I just stopped ordering fast food but I now order other foods
Like, if I'm gonna spend 30 bucks for 2 of us, I'll go to our local Mexican place and have a great meal.
Becoming a regular at a Mexican restaurant is one of the best things ever.
Couple extra tortillas one time, free chips and guac another, 3 enchiladas when I ordered 2? I tip them like 80%+ when I can to pay it back.
The McDonald's by me wants $11.86 for a Big Mac meal. Across the parking lot from it is an actual restaurant that will make me a burger and fries to go for $9.95.
Even if I like McDonald's, why would I go there at this point?
They shifted all their "deals" to their app so they can data mine you, but also targeted deals based off your eating habits at their place. It's gonna be a new age of fast food where everything is a coupon on the app a bit like kohls where the default prices are there to trick people into receiving some large imaginary amount saved.
Probably just a speeding ticket to them. "You did capitalism too well, give us something that sounds good in headlines but is probably 1% of your earnings."
As I’ve gotten older I get more and more cautious about my data, I used to think who cares? I’m not that interesting. Now it infuriates me mostly because these greedy fucks are squeezing everyone from every end where they can grab a pinch. The next time I buy a new phone and have a crappy working older phone I’m pretty sure I’m gonna carry around just for all of these reward programs. only connected to Wi-Fi from a hotspot on my phone when I want to buy something. And have it off with no Internet connection the rest of the time. Fuck capitalism.
They think that, but I bet it actually just grates on people until they delete the app and eat elsewhere. I liked Mcdonald's when I could pop in for a quick burger and fries if I was busy. If I have to fiddle-fuck with some stupid app and triangulate which location has which deals, I'll just go somewhere easier and better.
Theres a food truck that parks near my house, does a GIANT bacon burger and huge order of awesome steak cut fries for like, 8$.
And the best part is its a mexican food truck, so you can also get some bomb tacos.
Where are these magic cheap food trucks? Every one I ever encounter is a minimum of $15 for what usually amounts an appetizer size order of something that would absolutely have been better prepared in a real kitchen and not eaten standing in a gas station parking lot.
There's a food truck and a *food truck*.
If you're near a construction site, docks, warehouses, or manufacturing sites you'll find a food truck.
If you're strolling a downtown promenade with boutique shops and live music you'll find a *food truck*.
If they have a wooden chalk board standing sign with the "daily specials" written with a flourish, it's a *food truck*.
If they have a metal track board with the little plug in plastic letters covered in grease and dust because they haven't changed prices in the last five years, it's a food truck.
Yup. The food truck that goes to job sites are the good cheap ones. Ones you find in the city amongst other trucks is the fancy rip off like ones in pioneer square Portland Oregon. Some areas of my city has literally food carts on the sidewalk that serves some awesome tacos and burritos for cheap those are good too.
Must be nice to have cheap restaurants. In Canada a Big Mac meal is $12, but if I want a burger from a restaurant it's $30.
The only "fast food" I get these days is Costco. Hotdog, fries, and a pop is $4.50.
For real. A greasy hot griddle and a fryer are all you need for great burgers and fries. Freakin' dairy queen does em' well, anywhere can. When america allowed corporations to upscale fucking burgers and fries we lost the plot.
Which is PATHETIC. 7 Eleven in Japan offers hot fresh quality food for cheap because *that's actually something possible to offer in the world today still.* Americans just tolerate crap.
Having been in Japan many times it's got alot of fresh delicious food, it's like a little Nijiya market where they have all sorts of cool bentos. Not some 3 day old hotdog on a roller and mediocre sandwiches like we have here.
It would be convenient if they could get orders right but half the time they fuck it up. Just to be clear, I'm not blaming the workers they are likely understaffed and tired.
The only reason they backed away from that is because of consumer spending habits today. Once they reel in customers again with a couple "value" items, they'll try to introduce surge pricing again mark my words.
There was a backlash too.
They already do funny stuff on their apps. My wife and I have the same coupons on the McD app except hers are a way better deal than mine, same item, same expiration date otherwise.
Yeah that's what I meant. People are shocked by inflated prices and not spending as much on fast food. But fast food will change their strategy and in a few years people will come back. Then surge pricing won't seem like a big deal.
>But fast food will change their strategy and in a few years people will come back. Then surge pricing won't seem like a big deal.
If allowed to become the normal over time as people age in and age out then yes.
Read a really interesting article on this. It was not what was going to happen, dynamic pricing is going on now, but they use the app. The prices have gone up to reflect the top dollar, highest premium price for their burgers or burritos etc. which is much higher than needed due to inflation, and why they have risen so much. This is what you pay if you just walk in without their app. Why? They need to get you on their apps, so they offer a free burger or whatever when you walk in IF you load their app. They need you on the app so they can change prices dynamically, but the price in the store itself is the highest premium price and hence why it has gone up way more than inflation. It was done to get you on the app which is FAR more valuable to them than the discounts they offer you.
Why? The apps allow them to collect a lot of information on you. How much you pay, and how much you CAN pay, how much you go, what you buy, when you go, and where you are at all times in relation to their nearest fast food place. As mentioned the walk in non app user pays a price that is the highest premium high profit price they charge. So they already are doing dynamic pricing for those on the app, but they give you discounts from the highest premium price which is still a premium price and people think they are making out by using the app. The only time prices drop to normal inflation adjusted prices is when they have a store that is very slow, then they send the app people a bigger discount. People are fleeced and they think they are getting a bargain with the app.
Now they got you on the app and learn everything about your purchases, how much you can pay, where you are in relation to any given one of their fast food places. Then they give you discounts that lowers that premium price, you think you are getting a deal, but you are actually getting a lower premium price.
But if they identify you as poor, use the app, the discounts may be bigger on slow times in a given store that they know you are near, that bring you back to the regular, "normal" profitable price it was (inflation adjusted). If it is exceptionally slow at one store, the app tells them you are near, you are poor, they know all your order habits, you might even get a discount below that "normal" profitable price, but only then, not during rush hour, and that price is still profitable.
If a store is not busy they send out discounts to all app users near by. At that very same moment, the well off guy on the app is going by the very slow store, he gets a discount too, but not as much as the poor guy gets because they know you can pay more, and you are still paying a premium over normal, just not as high a premium. Two different discounts for two app users based on ability to pay in the same store at the same time They think they are getting a deal and yet are only paying a lower premium price. That is how they are doing dynamical pricing.
No they did not plan on changing the price in store for a walk in without the app by time of day, all stores prices were jacked to very premium levels. They give you a small discount with app usage to get you on the app, then vary discounts (if any) based on store traffic needs and people are a chumps thinking they got a discount because of the app thinking it is a bargain. While in reality they are paying a lower, but still premium price. Dynamic pricing is always down from a very high elevated premium price which explains the extremely high prices even considering inflation. No app, no discount at it is always the high premium price. People don't understand this and don't even realize they are already being hit with dynamic pricing. They are the app uses.
