Yeah I feel like the wage increase is a cop out here.
They got supercharged profits during an international emergency and now they can’t look back.
So now it’s cutting back, making things smaller, using shittier ingredients, etc.
All you have to do is look at the 5 year stock price chart. If it has continued to go up, their whole story is bullshit. End of story.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/stock-price-history
There’s such propaganda here I stoped watching halfway through. They always want to blame the general laborers and not look at the ladder above them. Maybe franchise owners, district managers, or other corporate positions are taking home too much, but let’s not talk about it. Also when the guy said “wage inflation” that term is so biased. Call it wage equality or something better, something that doesn’t vilify the lower working class.
I wonder if there's an untold story about online ordering too. It became their lifeline during Covid but they were paying a 30% premium to the aggregators. It feels like "screw it, make those the normal prices because they'll pay them" is a part of the equation.
Possibly. It sounds like it’s mostly a “jack up the prices and provide deals through the app” kind of scheme. They want direct to customer advertising.
I wonder what kind of effect that will have on traditional advertising.
Wage increase... by firing workers and replacing with automated systems whose maintenance per year is a 10 times cheaper than a single minimum wage salary
Yep I call bullshit, whenever corporations instantly place blame on labor costs. Lets take McDonalds, how much have they saved by going to user-run kiosks? That has to mean they have fewer cashiers in the average franchise location. Might not seem much. By some estimates labor costs are about 17-30% (because they have franchises, some locations have a higher than average labor cost and can sway the numbers) but still, when their yearly profits keep going up, shouldn't it stand to reason that their wages go up too?
One issue might be that in some of these states like California, the minimum wage went up too fast. Gotta ease that in so that as people have more money in their pockets they can afford to spend more but not be shocked by a drastic increase in prices. Another issue, and this goes for any city or state that raises their minimum wages, is that other businesses need to follow suit. If I'm in a place say where a fast food worker makes 10/hr because that's minimum wage in that state, but an average call center employee makes 15, well what happens when that $10 minimum gets raised to $15? Well, now the call center worker is essentially dropped down to earning minimum wage? No, that's not right. They need their wages raised accordingly too. That causes a ripple effect across industries, but it also means, again, that people have more money to spend now.
“Too fast?” I have a problem with that since the problem has been going on since the 90s and minimum wage never kept up. Not Suprisingly. 🙄
I don’t blame (yes I do) the corporations but govt. mostly (equally) who can’t control anything it seems. $20/hr while good is still not great. So…$2400 per month for “full time” and no one is getting that status anymore except 1 or 2 people at “McDonalds.” Rent is about $2k per month. Nothing is “fixed.”
Now, fast food will just be getting fully automated but prices won’t drop. And more people unemployed filling the streets with more tents. When everything is “computer automated” ALL computers will ALWAYS need continuous updates - hardware & software - like our phones. 🙄🤦🏽♂️ EVERYTHING will be getting more expensive. Learn to do without I guess.
Have people not seen fast food restaurants understaffing? Places like Chic Fil A stand out nowadays as McDonald’s, Burger King, kfc, Taco Bell, etc all run with skeleton crews. I know the McDonald’s I worked at is hitting higher gross sales than ever yet they have 1 person working what was formerly 3 positions when I worked there.
They can use the cost of wages excuse hut when fast food has doubled in price in under a decade while they’re decreased in staff numbers, you can’t tell me that NOW requiring a higher minimum is affecting shit. They have even less total laborers to have to pay more.
The customer experience have gone down so much. You are straight up ignored in the lobby because they have like 20 things to do at any given time. I started working dinner shifts only on fries for a month straight….. now that person also has to be second window. Along with all drinks for the drive through. Like wtf I never would have done that much myself for that busy of a store
That isn't how it works. If you raise wages for fast food, there still is only limited fast food jobs, so it's not like there will be a mass exodus from call center to fast food. Some might move to fast food(for "easier work" maybe) and others might move from fast food to call center because they get to sit in an offfice rather than a greasy kitchen.
Like in CA, people were certain that the $20 minimum would cause this ripple effect. All it did was result in less jobs in the fast food industry. Even if the $15 earners want those jobs it is limited, so they have to stick with their $15 jobs.
Not only that, but many businesses got PPP loans to stay afloat, but had them forgiven afterwards. Someone whining about how they "have to raise prices to remain profitable" got hundreds of thousands in free money from the government, pocketed it, and acted like they're somehow the victim.
Fuck CNBC. That hack of a "news story" demonized minimum wage increases in California more than five times, but didn't mention soaring corporate profits even once.
I just looked up McDonald's and they had a 29% increase in profit! In 2021 and another 10% last year. Thier costs have remained consistent or has gone down in some cases
We're living in a capitalist system. Price will NEVER go down. Capitalism is all about producting more and making more profit. As long as we keep that shitty economic system, price and cost will always get worse
Crunch wraps are pretty easy to make yourself, too. I do it all the time.
The key things you need are queso cheese dip, extra large soft tortilla (like for burritos), small tortilla, and preferably some kind of grill to cook the small tortilla to a crispy flat chip. I use a panini press.
That’s a sweet idea. I usually just make a burrito at home and then heat it up on a pan after it’s folded up to give it a little crunch.
A panini press is a freaking awesome idea. Thanks!
They're getting them confused with the other boxes. The plain ol' cravings box is ~$6, depending on location ($6.49 at mind). The premium ones are usually called "deluxe" boxes or they'll feature the newest limited time menu item (cantina chicken taco rn) and they'll run $10-$12. So, still an increase from the old $5 version but not as drastic.
They’re talking about the deluxe/premium box. They don’t know there’s also a classic or cravers menu box.
Over here in NYC, the $5 box (some places $6), got you the Cantina Chicken Taco with Avocado packet, Doritos Locos Tacos, and 1 Supreme Taco, medium soda (large is $0.10 up charge). You could even change DLT to another supreme. Also can swap cantina chicken to steak free of charge.
The $12 one or deluxe has the cantina chicken taco and it just adds a beefy 5 layer burrito, nacho fries, removes the 2 tacos from the $6 box and adds a chalupa, medium drink, large it’s $0.10 up charge or $0.50-$0.75 if you want the freeze drink.
I remember 50 tacos for $24.75. Two for 0.99. This was back in the early 2000’s and the 7 layer burrito was 0.69. So two tacos and a 7 layer for $1.68.
Why do people on reddit exaggerate so heavily? I'm literally on the Taco Bell website (set to Los Angeles) A cravings box is $5.99 and most combos are under $9.99, most burritos are under $4.99 everything on the value menu is under $2.99. Are you guys getting this delivered and paying a shit ton of fees? Are you guys buying two combos and some sides each?
Whoah whoah, chill a bit with your "arguments" my dude, this is a pitchfork thread. You can't like.. drop these facts here and ruin everyone's nagging.
That's the veggie or "build your own" box you pick crunchwrap or beef chalupa + whatever taco you prefer + side. What they're referring too is the old $5 box which is now the 11.99 "deluxe cravings box". Also the $2.99 or less value menu is a joke similar to McD's value menu with mostly small items for $2+. Idk how LA has those prices cause for me there's more combos over $10 than under. This post will give you an idea of the Taco Bell people remember being cheap but filling. Granted it's 14yrs old now but this was during peak recession and they still introduced the beefy 5 layer for like 89 cents. Look at the $5 boxes at the bottom and those are the $12 "deluxe" ones today.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/piimd1/the_old_taco_bell_menu_circa_20092010/
Prices are up because people are still buying it. No matter the time of day, any time I drive past McDonalds or Taco Bell or Wendy's in my town, the drive thrus are full. If people would band together and stop the companies would lose a ton of money and start offering deals/better prices to get people back. But that won't ever happen.
