• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

McDonald's to 'rethink' prices after sales fall

Fbh

Gold Member
Makes sense. I'm not in the US but even in my country I have no idea why anyone would still go to places like Mcdonalds. The whole appeal used to be that it was CHEAP junk food, but in recent years they've increased the prices so much that there's no reason to go there.

Even if you are looking to eat junk food (say, a burger and fries) pretty much every neighbourhood has local burger shops which are exponentially better and now pretty much cost the same (or at most only slightly more).

I go maybe once a year when my bank happens to have some 50% off promotion or something like that. With the discount at least the price sort of matches the quality of the food you are getting.
 
Stopped eating there years ago...
Use the app.

You get free large fries for spending $2.

You can then use another coupon in a separate order to get free nuggets with purchase of 6 piece nuggets. There are coupons every day for $2 breakfast sandwiches down from $4.50. Today they have a deal where you get free fries with a coke or free fries with a fillet o fish.

The thing is most people dont use the app. I see people paying $13 for a meal ahead of me in the drive thru and im getting more for a fraction of what they paid. its just fucked up.
Fuck using an app for a lower price.
All these numerous fastfood chains need to shrink...
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
There is a big bag of basically the same nugget at walmart. It might actually be the same company. It probably comes out to like 10% the cost per nugget lol.
mcdonalds makes their own nuggets. you can see their making of video on youtube they posted after rumors of them adding bones and shit in their nugget mix.

no other brand comes close. trust me. ive tried them all.
 
Last edited:

Kenpachii

Member
They are the same price as going to a normal restaurant. why choose shit food over quality food makes no sense if its the same price.
 

bender

What time is it?
smallest fries are $5.29. One soda is $3.19
kobe-bryant-nba.gif
 

Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
This is accurate. I can either spend $11 at a fast food place, get horrible--or in the case of those dumb kiosks, no--service, and essentially flip a coin on whether or not the food will be fresh. Or, I can spend $13 on a lunch special at a Mexican place and get some delicious flautas and free salsa.

The lack of a value menu means the $4 okay meal vs $10 restaurant meal of yesteryear no longer applies, and the worse service and consistency nowadays make fast food an even less-appealing option.
Agreed, for
This is accurate. I can either spend $11 at a fast food place, get horrible--or in the case of those dumb kiosks, no--service, and essentially flip a coin on whether or not the food will be fresh. Or, I can spend $13 on a lunch special at a Mexican place and get some delicious flautas and free salsa.

The lack of a value menu means the $4 okay meal vs $10 restaurant meal of yesteryear no longer applies, and the worse service and consistency nowadays make fast food an even less-appealing option.
Agreed, for $3 or $4 more. I can get better and freshly made food plus free chips and salsa at a Taqueria. If you don't live in America get fuct sorry.
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
mcdonalds makes their own nuggets. you can see their making of video on youtube they posted after rumors of them adding bones and shit in their nugget mix.

no other brand comes close. trust me. ive tried them all.

Ok you're right, they aren't made by the same company, but a former McDonald's corporate chef said these are pretty much the same thing. https://www.allrecipes.com/copycat-mcdonalds-chicken-nuggets-at-walmart-8348142

I got them once unknowingly, and thought they were kinda like McDonald's which is why I looked into it. Then I tried them with a spare sauce from McDonald's and was like ok, this is exactly the same. Without sauce they don't taste very good (just like real ones).
 

Gp1

Member
With the price of a McDonald's big mac/medium meal here (Brazil) i can buy:

1 big Hawaiian Poke meal (much healthier and more food)
or
1 the same meal from a local burger joint, way tastier and with quality meat
or
1 cheap but wood burning oven big pizza from local pizza joint
or
1 truckload of food on a tex mex joint
or
1 truckload of donners/sfihas at an arab joint.
Etc.

With 2 Big mac meals, you can buy enough meat for a small parrilha + side dishes.

So basically you only go for McDonald's when you are craving for a McDonald's or you don't know the local food "scene".
Anything else and McDonalds' value proposition doesn't holds up.
 