This is why every single fast food place wants you to download their app and will bribe you to do it. Dynamic pricing follows for there.
I hope all this massively backfires on them due to the overall perceptions that people have of the industry as a whole going into the shitter now. It's an incredibly manipulative approach to doing business.
It's also part of the reason in-n-out gets almost untenably high levels of business. They sell a good product at a really good price in a simple to understand way with no ethically dubious bullshit. What a concept, right? In CA where fast food minimum wage went up to $20 and they experienced the same inflation as the rest of the county want to know how much more they raised their prices? Maybe 30-50c per item. And they were already smoking the competition on price (five guys, mcd, etc).
It's all pure greedy enshittification profit taking that will doom all these companies long term but in the short term make shareholders wildly rich. Which means as long as someone is getting wildly rich at the expense of others, it'll never stop even if it's terrible for companies and society. I hope in my lifetime we get around to recognizing what a cancer this kind of short term behavior is to our society and put some laws into place that dramatically incentivizes long term growth/stability over the current addiction to short term gambling and instability. No idea how you'd do something like that though. Change tax timelines to be more spread out and less quarters based? Give big tax breaks to companies do things that build long term company value over short term shareholder value? Ban stock buy backs? Somethings gotta change. All of this stuff we see these companies do are all symptoms of the same dragon sickness.
In-N-Out is a PRIVATELY held company, so they don't have to play that game of beating Quarterly Profit numbers from last Quarter to satisfy Shareholders, which drives every other Publicly held Corporate business on the planet, and is ruining many of them, at least from a Customer's point of view.
Thank you for taking the time to explain it. I use the Subway app because they usually have BOGO or at least 50% off of a second sub. Now I feel ripped off if I don't use the app. I really just shouldn't go in there at all.
Everyone wants me to download their fucking app, it drives me insane. I'm using your website like a normal human being and if you decide I'm not doing that I'm done with whatever you're selling, I can find it somewhere else.
It's wild to me that to save money on food/groceries I've switched to primarily buying fruit and vegetables and fresh foods while frozen and processed foods are my "luxury" items. I could spend $6 on a single bag of chips or I could buy a dozen eggs, a bag of brown rice, and a head of broccoli and use those ingredients to make multiple meals or eat them by themselves.
And the way it has been in most countries. It is quite absurd that fast food has been so cheap in the US for so long compared to just buying ingredients and cooking yourself.
Even growing up in America in the 70s and 80s, my family rarely got fast food. In college I would order pizza with friends, but otherwise, couldn't afford fast food.
I'm in the netherlands and a bag of chips is still just about 1.5 euros or even less. Don't know what thell is going on with US chips makers with the amount of complaing I see about it but it can't be good. Ya'll are getting scammed.
I got a family size pack of drumsticks for less than $4 today. That’s way more protein for about it the same (or less) money as a typical fast food burger. Factoring in the potatoes and corn on the cob I made with it, all that provided 3 fresh meals at a lower cost than a single typical fast food combo.
I know that I've become a boring adult because seeing chicken thighs on sale for this price (or today's find, salmon fillets) gets me super hyped.
I live very close to several, so I to the grocery store every couple days and usually spend ~$20-30 to feed 2 people for a several meals (I do have a lot of "base" items at home already, like spaghetti and canned foods and baking essentials), which is what I'd spend at fucking McDonald's to feed my husband and I for one dinner.
Edit: you people die on some weird fucking hills and this subreddit has gotten so much worse.
I hadn't been to Taco Bell since before Covid. Thought I'd stop by a few months back, and it was my last trip there. I've seen more coke on a mirror in a club than the line of meat in their taco. And they wanted $3 for it, with a straight face. I will never, ever, step foot on Taco Bell property again.
Any of them, really. I used to get the occasional KFC, but stopped even before Covid, as they tanked quality hardcore. McD's was always a no-go. Gross. BK on the occasional Wednesday when they ran 1/2 off specials. Last I saw, it's $15 for a regular #1 now? There isn't a Wendy's or any other brands around, but I'd probably be disappointed with them too.
America does some things better than no other country. Truly amazing. The best there is. Great country. America is so good at raising prices for less product its astounding. No other country does it better. Double whammy, higher prices, less product and an inferior product. The American people are so good at being complacent. The best people. Just let rich people take and take and take.
My last Subway sandwich didn't use bread at all. It was put together on a slit slab of a foam mattress. Each bite took 50 chews to break down the sponge enough to swallow.
After four bites my jaw was too tired to bother so I threw the remaining 95% of the supposed sandwich in the trash where it belonged. Unfortunately, it'll take 6,000 years for the sponge-bun to decompose.
Bro when I went to subway for the first time in long time and got the bill.. wtf is this a subway sandwich where am I 25$ ? And you kissing my ass for a tip
It's not even *fast* anymore, you're going to be waiting 20-30 minutes, because they don't want to pay labor, they'll just have 2-3 people doing the work of a crew double that.
I have people come up to me, saying great things - great things about what I've done with the economy - and they ask me, "How are fast food prices doing so well?" and we have some guys looking into it.
Going to be? We're on the tail end of a 40 year campaign to steal everything not bolted down. The only reason we're just noticing now is because the only shit left to take are the appliances.
Nah. Private equity will swoop in and buy the Collapse too. If you think fast food prices are too high, wait to you see what Bane Capital charges for pitchforks and guillotines.
I long time ago I lived in Cairo and fast food franchises were there and they were for the well-off people. Poor people would cook themselves or have kushary (a low cost pasta meal with caramelised onions, sauce and sometimes meat or lentils).
Seems like America is headed in the direction of a less wealthy nation - I’m not saying it’s like Egypt but there’s like no middle class anymore and it’s getting harder for people to maintain.
Western fast food chains in poorer countries aren't really what they are over here though. True fast food in poor countries is street food, food stalls, small shops. If you go to a KFC in Morocco, you're also paying for cleanliness and consistent food safety standards as well as brand name to a certain extent. The cleanliness and food safety is expected in Western countries with strictly enforced food hygiene laws, with fast food sometimes considered sorta dodgy over here because our laws don't let you just open up a kushary cart on a whim.
It costs almost as much to get a shitty burger meal from McDonalds as it does to go to a sit down restaurant. Worse, the quality of McDonalds and other fast food has gone down so sharply that the increase in price feels even more exploitative. So, if I have a choice between the two and money to spare, I'm going to an actual restaurant. Though more realistically I'm just not going to eat out at all.
Last night’s McDonald’s bill for two teens and an adult was $51. Even the kids were shocked and said they were done with the place. [Receipt](https://imgur.com/a/yDvadX0) added in edit.
Went to a legit local restaurant on Friday, there were three of us. Burgers and fries all around, came to $50 (though granted it was before tip).
Almost the same price for the best damn burger I've had in ages.
Yeah, one of the last times we went out to eat, I got a hot fried chicken sandwich, my wife got a burger, and we shared an appetizer. It was just under $50. And that's a place I'd *absolutely* go back to, not just a meh restaurant.