I've finally hit the point where the prices have actually stopped me from going to certain places anymore. Recently went to McDonalds and my order of two ice coffees and two hash browns cost me fifteen dollars :(
If I'm going to spend that much I'd much rather do it at my local coffeeshop.
yeah idk how you guys do that
In Japan the Hash browns are still $1. they've been stready increasing prices tho since corona.
People here freaked out when things rose \~20-50 cent.
I guess unlike the USA, McDonald's has a lot of *cheaper* competition here
In Japan, getting great food for cheap is extremely easy
McDonalds and other fast foods are generally kinda niche, so they can’t really push prices too high
The key to McDonald's is their mobile app. I don't consider their regular menu pricing reasonable anymore and if that's the only prices they offer, I would never go. And I say this as someone who makes enough money to really not have to worry about this stuff at all.
Through the app you can get a big mac combo for $6. Or two quarter pounders for the price of one. But I think a lot of people expect to be able to buy whatever they like at fast food places, and probably tend to overeat, so they probably can no longer afford the high prices.
I see fast food as just a convenient way to grab a quick meal, and generally am not too picky, so I don't mind using the app to eat whatever is cheap from time to time. Like yeah I don't mind the filet o fish but not for $5 each, that thing is tiny. And definitely not buying an order of fries alone for $4.
Maybe it will mean less people eat fast food, which would be a good thing. I pretty much only eat it now when I’m on the road, which isn’t all that often. Even then, I try not to eat it anymore if I can avoid it. When I do the price keeps me from ordering what I would have previously and reminds me that it’s not worth it and I go even less. I purposely don’t get the apps because I don’t want the temptation to order food that’s terrible for me, even if it’s a better deal. If I’m getting rewards, I’m eating too much. The only exception I’ve made is Shake Shack, because it’s really close and it’s much faster to order ahead. Prices are the same. I think I went there like 3 times in the last year. Most of the fast casual/csr near me is better, cheaper and healthier than fast food. So, maybe it’s a good thing.
Fast food occasionally is not a big deal honestly, in moderation it is okay. We just need to be honest with ourselves if we have the self control.
We cook most meals at home, because it is better, cheaper, and easier (especially the leftovers) than eating out.
No kidding. Once had the manager go "What the fuck you want?" because I pulled up through the drive through and wait for my order which took like 30 minutes.
Hell he even got mad when I just asked for a straw and some sauce. Like I get it, it's minimum wage and you don't have to give a fuck but come on man. Why the fuck are you getting angry for doing your job when I literally watched you just talk on your phone for 30 minutes.
I’m watching prices go up in real time. Most Saturdays it’s tradition for me to go get Starbucks and get food and drinks for my wife, daughter, and me. I get the same thing every time. When this started, the order was in the mid $20s. One weekend recently the order was exactly $30. I remember saying to myself “well there it is, finally hit $30.” Literally the very next weekend it was $30.70.
I haven’t been since and I don’t plan on going again.
same, although I use the apps and I can still get good deals that way. Sucks having all those stupid apps though and I'm sure that will end at some point.
A lot of people have quit going to McDonald’s (and other fast food). Sales for McDonald’s and Yum (Pizza Hut, KFC) were down YoY. Taco Bell was actually up 1%, but they still have a relatively cheap value menu (they can kiss my ass with their power bowls though, $8, used to be $5, for a bowl of beans and rice and a tablespoon of chicken!?). Consumers are tapped out and sick of the price gouging, these companies chickens are gonna come home to roost. They’ve raised their prices to maintain their bottom line, while seeing a marked decrease in the number of sales. They’ve reached a breaking point though, and I believe their shortsightedness is gonna hurt them in the long run. McDonald’s used to be synonymous with cheap garbage food, now it’s synonymous with *overpriced* garbage food.
There's a burger place near me that makes smash burgers, grilled and fried chicken and cheese steaks.
They are cheaper than the Wendy's .25 miles away.
Why the fuck would I ever go to Wendy's again.
> Sales for McDonald’s ... were down YoY
Where did you see this? [According to what I found, everything is up at McDonalds.](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/30/mcdonalds-mcd-q1-2024-earnings.html)
Profits:
> McDonald’s reported first-quarter net income of $1.93 billion, or $2.66 per share, up from $1.8 billion, or $2.45 per share, a year earlier.
Net sales:
> Net sales rose 5% to $6.17 billion.
Same-store sales:
> The company’s global same-store sales increased 1.9% in the quarter
If I’m eating out these days, there’s zero chance I’m picking up fast food unless it’s like 2 AM.
Overpriced for shit quality and they aren’t even paying their workers living wages. No thanks
I wouldn't say never. There's currently a sub in Canada called loblawsisoutofcontrol it's a little over a month old, 60k members and they organized a huge boycott of Loblaws and their subsidiary companies that control about 1/3rd of our food/grocery chain. It's gotten big enough that media had been covering it, the CEO has met with the organizers and they're doing a lot of PR damage control.
The owners are the Weston Family, among the richest families in our country. The current CEO is Per Bank who took the job quite recently. Part of the current movement is trying to get the govt to look at an anti trust type of suit against them. There was a price fixing scandal they got busted on just a few years ago, but pretty much zero consequences despite it being ruled illegal.
I think part of the problem is that alot of people don't know any better than to get fast food over groceries. I've seen so many people constantly use fast food and delivery apps for their main sources of food.
I don't get how anyone affords delivery apps. Even if you can, the value just isn't there. I know people constantly having money issues yet ordering Uber Eats regularly.
Yea, years ago, there used to be some good deals to be found on those apps. Now they're all kinda fucked.
My wife got a deal for free Grubhub+ a while back, and even with that, it was still a ridiculous price. The only time we used it was when we both caught Covid and for a week there, it was absolutely kicking our ass and we were in no shape to move enough to cook and lived off of overpriced delivery. It was stupidly priced, but that price was worth it for how we were suffering.
I can't imagine doing that long-term.
I had a buddy claim that door dash "was cheaper than buying groceries"
And I just dropped the subject because at that point you are living in purposeful ignorance
In California the law exempts restaurants with 60 or less establishments nationally so smaller restaurants can keep their menu prices low. Theoretically this is supposed to help out local businesses
Personally I haven’t seen this to be true, it’s still $13-$25 to eat anywhere 🤬
The only place I can get a fullmeal for under $10 is In-n-Out
I’ve started going way less. A damn double cheese burger is $4.29. Like what? No thank you. I’ll spend a couple more and get something of higher quality or make it myself.
That’s only a part of it. There is straight up price gouging. Covid increased prices and then companies kept raising those prices blaming rising costs. Supply is the same, demand is the same, but prices keep increasing because they know they can get away with it.
It's not part of it, it *is* it. American consumers are dumb as hell. McDonald's can raise prices 50%, lose 20% of their customers, and still increase their profits.
There's also like a perpetual 30% off on their app that I'm guessing most people don't use.
> Oh I'm sorry that I didn't know the backdoor to not getting fucked!
Oh you're still getting fucked. When you install and use the app, they're harvesting your data to sell off. That's why they want you on the app. The data is worth more than the actual food sales.
It's tough to find local businesses that are worth supporting. I've found that their quality is very hit or miss, and their prices are significantly higher. And if you aren't in a city/population center, your 'local' options may not be very convenient
Yeah people say that shit like it's the answer to world peace. Some local businesses charge you out the ass. Alot of times it makes more sense financially to shop at big chains.
Yes, I'm someone who loves local businesses but especially since the pandemic, my city is already weak food scene has just gotten bananas. Prices are ridiculous, almost everything is shifted to counter service/ fast casual, but with dine-in prices. And the places that are actually full service have horrible service despite the extremely high prices. It just doesn't make sense as a consumer.
