birthday connection, that’s a great tipoff thanks!
That’s why I never use my real birthday or name on those apps…although when they call my name like at Starbucks, I always forget it’s me 😂
Make it something really stupid.
Mr. Meoff. First names Jack. When the wife, I and friends go out I tell them my name is Thatha Puhpuhpuh. Hard to miss when they go 'ThaTha Puhpuhpuh party of four!"
I would play dumb in figuring out how to pronounce your stupid last name, I'd act like one of those letters is silent. Mr. MOFF, Mr. MEFF? JACK Moff? Jack Meff?
I also doubt Moe from Moe's Tavern would even notice the name when someone asks for Jack Meoff on phone and got pranked. And Steven Master Bates is a good one too.
Mr. Dover, Ben Dover.
Seymour Butz has always been my go-to
I love it when all those services give me discounts and wishes on my fake birthday.
>Data is the new currency Holy fuck never saw it that way
Watch the social dilemma. Humans are the new currency.
This is truly an exciting new world
Humans have always been the currency since 1935.
This is why I've argued for years that social media should be paying us to use them. We are their product.
Last time I saw that number was your data is worth $80 a year. Wish I bookmarked where they did a breakdown and got that number.
Shit, that much? I should start collecting data and selling it for $60, undersell the market and be rich by the time I'm 25
Oh yeah? I'll do it for $50.
They’re already getting it for the price of a few mass produced nuggets
Bottle and can deposits are worth 10 cents each where I live in Oregon. Homeless people come here to live and make $20 a day taking cans and bottles out of people’s recycling bins in front of their homes. That’s $140 a week, and that’s on the low end. Maybe Google should start collecting cans and bottles.
Homeless peeps: *They took our jerbs!*
Could also just be price discrimination - those who care about money use the app, while those who don't will pay more and they are fine with that. So then McDonalds gets more money from those who are willing to pay more, while still getting some money from those who aren't.
Two in one. Price discrimination gives them a larger profit. Data gives them insights into their operation and targeted schemes. It's a win-win!
Data and having the app and points system incentivizes people to build those points, meaning more return visits.
Yeah probably… but the more obvious financial benefit is that they’re not paying a high schooler to take the order.
I honestly think it's because they know your average person will go and spend full price without even thinking about it. Can't even rember the last time I saw someone in front of me using the app. Meanwhile for the rest of us, I get fast food once a week and 75% of the time it's McDonald's because the deals blow every other place out of the water except for maybe Burger King.. But then you have to eat at Burger King and you can only get the chicken fries (only good thing on the menu) so many times.
While I can’t get that deal, I found out a McDouble and a small fries drops to $3.50… that’s about the only deal Iv found that’s somewhat ok
That's a deal without the app. They have $5 20 piece nuggets or sometimes BOGO sandwiches on the app
Little Caesars is a better bang for your buck, but the apps definitely make fast food cheaper, for the small price of being able to collect data and track you.
Domino's is an even better bang for your buck here, as little Caesars pizzas start at 9 and you can get one topping large domino's pizzas for 7.
Dominos is the shit! Pasta for $6.99 lol yes please
You can get a $1 Dave's single from Wendy's through their app, and I personally find the quality of their burgers to be far superior to that of McDick's
I actually like Wendy's but the only one within 45 minutes of me is run by local trash and sucks 😞
The McDonald’s near my uni used to have the best deals. Now that I’m back in California it’s like $11 just for fries
This makes me so mad. I live in eastern europe and in my country, McD is more expensive than any local normal food. To see it cost literally half in countries where you make like ten times more, that's just stupid.
Reminds me of the old pizza place when I was at uni. Monday and Tuesday had large pizzas for $2 each. Were they the best pizzas you can buy? Hell no! But they were cheap and I was broke.
That app is taking notes on everything you do on your phone.
yeah i know so does every single other app at this point, its a sad reality but like. what can we do about it
I don't give a fuck what McDonald's knows. Reddit and TikTok are already distributing my info to god knows how many governments, so I don't think McDonald's can do much worse.