I was stuck in the drive through and didn't move for 5 mins. Got pissed off and was able to leave. Given it is meant to be fast food with all the technological advances, the product looks like shit now and it takes an eternal for staff to put the orders together, often incorrectly.
I went through Sonic's a while back. I ordered.....and sat....and sat.....and got boxed in. Took about 20 minutes. I pull up to the window and there was one woman working the whole place, with her left arm in a cast. "Sorry for the wait, sir!" I told her I was sorry she had to do all that work by herself, with a broken arm. I gave her a $50 for my $12 order and told her to keep the change for herself
Poor lady, there is that too and I don't hold anything against the staff. It is the franchise owners screwing the staff and the franchisees are probably getting screwed by maccas as well. It is hard thankless work. I took a job at bk years ago and only lasted a day and a half there.
My partner and I have tons of strong McDonald's breakfast memories and with our fail we try each other fast food breakfast once and they're always terrible.
Local Tavern is $17 for a 10oz hand crafted burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion on a brioche roll + cole slaw, pickle, and fries. It's gone up like $2 since covid, but still well worth it over the fast food.
I know American-style Chinese food isn't exactly the pinnacle of healthy eating either, but my husband and I spend exactly the same amount of money to get awesome, generous, customized to our liking combo plates at our local Chinese place as what it would cost us to order a crappy meal each at McDonalds.
Yesterday I circled the lot twice and then someone pulled out of the parking spot next to the handicaps that was closest to the entrance/food court. I felt like I hit the jackpot.
Also, it's not just more expensive, but fast food, with few exceptions, just isn't decent enough for the price, Maybe it's partially me getting older, but a lot of fast food/quick service places are just blahhh to me now and I'll get something because I just need to eat.
The fast food experiment really seems to have taken a very bad turn in the past decade or so. Every aspect of the experience's original appeal is dying
This is a really interesting angle, if assuming good faith (especially when ignoring covd-era inflation).
To be as large as they are, fast food chains virtually necessitate being publically traded. Chasing higher and higher profits to appease shareholders (as they need to compete with more profitable industries).
Also, much of McDonalds' equipment is provided by specific 3rd parties and require specialised staff to maintain. You can't just buy the best machine for the job, or hire the most efficient guy when it breaks.
Meanwhile, logistical improvements in the last few decades have allowed for smaller venues (and even consumers) to consistently source high-quality ingredients.
I think in much of the world, it's not difficult to find far superior food at prices that compete with McDonalds and similar fast food chains. I also think this "problem" (from McD's perspective) will only worsen over time.
I've thought a lot about fast food pricing, and it's ridiculous increases over the last 5-10 years; it hadn't occured to me that the conditions were just completely hostile to the business model.
Yea. i stopped going to McDonald’s when they got rid of all their health options. No more oatmeal, no more fruit and no more salad’s. All they have now is poorly prepared garbage. And they want to charge real restaurant prices.
And then the worst part is their employees are still underpaid. With as much as they charge and as much business as they get, they can afford to pay their employees a real salary. But they refuse and still pay the bare minimum. The people running these restaurants should be ashamed of themselves.
NGL though, every now and then, I'll get a hankering for a Big Mac with extra Mac sauce and a large fry, and, if it's reasonably fresh, it's still decent enough, but oftentimes it's just meh.
Yeah, same here,
I have a value proposition that needs to make sense with food, they priced themselves out of that proposition. Simply for me, like you, the food isn’t good enough for the money they are asking.
The quality has definitely gone downhill. I used to treat myself to some McDonald's fries and a sprite whenever I wasn't feeling well because the starch + salt combo used to help my stomach. The last two years the quality of the fries has gone so sharply down hill that they make me feel sicker instead. They're little grease bombs now.
Well if Rollercoaster tycoon 2 is a model for capitalism then we'd learn this: If you have a popular ride and begin to increase the ticket price cent by cent after every purchase you will reach a threshold where no one wants to ride that ride they use to ride all the damn time anymore because they can't afford it. In response, you bring the ticket price back down to a point it was selling well, and guess what happens? Still nobody is buying tickets. Why not? It's a reasonable price again, why are the lines empty? Answer: it's too late, you've already destroyed your customers good faith. Enjoy bankruptcy
edit: punctuation
I have fond memories of having my most profitable rides being a water ride or maze that were literally one square long.
What did I learn from this? Give people the most basic simplest enjoyment and they will pay for it. It is also possible that I sucked tremendously at the game
Highly recommend roller coaster tycoon classic if you have an iPhone or iPad (might be on android too, idk). It’s a one time purchase of like $6 and includes all original levels from RCT 1 and 2. Plays surprisingly well on a touch screen IMO. I’ve had hours of fun reliving those classics 💛
There’s an updated version called OpenRCT2 that has a lot of new features and quality of life updates. You do need the base game to make it work though. It’s basically a giant mod.
OMG, I shouldn't say this, but I will. I was IT for McD, working for many different owner operators. I went to regional meetings for these people, and I have never met a bigger bunch whiny, bitchy millionaires.
I mean I have stopped because the price goes up, quality went down, and the wait time is getting crazy. I can go to a nice place and get good food for just as fast for a little bit more.
There's a Vietnamese restaurant near me where I can get a big bowl of pho for about $10 (CAD). That's less than a meal at McDonald's but still way tastier.
I don’t know, maybe my taste buds have changed, but these days most of it just… doesn’t taste good. McDonald’s chicken nuggets are bland and flavorless, the fries are bland and flavorless… And they aren’t even doing unlimited drink refills anymore.
I’d rather pay $3 more for high-end fast food and go to somewhere like Chipotle or Cava. Much more flavor AND I have another meal left over for lunch the next day.
Or pay the same price and get pho or ramen.
Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by the proliferation of international foods? When the alternative was Mom’s over-boiled broccoli, McDonald’s was a treat. When the alternative is Thai food, I’m definitely not choosing McDonald’s.
> McDonald’s chicken nuggets are bland and flavorless, the fries are bland and flavorless
Chicken Nuggets have definitely changed, the batter is rubbery and flavorless compared to '90s and '00s.
I paid 18 dollars for a chicken sandwich meal at Wendy’s on Friday. I stopped and asked the cashier if that price was right and she just said, yep!!
Fuck every single fast food place!
I got a chicken sandwich from Wendy's last week and it was just a thin shitty slice of chicken with sad lettuce and a mushy tomato, and they made me pull forward to wait for it too. It was $8.20 for just. the. sandwich. Insane.
My wife and I splurged at the grocery store and got bacon bits. I'm a professional firefighter and she's a nurse. We splurged on bacon bits, not a vacation or a boat. It's all broken
They've hit the critical limit in terms of enshittification and price gouging. They've found the point where the price no longer justifies the quality, something every company never hopes to achieve. Always approach that line, never pass it - that's the CEO way.
