10,000 new McFlurry machines that are out of order
Buying stock in ice cream machine repair see y’all on the moon
The company is called Taylor. Not sure if they’re public. IFixIt has a video dissecting why the machines are always broken.
Interesting story about how they were sued for keeping the machines broken, so only they could fix it.
Yup, they fuckin’ suck.
Fun fact about Taylor’s competition Electrofeeeze, I used to work as a repair tech for them and they always used mechanical contactors with physical switches.
Every single store I would go into that owned both Electrofeeeze and Taylor machines the owner would complain “it’s always the fkn computer with that damn Taylor. $800 every time, always the computer board.” So what did the Big Brains at Electrofeeeze do? They took the biggest complaint about our competition and put one of our own computer boards in the newer models… Now we get to hear “it’s always the computer board with this piece of shit.”
Very Smart Move™
Well yeh if making money is their goal, which it is. They’re just assholes to their clients and consumers.
Although most of these restaurants are opening in highly lactose intolerant nations. So that might not be a big problem.
McDonald’s used to be a decent fast food choice in France. But nowadays it’s gotten super expensive and the portions are tiny, like the big Mac almost fits the palm of my hand. I’d rather go to any other fast food chain or small kebab joint when I need to scratch that itch before I’d go to McDonald’s again.
That’s how it’s been in the US for a long time. It’s just simply not worth the money for what you get.
I got down voted last time I mentioned this, but the app usually has pretty good deals if you just need a quick bite. Two spicy chickens for $3 is my go-to.
Don’t you have to waive your right to sue McDonalds if you use their app or was that just an internet rumor? I don’t eat there or ise the app so don’t know but thought I read something like that.
I just looked it up you’re right lol. I imagine it’s intended for pricing compliance and maybe data security, those are common lawsuits. If you get food poisoning and they find food safety violations… or if the golden arches falls on your car, or really any other negligence they’re still on the hook.
Compliance is a really big deal in corporations and pricing is a big one. Again not a lawyer tho.
Idk I’m just a guy that eats chicken sandwiches every now and then LOL. If that were true I highly doubt it would hold up in court, but I’m not a lawyer.
Lol yeah it’s not legal it’s just there to dissuade people from taking legal actions who don’t know any better.
Oh yeah a once in awhile thing is great, especially if it’s a deal.
Yeah I hadn’t had their food in a while and we ended up going to one in Lisbon earlier this year. I was really surprised at how small the servings had gotten for what they’re charging. I don’t really understand why anybody would go there at this point. There’s a lot of decent food out there for less money.
Habit
For me it’s the nostalgia hooks they have in me. Every once in a blue moon, I get a craving for McNuggets that nothing else can satisfy. Probably because they’re barely chicken nuggets, and are more of their own thing.
Not to forget that they are extremely shitty when it comes to vegetarian options especially compared to Burger King
the portions are tiny, like the big Mac almost fits the palm of my hand.
Well, McD is apparently also going to start making bigger burgers.
Smells like “new size, 30% free”, but it’s the old size, just more expensive.
Ahh yes the old motto “always lie to the customer!” Shrink your product so you can later return to the original and sell for more money, or the good ol Amazon: raise your price for a short time so you can have a “sale” that was the original price…
I wonder what they did with the Royal’ with Cheese… Technically they could shrink that too since it doesn’t have 1/4 pounder in the name.
even the ‘quarter-pounder’ has shrunk over the years. there’s more fat ground-in now than there used to be, but same ‘pre cooked’ weight.
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I think the expectations of consumers for a dine in experience is just a lot higher these days than McDonalds is interested or equipped to compete with and they’re also in the process of pivoting towards a post-automation future.
This to me sounds like a company that is realigning their strategy to fit the market segment they think they have the best chance of capitalizing on, which is apparently faceless late stage capitalism burgers.
I’d honestly be more worried if my late stage capitalism burgers HAD faces.
Everything you describe appeals to me. The less I have to directly interact with their employees, the better.
