They saw what Pepsi was doing with Frito-lay and figured why not?

McDonalds also directly supports the IDF

Only reason to go there now is because they’ve tricked my kids into being addicted to it.

When big mac is made right, and the ingredients haven’t been sitting around all day, it’s pretty dang good. Even their basic hamburgers.

Why not? It worked for Taco Bell.

So, something like shake shack?

Not to try and discredit your or your boss or anything but a lot of people assume that they got salmonella from the last food they ate. Usually it’s from food they ate a day or so ago, as the incubation time is between 24 and 48 hours.

If he got sick right after eating McDonald’s food then it’s probably just a coincidence. Have he got sick 2 or 3 days later then yeah it was probably the McDonald’s burger.

Also what free glass?

You can get a pack of frozen hash browns for cheaper than that. Saves time, money, and tastier imo.

Wanna say they’re $2.79 where I’m at. I know for sure they were just under $3

McDonald’s may be shit but at least they’re generally consistent. I know what I’m getting when I go there. And (for me at least) it’s a quick fix if I end up coming home late and don’t feel like cooking. The issue is cheap shit is supposed to be cheap. 5 years ago I could get a burger and fries and water for 4-5 bucks. Now it’s almost 9.

I think you kind of need to define a bit what fast food means and what you consider small.

Following the McDonald’s model with a drive through, self-seating dining area, no table service, etc. those are mostly going to be chains, although some chains are pretty small, only operating in certain areas with a handful of locations.

And there are exceptions of course, some independent restaurants do have a drive through (often I see this setup when they move into a location that was formerly a corporate fast food place) and there’s chains or locations that don’t have a drive through, or do have table service, etc. but those tend to be exceptions rather than the rule.

If you expand it a bit to include other small, no-frills restaurants with a heavy emphasis on fast service and take-out, there’s a lot of places that could fit the bill. Pretty much every town has some little hole in the wall burger joint, deli, sandwich shop, taqueria, Chinese takeout, pizzeria, bodega, snack bar, etc. that you could potentially argue fits the fast food category.

Most of those places probably don’t exactly advertise themselves as fast food and would probably want to avoid that label (although to be fair, the same can probably be said for most fast food restaurants, I’ve never heard a McDonald’s commercial call themselves “fast food”)

There’s also going to be some overlap with other categories, fast-casual, convenience stores, etc. where the lines get blurred about what can be considered “fast food.”

In general though, in America, the term “fast food” is usually going to refer to the larger chains, and the smaller independent restaurants with otherwise similar service will be called something else.

Kinda, but not really. Restaurants are kind of a tough business in the US.

It always takes a year or two for the business to really feel it. First, it takes consumers awhile to visit and realize the prices are so high. Most people aren’t going to McDonald’s every week. And sometimes it takes a few visits before they really notice the sting.

Eventually, the place just gets a reputation for being pricey, and people slowly stop going. But it’s a frog in a boiling pot thing, and of course the executives search for any other reason besides their own pricing decisions from 18 months ago.

Have you ever noticed in those surveys they always ask “what can we do better?” And the answers usually don’t include “be cheaper”.

Hole-in-the-wall ethnic food shops/take out are the way. If you want 'murican fast food, you gotta break the bank… but find a little family owned taqueria that does their shit right and you can stuff your face with the best tacos you’ve ever eaten for like $3. Highly dependent on your local options ofc, so keep an eye out.

In my experience, the sketchier the restaurant looks, the better the food is.

I used to eat at McDonald’s a LOT, and the main reason was you could get a large quarter pounder meal for under $10. Now it’s $12+, depending on where you go. I used to get a solid quarter pounder, now it’s a 50/50 chance the thing is so soaked in grease that it soaks through the cardboard and the bag, and the fries are 50/50 already luke warm.

But the innovation thing got me thinking: right before the pandemic, McDonald’s in the US was doing “Meals from around the world,” and it was basically McDonald’s items you could only get outside the US (I think they had a French one, definitely a Canadian one, I think Brazil, etc). They changed every couple months, and it was cool! You go to try something that you may not otherwise get to.

They also used to have a lot of them open 24/7 (as did a lot of businesses), and then the pandemic shut everything down and they stopped doing it. When I worked nights and would get out of a catering event at 2 am, I’d be able to swing by McDonald’s on the way home and I knew I was getting a decent meal. Now?

I’m lucky if when I order a large meal with a large drink, I actually get a large drink. Idk if this is happening all over, but I’d say 6/10 times now, I order a large meal and the cashier automatically puts in a medium drink. When I ask about it, they say they’ll let the people know up front, and then they don’t. And then I feel like a jackass for having to tell the people at the window my drink was supposed to be a large (I know they’re the same price, but if I ordered a large meal, why would I order a medium drink?), and they usually give me a look or an eye roll.

Whereas before the pandemic, I was once asked to pull up to the second window to wait for my food. I wanted 5 minutes, tops, and the manager brought me my food and gave me 2 free meal tickets for the inconvenience. I went last week and waited 10 minutes and the kid didn’t even confirm my order before basically dropping it through my car window and walking off.

I don’t blame the employees, even in my state McDonald’s wages are laughable, so who gives a fuck? But wtf happened to the corporation, where’s the care? It’s disappointing to see, not that I have sympathy for a billion dollar corporation.

I only have positive vieuw on the kiosks. Easy to adjust your burger and i get the right stuff after. When in quick i can t ajust the burger on the kiosk and have to order old fadhioned. Then i often get a normal made.

Bullshit on the “much lower price”. Give some examples.

I wish this was a thing. There’s maybe one place but it’s not even in the same ballpark.

Must be nice…

I’d argue people don’t buy at McDonalds because their burgers are awesome. Their burgers are average at best. You can definitely get a much better meal with the price of a McD meal.

it “depends” but the exception to what you stated has become extremely rare.

Theres ONE burger king near me that for whatever reason lives in some kind of temporal loop thats prices are a few years behind everyone else. I can go there and get two breakfast sandwiches, an order of hashbrowns, and a large coffee for $11. and it’s fast. For dinner if I wanted I can get a large combo meal for $13.

Compare that to the mcdonalds near me. say I wanted two breakfast sandwiches, two hashbrowns (the equivalant or slightly less than the BK large hashbrowns) and a large coffee i’m going to be spending $20+

But other than this one magical BK every where else is the same. Fast Food is neither fast nor cheap anymore. what’s the point?

I really hope McDonalds and like-minded companies become a case study on why you shouldn’t inflate prices for short term profit. It’d be great to see them hemorrhage customers and sales.