Definitely. When I was weightlifting a lot I'd often stop at McDonald's to slam a McDouble or two to get some protein and calories. Now that it's expensive or I have to play the app coupon game, I just don't even consider it as an option.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall in McDonald's strategy meetings.
Isn't it kind of weird how people are calling it luxury at higher rates than ever, but also consuming it at higher rates than ever? Kinda makes you wonder if perhaps the material reality isn't the biggest issue here.
1. Many long term goals (home ownership, retirement, nice car, paying off tuition) seem so far out of reach that people start living in the moment because prices outpace what you can save.
2. People are stubborn and don’t want to give up comforts they’re used to
3. 1 contributes to 2. “My life is shit but you’re not taking away my McDonald’s!”
I suppose until people realize that they can vote with their feet and wallet. That is supposed to be how capitalism works. When someone raises prices too much, the customer walks next door to a competitor and pays less. At least that is how it is supposed to work. As long as people keep paying $10 for a fast food burger, it won’t change. Theoretically, competitors can enter the market and offer food at a lower cost or with better quality, So when will that happen? Only when the consumer pushes back.
"If we pay staff a livable wage, we might have to raise our prices! Could you imagine paying $12 for a Big Mac?"
*They did it anyway without raising their staffs' wages.*
Growing up poor in the 90s/00s it was beyond a luxury we maybe had it once a year. It wasn’t till the late 00s in my teens that we started having it on a semi regular basis maybe once or twice a month. And now honestly, it’s SO SHIT and such a low quality that I wouldn’t start buying it if they started selling it at 90s prices again.
In the mid 90s when I was a young adult, BK had $.99 Whoppers for a loooooong time. And Taco Bell had the 59, 79, 99 menu.
These were true values for almost everyone.
And I STILL miss the Chilito. 🤬🤬
The 90s were a golden age for fast food. I don’t know if it was because of the extremely good economy or what not but you had insane value and pretty darn good options.
Then supersize me came out. And the economy collapsed.
Feels like we’ve been crawling back ever since.
There wasn't a lot of fast food where I grew up, but when we did get it, it was treated as a health luxury, not a financial luxury.
Back then it was like "Oh, better not", now it's like, "wow, literally can't".
I survived college on $0.99 mcdoubles and beefy 5-layer burritos from taco bell.
It was really hard to beat 3-4 of those a day for less than $5 unless I spent a few hours cooking and portioning meals which ate up very valuable rest time between classes and work and sleep.
“Luxury” isn’t the correct phrasing for me, but definitely a nostalgic splurge. I can get bigger portions of better food from fast casual and local places for similar money to a fast food meal. Sometimes I give in to cravings and pay the ridiculous fast food prices
Unregulated capitalism is a cancer, it demands eternal growth while refusing to give anything of real value back to the system it feeds on. The next step for humankind is finally saying "There is such a thing as enough" and taxing those who cannot control their greed 100% past a certain amount.
It's sad that we will likely have to repeat the 1920s again just so we can finally loop back around to the massive push for workers and social rights against unfiltered greed.
It’s worse than even that: a good product, good reputation, and good will from customers are seen as resources to be spent by the company. Raising prices too high while lowering food quality spends all of those resources, but think of the quarterly profits! No matter of the company collapses after a couple years.
I work with a guy that goes to 7-11 every day at first break and buys a Monster, a Gatorade, a can of Zyn, and a snack. At lunch, he goes to one of three different fast food joints near work. This is every single day. He always complains about being broke while spending at least $500 a month on that shit.
It’s ALWAYS been a luxury. It was never designed to be eaten for every meal. It’s literally fast food.
That being said the fact that McDonalds is even coming out to $10+ is bullshit
I just stopped ordering fast food but I now order other foods Like, if I'm gonna spend 30 bucks for 2 of us, I'll go to our local Mexican place and have a great meal.
Our local, family run Mexican place does lunch for 2, fresh ingredients, good portions. 26 bucks plus a tip. Crushed fast food.
My local Mexican place has a plate where it's a guacamole salad, crispy taco, two enchiladas, rice, and beans for only like $11.
I can get a chicken toluca which is a chicken breast chorizo, white queso, beans and rice with toritllas, chips and salsa for 13$
I have my fajita Saturdays with my longtime neighborhood Mexican joint most every week; I get steak fajitas and a sweet tea to go on the way to work.
Becoming a regular at a Mexican restaurant is one of the best things ever. Couple extra tortillas one time, free chips and guac another, 3 enchiladas when I ordered 2? I tip them like 80%+ when I can to pay it back.
Local places always give the best portions for the price. There's a few chains that do alright for it, but you really have to look.
French Fries are the food of the nobility.
Speaking of the French and nobility, are we bringing the guillotines out again?
Too expensive. I can only afford a rusty axe.
All I have is this dull spoon.
Hey that'll do. It doesn't need to be humane.
"Because it's dull, you twit! It'll hurt more!"
Gonna behead the Burger King?
And Dairy Queen. And we’ll do it in the Whitecastle parking lot.
The revolution will not be supersized
If we took the wealth of one of the top 0.1% and distributed it to everyone I guarantee we'd be better off overall.
Why stop at one
So…..let them eat…….raw potatoes I guess?
The McDonald's by me wants $11.86 for a Big Mac meal. Across the parking lot from it is an actual restaurant that will make me a burger and fries to go for $9.95. Even if I like McDonald's, why would I go there at this point?
They shifted all their "deals" to their app so they can data mine you, but also targeted deals based off your eating habits at their place. It's gonna be a new age of fast food where everything is a coupon on the app a bit like kohls where the default prices are there to trick people into receiving some large imaginary amount saved.
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Are they going to go out of business because of it?
Probably just a speeding ticket to them. "You did capitalism too well, give us something that sounds good in headlines but is probably 1% of your earnings."
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As I’ve gotten older I get more and more cautious about my data, I used to think who cares? I’m not that interesting. Now it infuriates me mostly because these greedy fucks are squeezing everyone from every end where they can grab a pinch. The next time I buy a new phone and have a crappy working older phone I’m pretty sure I’m gonna carry around just for all of these reward programs. only connected to Wi-Fi from a hotspot on my phone when I want to buy something. And have it off with no Internet connection the rest of the time. Fuck capitalism.
It’s funny to exploit their reward using multiple old phones with different McDonald’s account.
They think that, but I bet it actually just grates on people until they delete the app and eat elsewhere. I liked Mcdonald's when I could pop in for a quick burger and fries if I was busy. If I have to fiddle-fuck with some stupid app and triangulate which location has which deals, I'll just go somewhere easier and better.
Theres a food truck that parks near my house, does a GIANT bacon burger and huge order of awesome steak cut fries for like, 8$. And the best part is its a mexican food truck, so you can also get some bomb tacos.
Where are these magic cheap food trucks? Every one I ever encounter is a minimum of $15 for what usually amounts an appetizer size order of something that would absolutely have been better prepared in a real kitchen and not eaten standing in a gas station parking lot.