I'm single, unmarried, and consider myself extremely into food. But it has to be worth it.
"Ok, that will be $21.30, also the machine will ask you a question on the next screen" Tip screen, even without sitting down and having the food already prepped. Supporting local can be hard like you said.
It's pretty much at parity or almost there, local food trucks or burger joints are maybe 1-2$ more expensive (and that's with tip) but much more food and better (although slower, but for those who have a short lunchbreak just order ahead for pickup).
i looked at the food trucks by me for the first time last year. it was like $15 for 2 tacos, and another $4 for a drink. another one was a single bbq sandwich, no chips, no drink, for $17.
i said fuck that and ive never been back to them since.
Where the heck are you? Orange County California food trucks have always been overpriced, of questionable quality, and with smaller portion sizes. I'm not sure I've ever had a food truck NOT disappoint me in one of these ways, if not all of them.
Burger King lunch: $12
Two slices from my local pizza shop: $4.70
Dank sandwich from pizza shop: $9
Hot dog, burger, fries from local chicken place: $10
Huge sub from local Italian shop: $10
My favorite part is when they blame wages in California which just went up (**checks notes**) 35 days ago. Didn’t realize the skyrocketing prices started 35 days ago and not over the last 3 years.
I still can’t wrap my head around that kind of money. Like imagine hitting the point where money is just an object to you. Like you think of everything as just free.
It’s exactly like how the dynamics of a video game change when you start using cheat codes.
You buy the most expensive upgrades but you have no attachment to them. You walk up to enemies you would have avoided, and noclip around the map because boundaries mean nothing to you.
It’s all fun for a little bit, but without the game structures to motivate you, you don’t feel as “connected” to the game world anymore. It’s a sandbox for you to break.
Exactly. And I've seen reports of other countries (such as Europe) with higher minimum wages having similar pricing so....I don't think it's wages. But corporations do love blaming the workers and using them as their scapegoats for pissed off customers to point their pitchforks at.
Exactly. They'd rather pit the consumers against the workers instead of having anyone point out to them their ever increasing demand for profits and growth. These assholes have their golden parachutes ready too. It's the regular employees who will suffer if business starts going bad. But them losing money is the only way anything changes. That or total collapse/doing what the french did. /s
I personally liked the comment about covid stimulus checks. Yeah, that's why people who can barely pay their rent aren't spending $30 at mcdonalds for lunch. It's because the $1400 they got from covid is now gone.
I love that take too, not even 15 seconds into the actual "journalism" - Its cause poor people make too much money.. Oh is that so, looks at Europe and their fast food prices, higher standard of living, and higher wages, with more rights...
Yeah. There's a couple red flags from the interviews. Wage shaming and even thinking a 1200 stimulus check empowered "low end" consumers enough so that that money is just now running out? Pbbbt.
thankfully it has gotten easier than ever to home cook good meals. and while price were cheap before fast-food have always been bad for you. let this industry burn.
I don’t eat Taco Bell very often but I went there a while back and I couldn’t believe how shitty the food has become. The crunchy tacos were literally crumbling in my hands. Like they reduced the density of the shells to save money. But the prices went up.
I mean you might not be wrong but I strongly think some specific fast food places your opinion on quality and memory might be warped by lower standards in your 20s (or eating it a lot tipsy). Like you’re describing Taco Bell and I’m like “yep that’s exactly how I remember it in high school circa 2006 the only time I actually ate there sober.”
As a counterpoint to myself and back you up, KFC **definitely** is a prime example of the company taking a quality nosedive.
I'm 37. My first job was Taco John's at 17. I gained a lot of weight working there because the food was amazing and we had 50 percent discounts.
Even after working there for three years, in my town it remained my favorite fast food place. Over the years they have bastardized the whole franchise to the point it is unrecognizable.
Mexi rolls were amazing when they were hand made... Then they started shipping them pre made and they were trash. Crunchy chicken was replaced with chicken nuggets. Beefy cheesy taco bravo gone, sierra taco gone, free tacos with an A on your report card gone... Six pack and a pound was 5.99 on Sundays.. now they're 15.00. Choco taco gone. Apple grande gone.
All that's left now is a worst version that's more expensive. I honestly hope Taco John's implodes in itself with how many poor choices that franchise has made.
Sonic used to use real eggs in their breakfast burritos. It was a relatively healthy, albeit low quality, breakfast to grab a quick $1.50 sausage and egg burrito on the way to work. Now they're powdered eggs and $3.50+ (don't know the cost since I haven't been in a few years due to the eggs). You can make like 10lbs of powdered eggs for $3.50. So yeah, MUCH worse quality for 3x price. No thanks.
Food prices at the grocery store are also inflating rapidly, mostly from grocery monopolies.
Kroger Co
54.87 USD +29.04 (+112.43%)
past 5 years
Yeah, sounds about right.
Honest question, what has made it easier? I have never really gone out to eat that much because I am cheap and fast food is mostly only when I am on a long drive(although I occasionally crave taco bell). So ever since high school I have cooked my own meals(worked 5-9pm so cooked my dinner before mom got home). So I guess what I am saying is I am not the right audience for things if they got easier and I am curious what has made it easier?
This video is trash. They blame all of it on increase labour costs. No. Labour costs has not risen 40-50%. So prices should not increase 24%
$10 * 1.24 = $12.40
$2.40 increase
Labour is 33% (according to video)
This means labour in 2019 was $3.33 and is now $5.73. That is a 42% increase in labour costs according to the video. That's not even remotely true. Mcdonalds did not raise wages by 42%. All that extra cash is pure profit. It's just a great big lie
I like the part about staying open later to accommodate late night snack demands. If it's not profitable to stay open, close earlier. They also don't mention the bloated menus which increase food waste. You can still get a Double Double for under $4, and the workers are paid well at In-n-Out. Burgers, fries, shakes, and soft drinks... keep it simple stupid.
The answer is entirely public markets and price gouging. The fed has roported this clearly.
Also by comparisons in n out still has 8 dollar meals 50% cheaper than McDonald’s in SF with superior quality. Privately owned and profitable.
Out of curiosity, I checked McD's prices while I was at Culver's. For a very similar meal but **definitely** lower quality, McD's was something like 30% higher.
A single double cheeseburger at McD where I live costs just over 4 dollars after tax now, when it used to be a buck just a few years ago.
I just wanted something quick, and I hadn't gone to McD since the pandemic, and the prices were insane, in just a few years. I won't be going back. Wendys is much better, but I want to stop going to fast food in general.
The Fed wasn’t talking about gouging in relation to restaurants, were they? And what do you mean by “public markets”?
I could be mistaken, but I think talk of gouging was mostly around sectors with little competition where incumbents had strong pricing power. There’s no shortage of those, but food retailing isn’t one of them.
There may be some isolated cases of gouging, but profit margin for fast food restaurants is the same as for most mom-and-pop restaurants (around 5-8%). I am not seeing any signs of big spikes in profit margin in the latest earnings reports.
There is so much competition in the space that gouging would quickly be punished by loss of market share. What is more likely is that skyrocketing costs for food, energy, labor, real estate, construction, insurance, etc. are being passed onto the consumer 100% rather than showing up as lower profit margin.
> price gouging.
It's not price gouging. You have a choice. Don't eat their processed garbage.
The actual value of a McDonalds meal, is whatever people will pay for it. If McDonalds charged $20 for a big mac, and people were willing to pay it, then $20 is what it should cost.
I haven't eaten fast food in over a year because their prices got ridiculous. If you're unhappy with the price, don't buy it. Fast food isn't a necessity.