Kamina

Golden Boy
Didn’t their quality also get worse?
I saw some reports like burger patties being as thin as the pickles and such.
 

MaestroMike

Gold Member
Bought and ate 4 McDoubles last week with a chocolate shake from shake shack to see how their shakes are. It was like a dollar less than the burgers. then had some yogurt afterwards to feel kind of healthy lol didn’t eat at McDonalds for awhile before hand. A good amount of ppl want to be more lean during summer so they may not be eating as much calories which will hit the fast food joints
 

jufonuk

not tag worthy
I fucking hate this bollocks. What really is driving massive prices increases and lower quality is massive unchecked corporate greed.

Fuck them and their shitty "food".
This plus shrinkflation paying through the nose for a big Mac that isn’t as big as the ones of old.
 

daffyduck

Member
I think Mcdonald's is £5.09 for a Big Mac, large fries and large drink.

How much is the 5 Guys equivalent? Google reckons it's £12-15 and that a hamburger on it's own is £6.95.

Same as you though, I don't generally go to Mcdonald's under normal circumstances, so I'm not really up on any of this stuff, I'm only really interested in the broader economics of it.
If you were to take the bus in your avatar, you would probably just skip McDonalds in favour of Five Guys. Just about anywhere that scratch makes burgers and fries is priced the same as McDonalds, if not even cheaper.
 

SpiceRacz

Member
In 2019 my local McDonalds had a "family value meal" that you could order that wasn't on the menu.

2 Big Macs
2 McChickens
20 Piece Nuggets
2 Large Fries

It was $14. It could easily fill my family of four to the bursting point.

Now one Big Mac is $9. They have a similar combo meal now that is $42 (same stuff, but the two fries are small size instead of large). Literally three times as expensive for less food.

Where do you live that Big Macs are $9? I’m in Phoenix and they’re $5.49 everywhere. Also, the family value meal is $18.99.

Didn’t their quality also get worse?
I saw some reports like burger patties being as thin as the pickles and such.

I’d say it’s actually improved. They changed the beef patties on the quarter pounders and they’re way better now.

How bad was the increase? I havent been there in ages.

It’s not terrible. I think a lot of people in here are exaggerating too.
 
Last edited:

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Where do you live that Big Macs are $9? I’m in Phoenix and they’re $5.49 everywhere. Also, the family value meal is $18.99.
Oregon. And I just checked the app, they're actually $8.59 here so not quite $9. The meal is $12.89. The family meal (or equivalent of what it used to be) is $42.99.

For $12.89 per person, there are TONS of other food options around here. Not to mention that we have a Costco nearby, so it's hard to justify something like McDonald's when you can get a hot dog + drink for $1.50. Add on a slice of pizza or ice cream sundae for $2, and you've got a super filling meal for almost 1/4 of the price of McDs. Similarly, Dominos has $6.99 medium pizzas here still (if you buy at least two) so you can either get a Big Mac combo, or two medium pizzas for about the same price.

McDonald's isn't alone here with the crazy prices though. Wendy's combo meals are $15-$16 each. Taco Bell has their $5 "cravings box" for $9. (still a good comparative value to the Big Mac). Even some local sit down places are starting to realize that people are paying big bucks for burgers at McDonald's though, and prices are starting to go up almost across the board here.

The "cheap" ground beef in the grocery stores here is also up to nearly $8/lb. Making homemade burgers takes more time and energy and ingredients sure, but it's still a far better value proposition - which wasn't the case when the McDs family meal here used to be $14. These factors combined have been a huge contributing factor to me a) no longer eating fast food and b) no longer eating meat.
 
When it’s cheaper to sit down and eat at a Coney Island or some place similar, why tf would I even consider McDonald’s? Plus the quality of their food went to shit too.
 

