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[Frozenprince]

I'm not sure if McDonald's as a brand can ever go upscale. It would take much more time than they've got to change their image.

What they can do is go low-rent and copy the success of Taco Bell.

Give us insane garbage like a burger coated in Doritos or something.

But the problem is McD's is massively larger than Taco Bell. While Taco Bell could embrace its image as the shit drunken comfort food place, McDonald's can't do that. They have brand recognition, a board to appease, investors looking for constant growth not steady lines of 2-4% in the black.

They've reached the peak business model and are falling, they can either adapt and learn that they're never going to be a premium chain and live with slower growth and slightly lower profits for long term sustainability. Or they can continue to push and attempt to introduce an upsale quality product in a market that doesn't want, nor expect that from them.

 

[inner-G]

Simplified Menu:
Hamburger
Cheeseburger
McDouble
Quarter Pounder
Big Mac
McChicken
Filet-o-Fish
Nice Chicken Sandwich
Happy Meal (in foldable themed box)
Fries
Salad
Cookies

Full Breakfast All day

Soda/Tea/Coffee/Shakes/OJ/Milk


There you go, make me CEO.

 

[milanbaros]

Why do people always say McDonald's need to stick to low priced value options. They need margin, and those products don't have it. These do. They probably make 2 or 3 times the profit on one of these. It is like telling a supermarket to just sell eggs, milk and bread. They make no money on that.

 

[Zoned]

They should streamline their menu. Too much shit right now

 

[Putzweg]

Guys there is no cure for mcdonalds bcus times have changed. The industry has evolved and its no longer a good climate for big chains.

 

[UberTag]

Simplified Menu:
Hamburger
Cheeseburger

They still sell these? Or are they now part of the secret McDonald's menu?

 

[gimmmick]

McDonalds desperately trying to break into the market that in-n-out has carved out here in the West. Premium fast food that people actually want.

At the end of the day, I wanna say majority of us will not hesitate to spend 5 - 8 dollars on a double double meal any day of the week.

 

[Marauder Shields]

In every thread about McDonald's there's a bunch of people thinking they know what McDonald's "needs to do". What's up with that? It comes off as extremely arrogant.

McDonald's should look to hire all these brilliant minds. Would clearly solve their problems.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

McDonald's should look to hire all these brilliant minds. Would clearly solve their problems.

Doesn't seem like their well paid advisors are doing so well either. More public input would be better.

Price isn't a deterrent, unless there's baggage like McDs or wallmart.

 

[Liberty4all]

Why do people always say McDonald's need to stick to low priced value options. They need margin, and those products don't have it. These do. They probably make 2 or 3 times the profit on one of these. It is like telling a supermarket to just sell eggs, milk and bread. They make no money on that.

2 or 3 times profit on a sale that doesn't happen is still 0. High margins don't mean shit if the product isn't selling.

When I go to mcdonalds I look at the "main" menu of 9 dollar combos and I laugh that they think I'm that stupid to pay such an exhorbibant price. The gourmet burger combos they have are even more expensive, over 10 dollars!!! So I then proceed to order a $2 McDouble. Same with almost everyone I know that goes to mcdonalds.

They aren't going to win the premium burger game it's not what we want from McDonald's and there are multiple competitors that do it better. People just want our 4.99 Big Mac combos back.

 

[Vicetrailia]

McDonald's should look to hire all these brilliant minds. Would clearly solve their problems.

We're customers who eat their shit. We give them constant feedback on what we want. Yes better quality at lower cost is an eternal want, but many other things have been mentioned. If they improve their business it'll result in us getting what we want, which is good for everyone. They are not maxed out.

 

[CadetMahoney]

Who they trying to fool. Here is their $6+ artisan chicken sandwich:

$6? that is whack.

 

[Slayer-33]

They should streamline their menu. Too much shit right now

I think some of their burgers are just too crap tasting.. Let's just say that all of them are crap tasting. McDonald's is just terrible..