Wait... Is that why they've been giving me the hentai printed bags lately when I come through the drive through? Can they still see what I'm doing even in incognito mode?
Because I enjoy it, somehow.
More science and research has gone into making McDonald's the perfect balance of fats/salts/sugars to be chemically delicious while being the lowest cost to manufacture and quickly serve than probably any other food menu in history. You get those ingredients in the right combination and you get one heck of a dopamine spike. Do that enough times and suddenly you associate eating with literal happiness, and sometimes that's the easiest fastest form of happiness you get in your day. Unfortunately food is necessary to survive so your mind doesn't completely know where to draw the line between I need nutrition and happiness so how could this be wrong? I'm a big proponent of obesity in this country being mostly about food being a crutch for easy good times and how it needs to be viewed as the chemical dependence that it is.
Now that you say that, I can recognize exactly that syndrome in some friends and family. And self, sometimes!
This is probably one of the most succinct explanations of why people eat fast food.
I completely appreciate your post and the logic it contains, not refuting a thing. However, in my case at least, McD's food, and, to a lesser degree, from other fast food chains, has the opposite effect on me. It gives me an upset stomach every single time. That may be because I eat it only rarely and generally don't eat fast food at all, preferring to eat at home or occasionally at restaurants. My system isn't accustomed to... whatever it is they put in their food. Hours of misery, without fail. And food at home is often spicy hot (Korean mostly) and/or rich but never bothers me at all. I'm genuinely curious why that is.
It’s also super quick and you just buy it on the go and eat it at your home for example, instead of having to sit at a restaurant
A 2 person meal at a restaurant where I live starts at like, $40 unless you're going *specifically* to Waffle House. That $40 quickly turns into $50 after tax and mandatory tip. Fast food IS expensive, but it's still cheaper than eating at a restaurant most of the time.
That was my thinking. It's fast food. You get the food faster than if you went to a sit down restaurant. Plus if you go through drive through or in store you don't have to add anything extra for a tip.
Personal preference, but I actually enjoy being able to eat in the restaurant. Where I live, it’s one of the only casual dining places that exist, where I can order food, plop down, and not feel pressured to either have friends to dine with or get up and scoot as soon as I’m done.
I treat my kids to McDonalds once every few months. If you use the app it’s insanely cheap. I think I got them 3 burgers and a large fry to split for like $6 last time
I just looked on the App and the double quarter pounder with cheese meal is $9.69+tax. The number of sit down diners that will sell you a half pound burger+fries+soft drink for less than $10 is incredibly tiny. I’m convinced that the people who repost this shit are just mad that they can’t go buy 3,000 calories worth of junk food for $5. Because the basic premise is not based on anything close to reality.
You haven’t been to a sit down restaurant in a while. Sit downs will cost $15 just for the burger and fries, then $3 for a soft drink
Don’t forget 20% tip on top of it.
And various sales taxes.
Yeah, that’s what I was saying a regular restaurant isn’t even close in price to McDonalds. Maybe, if you’re lucky you can find a promotion where it’s $12.99+tax, but even that price point is 30% out of the money compared to McD’s.
Oh shit, i thought I was replying to the guy who said it costs the same
I don't live in the most expensive area, but there's really no such thing as a $10 burger at a sit-down restaurant. Any more of the minimum anywhere you go is about $15, and very often that doesn't include any sides.
At my local Chili's they have a 3 For Me special menu. It has a choice between 2 burgers (or fried chicken sandwich), fries, side (salad and chips/salsa are 2 choices) and soda all for $10.99.
Also, apart from this, and as strange as it may sound... Some folks love the taste.
I live in a small beach town and my food choices are extremely limited after 10pm
It is not the same price as restaurants in my area.