YCoCg

Member
They've priced themselves out of their bracket, as already mentioned multiple times, their food is trash but it being cheap enough to grab was the appeal, why would anyone want to pay more when they can get something better for the same price?
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
I thought the wage hike was the culprit of the price increases... Even though I knew it wasn't and said such because the prices increased BEFORE the inflation boom. Corporate greed.
 

daffyduck

Member
Where do you live that Big Macs are $9? I’m in Phoenix and they’re $5.49 everywhere. Also, the family value meal is $18.99.



I’d say it’s actually improved. They changed the beef patties on the quarter pounders and they’re way better now.



It’s not terrible. I think a lot of people in here are exaggerating too.
Prices vary from region to region. Even McDonalds locations in the same city can and do price their menus differently.
 

daffyduck

Member
They've priced themselves out of their bracket, as already mentioned multiple times, their food is trash but it being cheap enough to grab was the appeal, why would anyone want to pay more when they can get something better for the same price?
Cheap *and* quick. Now it’s neither.
 
Where are people getting that Five Guys is comparable in price to McDonalds. 2 combos from Five Guys is over $40 around here.
I;ve always tried to give Five Guys a chance.. they don't deserve anymore. I make better food at home. No lie, what-so-ever. You let me know when you're in town and I will make and build you a proper burger that shits on Five Guys WITH authority. Fuck this place.

Edit: Bring the Jason Mask, too.
 
Last edited:

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
I;ve always tried to give Five Guys a chance.. they don't deserve anymore. I make better food at home. No lie, what-so-ever. You let me know when you're in town and I will make and build you a proper burger that shits on Five Guys WITH authority. Fuck this place.

I have to agree with you. Five Guys is overrated. Their fries are not that good. The burgers barely rate (I've had better burgers at Applebee's or Longhorn Steakhouse). Homemade is usually much better.
 
I have to agree with you. Five Guys is overrated. Their fries are not that good. The burgers barely rate (I've had better burgers at Applebee's or Longhorn Steakhouse). Homemade is usually much better.
We can take steak cut and beat them proper nto burger and come out medium well to medium rare and just ass-blast FiveGuys in the rudest-awakening-way!
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
When they want more than ten bucks for a Big Mac combo no kidding their sales are dropping. I can get a burger and fries with table service and way less teeth sucking attitude for what a McDonald's combo meal costs.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Use the app.
I’m not advocating for anyone to eat junk like McDonald’s, but you want to eat it for cheap, you absolutely have to use the app.

I barely buy anything from McDonald’s, but I always use the app when I do. You can get a McDouble/mcchicken for 50% off, sometimes free fries, a lot of BOGO. And I’d say about once or twice a month, I just get a free sandwich.

I’m never spending more than $3-4 per lunch at McDonald’s when I use the app.

(Random side note, my buddy from high school that I was in band with actually developed McDonalds’ and Burger King’s apps, and he’s hella rich now.)
 

Unknown?

Member
I fucking hate this bollocks. What really is driving massive prices increases and lower quality is massive unchecked corporate greed.

Fuck them and their shitty "food".
I'm sure there is some of that but you really think printing trillions of dollars in the past few years isn't the main driving force?

Prices aren't going up, your dollar is going DOWN!
 

SpiceRacz

Member
I;ve always tried to give Five Guys a chance.. they don't deserve anymore. I make better food at home. No lie, what-so-ever. You let me know when you're in town and I will make and build you a proper burger that shits on Five Guys WITH authority. Fuck this place.

Edit: Bring the Jason Mask, too.


Happy Steve Austin GIF by USA Network


HELL YEA BROTHER. I’M ALWAYS DOWN TO ‘BURG.
 

FeralEcho

Member
>cheap fast food is not cheap anymore
>sales fall

Ideas_Surprised_Pikachu_HD.jpg
I'm genuinely convinced there's an actual school where they turn CEOs and Executives retarded before they take their position for there to be so many stupid decisions in every industry.

Like the greed is so wild their brains literally turn off.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
I;ve always tried to give Five Guys a chance.. they don't deserve anymore. I make better food at home. No lie, what-so-ever. You let me know when you're in town and I will make and build you a proper burger that shits on Five Guys WITH authority. Fuck this place.