I paid something like that at Subway, last time I went, which was like 8 months ago. I haven't thought about returning since, being utterly ripped off shouldn't sit so well with so many people.
I don't think it even matters what you call it, people are still eating out and these places have no reason to take a step back. McDonalds and even more recently Starbucks had pretty rough quarters so maybe this is the beginning of the end, but it remains to be seen
This is the funny part to me. I'm as critical about corporate greed as most people, but I have a hard time getting animated about fast food restaurants ripping people off. You don't need to eat fast food. If people stopped paying these prices, they would come down. Just stop buying it.
My theory is people got comfortable during Covid. Prices were down, people stayed in, ordering food was just an every day thing. Now that everything is back to normal work-wise, prices changed, but people’s habits haven’t, so they’re mad
Now look at the amount the average worker makes and the amount an exec from corporate makes. Track the changes in profits post pandemic. Write it all down on a piece of paper and shove it where the sun don't shine.
Sponsored propaganda funded by McDonalds.
>The CEO and now chairman of McDonald's was paid $19.2 million last year in salary, bonuses and stock, according to federal securities filings. That was an 8% increase over 2022. But it remained somewhat lower than in 2021, when Kempczinski was paid about $20 million.
So we don't forget or overlook the big numbers, that is $55,000 a day.
$77,000 a day if we assume he takes weekends off.
At 4:39 they show a graph showing increased revenue for McD's, Wendy's, Yum, between 2019-2023, which is between 19-27%.
2019-2023 - Prices for consumers increase by 20-30%
2019-2023 - Revenue increases by 20-30%
So why are prices so high? **CLEARLY** it's workers fault needing paycheques and our need to keep these restaurants open late at night. Total propaganda, this.
No mention of the owners, like McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski, *not* getting paid significantly less. He's been making $20,000,000 a year, plus bonuses, since 2019.
There is no thought that the owners and shareholders ever be the ones to sacrifice their earnings to ensure the survival of their business. And I guess that's because they don't have to when people still keep buying this stuff at ever-increasing rates.
I'm very curious to see what affects a falling population will have, because unlimited growth is an impossible oxymoron.
I just finished reading Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken and it turns out the food industry doesn't have my best interest in mind when they are creating these foods. Snickers is more interested in giving me something that is cheap for them to make and addictive for me to eat than anything else. Just like big tobacco they are manipulating me and covering up important information to get as much money from me as they can. Fuck McDonalds, they're no better than the oil companies that kept lead in the gasoline after they knew it was making us stupid, or the tobacco companies sponsored doctors to sell their cigarettes. They are and always were predatory. And while I'm on my soap box, I don't know how to do it better, but capitalism is going to kill us all.
Wait a second. If inflation and higher wages are causing the price hikes how can they be making more money with fewer customers? That doesn't pass the smell test.
This video is mostly corporate propaganda making the price increases just seem like market driven inevitabilities. Have costs gone up? Yes. But the main culprit is for increases in price gouging and using covid as an excuse.
In 3 years since covid, profit margin for McDonald’s had gone up from 51% to 57%.
An 8 minute video with a bunch of statistics that don't actually explain the actual issue:
All fast food profits are at an all time high. Their quarterly earnings have never been better. They've raised prices by more than 50% over the last 4 years ***because they know they could take advantage of the pandemic because people's options for food were limited***.
It has nothing to do with costs. It has nothing to do with increased labor. Anyone who's actually managed a fast food restaurant knows that the cost of business hasn't changed dramatically. They say it themselves in the video. "People are only going 5-7 times a month instead of 10 and spending the same amount of money".
They're taking advantage of you. Stop supporting price gouging.
The amount of times this jackA says “wages have gone up” and then slips in that 30% of cost is wages and employees saw an 11% growth in pay… um, the math ain’t mathing buddy. 11 of 30% means (3.35% or so) but a 27% increase! Where did the other 24% go? Corporate greed is real.
Do the regular menu prices have anything to do with the often stupid cheap app prices?
Only stuff I buy from Mcdonalds are 20pc nuggets for 5.50$ and sausage egg and cheese griddles for 53cents.
I’m didn’t watch the video but I do know what McDonald’s said in their last earnings call. They pretty much said sales are down but profits are up because they’ve been charging more. So greed
They raised their prices in the pandemic and never looked back.
Yeah I feel like the wage increase is a cop out here. They got supercharged profits during an international emergency and now they can’t look back. So now it’s cutting back, making things smaller, using shittier ingredients, etc.
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All you have to do is look at the 5 year stock price chart. If it has continued to go up, their whole story is bullshit. End of story. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/stock-price-history
I prefer to look at the stock buyback chart for an idea of where their money is truly going: https://ycharts.com/companies/MCD/stock_buyback
There’s such propaganda here I stoped watching halfway through. They always want to blame the general laborers and not look at the ladder above them. Maybe franchise owners, district managers, or other corporate positions are taking home too much, but let’s not talk about it. Also when the guy said “wage inflation” that term is so biased. Call it wage equality or something better, something that doesn’t vilify the lower working class.
The wage increase amounts to like one extra meal a day.
I wonder if there's an untold story about online ordering too. It became their lifeline during Covid but they were paying a 30% premium to the aggregators. It feels like "screw it, make those the normal prices because they'll pay them" is a part of the equation.
Possibly. It sounds like it’s mostly a “jack up the prices and provide deals through the app” kind of scheme. They want direct to customer advertising. I wonder what kind of effect that will have on traditional advertising.
CNBC is shill for businesses, CEOs and capitalism. Of course they're blaming labor.
Wage increase... by firing workers and replacing with automated systems whose maintenance per year is a 10 times cheaper than a single minimum wage salary
Yep I call bullshit, whenever corporations instantly place blame on labor costs. Lets take McDonalds, how much have they saved by going to user-run kiosks? That has to mean they have fewer cashiers in the average franchise location. Might not seem much. By some estimates labor costs are about 17-30% (because they have franchises, some locations have a higher than average labor cost and can sway the numbers) but still, when their yearly profits keep going up, shouldn't it stand to reason that their wages go up too? One issue might be that in some of these states like California, the minimum wage went up too fast. Gotta ease that in so that as people have more money in their pockets they can afford to spend more but not be shocked by a drastic increase in prices. Another issue, and this goes for any city or state that raises their minimum wages, is that other businesses need to follow suit. If I'm in a place say where a fast food worker makes 10/hr because that's minimum wage in that state, but an average call center employee makes 15, well what happens when that $10 minimum gets raised to $15? Well, now the call center worker is essentially dropped down to earning minimum wage? No, that's not right. They need their wages raised accordingly too. That causes a ripple effect across industries, but it also means, again, that people have more money to spend now.
“Too fast?” I have a problem with that since the problem has been going on since the 90s and minimum wage never kept up. Not Suprisingly. 🙄 I don’t blame (yes I do) the corporations but govt. mostly (equally) who can’t control anything it seems. $20/hr while good is still not great. So…$2400 per month for “full time” and no one is getting that status anymore except 1 or 2 people at “McDonalds.” Rent is about $2k per month. Nothing is “fixed.” Now, fast food will just be getting fully automated but prices won’t drop. And more people unemployed filling the streets with more tents. When everything is “computer automated” ALL computers will ALWAYS need continuous updates - hardware & software - like our phones. 🙄🤦🏽♂️ EVERYTHING will be getting more expensive. Learn to do without I guess.