Being able to take a few moments to ensure my order is complete and accurate, without delaying every other customer behind me, radically improves the customer experience.
Eliminating the two most error-prone steps (communicating between customer and staff, and entering the order into the register) greatly improves order accuracy.
Taco Bell is doing the same thing, but hasn’t inflated their prices nearly as much as McDonalds. Burger King and Wendy’s are lagging behind.
Taco Bell has definitely inflated their prices by a massive margin.
they all have.
Wendy’s has kiosks where I’m at. Not everywhere apparently?
That is a return to their original business model that led to them becoming a global institution.
Their dining areas were famously uncomfortable, witht he focus on being easy to clean and maintain and discourage people from lingering. The color scheme of red and yellow is purposefully garish, and combine with the lighting to make you want to get your food and get out.
There used to be a set of slanted warming shelves connecting the kitchen in the back to the area behind the front counter. You’d walk in during peak times and see rows of sandwiches already assembled and wrapped. You’d order your food and the cashier would reach around and gather the food that had been prepared 15-30 minutes ago. If you wanted a burger without onions or mustard or whatever you’d have to stand awkwardly and wait. The drive-thru used to be quick, maybe a couple minutes total.
I haven’t been to one in a few years so I’m not sure how it’s changed recently, but starting in the 2000’s they changed their business model to try to compete with places like Subway, Panera, Starbucks, Chipotle, etc. They introduced more greys and browns into their colorways. They expanded the menus with a ton more choice: novelty limited-time sandwiches, “healthy” options like salads and fruits, specialty coffees. They moved to making things to-order instead of having things pre-made. Wait times and prices both increased.
Every other “fast food” place seems to have followed them. The closest replacement I’ve seen is the expansion of gas station/convenience store food. Places like GetGo and Sheetz near me usually don’t have drive-thru’s, but I can quickly walk in and grab a pre-made sandwich for a few bucks and walk out.
What you are describing almost sounds to me like a modern automat.
I do see a role for automats. Door dash, grub hub or people who ordered ahead… Certain frequently bought items…
All in temp controlled lockers.
Couldn’t disagree more, depending on the location.
Pretty much ever McDonald’s outside of major cities is a social hub for locals. People will go there everyday and spend hours inside talking with each other.
The loss of decent “third places” in the US is so goddamned sad.
that used to be hardee’s here… covid took away the wall of mugs the old-timers used every morning.
McDonalds is primarily a Real Estate company. Their food service is secondary.
They’re a logistics company.
I consider them a chemical company as well.
wow, they truly are a company of companys
Hey, I saw that youtube video too!
Unfortunately it’s dead-wrong.
Oh man, I’m ready for a truth bomb. Let’s have it!! What’s really going on???
Sensationalism.
C’mon, give a little effort at least! That response was the equivalent of finding out the message that my Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring was “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine”
Could you please elaborate a bit? Where’s the sensationalism?
Again, where’s the sensationalism? Can you point to particular falsehoods or overstatements? A link to the video doesn’t help us–we want your critique of the video.
My critique of the video is the creator’s devoted need to make people feel concerned about something that really isn’t that big of a deal.
The “call the guy” rhetoric really speaks for itself. Look at how it’s presented.
I dont know the video. Can you please elaborate?
Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrDEtSlqJC4
30 minutes of bullshit, and hopefully you can see how this guy who’s paid to make videos has a vested interest in making them seem… interesting.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=SrDEtSlqJC4
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Where?
This chain is like an infestation of poison mushrooms. Where is it not present yet that could merit opening another of choke-n-puke?
It plans to open 900 new stores in the U.S. and 1,900 in some of its bigger international markets like Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia. The company said it plans another 7,000 stores in other international markets; more than half of those would be in China.
Ahh, so ~40% are in China.
So, a takeover by high cholestherol.
I get what you mean, but that is probably a bad analogy. Let me explain.
Just because a mushroom is poisonous doesn’t mean its mycelium living underground isn’t essential for all the plants and trees in the area. Depending on the species, mycelium can carry warning signals between different plants, boost the health of the plant, increase fruiting yields and even fend off other damaging fungi and bacteria. There is even a type that will make little hyphae lassos to trap and consume nematodes that can destroy some root systems.