If I had to take a guess it was as if they grinded rats for meat and cooked that shit in olive oil.

Can't put my finger on it it's also their fries and nuggets that don't taste as good as they used to like they did back 15 years ago.

 

[Nikodemos]

Can't put my finger on it it's also their fries and nuggets that don't taste as good as they used to like they did back 15 years ago.

That's when they've stopped using beef tallow in a misguided attempt to cater to the vegetarian/health-conscious crowd.

 

[Montresor]

Simplified Menu:
Hamburger
Cheeseburger
McDouble
Quarter Pounder
Big Mac
McChicken
Filet-o-Fish
Nice Chicken Sandwich
Happy Meal (in foldable themed box)
Fries
Salad
Cookies

Full Breakfast All day

Soda/Tea/Coffee/Shakes/OJ/Milk


There you go, make me CEO.

Go even simpler:

Get rid of the "Nice chicken sandwich", salad, and cookies. Get rid of the shakes and tea.

Oh and... you left out the McNuggets. That's not good.

 

[YoungFa]

Theyve been doing this for a while now in Germany:

 

[Fret]

Instead of having premade "premium" burgers why don't they do what McDonald's Australia does and do Create Your Taste?

 

[Korey]

Why do people always say McDonald's need to stick to low priced value options. They need margin, and those products don't have it. These do. They probably make 2 or 3 times the profit on one of these. It is like telling a supermarket to just sell eggs, milk and bread. They make no money on that.

Because nobody goes to McDonalds to buy an artisan burger.

They're in a lose-lose situation.

 

[Rimon-hanit]

MacDonald's released a veggie tomato based burger deigned by a Michelin star chef over here a few months ago, this article features an apt description of the dish
still much better then their normal patty.

 

[Meciu]

Instead of having premade "premium" burgers why don't they do what McDonald's Australia does and do Create Your Taste?

It also became avalaible in Poland lately. I've been to one in Warsaw a few days ago. Right now It's kinda pricy as it supposed to be a premium offer but it sure has potential.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

We already have the chef crafted burgers in spain since a year ago. They are pretty popular and change the flavour every few months (i didnt like the first one though).
The burgers are designed by the winner of top chef (a cooking reality show).
Wouldnt be surprised that the winner of this year's top chef designs also the new chef crafted burgers.

Edit: ah yes, the weekly american mcdonalds are shit and losing clients while foreign mcdonalds work well and people still go to them.

 

[birthday-suit]

They gotta change the name. Of the entire franchise.

 

[Meciu]

We already have the chef crafted burgers in spain since a year ago. They are pretty popular and change the flavour every few months (i didnt like the first one though).
The burgers are designed by the winner of top chef (a cooking reality show).
Wouldnt be surprised that the winner of this year's top chef designs also the new chef crafted burgers.

Edit: ah yes, the weekly american mcdonalds are shit and losing clients while foreign mcdonalds work well and people still go to them.

That's true. McDonald's in Poland and other EU countries does really well and that is why I always wonder why is it that in US it struggles this much?

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

That's true. McDonald's in Poland and other EU countries does really well and that is why I always wonder why is it that in US it struggles this much?

I think they have more competition, but also having experienced american mcdonalds, they are more expensive (for the american pocket) and have lower quality food there.

The only direct competitor (at least in Spain) for McDonalds is Burger King, and McDonalds basically took the market from them (even though they were already having more clients than BK) when they were build around cheap quality food (ads talk about how they used natural products from spanish orchards and meat from galician cows, apart from always showing the nutitional values of their products on very visible places), changed their banner from red to green (more natural) and changed the whole interior decor from cheap shitty plastic american fast food (that BK still uses) to lighter colors and "wood" furniture.
Then of course you have the cheap menus compared to european pockets, different more chef crafted flavours in the burguers each month (using lots of mediterrenean ingredients for example), etc...
And even if McDonalds does indeed work really well here and have more clients than BK, the rest is more what flavour do their clients prefer, some prefer the mcdonalds one, while other prefer the BK taste. That an not having too much competition outside of them makes them both stay afloat. After those kind of cheap buger restaurants you are going with other kind of fast food restaurant chains that go for 12-15 euros menus and have more than burgers in their menu.