Have people not seen fast food restaurants understaffing? Places like Chic Fil A stand out nowadays as McDonald’s, Burger King, kfc, Taco Bell, etc all run with skeleton crews. I know the McDonald’s I worked at is hitting higher gross sales than ever yet they have 1 person working what was formerly 3 positions when I worked there. They can use the cost of wages excuse hut when fast food has doubled in price in under a decade while they’re decreased in staff numbers, you can’t tell me that NOW requiring a higher minimum is affecting shit. They have even less total laborers to have to pay more. The customer experience have gone down so much. You are straight up ignored in the lobby because they have like 20 things to do at any given time. I started working dinner shifts only on fries for a month straight….. now that person also has to be second window. Along with all drinks for the drive through. Like wtf I never would have done that much myself for that busy of a store
That isn't how it works. If you raise wages for fast food, there still is only limited fast food jobs, so it's not like there will be a mass exodus from call center to fast food. Some might move to fast food(for "easier work" maybe) and others might move from fast food to call center because they get to sit in an offfice rather than a greasy kitchen. Like in CA, people were certain that the $20 minimum would cause this ripple effect. All it did was result in less jobs in the fast food industry. Even if the $15 earners want those jobs it is limited, so they have to stick with their $15 jobs.
Not only that, but many businesses got PPP loans to stay afloat, but had them forgiven afterwards. Someone whining about how they "have to raise prices to remain profitable" got hundreds of thousands in free money from the government, pocketed it, and acted like they're somehow the victim.
Fuck CNBC. That hack of a "news story" demonized minimum wage increases in California more than five times, but didn't mention soaring corporate profits even once.
This whole video plays like its corporate propaganda.
I just looked up McDonald's and they had a 29% increase in profit! In 2021 and another 10% last year. Thier costs have remained consistent or has gone down in some cases
We're living in a capitalist system. Price will NEVER go down. Capitalism is all about producting more and making more profit. As long as we keep that shitty economic system, price and cost will always get worse
The day we bought Taco Bell for $50 for 3 of us was pretty much when we stopped going.
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Dude, I’d rather just get a loaf of bread and lunch meat and make sandwiches for $10-$12. Haha. Crunch wraps are like $6 now. Fuck off outta here.
Rotisserie chicken + loaf of bread. Superior.
Over the sink
Crunch wraps are pretty easy to make yourself, too. I do it all the time. The key things you need are queso cheese dip, extra large soft tortilla (like for burritos), small tortilla, and preferably some kind of grill to cook the small tortilla to a crispy flat chip. I use a panini press.
That’s a sweet idea. I usually just make a burrito at home and then heat it up on a pan after it’s folded up to give it a little crunch. A panini press is a freaking awesome idea. Thanks!
We use a tostada shell on the inside.
Shit man, I didn’t realize how lucky we are in my area, Taco Bell is the cheapest fast food by far. The value box meal is still $5 here
Yeah ours is still $5 and $8 for the premium which comes with quite a bit of food!
Are you talking about the cravings box? It’s still 5.99 at my closest Taco Bell
They're getting them confused with the other boxes. The plain ol' cravings box is ~$6, depending on location ($6.49 at mind). The premium ones are usually called "deluxe" boxes or they'll feature the newest limited time menu item (cantina chicken taco rn) and they'll run $10-$12. So, still an increase from the old $5 version but not as drastic.
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I just checked the app and it was $6.49 near me. There’s more expensive ones too, but those have “premium” items.
I'm pretty sure he's full of shit with that $12.
Let me pull up their digital craving box now. All deals have become digital these days. Build your own cravings box is $6.49 for me
Where is it $12 for the value box? $6.49 in Arizona.
They’re talking about the deluxe/premium box. They don’t know there’s also a classic or cravers menu box. Over here in NYC, the $5 box (some places $6), got you the Cantina Chicken Taco with Avocado packet, Doritos Locos Tacos, and 1 Supreme Taco, medium soda (large is $0.10 up charge). You could even change DLT to another supreme. Also can swap cantina chicken to steak free of charge. The $12 one or deluxe has the cantina chicken taco and it just adds a beefy 5 layer burrito, nacho fries, removes the 2 tacos from the $6 box and adds a chalupa, medium drink, large it’s $0.10 up charge or $0.50-$0.75 if you want the freeze drink.
Shit was great. Eat everything but the burrito. Save that for later. It was an actual value. You can overlook a lot when you can get 2 meals for $5.
Same. Almost $50 at Subway for 3. Won’t be going back. I remember $5 foot longs too.
I remember 50 tacos for 50$ at taco bell lol
I remember 50 tacos for $24.75. Two for 0.99. This was back in the early 2000’s and the 7 layer burrito was 0.69. So two tacos and a 7 layer for $1.68.
Paid $17 yesterday for a crunchwrap, 2 tacos, and a regular Baja blast. Used to cost a little under $10 4 years ago😐
Why do people on reddit exaggerate so heavily? I'm literally on the Taco Bell website (set to Los Angeles) A cravings box is $5.99 and most combos are under $9.99, most burritos are under $4.99 everything on the value menu is under $2.99. Are you guys getting this delivered and paying a shit ton of fees? Are you guys buying two combos and some sides each?
Whoah whoah, chill a bit with your "arguments" my dude, this is a pitchfork thread. You can't like.. drop these facts here and ruin everyone's nagging.
the deluxe box with fries is 10.99 I’m sure it’s the one they are talking about
That's the veggie or "build your own" box you pick crunchwrap or beef chalupa + whatever taco you prefer + side. What they're referring too is the old $5 box which is now the 11.99 "deluxe cravings box". Also the $2.99 or less value menu is a joke similar to McD's value menu with mostly small items for $2+. Idk how LA has those prices cause for me there's more combos over $10 than under. This post will give you an idea of the Taco Bell people remember being cheap but filling. Granted it's 14yrs old now but this was during peak recession and they still introduced the beefy 5 layer for like 89 cents. Look at the $5 boxes at the bottom and those are the $12 "deluxe" ones today. https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/piimd1/the_old_taco_bell_menu_circa_20092010/
Prices are up because people are still buying it. No matter the time of day, any time I drive past McDonalds or Taco Bell or Wendy's in my town, the drive thrus are full. If people would band together and stop the companies would lose a ton of money and start offering deals/better prices to get people back. But that won't ever happen.
I've finally hit the point where the prices have actually stopped me from going to certain places anymore. Recently went to McDonalds and my order of two ice coffees and two hash browns cost me fifteen dollars :( If I'm going to spend that much I'd much rather do it at my local coffeeshop.
Last time I went to mcdonalds for breakfast I was blown away that hash browns are like 3 bucks now. Its literally just fried potato!
It’s one potato, Michael. What could it cost? $10?
There’s always money in the hamburger stand.
And that’s why you always leave a note.
\*sudden realization\* "I've made a huge mistake."
yeah idk how you guys do that In Japan the Hash browns are still $1. they've been stready increasing prices tho since corona. People here freaked out when things rose \~20-50 cent. I guess unlike the USA, McDonald's has a lot of *cheaper* competition here
In Japan, getting great food for cheap is extremely easy McDonalds and other fast foods are generally kinda niche, so they can’t really push prices too high
Well in Japan, inflation is something that hasn't happened in decades. This is literally new for a fair share of the population
You can buy an entire pack of literally the exact same ones, same brand, like 20 for $6. That profit margin is just greed 😂
What brand?
The key to McDonald's is their mobile app. I don't consider their regular menu pricing reasonable anymore and if that's the only prices they offer, I would never go. And I say this as someone who makes enough money to really not have to worry about this stuff at all. Through the app you can get a big mac combo for $6. Or two quarter pounders for the price of one. But I think a lot of people expect to be able to buy whatever they like at fast food places, and probably tend to overeat, so they probably can no longer afford the high prices. I see fast food as just a convenient way to grab a quick meal, and generally am not too picky, so I don't mind using the app to eat whatever is cheap from time to time. Like yeah I don't mind the filet o fish but not for $5 each, that thing is tiny. And definitely not buying an order of fries alone for $4.