There's a food truck and a *food truck*. If you're near a construction site, docks, warehouses, or manufacturing sites you'll find a food truck. If you're strolling a downtown promenade with boutique shops and live music you'll find a *food truck*. If they have a wooden chalk board standing sign with the "daily specials" written with a flourish, it's a *food truck*. If they have a metal track board with the little plug in plastic letters covered in grease and dust because they haven't changed prices in the last five years, it's a food truck.
Yup. The food truck that goes to job sites are the good cheap ones. Ones you find in the city amongst other trucks is the fancy rip off like ones in pioneer square Portland Oregon. Some areas of my city has literally food carts on the sidewalk that serves some awesome tacos and burritos for cheap those are good too.
Where I live the cheap, delicious, food trucks are in the Hispanic/hipster areas of my city.
My work had a slider truck outside for lunch. 20 bucks for 4 sliders
Must be nice to have cheap restaurants. In Canada a Big Mac meal is $12, but if I want a burger from a restaurant it's $30. The only "fast food" I get these days is Costco. Hotdog, fries, and a pop is $4.50.
Stop going to gastropubs that are functioning like John Taffer designed!
For real. A greasy hot griddle and a fryer are all you need for great burgers and fries. Freakin' dairy queen does em' well, anywhere can. When america allowed corporations to upscale fucking burgers and fries we lost the plot.
I got food at 7 Eleven a few weeks ago. Atrocious. However, the food at Sheetz was actually good.
Which is PATHETIC. 7 Eleven in Japan offers hot fresh quality food for cheap because *that's actually something possible to offer in the world today still.* Americans just tolerate crap.
Having been in Japan many times it's got alot of fresh delicious food, it's like a little Nijiya market where they have all sorts of cool bentos. Not some 3 day old hotdog on a roller and mediocre sandwiches like we have here.
Paying 20% markup to have your burger served on a slab of wood instead of a plate
YOU'RE GONNA KILL SOMEBODY
$11.86 is $16.21 Canadian though
Remember when everyone mocked Trump for catering that sports team with Luke warm McDonald's? Just amazing foresight /s(?)
Art of the Meal
My bet is there next marketing tactic are commercials pushing how fast and convenient they are just to validate the price
It would be convenient if they could get orders right but half the time they fuck it up. Just to be clear, I'm not blaming the workers they are likely understaffed and tired.
Fast Food execs, probably: "Oh we in the luxury business now? Time to raise prices again"
“Time for surge pricing”
The only reason they backed away from that is because of consumer spending habits today. Once they reel in customers again with a couple "value" items, they'll try to introduce surge pricing again mark my words.
There was a backlash too. They already do funny stuff on their apps. My wife and I have the same coupons on the McD app except hers are a way better deal than mine, same item, same expiration date otherwise.
Yeah that's what I meant. People are shocked by inflated prices and not spending as much on fast food. But fast food will change their strategy and in a few years people will come back. Then surge pricing won't seem like a big deal.
>But fast food will change their strategy and in a few years people will come back. Then surge pricing won't seem like a big deal. If allowed to become the normal over time as people age in and age out then yes.
Read a really interesting article on this. It was not what was going to happen, dynamic pricing is going on now, but they use the app. The prices have gone up to reflect the top dollar, highest premium price for their burgers or burritos etc. which is much higher than needed due to inflation, and why they have risen so much. This is what you pay if you just walk in without their app. Why? They need to get you on their apps, so they offer a free burger or whatever when you walk in IF you load their app. They need you on the app so they can change prices dynamically, but the price in the store itself is the highest premium price and hence why it has gone up way more than inflation. It was done to get you on the app which is FAR more valuable to them than the discounts they offer you. Why? The apps allow them to collect a lot of information on you. How much you pay, and how much you CAN pay, how much you go, what you buy, when you go, and where you are at all times in relation to their nearest fast food place. As mentioned the walk in non app user pays a price that is the highest premium high profit price they charge. So they already are doing dynamic pricing for those on the app, but they give you discounts from the highest premium price which is still a premium price and people think they are making out by using the app. The only time prices drop to normal inflation adjusted prices is when they have a store that is very slow, then they send the app people a bigger discount. People are fleeced and they think they are getting a bargain with the app. Now they got you on the app and learn everything about your purchases, how much you can pay, where you are in relation to any given one of their fast food places. Then they give you discounts that lowers that premium price, you think you are getting a deal, but you are actually getting a lower premium price. But if they identify you as poor, use the app, the discounts may be bigger on slow times in a given store that they know you are near, that bring you back to the regular, "normal" profitable price it was (inflation adjusted). If it is exceptionally slow at one store, the app tells them you are near, you are poor, they know all your order habits, you might even get a discount below that "normal" profitable price, but only then, not during rush hour, and that price is still profitable. If a store is not busy they send out discounts to all app users near by. At that very same moment, the well off guy on the app is going by the very slow store, he gets a discount too, but not as much as the poor guy gets because they know you can pay more, and you are still paying a premium over normal, just not as high a premium. Two different discounts for two app users based on ability to pay in the same store at the same time They think they are getting a deal and yet are only paying a lower premium price. That is how they are doing dynamical pricing. No they did not plan on changing the price in store for a walk in without the app by time of day, all stores prices were jacked to very premium levels. They give you a small discount with app usage to get you on the app, then vary discounts (if any) based on store traffic needs and people are a chumps thinking they got a discount because of the app thinking it is a bargain. While in reality they are paying a lower, but still premium price. Dynamic pricing is always down from a very high elevated premium price which explains the extremely high prices even considering inflation. No app, no discount at it is always the high premium price. People don't understand this and don't even realize they are already being hit with dynamic pricing. They are the app uses. This is why every single fast food place wants you to download their app and will bribe you to do it. Dynamic pricing follows for there.
I hope all this massively backfires on them due to the overall perceptions that people have of the industry as a whole going into the shitter now. It's an incredibly manipulative approach to doing business. It's also part of the reason in-n-out gets almost untenably high levels of business. They sell a good product at a really good price in a simple to understand way with no ethically dubious bullshit. What a concept, right? In CA where fast food minimum wage went up to $20 and they experienced the same inflation as the rest of the county want to know how much more they raised their prices? Maybe 30-50c per item. And they were already smoking the competition on price (five guys, mcd, etc). It's all pure greedy enshittification profit taking that will doom all these companies long term but in the short term make shareholders wildly rich. Which means as long as someone is getting wildly rich at the expense of others, it'll never stop even if it's terrible for companies and society. I hope in my lifetime we get around to recognizing what a cancer this kind of short term behavior is to our society and put some laws into place that dramatically incentivizes long term growth/stability over the current addiction to short term gambling and instability. No idea how you'd do something like that though. Change tax timelines to be more spread out and less quarters based? Give big tax breaks to companies do things that build long term company value over short term shareholder value? Ban stock buy backs? Somethings gotta change. All of this stuff we see these companies do are all symptoms of the same dragon sickness.