McDonald’s does none of those things for humans, even in an off-handed analogy kind of way, unfortunately. It anything, a poisonous outcrop of mushrooms gives back more to its local ecosystem than a Big Mac ever has.
Fungi are so misunderstood… ;)
McD and poison mushrooms do the same to humans: poison them. End of analogy.
I have an idea on how important of a role fungi play in nature and it’s one of those life forms I really enjoy finding in wild.
Here in Korea there are some but not very many. I guess you could squish quite many in here. The question is only who will go there to buy something? I haven’t been to McDonalds for years. It’s good at night when nothing else is open but if I can choose then I’ll probable choose something else.
Especially in Korea. I’ve read about that cuisine and I risk it has some really good food.
I used to live a 10 hour drive from the closest McDonald’s. I think there was a lot of demand for the city that was in between.
/doubt
Yeah maybe they’re opening 10,000 new stores, but when a Quarter pounder meal costs $17+tax (CAD) who’s going to eat there anymore??
Oh, you want a single order of large fries? Sure, that’ll be $5.79+tax. Nearly $7 for literally one potato worth of fries. Get fucked.
Terminally online people say this, but their annual profit has increased year over year except for 2020 when everything was shut down.
They had a 9.6% increase yoy from 2022. Which was itself a 5% increase from 2021.
And even with Covid they rebounded to exactly where they were as soon as the shutdowns hit.
They went down 12.7% from 2019 to 2020, but went back up 29% for 2020-2021 and has increased ever since.
So the question of who is gonna eat there is answered. It’s everyone except you apparently. Everyone else keeps buying and pushing their revenue and profit higher year over year.
They have had 2 bad years in the last 15. They probably know a wee bit more than the average Lemming.
I personally think it’s that people lack the time, motivation, and/or knowledge to cook themselves. I can make a cheeseburger and fries at home for about $3-5 in about thirty minutes, including cleanup. Compared to a $15 meal, it’s roughly the equivalent of saving $20/h.
Another issue could be home size is way down. If you live alone, you can’t buy one hamburger bun, you have to buy 8. You can’t buy a quarter pound of ground beef, minimum package size is usually 1 lb. If you buy the material to cook one meal, you’re committing to cook three to seven more within the next 10 days. So you’ve signed up for leftovers or up to four hours of cooking.
Nah, I cook 300 nights a year for my family. Do the shopping too. I’m very well off and have many options. I’m not Kenji, but I make it a point to bring my wife and I to two or three Michelin star meals a year.
I choose McDonald’s as a treat because it’s easy, good tasting, and it’s a nice quick tasty meal that’s at the same quality as any cheap quick sit down place. Getting a happy meal (nuggets, apples, milk) is an added bonus that gets the kid to eat without drama.
Your assumptions are mostly off base.
If you cook 300 meals per year, you’re not the primary demographic of McDonald’s, at least for my local one. Most people I know who eat there, eat there very regularly… Like multiple times per week.
Seems you angered the lemmoids
I have, this guy makes it his job to follow and harass me on my comments.
no one cares
You cared enough to comment.
They care enough to follow me around and just troll on whatever I comment 🤷♂️
Just for the record, I appreciate what you are saying is true but this would also relate to them cost cutting which they have done a lot of over the last few years to near fully automated. So less people may be going but their costs are lower and margins higher so growth continues.
Is that NCOS? 🤨
Canada just seems fucked then. I can’t pull it up, it’s morning, but I can buy a double QPC meal for about $9.
Factory meat from a factory restaurant from a factory country
Nuggets come from a can, they were put there by a man, in a factory downtown!
Millions of nuggets, nuggets for me
No clue how people are so fond of McDonalds, there are literally so many other fast food choices that are superior in every way
Because in alot of areas it’s the ONLY fast food restaurant
This is just categorically untrue. People go to McDonalds because they want to, even if they may not want to admit it.