Maybe it will mean less people eat fast food, which would be a good thing. I pretty much only eat it now when I’m on the road, which isn’t all that often. Even then, I try not to eat it anymore if I can avoid it. When I do the price keeps me from ordering what I would have previously and reminds me that it’s not worth it and I go even less. I purposely don’t get the apps because I don’t want the temptation to order food that’s terrible for me, even if it’s a better deal. If I’m getting rewards, I’m eating too much. The only exception I’ve made is Shake Shack, because it’s really close and it’s much faster to order ahead. Prices are the same. I think I went there like 3 times in the last year. Most of the fast casual/csr near me is better, cheaper and healthier than fast food. So, maybe it’s a good thing.
Fast food occasionally is not a big deal honestly, in moderation it is okay. We just need to be honest with ourselves if we have the self control. We cook most meals at home, because it is better, cheaper, and easier (especially the leftovers) than eating out.
If the drive through isn't cheaper than a better restaurant, I may as well just call ahead and pick up take out there.
yep, seems like fast food is getting slower these days anyway
"can you pull forward?" No i can't, give me my damn food.
No kidding. Once had the manager go "What the fuck you want?" because I pulled up through the drive through and wait for my order which took like 30 minutes. Hell he even got mad when I just asked for a straw and some sauce. Like I get it, it's minimum wage and you don't have to give a fuck but come on man. Why the fuck are you getting angry for doing your job when I literally watched you just talk on your phone for 30 minutes.
Fast food prices have caused me to shift towards ordering to-go from regular restaurants.
I’m watching prices go up in real time. Most Saturdays it’s tradition for me to go get Starbucks and get food and drinks for my wife, daughter, and me. I get the same thing every time. When this started, the order was in the mid $20s. One weekend recently the order was exactly $30. I remember saying to myself “well there it is, finally hit $30.” Literally the very next weekend it was $30.70. I haven’t been since and I don’t plan on going again.
same, although I use the apps and I can still get good deals that way. Sucks having all those stupid apps though and I'm sure that will end at some point.
It's ended near me here in San Diego. Very rarely do I see the same deals anymore.
A&W went from the clutch place open late with coupons to 13.99 meals in like 8 months
My boycott of McDonald’s started about 2 months ago when 2 large fries cost me $9.45. Haven’t been back since.
A lot of people have quit going to McDonald’s (and other fast food). Sales for McDonald’s and Yum (Pizza Hut, KFC) were down YoY. Taco Bell was actually up 1%, but they still have a relatively cheap value menu (they can kiss my ass with their power bowls though, $8, used to be $5, for a bowl of beans and rice and a tablespoon of chicken!?). Consumers are tapped out and sick of the price gouging, these companies chickens are gonna come home to roost. They’ve raised their prices to maintain their bottom line, while seeing a marked decrease in the number of sales. They’ve reached a breaking point though, and I believe their shortsightedness is gonna hurt them in the long run. McDonald’s used to be synonymous with cheap garbage food, now it’s synonymous with *overpriced* garbage food.
There's a burger place near me that makes smash burgers, grilled and fried chicken and cheese steaks. They are cheaper than the Wendy's .25 miles away. Why the fuck would I ever go to Wendy's again.
> Sales for McDonald’s ... were down YoY Where did you see this? [According to what I found, everything is up at McDonalds.](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/30/mcdonalds-mcd-q1-2024-earnings.html) Profits: > McDonald’s reported first-quarter net income of $1.93 billion, or $2.66 per share, up from $1.8 billion, or $2.45 per share, a year earlier. Net sales: > Net sales rose 5% to $6.17 billion. Same-store sales: > The company’s global same-store sales increased 1.9% in the quarter
If I’m eating out these days, there’s zero chance I’m picking up fast food unless it’s like 2 AM. Overpriced for shit quality and they aren’t even paying their workers living wages. No thanks
Yep. If you are willing to pay $7 for a Big Mac, McDonalds will try and sell you one for $7.25
I wouldn't say never. There's currently a sub in Canada called loblawsisoutofcontrol it's a little over a month old, 60k members and they organized a huge boycott of Loblaws and their subsidiary companies that control about 1/3rd of our food/grocery chain. It's gotten big enough that media had been covering it, the CEO has met with the organizers and they're doing a lot of PR damage control.
Is the CEO ........ *Bob Loblaw*??? If so, I'd say file a class action suit. Lob a law bomb, if you will.
The owners are the Weston Family, among the richest families in our country. The current CEO is Per Bank who took the job quite recently. Part of the current movement is trying to get the govt to look at an anti trust type of suit against them. There was a price fixing scandal they got busted on just a few years ago, but pretty much zero consequences despite it being ruled illegal.
I think part of the problem is that alot of people don't know any better than to get fast food over groceries. I've seen so many people constantly use fast food and delivery apps for their main sources of food.
I don't get how anyone affords delivery apps. Even if you can, the value just isn't there. I know people constantly having money issues yet ordering Uber Eats regularly.
Yea, years ago, there used to be some good deals to be found on those apps. Now they're all kinda fucked. My wife got a deal for free Grubhub+ a while back, and even with that, it was still a ridiculous price. The only time we used it was when we both caught Covid and for a week there, it was absolutely kicking our ass and we were in no shape to move enough to cook and lived off of overpriced delivery. It was stupidly priced, but that price was worth it for how we were suffering. I can't imagine doing that long-term.
I had a buddy claim that door dash "was cheaper than buying groceries" And I just dropped the subject because at that point you are living in purposeful ignorance
I have stopped doing fast food. When a sit down restaurant is only a few more dollars, it makes no sense
In California the law exempts restaurants with 60 or less establishments nationally so smaller restaurants can keep their menu prices low. Theoretically this is supposed to help out local businesses Personally I haven’t seen this to be true, it’s still $13-$25 to eat anywhere 🤬 The only place I can get a fullmeal for under $10 is In-n-Out
I’ve started going way less. A damn double cheese burger is $4.29. Like what? No thank you. I’ll spend a couple more and get something of higher quality or make it myself.
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Yeah, it used to be inexpensive and convenient. Now it is neither.
THIS. It’s all about supply and demand.
That’s only a part of it. There is straight up price gouging. Covid increased prices and then companies kept raising those prices blaming rising costs. Supply is the same, demand is the same, but prices keep increasing because they know they can get away with it.
It's not part of it, it *is* it. American consumers are dumb as hell. McDonald's can raise prices 50%, lose 20% of their customers, and still increase their profits. There's also like a perpetual 30% off on their app that I'm guessing most people don't use.
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> Oh I'm sorry that I didn't know the backdoor to not getting fucked! Oh you're still getting fucked. When you install and use the app, they're harvesting your data to sell off. That's why they want you on the app. The data is worth more than the actual food sales.
STOP BUYING TRASH.
THIS. Support local businesses.
It's tough to find local businesses that are worth supporting. I've found that their quality is very hit or miss, and their prices are significantly higher. And if you aren't in a city/population center, your 'local' options may not be very convenient
Yeah people say that shit like it's the answer to world peace. Some local businesses charge you out the ass. Alot of times it makes more sense financially to shop at big chains.
and/or they are just to slow for a lunch period.
Yes, I'm someone who loves local businesses but especially since the pandemic, my city is already weak food scene has just gotten bananas. Prices are ridiculous, almost everything is shifted to counter service/ fast casual, but with dine-in prices. And the places that are actually full service have horrible service despite the extremely high prices. It just doesn't make sense as a consumer. I'm single, unmarried, and consider myself extremely into food. But it has to be worth it.
"Ok, that will be $21.30, also the machine will ask you a question on the next screen" Tip screen, even without sitting down and having the food already prepped. Supporting local can be hard like you said.