Edit: Bring the Jason Mask, too.
Shit I better get an invite to this too. I fuckin LOVE a good burger.

4Th Of July America GIF by Natalie Palamides
 

Doczu

Member
You guys have regional pricing in McD? In Poland it's all one price, wherever you eat.

That said, McD (and fast food in general) got so pricy i'd rather pay a bit more and get a better meal. I have a burger joint at walking distsnce from my house where you can buy a big baddie for the price of a Big Mac menu. And you get stuffed by that burger, Big Mac patties are paper thin now.

Same for KFC, prices went ~40-50% up and the size of strips or wings went down.

Burger King went crazy with their pricing, but the size is at least the same.

McD was never "value food for the poor" here, but now it's gotten too expensive to even think about it.

And don't get me started about those apps, coupons or McPoints or ehatever they are called. Fuckers
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
You guys have regional pricing in McD? In Poland it's all one price, wherever you eat.

That said, McD (and fast food in general) got so pricy i'd rather pay a bit more and get a better meal. I have a burger joint at walking distsnce from my house where you can buy a big baddie for the price of a Big Mac menu. And you get stuffed by that burger, Big Mac patties are paper thin now.

Same for KFC, prices went ~40-50% up and the size of strips or wings went down.

Burger King went crazy with their pricing, but the size is at least the same.

McD was never "value food for the poor" here, but now it's gotten too expensive to even think about it.

And don't get me started about those apps, coupons or McPoints or ehatever they are called. Fuckers
About 10 years ago, the KFC near me had a special. 10 dark pcs for $9.99 CDN. They scrapped it.

The closest coupon deal since then became 12 pcs + fries for $19.99.... then $21.99.... $24.99..... now $31.99. Big woop. Now they add in a cup of gravy too.

I dont know what the prices are in the US, but 12 pcs + fries + gravy has a special deal price of $31.99 CDN now.
 
Last edited:

diffusionx

Gold Member
Chipotle is legit about to have riots over the portion size too. they have increased the prices by almost 50% and keep reducing chicken portions. i got double protein the other day paying an extra $3.50 and the portion was basically what we used to get back in the day without paying for double.
I went to Chipotle a month ago and was shocked at how small and lousy my burrito was. They've gone downhill bigly yet. Qdoba is wayyyyyy better.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I keep hearing justification for this like "the cost of labor is going up" or "the cost of ingredients are going up", but this doesn't make sense to me.

I went to Japan for a while a few months ago, and went to the McDonalds there several times and was blown away. The store was incredibly clean, there were 12-14 staff members working at any given time, they had kiosks, but nobody used them because there were 2–3 lines open at the counter. Food was brought to your table, and I don't recall waiting more than five minutes any time. Once I got take out there, and it was all meticulously packaged - the drinks were placed into the foam things they usually use for the drive-in, and placed in a bag separate from the food - which was then placed next to the bag of food, and all of THAT was placed in a larger plastic carrying bag. Everyone working there seemed to enjoy working there and were always helpful and courteous.

The kicker for all this was that the food was incredibly cheap. The Big Mac meal with fries and a drink was ¥750, approximately $5 USD. Granted, their "large" is about the size of a US small or medium, but the burger was the same size. The beef patties were not paper thin. The ingredients were all mostly sourced domestically in Japan. Most of the chemicals used in the food in the US are banned there. After 5PM they start their menu where you can get "double meat" on any sandwich for only a little extra. The 倍ビッグマック セット (double big mac meal) was ¥950, or about $6.50 USD and looks like this

800028-Bai-Big-Mac-Set.m.webp


That's the stock photo. Here's a photo I took of this beast:

IG6FY4K.png


It wasn't the best burger I had in Japan, but it was definitely the best McDonalds experience I've had in years and years, maybe since the 90s. The place was always doing a steady business and I doubt they're in jeopardy of going under any time soon because they aren't charging enough. If McDonalds Japan can make that a reality using better ingredients for lower prices, why not here in the States?