A McDonalds franchise is, by far, one of the most expensive franchises to own and operate. They have strict rules on where you are allowed to open one and startup costs are in the millions, most are owned by investment groups and people who own multiple franchises.
If you have a McDonald’s, you have a market. So you most certainly also have a Subway, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, etc. Some of those franchises literally just plant themselves wherever a McDonalds is placed because it’s cheaper to do that then it is to do the market research yourself.
You are very US centric. In my town there are one McD, one BK and one SubWay waay outside the downtown area. That is for a Norwegian town that has roughly 50k ppl in its “Metropolitan” area. I take the train home and besides some Sushi places (decent) and Kebab joints (awefull) I can choose BK or McD if I just walk in of the street toward the station
Obviously this won’t be 100% in every area in the world, but even in your own example you listed another cheaper franchise right nearby, therefore it is not the only option.
I haven’t been everywhere but I live in Canada and I’ve been to the US, UK and Southeast Asia and in all of those places this is true. There are towns that will literally just have a Subway or similar cheap franchise, but places with a McDonalds will almost always have another option.
Literally, as opposed to figuratively many other choices?
I don’t understand what you mean, sorry
Literally is literally the correct word here.
There are not “figuratively more choices” since there actually are many more choices.
Literally is the obsolete word here.
Obsolete? No
Unnecessary? Yes
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My local McDonald’s burnt down when the ice machine caught fire
As an American: I’m sorry we’ve unleashed this upon you, rest of the world :(
Hooray! What the world really needs right now is more cattle farming for burgers and more people driving to go and get their burgers.
more people driving to go and get their burgers
They do deliver these days.
And they all walk.
After raising prices and doing away with all the good deals in their app (and adding an arbitration clause to it’s tos)… I certainly don’t eat there as much anymore. I’d be surprised if this expansion is sustainable.
What I don’t get is McDonald’s, really? Of all of the fast food chains McDonald’s is the worst: quality, taste, appearance, everything. They’re the worst burger fast food chain out there, how are we not seeing this growth with the better options? I’m just a bit confused lol
I’ll never understand how people over the age of 20 seriously can eat at McDonald’s/Burger King/KFC.
I liked it too when I was 15 but once I realised how overpriced and underquality it is, I stopped that completely. Only if it really really is the last and only option to get something to eat I would spend any money there.
I hate fast food and burgers but I kinda like McDonalds. I mean I go there every other year but I kinda like it. It’s the only place I like the fries from, I like the hamburger/cheeseburger, the patties in general, I like the big mac l, the ketchup, the sauces. I also only like their chicken nuggets, I hate chicken nuggets otherwise.
That being said, McDonalds’s quality is vastly different around the world. I’ll never forget the half burnt half frozen patty of the hamburger at the Denver airport. And in general how gross McDonalds was in the USA. In Germany I kind of like it. In Russia it was different but also ok, with some items being tastier and others super gross.
Having had to pinch pennies to eat between paychecks recently, McDonald’s, while trash food, let me get a 1000 calorie meal for a little over 6 dollars through their app deals. Every other fast food chain app was basically selling me the window prices, which have significantly gone up. I think this has changed now, and they’ve gotten rid of those deals, but that was the reason for me at the time
They still have dollar drinks?
But wait, I thought “pEoPlE dOn’T wAnT tO woRk!”
People will work for 3 weeks to a year and quit then some other sucker gets on the wheel
That’s 7 new locations per day for 4 years straight. Mind boggling… I wonder what the internal org chart for building this out looks like
That sounds… impossible?
That org chart involves a whole lot of people that speak Chinese, because much of this plan is basically “sell burgers in China.”
Like cancer
Maybe McDonald’s should be putting more effort into confronting the abusive staff?
Yet their biggest abuse is on the environment. It would be so much easier to add environment pollution tax on burgers than building five hundred million wind energy generators.
A start could be reducing the crazy subsidies cattle farming gets. We could reduce carbon emissions and have money to fund green projects.