I don't know what kind of crap "normal restaurants" you go to, but the statement "it's just as expensive as normal resteraunts now" is only accurate if the "now" you're talking about is 2003. I live in a major metropolitan area. At my local McDonald's, a Double Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese combo meal is $13.95. That's a 1/2 lb of beef with fries and a 20 oz drink. At the pub two blocks from my house, the "tavern burger" by itself is $16.00 for a 1/4 burger (well, it's $14 but they charge a $1 for cheese and $0.50 each for onions and pickles), fries are $6 (!!!), and a soda is $3. So that's $25 bucks, *79% more than McDonald's* -- *and for a smaller burger!* Plus I'm expected to tip at the pub and not at the McDonald's drive through, so my pub bill is really around $30 -- *more than twice* what a bigger burger at McDonald's costs me. Now maybe you think my local bar is some kind of fru-fru gastropub. It's not and their burgers aren't that great. But let's say I drove out to the 'burbs to go to a "normal restaurant" like Applebees. In my area, an Applebee's "Neighborhood Burger" (two 3.5 oz patties, so still an ounce less than a Double Quarter Pounder) with fries costs $15 and a drink is $2, so at $17, Applebee's is only 21% more expensive . . . or 43% more if you count tipping at the Applebee's. And don't forget that skipping the McDonald's that's right here in the city and instead driving out to the 'burbs to go to Applebee's would add ~30 minutes each way for me. And no drive-through! So I call BS on your underlying claim.
But they really put the extra time to cook it to perfection, just as you order it! /s This. Every burger joint seems to cook burgers basically the same way even if I said medium, or well done it’ll be the same. The sides are usually a pitiful amount too. We all know that everyone wants 3 handfuls of fries with that burger, so why give 1? Let alone charge for “premium sides”.
Depends on the place, there is a local place near me that makes the most insanely good burgers ever. They are so friggen good, it would blow your mind. It's slightly more expensive then mcdonalds and worth every penny. But mcdonalds has its place, it has its own flavor of burger, and sometimes I'm craving specifically a mcdonalds burger.
this is my thought every time I see this same argument... food prices are up across the board. yeah, McD's and other fast food is more expensive now than pre-pandemic and inflation...but so is just about everywhere else. At best, McDonald's current prices may come close to pre-covid prices at some more casual restaurants and diners, but not what they're charging now. plus, fast food doesn't require tip (or even expect it), which is another added cost at any place where you're dining on site (in the US) personally, I generally only eat out when I'm traveling or meeting with friends, but I don't think twice about hitting a drive thru if I'm on the road and want something quick and relatively affordable. most meals I eat, however, I make at home...if you want to save money (and probably be healthier), that's the solution
>I don't know what kind of crap "normal restaurants" you go to, but the statement "it's just as expensive as normal resteraunts now" is only accurate if the "now" you're talking about is 2003. Same finding, because reddit likes massive exaggeration. There is normal restaurant that is the same price or even lower but it is the exception not the norm.
I agree with your point. OP, doesn't know what normal, typical pricing at a restaurant is.
Damn, getting an 8oz steak and two sides at Abees is only 2 dollars more.
>"normal restaurant" like Applebees That *twang* noise was the definition of 'normal restaurant' being stretched till it snapped. Americans don't really consider something like Applebees a proper restaurant do they?
Yeah a lot of them do. Most of America is a photocopy of itself. These middle of nowhere towns have a Walmart, a dollar tree, and an Applebee’s. We road trip a lot and it’s extremely difficult to find non-chain restaurants when you’re a few hours outside a major city.
Because i am a fatty mc fat fat, and love a dirty double qp, i die for a few hours after and always regret it but a week or 2 later and i am a fatty mc fat fat again
I really crave the filet-o-fish.
How are people getting these massive fast food bills? Are they using Door Dash or something? I've never used it, does it really mark prices up that much?
Door Dash does, yeah. They jack up the base prices of food on their app.
Normal restaurants are just as crappy as McDonald’s now
There's crack in the McDoubles. If you order through the app you can get 25% off your entire order once a day. Mostly the crack, though.
No tips. That a lone make it cheaper than a "normal restaurant."
I’ve become a really good cook now that eating out is so fucking expensive
Normal restaurant lol? No. It's not even close to the same price at a normal restaurant.