I dont know if going "natural" would work for american McDonalds though.

 

[sixteen-bit]

McD's throwing shit @ the wall & seeing what sticks at this point

 

[balladofwindfishes]

"Guys, we're failing and we've outright told people it's because our menu is too complicated and too expensive and don't match the public's image of us"
"We should fix it by adding more complicated and expensive menu items! Let's try and fool the customer into thinking we're better than they think we are"
"Great idea! What could go wrong?"

Why do people always say McDonald's need to stick to low priced value options. They need margin, and those products don't have it. These do. They probably make 2 or 3 times the profit on one of these. It is like telling a supermarket to just sell eggs, milk and bread. They make no money on that.

They make no money on these either. They pretty much always bomb. People don't go to McDonalds for this kind of food.

 

[Davey Cakes]

Who they trying to fool with those pics? Here is their $6+ artisan chicken sandwich

Low end products at high end prices.

I have to admit, when I had this sandwich it was tasty. Not worth the price at all though.

I would've been just as satisfied getting a $3 turkey sandwich at 7-Eleven. And the lettuce wouldn't be soggy.

McDonald's has to reduce the size of the menu and drop prices a bit. I don't understand why they are doubling down on the "gourmet" angle when it obviously hasn't been working.

 

[Sub_Level]

They still sell these? Or are they now part of the secret McDonald's menu?

Basic cheeseburger is literally on the main menu.

 

[aerts1js]

The only items I buy at MCDS are from their dollar/value menu.. If I spend more than 4 bucks on a meal at mcds I feel like I'm doing it wrong.

 

[Oersted]

They gotta change the name. Of the entire franchise.

Truth.

That's true. McDonald's in Poland and other EU countries does really well and that is why I always wonder why is it that in US it struggles this much?

They have been shrinking for years in Germany.

 

[xDUMPWEEDx]

All in all McDonald's has some serious problems man.

They seem like they can't solve their issues

McDonald's can't seem to grasp the concept that the quality of their food is shit, which will probably never change.

The kicker is that the customer doesn't care about the shit quality as long as it's cheap.

Keep the garbage tier food for a rock bottom price and they will do good again.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

The only items I buy at MCDS are from their dollar/value menu.. If I spend more than 4 bucks on a meal at mcds I feel like I'm doing it wrong.

The Dollar Menu was both a blessing and a curse for McDonalds. It brought them in a lot of business when it was feasible, but then inflation caught up, and it wasn't a good market anymore, but they were stuck with this image the Dollar Menu had crafted for them, and their food's quality had been adjusted for the Dollar Menu, so they were kind of stuck with it.

Wendy's managed to transition fairly nicely away from the Dollar Menu, but McDonalds hasn't quite been able to do that. Every time they've tried has been met with huge backlash and lost business.

Keep the garbage tier food for a rock bottom price and they will do good again.

Yes, the Jack in the Box and Taco Bell market, basically. They need to realize that's their market, not Chipotle's market where they think they should be.

 

[Poodlestrike]

The thing is, they look to be using the same sort of patty they use for everything else. That's the issue with this; they can make the recipes as shmancy as they like, but as long as the patty is crap, the burger won't be much better.

 

[Auto-Reply]

The thing is, they look to be using the same sort of patty they use for everything else. That's the issue with this; they can make the recipes as shmancy as they like, but as long as the patty is crap, the burger won't be much better.

The only burger I eat there (once in a blue moon) is the McChicken, because there is no patty on it.

 

[Amentallica]

Who they trying to fool with those pics? Here is their $6+ artisan chicken sandwich

Low end products at high end prices.

That's chicken? I thought it was fish. *barf*

 

[mnannola]

I am all for paying a few more bucks for a fantastic burger.