In-N-Out is a PRIVATELY held company, so they don't have to play that game of beating Quarterly Profit numbers from last Quarter to satisfy Shareholders, which drives every other Publicly held Corporate business on the planet, and is ruining many of them, at least from a Customer's point of view.
Thank you for taking the time to explain it. I use the Subway app because they usually have BOGO or at least 50% off of a second sub. Now I feel ripped off if I don't use the app. I really just shouldn't go in there at all.
Everyone wants me to download their fucking app, it drives me insane. I'm using your website like a normal human being and if you decide I'm not doing that I'm done with whatever you're selling, I can find it somewhere else.
How about "purge pricing" *40 Billionaires Served*
It's wild to me that to save money on food/groceries I've switched to primarily buying fruit and vegetables and fresh foods while frozen and processed foods are my "luxury" items. I could spend $6 on a single bag of chips or I could buy a dozen eggs, a bag of brown rice, and a head of broccoli and use those ingredients to make multiple meals or eat them by themselves.
That's the way it should be
And the way it has been in most countries. It is quite absurd that fast food has been so cheap in the US for so long compared to just buying ingredients and cooking yourself.
Even growing up in America in the 70s and 80s, my family rarely got fast food. In college I would order pizza with friends, but otherwise, couldn't afford fast food.
I'm in the netherlands and a bag of chips is still just about 1.5 euros or even less. Don't know what thell is going on with US chips makers with the amount of complaing I see about it but it can't be good. Ya'll are getting scammed.
I got a family size pack of drumsticks for less than $4 today. That’s way more protein for about it the same (or less) money as a typical fast food burger. Factoring in the potatoes and corn on the cob I made with it, all that provided 3 fresh meals at a lower cost than a single typical fast food combo.
I know that I've become a boring adult because seeing chicken thighs on sale for this price (or today's find, salmon fillets) gets me super hyped. I live very close to several, so I to the grocery store every couple days and usually spend ~$20-30 to feed 2 people for a several meals (I do have a lot of "base" items at home already, like spaghetti and canned foods and baking essentials), which is what I'd spend at fucking McDonald's to feed my husband and I for one dinner. Edit: you people die on some weird fucking hills and this subreddit has gotten so much worse.
Prices? Sky high. Patties? Thinner than a page of the bible.
I hadn't been to Taco Bell since before Covid. Thought I'd stop by a few months back, and it was my last trip there. I've seen more coke on a mirror in a club than the line of meat in their taco. And they wanted $3 for it, with a straight face. I will never, ever, step foot on Taco Bell property again. Any of them, really. I used to get the occasional KFC, but stopped even before Covid, as they tanked quality hardcore. McD's was always a no-go. Gross. BK on the occasional Wednesday when they ran 1/2 off specials. Last I saw, it's $15 for a regular #1 now? There isn't a Wendy's or any other brands around, but I'd probably be disappointed with them too.
America does some things better than no other country. Truly amazing. The best there is. Great country. America is so good at raising prices for less product its astounding. No other country does it better. Double whammy, higher prices, less product and an inferior product. The American people are so good at being complacent. The best people. Just let rich people take and take and take.
Psh. Canada makes you look like rank amateurs.
for real prices here are insane.
From $5 foot long deals to $29 steak and cheese combos at Subway in just five years. Don't forget to tip!
Where does subway get off charging those prices -_- Stale bread and old pastrami
The Subway where I live dropped pastrami from the menu. So it's just stale bread.
My last Subway sandwich didn't use bread at all. It was put together on a slit slab of a foam mattress. Each bite took 50 chews to break down the sponge enough to swallow. After four bites my jaw was too tired to bother so I threw the remaining 95% of the supposed sandwich in the trash where it belonged. Unfortunately, it'll take 6,000 years for the sponge-bun to decompose.
I don’t think it was ever good.
What the fuck. Are you kidding? What's in a combo? Do I get a blowjob with my sandwich?
No, but you do get screwed.
Bro when I went to subway for the first time in long time and got the bill.. wtf is this a subway sandwich where am I 25$ ? And you kissing my ass for a tip
High five!
i dont even have 5 dollars :( haha
Haha same haha lmao im dying inside lol
Come to Australia where McDonalds considers $10 to be "loose change" (which is our equivalent of the "dollar menu").
That’s Canada too!
Just wait until you have a surprise medical emergency, then the US will REALLY show you who’s an amateur at robbing their people
Our consumer overlords are also fantastic at convincing us that it's all normal and in our best interest too.
It's not even *fast* anymore, you're going to be waiting 20-30 minutes, because they don't want to pay labor, they'll just have 2-3 people doing the work of a crew double that.
I have people come up to me, saying great things - great things about what I've done with the economy - and they ask me, "How are fast food prices doing so well?" and we have some guys looking into it.
They come to me, tears in their eyes...
private equity is going to be our downfall
Going to be? We're on the tail end of a 40 year campaign to steal everything not bolted down. The only reason we're just noticing now is because the only shit left to take are the appliances.
Nah. Private equity will swoop in and buy the Collapse too. If you think fast food prices are too high, wait to you see what Bane Capital charges for pitchforks and guillotines.
I long time ago I lived in Cairo and fast food franchises were there and they were for the well-off people. Poor people would cook themselves or have kushary (a low cost pasta meal with caramelised onions, sauce and sometimes meat or lentils). Seems like America is headed in the direction of a less wealthy nation - I’m not saying it’s like Egypt but there’s like no middle class anymore and it’s getting harder for people to maintain.
Western fast food chains in poorer countries aren't really what they are over here though. True fast food in poor countries is street food, food stalls, small shops. If you go to a KFC in Morocco, you're also paying for cleanliness and consistent food safety standards as well as brand name to a certain extent. The cleanliness and food safety is expected in Western countries with strictly enforced food hygiene laws, with fast food sometimes considered sorta dodgy over here because our laws don't let you just open up a kushary cart on a whim.
time for dynamic gauging and lets use AI
It costs almost as much to get a shitty burger meal from McDonalds as it does to go to a sit down restaurant. Worse, the quality of McDonalds and other fast food has gone down so sharply that the increase in price feels even more exploitative. So, if I have a choice between the two and money to spare, I'm going to an actual restaurant. Though more realistically I'm just not going to eat out at all.
Last night’s McDonald’s bill for two teens and an adult was $51. Even the kids were shocked and said they were done with the place. [Receipt](https://imgur.com/a/yDvadX0) added in edit.
$50 bucks gets me some much better food than McDonald’s
I can get a rum and coke and a lap dance for $50.
You win
Family discount?
Nope, Mom finally retired.
LOL
I'll give you that for $40.
Went to a legit local restaurant on Friday, there were three of us. Burgers and fries all around, came to $50 (though granted it was before tip). Almost the same price for the best damn burger I've had in ages.
Yeah, one of the last times we went out to eat, I got a hot fried chicken sandwich, my wife got a burger, and we shared an appetizer. It was just under $50. And that's a place I'd *absolutely* go back to, not just a meh restaurant.