This thing was amazing and also cheap:

LaSJbKo.png
 
Last edited:

Unknown?

Member
I keep hearing justification for this like "the cost of labor is going up" or "the cost of ingredients are going up", but this doesn't make sense to me.

I went to Japan for a while a few months ago, and went to the McDonalds there several times and was blown away. The store was incredibly clean, there were 12-14 staff members working at any given time, they had kiosks, but nobody used them because there were 2–3 lines open at the counter. Food was brought to your table, and I don't recall waiting more than five minutes any time. Once I got take out there, and it was all meticulously packaged - the drinks were placed into the foam things they usually use for the drive-in, and placed in a bag separate from the food - which was then placed next to the bag of food, and all of THAT was placed in a larger plastic carrying bag. Everyone working there seemed to enjoy working there and were always helpful and courteous.

The kicker for all this was that the food was incredibly cheap. The Big Mac meal with fries and a drink was ¥750, approximately $5 USD. Granted, their "large" is about the size of a US small or medium, but the burger was the same size. The beef patties were not paper thin. The ingredients were all mostly sourced domestically in Japan. Most of the chemicals used in the food in the US are banned there. After 5PM they start their menu where you can get "double meat" on any sandwich for only a little extra. The 倍ビッグマック セット (double big mac meal) was ¥950, or about $6.50 USD and looks like this

800028-Bai-Big-Mac-Set.m.webp


That's the stock photo. Here's a photo I took of this beast:

IG6FY4K.png


It wasn't the best burger I had in Japan, but it was definitely the best McDonalds experience I've had in years and years, maybe since the 90s. The place was always doing a steady business and I doubt they're in jeopardy of going under any time soon because they aren't charging enough. If McDonalds Japan can make that a reality using better ingredients for lower prices, why not here in the States?

This thing was amazing and also cheap:

LaSJbKo.png
How much do employees make there? Where I live it's $20 an hour
 

Paasei

Member
it became expensive here, but that is not the main reason I don’t go there anymore.

It’s primarily the fuckery with their drink cup system, the paper shit straws and the goddamn squeeze bags for their sauces.

All for the lame excuse that it’s better for the environment. While at the same time giving you around 20 napkins on an order.
 
Last edited:

Pegasus Actual

Gold Member
I keep hearing justification for this like "the cost of labor is going up" or "the cost of ingredients are going up", but this doesn't make sense to me.

I went to Japan for a while a few months ago, and went to the McDonalds there several times and was blown away. The store was incredibly clean, there were 12-14 staff members working at any given time, they had kiosks, but nobody used them because there were 2–3 lines open at the counter. Food was brought to your table, and I don't recall waiting more than five minutes any time. Once I got take out there, and it was all meticulously packaged - the drinks were placed into the foam things they usually use for the drive-in, and placed in a bag separate from the food - which was then placed next to the bag of food, and all of THAT was placed in a larger plastic carrying bag. Everyone working there seemed to enjoy working there and were always helpful and courteous.

The kicker for all this was that the food was incredibly cheap. The Big Mac meal with fries and a drink was ¥750, approximately $5 USD. Granted, their "large" is about the size of a US small or medium, but the burger was the same size. The beef patties were not paper thin. The ingredients were all mostly sourced domestically in Japan. Most of the chemicals used in the food in the US are banned there. After 5PM they start their menu where you can get "double meat" on any sandwich for only a little extra. The 倍ビッグマック セット (double big mac meal) was ¥950, or about $6.50 USD and looks like this
[/SPOILER]
Confused why you're confused.
neJPPV5.png

Presumably you knew the dollar is pretty strong again the yen when you went there.

And the cultural stuff... well, Japanese society is a little different to America's in terms of politeness and cleanliness. Like, the police there would probably deal with say... a neighbor that was acting out of pocket. Just random example of no relevance.
 
Honestly, I don't care about prices. The real kicker is that their veggie shit makes you fat. What the fuck McDonnies? What is the motherucking point then? Fuck you.
 
Top Bottom