The question is , can McDonalds make a burger worth 5 bucks? Are they going to be using fresh ground beef? Probably not. I can go places that are dedicated to making a good burger, they have the equipment needed that McDonalds does not.

 

[Dead Prince]

just bring back the premium Angus burger, you fucks.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I don't really understand the demand for "quality" burgers at mcdonalds. If I'm going to mcdonalds its because I want to indulge on 2 or 3 greasy double cheeseburgers.

because they're charging "quality" prices now. A combo with a new sandwich is something like $8-$10 where I am. That's equal to or higher than Wendy's, Chipotle, Chick-Fill-A, Pollo Tropical, Qdoba, Lime, Shake N' Snake, Subway, 5 Guys, Moe's, etc.

And yet it manages to feel and taste lower quality than all of the above. Eating worse food at equivalent or higher prices than better competitors dropped McDonald's off my radar entirely. Expectations change when you get above $5 or $6, and McDonald's offers the lowest grade of food at that higher price point. There are simply better tasting, higher quality options. And all this before even addressing the presentation and polish problems.

 

[ThankYouDaletech]

"How can we still sell the cheapest shit possible at a premium price? My multiple yachts and mistresses are getting pricey, but seriously, fuck all customers."

Put sous vide machines in every location, sous vide Big Macs with grade F- beef, lets do it.

 

[Plinko]

LOL at that $5 price point. Hardly anybody is going to pay that much for a burger that is almost always coming to them looking like trash.

 

[BobTheFork]

Those Burgers look great.

Mcdonald's will lose money if they mass market those good looking burgers.

 

[Fug Slanderson]

I keep hearing that McDonald's is struggling. Well, I certainly don't see evidence of that where I live. Every Mcdonald's around here always has a line, oftentimes a rather long one (20 or so cars). Meanwhile, Burger King has, like, 2 tops. And they get through the line faster that any other place, so that's not why the lines are long.

 

[ThankYouDaletech]

I keep hearing that McDonald's is struggling. Well, I certainly don't see evidence of that where I live. Every Mcdonald's around here always has a line, oftentimes a rather long one (20 or so cars). Meanwhile, Burger King has, like, 2 tops. And they get through the line faster that any other place, so that's not why the lines are long.

In America "Struggling" means you aren't showing exponential growth every quarter.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

I keep hearing that McDonald's is struggling. Well, I certainly don't see evidence of that where I live. Every Mcdonald's around here always has a line, oftentimes a rather long one (20 or so cars). Meanwhile, Burger King has, like, 2 tops. And they get through the line faster that any other place, so that's not why the lines are long.

Europe or america?

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Europe or america?

Europica.

Amerope?

 

[Vanish]

I will never pay $5 for a burger at McDonalds. Ideally that should buy me a whole McDonalds meal.

Can they not afford 4.99 combos? Get rid of all the other shit, keep the value menu, the Big Mac, quarter pounder, filet o fish, McChicken, and nuggets. Charge 4.99 for a combo. Problem solved.

Yup, I don't know why they refuse to do this. I've stopped eating at McDonald's cause of this. If I want to eat more expensive food, then I'm going to Chipotle or something else instead, not McDonald's.

 

[shira]

This is my fave Lotteria burger

One half beef patty, one half fried shrimp burger 500yen = $4

 

[theusedversion]

They should seriously sell Cheesy Fries like they have in Thailand (and probably other places) because they are terrific.

 

[McLovin]

Who they trying to fool with those pics? Here is their $6+ artisan chicken sandwich

Low end products at high end prices.

You just have shitty McDonalds man. Not saying Mcdonalds is high quality food, but where I live they at least look like the picture. I went to a Mcdonalds in Philly once and it was so ass. I live in CT btw. I pretty much only drink their coffee and buy an occasional oatmeal these days.

 

[otapnam]

Their number one priority should be improving their beef patties and the way they are cooked.

Its the core of the business. Once they get that start getting fancy, but without a proper foundation, how are you going to challenge all the new players