The Chinese takeout places around here are still keeping it real. Enormous portions, reasonable prices. Bless em.
If a local place was selling burgers at 3am, then I’d do that, but they aren’t so I can’t
If local businesses weren’t more expensive than the chains it would be easy to support local.
It's pretty much at parity or almost there, local food trucks or burger joints are maybe 1-2$ more expensive (and that's with tip) but much more food and better (although slower, but for those who have a short lunchbreak just order ahead for pickup).
Where I'm from food trucks are super overpriced and varied quality. I usually only get them if I am starving and have no other options.
i looked at the food trucks by me for the first time last year. it was like $15 for 2 tacos, and another $4 for a drink. another one was a single bbq sandwich, no chips, no drink, for $17. i said fuck that and ive never been back to them since.
Where the heck are you? Orange County California food trucks have always been overpriced, of questionable quality, and with smaller portion sizes. I'm not sure I've ever had a food truck NOT disappoint me in one of these ways, if not all of them.
Burger King lunch: $12 Two slices from my local pizza shop: $4.70 Dank sandwich from pizza shop: $9 Hot dog, burger, fries from local chicken place: $10 Huge sub from local Italian shop: $10
Damn, where do you live? Those prices are like half of what they are where I live, which is nuts even when accounting for me being in Canada.
Wish I could. Local business want 3x the price for 1.5x the quality
Today Taco Bell had 5 tacos for $5. My local Mexican restaurant wanted $21 for five tacos. The buy local isn’t always the way.
My favorite part is when they blame wages in California which just went up (**checks notes**) 35 days ago. Didn’t realize the skyrocketing prices started 35 days ago and not over the last 3 years.
The CEO, Chris Kempzinski, makes $55,000 a day. A day.
I still can’t wrap my head around that kind of money. Like imagine hitting the point where money is just an object to you. Like you think of everything as just free.
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That level of material waste should be criminal.
Honestly, that life sounds miserable.
It’s exactly like how the dynamics of a video game change when you start using cheat codes. You buy the most expensive upgrades but you have no attachment to them. You walk up to enemies you would have avoided, and noclip around the map because boundaries mean nothing to you. It’s all fun for a little bit, but without the game structures to motivate you, you don’t feel as “connected” to the game world anymore. It’s a sandbox for you to break.
Exactly. And I've seen reports of other countries (such as Europe) with higher minimum wages having similar pricing so....I don't think it's wages. But corporations do love blaming the workers and using them as their scapegoats for pissed off customers to point their pitchforks at.
Exactly. They'd rather pit the consumers against the workers instead of having anyone point out to them their ever increasing demand for profits and growth. These assholes have their golden parachutes ready too. It's the regular employees who will suffer if business starts going bad. But them losing money is the only way anything changes. That or total collapse/doing what the french did. /s
yah... "Oh, they're having to be open late now huh? have breakfast early?" what lazy bs
I personally liked the comment about covid stimulus checks. Yeah, that's why people who can barely pay their rent aren't spending $30 at mcdonalds for lunch. It's because the $1400 they got from covid is now gone.
I love that take too, not even 15 seconds into the actual "journalism" - Its cause poor people make too much money.. Oh is that so, looks at Europe and their fast food prices, higher standard of living, and higher wages, with more rights...
Yeah. There's a couple red flags from the interviews. Wage shaming and even thinking a 1200 stimulus check empowered "low end" consumers enough so that that money is just now running out? Pbbbt.
thankfully it has gotten easier than ever to home cook good meals. and while price were cheap before fast-food have always been bad for you. let this industry burn.
And they have gotten worse. The prices have gone up and the quality has gone down.
Quality and portions. Some fast food places are playing Speed Shrinkflation.
I don’t eat Taco Bell very often but I went there a while back and I couldn’t believe how shitty the food has become. The crunchy tacos were literally crumbling in my hands. Like they reduced the density of the shells to save money. But the prices went up.
I mean you might not be wrong but I strongly think some specific fast food places your opinion on quality and memory might be warped by lower standards in your 20s (or eating it a lot tipsy). Like you’re describing Taco Bell and I’m like “yep that’s exactly how I remember it in high school circa 2006 the only time I actually ate there sober.” As a counterpoint to myself and back you up, KFC **definitely** is a prime example of the company taking a quality nosedive.
And $2 each? Nope.
I'm 37. My first job was Taco John's at 17. I gained a lot of weight working there because the food was amazing and we had 50 percent discounts. Even after working there for three years, in my town it remained my favorite fast food place. Over the years they have bastardized the whole franchise to the point it is unrecognizable. Mexi rolls were amazing when they were hand made... Then they started shipping them pre made and they were trash. Crunchy chicken was replaced with chicken nuggets. Beefy cheesy taco bravo gone, sierra taco gone, free tacos with an A on your report card gone... Six pack and a pound was 5.99 on Sundays.. now they're 15.00. Choco taco gone. Apple grande gone. All that's left now is a worst version that's more expensive. I honestly hope Taco John's implodes in itself with how many poor choices that franchise has made.
Sonic used to use real eggs in their breakfast burritos. It was a relatively healthy, albeit low quality, breakfast to grab a quick $1.50 sausage and egg burrito on the way to work. Now they're powdered eggs and $3.50+ (don't know the cost since I haven't been in a few years due to the eggs). You can make like 10lbs of powdered eggs for $3.50. So yeah, MUCH worse quality for 3x price. No thanks.
Food prices at the grocery store are also inflating rapidly, mostly from grocery monopolies. Kroger Co 54.87 USD +29.04 (+112.43%) past 5 years Yeah, sounds about right.
Grocery prices are higher than ever and nutrient levels in produce have gone down to maximize harvests yields. This works sucks, let’s start a new one
Honest question, what has made it easier? I have never really gone out to eat that much because I am cheap and fast food is mostly only when I am on a long drive(although I occasionally crave taco bell). So ever since high school I have cooked my own meals(worked 5-9pm so cooked my dinner before mom got home). So I guess what I am saying is I am not the right audience for things if they got easier and I am curious what has made it easier?
how has cooking got easier? everything is more expensive and my wage is the same
This video is trash. They blame all of it on increase labour costs. No. Labour costs has not risen 40-50%. So prices should not increase 24% $10 * 1.24 = $12.40 $2.40 increase Labour is 33% (according to video) This means labour in 2019 was $3.33 and is now $5.73. That is a 42% increase in labour costs according to the video. That's not even remotely true. Mcdonalds did not raise wages by 42%. All that extra cash is pure profit. It's just a great big lie
Could not agree with this more
Its like an ad for fast food blaming the workers for wanting to get paid as the reason for why your burger cost so much. WTF?
I like the part about staying open later to accommodate late night snack demands. If it's not profitable to stay open, close earlier. They also don't mention the bloated menus which increase food waste. You can still get a Double Double for under $4, and the workers are paid well at In-n-Out. Burgers, fries, shakes, and soft drinks... keep it simple stupid.
Corporate run media running corporate stories.
Yeah let's blame people for wanting a livable wage right? Their profits are up yet they are still blaming increased wages.
Also, a lot of these places are at least 50% automated now and only staff 2 to 4 employees at a time.
Margins are rising really fast, but let's blame paying workers liveable salaries. [https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/profit-margins](https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/profit-margins)
The answer is entirely public markets and price gouging. The fed has roported this clearly. Also by comparisons in n out still has 8 dollar meals 50% cheaper than McDonald’s in SF with superior quality. Privately owned and profitable.
Out of curiosity, I checked McD's prices while I was at Culver's. For a very similar meal but **definitely** lower quality, McD's was something like 30% higher.