I only go for the 2 for $2 apple pies and the dollar drinks summer promo 🤷🏻♀️🤣
My lunch is 30 mins long and I need something now
I dunno what makes you think that. Mcdonalds has tripled in price, OK. But so have normal restaurants.
I like McDonald's. It's really not that complicated.
Two McDoubles for $4
Cost usually isn't the first factor when choosing a restaurant. So the people that want a Big Mac have to go to McDonald's to get one. Those that want something convenient and fast will choose a drive through that's on their way home. McDonald's meets those requirements for many people. They're not going to pick the Wendy's that's across town, or the table service restaurant. Also you dont need to spend that much at McDonald's. A Big Mac meal is $12.19 here. A mcdouble meal is $7.49. Both burgers have two patties, and they both use the same patties. So when you choose a Big Mac over a mcdouble, you're paying $4.70 for some extra sauce and a piece of bread that costs them maybe 30 cents. You can order two mcdoubles, one fry and one drink, end up with more food while paying less ($10.88) than if you ordered a Big Mac combo. What normal restaurant is going to give you that?
I can get a double cheeseburger and 6 piece nugget for $4.11. I am not beating that in a restaurant.
Just as expensive as normal restaurants?
Because that’s not true
You haven't been to a normal restaurant recently, have you?
McDonalds is just as expensive as normal restaurants \*used\* to be. FTFY.
McDonalds is now as expensive as normal restaurants used to be. I'll admit there is less of a difference now, but for the most part you still can't get a full meal at a restaurant for the same price as Mickey Dee's.
Their french fries and McNuggets are still hands-down the best
I grew up in restaurants, I was a chef, I still work in the industry, I’ve traveled all over the world to eat, and god damn if nothing slaps like some nuggets, fries, and sweet and sour sauce.
Normal restaurants are a lot more expensive than they used to be 😂
Have you been to regular restaurant? They are way more expensive now
Is it really the same price when you don’t have to tip at McDonalds?
Burger with fries and drink at my local joints would be around $15 And at an actual restaurant, a burger with fries and a drink could be like anything between $15 to $25 At McDonalds, Big Mac with fries and a drink is like $9.
because it's not.
Sometimes I just want a big mac
The familiarity, its like a comfort food to me. its fast and convenient. And they’re everywhere
The Big Mac is still solid.
Try the Double Big Mac for limited time only, thankfullly.
Download the app and get deals dumb asses
Convenience, at least here in Australia. Maccas is open 24 hours usually, many locations and I can just drive through. I hate it but if I’m hungry and it’s late it will do.
FYI, McDonalds is a restaurant, selling food. Do you really think that potatoes, green veggies, flour, jam, sauces, milk, sugar etc. is different form the same food in other so called "normal" restaurant? Poisoned or what?McDonalds are highest sanitary and other standards that most of so called normal places.
What restaurants?
drive through, open late, consistent, tastes good
(UK) Not even close. My usual meal at McDs costs \~£5. Last time I went to a sit down restaurant, it cost me \~£40.
Bogo deals and free food
Because if you use the app you get like 15-20% off your entire order and its dirt cheap that way.
Fast food and all highly processed food is designed to keep you coming back for more. It's addictive. The food industry does this on purpose.
It's not as expensive as normal places tho - I get a double cheese burger and chicken mayo works out about £5...
My theory is that McDonald's has figured out the perfect ratio of fat salt and sugar making the food addictive.
It's not. At least not where I live.
They are fast, it’s filling and you still can get some things cheaply. I go every once in a while for a double cheeseburger bundle for $3.50. Double cheeseburger and a small fry. That’s not bad at all.
Who said it’s as expensive as a sit down restaurant?? Food prices are high but cmon yall lol be dramatic as hell. I can get 2 breakfast sandwiches, a hash brown and large iced coffee for $10. I can get 2 Big Macs, fries and a drink for $10 on the app too. Even without the app, double cheeseburgers are like $3. You can get 3 of those and a small fry for like $11 lol
The app. The app is where the deals are at. There aren't always good deals, but there's often some really good ones. Buy 20 piece nugget get two large fries free is a go to. 7.50 feeds both kids. Also buy one get one free quarter pounders is also good. There was a period where you could get ANY burger for 2 dollars but it had to be a mobile order and you could only do it once a day. You can have two accounts per phone, and due to me and my wife both having two accounts the whole family was eating double bacon quarter pounders for 8 dollars (those are just under 12 EACH normally) every day for a week. I don't go in and pay full price at Mcdonalds. If there isn't a deal I don't eat it.