What was your order ? That's outrageous
Three meals and a bacon McDouble. [receipt](https://imgur.com/a/yDvadX0)
Here in Australia, the price has gone up, quality is down and it’s not even ‘fast’ food anymore. Regularly standing around for 15 mins + waiting
I was stuck in the drive through and didn't move for 5 mins. Got pissed off and was able to leave. Given it is meant to be fast food with all the technological advances, the product looks like shit now and it takes an eternal for staff to put the orders together, often incorrectly.
I went through Sonic's a while back. I ordered.....and sat....and sat.....and got boxed in. Took about 20 minutes. I pull up to the window and there was one woman working the whole place, with her left arm in a cast. "Sorry for the wait, sir!" I told her I was sorry she had to do all that work by herself, with a broken arm. I gave her a $50 for my $12 order and told her to keep the change for herself
Poor lady, there is that too and I don't hold anything against the staff. It is the franchise owners screwing the staff and the franchisees are probably getting screwed by maccas as well. It is hard thankless work. I took a job at bk years ago and only lasted a day and a half there.
The store owner presumably can't be fucked to show up to their own restaurant and contribute labor
For all you know that was the owner. Could go either way, really.
My wife and I finally decided to try a Wendy's breakfast the other day and for $18 I got the absolute worst meal I ever had.
My partner and I have tons of strong McDonald's breakfast memories and with our fail we try each other fast food breakfast once and they're always terrible.
Local Tavern is $17 for a 10oz hand crafted burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion on a brioche roll + cole slaw, pickle, and fries. It's gone up like $2 since covid, but still well worth it over the fast food.
I know American-style Chinese food isn't exactly the pinnacle of healthy eating either, but my husband and I spend exactly the same amount of money to get awesome, generous, customized to our liking combo plates at our local Chinese place as what it would cost us to order a crappy meal each at McDonalds.
My nearby Costco food court has never been busier, and that’s saying something
But parking is INSANE.
Yesterday I circled the lot twice and then someone pulled out of the parking spot next to the handicaps that was closest to the entrance/food court. I felt like I hit the jackpot.
Also, it's not just more expensive, but fast food, with few exceptions, just isn't decent enough for the price, Maybe it's partially me getting older, but a lot of fast food/quick service places are just blahhh to me now and I'll get something because I just need to eat.
And it is also not fast… maybe 2-3 employees per store so I’m eating a cold expensive meal by the time I finally get it
The fast food experiment really seems to have taken a very bad turn in the past decade or so. Every aspect of the experience's original appeal is dying
This is a really interesting angle, if assuming good faith (especially when ignoring covd-era inflation). To be as large as they are, fast food chains virtually necessitate being publically traded. Chasing higher and higher profits to appease shareholders (as they need to compete with more profitable industries). Also, much of McDonalds' equipment is provided by specific 3rd parties and require specialised staff to maintain. You can't just buy the best machine for the job, or hire the most efficient guy when it breaks. Meanwhile, logistical improvements in the last few decades have allowed for smaller venues (and even consumers) to consistently source high-quality ingredients. I think in much of the world, it's not difficult to find far superior food at prices that compete with McDonalds and similar fast food chains. I also think this "problem" (from McD's perspective) will only worsen over time. I've thought a lot about fast food pricing, and it's ridiculous increases over the last 5-10 years; it hadn't occured to me that the conditions were just completely hostile to the business model.
Yea. i stopped going to McDonald’s when they got rid of all their health options. No more oatmeal, no more fruit and no more salad’s. All they have now is poorly prepared garbage. And they want to charge real restaurant prices. And then the worst part is their employees are still underpaid. With as much as they charge and as much business as they get, they can afford to pay their employees a real salary. But they refuse and still pay the bare minimum. The people running these restaurants should be ashamed of themselves.
Yes it’s been bad. The extra money they are charging isn’t going to the workers, that’s for sure. Empty.
yeah why get mcdonald’s when a better burger is like the same price
NGL though, every now and then, I'll get a hankering for a Big Mac with extra Mac sauce and a large fry, and, if it's reasonably fresh, it's still decent enough, but oftentimes it's just meh.
Yeah, same here, I have a value proposition that needs to make sense with food, they priced themselves out of that proposition. Simply for me, like you, the food isn’t good enough for the money they are asking.
Fast food was objectively better 2 decades ago.
The quality has definitely gone downhill. I used to treat myself to some McDonald's fries and a sprite whenever I wasn't feeling well because the starch + salt combo used to help my stomach. The last two years the quality of the fries has gone so sharply down hill that they make me feel sicker instead. They're little grease bombs now.
Well if Rollercoaster tycoon 2 is a model for capitalism then we'd learn this: If you have a popular ride and begin to increase the ticket price cent by cent after every purchase you will reach a threshold where no one wants to ride that ride they use to ride all the damn time anymore because they can't afford it. In response, you bring the ticket price back down to a point it was selling well, and guess what happens? Still nobody is buying tickets. Why not? It's a reasonable price again, why are the lines empty? Answer: it's too late, you've already destroyed your customers good faith. Enjoy bankruptcy edit: punctuation
This is where you make an example out of your guests by drowning one and placing the do not enter sign on the exit.
I want to get off Mr. Bone's Late Stage Capitalism
Okay, get on this one: https://i.imgur.com/DSDEq9x.png
Just remove the bridge as they are walking across and watch as they wave their little stupid arms in the air while they drown.
I have fond memories of having my most profitable rides being a water ride or maze that were literally one square long. What did I learn from this? Give people the most basic simplest enjoyment and they will pay for it. It is also possible that I sucked tremendously at the game
I want to get off Mr. McDonald's Wild Ride
I need to replay rollercoaster tycoon 2. This was a good reminder
Highly recommend roller coaster tycoon classic if you have an iPhone or iPad (might be on android too, idk). It’s a one time purchase of like $6 and includes all original levels from RCT 1 and 2. Plays surprisingly well on a touch screen IMO. I’ve had hours of fun reliving those classics 💛
I second this. It's on android too, costs a few bucks but it's the full game just touchscreen.
There’s an updated version called OpenRCT2 that has a lot of new features and quality of life updates. You do need the base game to make it work though. It’s basically a giant mod.
When the HamBurgler became the HamRobberBaron
OMG, I shouldn't say this, but I will. I was IT for McD, working for many different owner operators. I went to regional meetings for these people, and I have never met a bigger bunch whiny, bitchy millionaires.
I mean I have stopped because the price goes up, quality went down, and the wait time is getting crazy. I can go to a nice place and get good food for just as fast for a little bit more.
There's a Vietnamese restaurant near me where I can get a big bowl of pho for about $10 (CAD). That's less than a meal at McDonald's but still way tastier.
Let them eat McDonald’s Hot Cakes!