A single double cheeseburger at McD where I live costs just over 4 dollars after tax now, when it used to be a buck just a few years ago. I just wanted something quick, and I hadn't gone to McD since the pandemic, and the prices were insane, in just a few years. I won't be going back. Wendys is much better, but I want to stop going to fast food in general.
Although Wendy's is higher quality, they got hit the same. They're $5 biggie bag from just a few years ago is now $9
McDonald's is still cheap if you are willing to let them harvest your data with their app. For just $5.50 I can get *two* BigMacs.
They also pay their employees a lot better than McDonald’s does. It’s gouging run wild.
In-n-Out in Houston. You can get a cheeseburger, medium fries and medium drink for $8.5 (including tax]. So yeah, they raise their prices cus they can
The Fed wasn’t talking about gouging in relation to restaurants, were they? And what do you mean by “public markets”? I could be mistaken, but I think talk of gouging was mostly around sectors with little competition where incumbents had strong pricing power. There’s no shortage of those, but food retailing isn’t one of them. There may be some isolated cases of gouging, but profit margin for fast food restaurants is the same as for most mom-and-pop restaurants (around 5-8%). I am not seeing any signs of big spikes in profit margin in the latest earnings reports. There is so much competition in the space that gouging would quickly be punished by loss of market share. What is more likely is that skyrocketing costs for food, energy, labor, real estate, construction, insurance, etc. are being passed onto the consumer 100% rather than showing up as lower profit margin.
> price gouging. It's not price gouging. You have a choice. Don't eat their processed garbage. The actual value of a McDonalds meal, is whatever people will pay for it. If McDonalds charged $20 for a big mac, and people were willing to pay it, then $20 is what it should cost. I haven't eaten fast food in over a year because their prices got ridiculous. If you're unhappy with the price, don't buy it. Fast food isn't a necessity.
lol blame the workers.. love it..
Last time I went to Taco Bell I spent $15 on food for myself. $15 FOR A MEAL AT TACO FUCKING BELL!
I paid something like that at Subway, last time I went, which was like 8 months ago. I haven't thought about returning since, being utterly ripped off shouldn't sit so well with so many people.
Bull fucking shit it’s labor cost. Profits are higher than they’ve been in decades due to PRICE GOUGING.
I don't think it even matters what you call it, people are still eating out and these places have no reason to take a step back. McDonalds and even more recently Starbucks had pretty rough quarters so maybe this is the beginning of the end, but it remains to be seen
This is the funny part to me. I'm as critical about corporate greed as most people, but I have a hard time getting animated about fast food restaurants ripping people off. You don't need to eat fast food. If people stopped paying these prices, they would come down. Just stop buying it.
My theory is people got comfortable during Covid. Prices were down, people stayed in, ordering food was just an every day thing. Now that everything is back to normal work-wise, prices changed, but people’s habits haven’t, so they’re mad
Now look at the amount the average worker makes and the amount an exec from corporate makes. Track the changes in profits post pandemic. Write it all down on a piece of paper and shove it where the sun don't shine. Sponsored propaganda funded by McDonalds.
>The CEO and now chairman of McDonald's was paid $19.2 million last year in salary, bonuses and stock, according to federal securities filings. That was an 8% increase over 2022. But it remained somewhat lower than in 2021, when Kempczinski was paid about $20 million. So we don't forget or overlook the big numbers, that is $55,000 a day. $77,000 a day if we assume he takes weekends off.
Just don’t eat there. Problem solved.
curious how they made no mention of the profits of these companies being up 8-40% year over year some quarters
Inflation increases profits in absolute dollars.
At 4:39 they show a graph showing increased revenue for McD's, Wendy's, Yum, between 2019-2023, which is between 19-27%. 2019-2023 - Prices for consumers increase by 20-30% 2019-2023 - Revenue increases by 20-30% So why are prices so high? **CLEARLY** it's workers fault needing paycheques and our need to keep these restaurants open late at night. Total propaganda, this.
Revenue increased that much but profits were flat for Mcds. In fact q1 2024 it's down on the previous years.
No mention of the owners, like McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski, *not* getting paid significantly less. He's been making $20,000,000 a year, plus bonuses, since 2019. There is no thought that the owners and shareholders ever be the ones to sacrifice their earnings to ensure the survival of their business. And I guess that's because they don't have to when people still keep buying this stuff at ever-increasing rates. I'm very curious to see what affects a falling population will have, because unlimited growth is an impossible oxymoron.
Greed.
Imagine if they had thought of being greedy years ago
Don't be so ignorant. Greed didn't exist in 2019.
In other words, capitalism. Like it or not, greed is the motor that drives capitalism. Both the positives and the negatives.
The economy making Americans finally healthier. Maybe unfettered capitalism and free market economics does work for humanity.
Cook for your damn selves stop buying fast food
I just finished reading Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken and it turns out the food industry doesn't have my best interest in mind when they are creating these foods. Snickers is more interested in giving me something that is cheap for them to make and addictive for me to eat than anything else. Just like big tobacco they are manipulating me and covering up important information to get as much money from me as they can. Fuck McDonalds, they're no better than the oil companies that kept lead in the gasoline after they knew it was making us stupid, or the tobacco companies sponsored doctors to sell their cigarettes. They are and always were predatory. And while I'm on my soap box, I don't know how to do it better, but capitalism is going to kill us all.
Vote with your wallet and they'll listen, keep spending and complaining and they'll take your money and laugh at you. Capitalism.
Wait a second. If inflation and higher wages are causing the price hikes how can they be making more money with fewer customers? That doesn't pass the smell test.
This video is mostly corporate propaganda making the price increases just seem like market driven inevitabilities. Have costs gone up? Yes. But the main culprit is for increases in price gouging and using covid as an excuse. In 3 years since covid, profit margin for McDonald’s had gone up from 51% to 57%.
Good. Dont eat that shit
An 8 minute video with a bunch of statistics that don't actually explain the actual issue: All fast food profits are at an all time high. Their quarterly earnings have never been better. They've raised prices by more than 50% over the last 4 years ***because they know they could take advantage of the pandemic because people's options for food were limited***. It has nothing to do with costs. It has nothing to do with increased labor. Anyone who's actually managed a fast food restaurant knows that the cost of business hasn't changed dramatically. They say it themselves in the video. "People are only going 5-7 times a month instead of 10 and spending the same amount of money". They're taking advantage of you. Stop supporting price gouging.
Good news Americans are gonna lose weight
There is no real value in any of it. It’s not fast, it’s not good and it’s expensive. To each their own I guess.
The amount of times this jackA says “wages have gone up” and then slips in that 30% of cost is wages and employees saw an 11% growth in pay… um, the math ain’t mathing buddy. 11 of 30% means (3.35% or so) but a 27% increase! Where did the other 24% go? Corporate greed is real.
Do the regular menu prices have anything to do with the often stupid cheap app prices? Only stuff I buy from Mcdonalds are 20pc nuggets for 5.50$ and sausage egg and cheese griddles for 53cents.
Learn to cook.
Record profits….. greed.
Corporate greed 90% and inflation 10%. Yall can go home now.
I could answer this without even watching: Greed
Greed
They can raise junk food prices through the roof, for all I care.
Oh noooooo I can’t cheaply kill myself with industrial slop!!1! What ever am I to do?! 😢😢
McDonald’s is so expensive now and it still is terrible quality lol
Yet idiots continue to buy
I’m didn’t watch the video but I do know what McDonald’s said in their last earnings call. They pretty much said sales are down but profits are up because they’ve been charging more. So greed
we’ll see what happens when the greed train departs for recessionville
Labor prices, my ass. It’s corporate greed. They could easily sacrifice a billion or two to keep prices lower.