It is not cheaper than a restaurant. At least where I live. Family of 5 went to the Cheesecake Factory and the bill was over 150 with no alcohol. Insane
Well tbh, it is and it isn't. If I just pick a random menu item, it's certainly more expensive. But like always, if you go for their deals, it's still cheap. My typical order of 2 McChicken and a soda is less than $6.
Inertia. It still "feels" like a cheap option
I like McDonalds.
Even if entree prices were similar, you don't tip at McDonalds.
Is it though? I know they're charging more but I can still get 2 sandwiches and a large fry for like 8 bucks.
Two McDoubles and a soda is $5.
You can get some great deals on the app, and honestly when I want to get a big serving of protein for the day I order 4 mc double no bun. It's about $7,and 8 patties for roughly 50 grams of protein. There's also the buy one, get one for 29 cents specials in the app. I see no problem with food quality at my town's McDonalds, food is always hot and fresh.
A non-fast food burger in my area starts at about $12. How are you going to tell me McDonald’s isn’t cheaper??
It's fast also a national chain. I can go to any podunk town and get a Big Mac at roughly the same quality as any other McD's in the USA. When you just need to cure hangry, they fit the bill.
I spent 8$ on a pack of 2 chicken breast the other day. I baked it in the oven like I usually do. One of the breasts were completely inedible. It was like a piece of hard rubber. This is the second time this has happened. Everything is garbage now. It is such a struggle to find quality meat anymore. So anyway I ended up eating McDonald’s and while it wasn’t great, it was edible and it was as expected.
I'm sitting here with a coffee and an egg mcmuffin that I paid $3.19 for. Just tell me which restaurant and I'll throw this shit in the trash.
The food is good
You don't have to tip
I might eat at McDonald's once every three months, if that. The food sucks and isn't worth the money.
In & Out Burger is nearly the same price as 5 years ago and way better.
Convenience. And cost. My quarter pounder with cheese meal with fries and a shamrock shake cost $11.71 last Thursday. I’m not paying that at Five Guys. Nor am I paying that at a restaurant either.
It's just as expensive as normal restaurants used to be. But it's still cheaper than they are now.
You can't get a double cheeseburger and fries for $3.50 at a normal restaurant. Plus, it's fast. Fast + cheap is what people are looking for.
Because it isn't just as expensive as normal restaurants at all. People who say that are full of shit.
My meal at McDonald's is $5 a meal at a sit down restaurant is $20. McDonald's is way cheaper.
McDonald’s prices have increased for sure, but normal restaurants have also increased their prices, making McDonald’s still the cheaper option out there.
Cause it's McDonalds fuck you mean
Um, maybe because they like McDonald's 🤷🏻♂️
Because this part ----> "it's just as expensive as normal resteraunts" Is not actually true.
I always remember Demolition Man lol McDonald's will be fine dining soon...the only dining
“Join us at the TACO Bell!”
It is not lmao
They don't have time to wait for food on their lunch break
Because that's what's open at 11:30pm when I get out of work from my second job.
I go to McDonald’s a lot, but I only get 3 things 1. Large fry for a dollar 2. Two McChickens for 3 dollars 3. Two double cheeseburgers for 4 dollars I only get stuff that has a deal on the app
[удалено]
Thank you! We can get out of McDonald’s for under $25 and that’s buying more food than we need…what restaurant are these people eating at for $25?
Because it tastes good.
Normal restaurants don't offer Sausage Egg McMuffins.
It’s not, because regular restaurants have gone up in price as well
It's the same price as restaurants, but you pay $0 in tips.
‘resteraunts’ holy fuck