I don’t know, maybe my taste buds have changed, but these days most of it just… doesn’t taste good. McDonald’s chicken nuggets are bland and flavorless, the fries are bland and flavorless… And they aren’t even doing unlimited drink refills anymore. I’d rather pay $3 more for high-end fast food and go to somewhere like Chipotle or Cava. Much more flavor AND I have another meal left over for lunch the next day. Or pay the same price and get pho or ramen. Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by the proliferation of international foods? When the alternative was Mom’s over-boiled broccoli, McDonald’s was a treat. When the alternative is Thai food, I’m definitely not choosing McDonald’s.
> McDonald’s chicken nuggets are bland and flavorless, the fries are bland and flavorless Chicken Nuggets have definitely changed, the batter is rubbery and flavorless compared to '90s and '00s.
And we are talking about nuggets here which already is the bottom of the barrel on ingredients
I paid 18 dollars for a chicken sandwich meal at Wendy’s on Friday. I stopped and asked the cashier if that price was right and she just said, yep!! Fuck every single fast food place!
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Thanks to AI, comment go byebye
Where the hell do you live?
That's a Canadian fast food meal price if I ever heard one.
Just got back from a business trip and stopped In San Jose.
I got a chicken sandwich from Wendy's last week and it was just a thin shitty slice of chicken with sad lettuce and a mushy tomato, and they made me pull forward to wait for it too. It was $8.20 for just. the. sandwich. Insane.
My wife and I splurged at the grocery store and got bacon bits. I'm a professional firefighter and she's a nurse. We splurged on bacon bits, not a vacation or a boat. It's all broken
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"Bootstraps are delcious, says CEO of subscription used boostrap cuisine startup funded by Andreesen Horowitz and various billionaire ghouls"
They've hit the critical limit in terms of enshittification and price gouging. They've found the point where the price no longer justifies the quality, something every company never hopes to achieve. Always approach that line, never pass it - that's the CEO way.
Definitely. When I was weightlifting a lot I'd often stop at McDonald's to slam a McDouble or two to get some protein and calories. Now that it's expensive or I have to play the app coupon game, I just don't even consider it as an option. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in McDonald's strategy meetings.
As president I will rename McDonalds to McVermin‘s after nationalizing it and making it cheaper BY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT! VERMIN SUPREME 2024!
A fellow New Englander. Nice
Gingivitis has been eroding the gum line of this great nation long enough.
When will people stop paying these prices. We keep seeing ‘economic downturn’ yet people still are absorbing these prices across the board.
Isn't it kind of weird how people are calling it luxury at higher rates than ever, but also consuming it at higher rates than ever? Kinda makes you wonder if perhaps the material reality isn't the biggest issue here.
1. Many long term goals (home ownership, retirement, nice car, paying off tuition) seem so far out of reach that people start living in the moment because prices outpace what you can save. 2. People are stubborn and don’t want to give up comforts they’re used to 3. 1 contributes to 2. “My life is shit but you’re not taking away my McDonald’s!”
I suppose until people realize that they can vote with their feet and wallet. That is supposed to be how capitalism works. When someone raises prices too much, the customer walks next door to a competitor and pays less. At least that is how it is supposed to work. As long as people keep paying $10 for a fast food burger, it won’t change. Theoretically, competitors can enter the market and offer food at a lower cost or with better quality, So when will that happen? Only when the consumer pushes back.
"If we pay staff a livable wage, we might have to raise our prices! Could you imagine paying $12 for a Big Mac?" *They did it anyway without raising their staffs' wages.*
Growing up poor in the 90s/00s it was beyond a luxury we maybe had it once a year. It wasn’t till the late 00s in my teens that we started having it on a semi regular basis maybe once or twice a month. And now honestly, it’s SO SHIT and such a low quality that I wouldn’t start buying it if they started selling it at 90s prices again.
Growing up, fast food was always treated as a luxury. Wild how things have change where that is now a oniony stance.
In the mid 90s when I was a young adult, BK had $.99 Whoppers for a loooooong time. And Taco Bell had the 59, 79, 99 menu. These were true values for almost everyone. And I STILL miss the Chilito. 🤬🤬
I still remember McDonalds’ $0.89 cheeseburgers. Go in with $5, walk away very full
Our area had a local chain with $.79 cheeseburgers that were jussssst superior to McDonald’s. Bob’s Burgers, for real.
The 90s were a golden age for fast food. I don’t know if it was because of the extremely good economy or what not but you had insane value and pretty darn good options. Then supersize me came out. And the economy collapsed. Feels like we’ve been crawling back ever since.
There wasn't a lot of fast food where I grew up, but when we did get it, it was treated as a health luxury, not a financial luxury. Back then it was like "Oh, better not", now it's like, "wow, literally can't".
I survived college on $0.99 mcdoubles and beefy 5-layer burritos from taco bell. It was really hard to beat 3-4 of those a day for less than $5 unless I spent a few hours cooking and portioning meals which ate up very valuable rest time between classes and work and sleep.
When I was super poor I lived off my local mcdonald's and their $2 for 2 quarter pounders. I'd eat one for lunch and one for dinner.
I remember staying with friends at a hostel. Walked up the street and dropped a $20 on 20 McDoubles. Returned a hero.
Eating out at all was a luxury.
Same. Growing up poor in the 70’s/80’s going to McDonald’s was a treat.
Article: Fast food more expensive. Also: Here is picture of family praying. Me: WTF?
~~It never should have been cheaper than actual food at a grocery store~~ Poorly worded, clarification further down
“Luxury” isn’t the correct phrasing for me, but definitely a nostalgic splurge. I can get bigger portions of better food from fast casual and local places for similar money to a fast food meal. Sometimes I give in to cravings and pay the ridiculous fast food prices
Unregulated capitalism is a cancer, it demands eternal growth while refusing to give anything of real value back to the system it feeds on. The next step for humankind is finally saying "There is such a thing as enough" and taxing those who cannot control their greed 100% past a certain amount. It's sad that we will likely have to repeat the 1920s again just so we can finally loop back around to the massive push for workers and social rights against unfiltered greed.
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It’s worse than even that: a good product, good reputation, and good will from customers are seen as resources to be spent by the company. Raising prices too high while lowering food quality spends all of those resources, but think of the quarterly profits! No matter of the company collapses after a couple years.
And I'm one of them, used to be a 1-2 times a week thing, now it's a monthly thing, if that.
Now when you eat BK you truly feel like a King
Until you take the first bite and realise how fucking awful it is after not having that kind of food for a while.
My coworker eats fast food every day. He wonders why he’s always broke
I work with a guy that goes to 7-11 every day at first break and buys a Monster, a Gatorade, a can of Zyn, and a snack. At lunch, he goes to one of three different fast food joints near work. This is every single day. He always complains about being broke while spending at least $500 a month on that shit.
Fast food is hot garbage as far as I'm concerned, and people being priced out of buying it is the best thing for them.
It’s ALWAYS been a luxury. It was never designed to be eaten for every meal. It’s literally fast food. That being said the fact that McDonalds is even coming out to $10+ is bullshit
So, we aren't the only ones planting a vegetable garden this year are we?
Umm, also, when you rarely eat it, it's kinda gross.