I have no clue how they don’t get it. The selling point of fast food was always the speed, convenience and a price. They’ve been degrading all 3 of those selling points and now it’s just not fucking worth it anymore.
But like it’s nothing new, I don’t belive I’m the only one, that for the last few years, every price hike just started picking less and less form the menu. And I’m not poor, far from it, I can definitely afford the price hikes, it’s just, once it’s 8x times more expensive than home cooking, the convenience no longer outweighs the shit ass quality. I hate paying as if I was at a fancy place and getting pure shit, might as well just go to a fancy place for fucks sake!
How much could a banana cost? $10?
Pretty soon that won’t be funny anymore.
I went to a BBQ joint here in Texas a week ago. Got 3/4 lb of brisket and some potato salad for the missus and me.
To my surprise… It costed the same thing as 2 menu items at McDonald’s. Like seriously?..
What’s the point of going to subway and McDonald’s if I can just get some BBQ at a restaurant.
(Didn’t name the restaurant since I’m concerned this will make them realize they can charge more)
Marketing only exists to screw you over
The more you see a product advertised, the less of their earnings are going towards making a better product
Which is honestly a great point to consider when the advertising parts of a company are the most well paid and all we keep hearing about is how to add more ads into our daily lives.
Yes. And fancy burgers around here cost between $11-16. We’re talking super fancy burgers, mouth watering medium-rare locally grown beef, crazy sauces you’re never heard of, actual fucking grilled onions, etc etc. and beer, they serve beer.
Meanwhile the fast food burger joint is basically the same price, but you get overcooked pink slime.
Name the restaurant and give them more business. They deserve it.
Fast food is losing the plot. If it isn’t cheap, then there is really no point.
Yep. No one is going to McDonalds for a delicious burger, just a cheap and fast one. Now that prices are above $10 if you want a meal, and the restaurants are understaffed so even the drive through takes > 15 minutes, there’s really no reason to eat there
drive through just have very low throughput in general, if it takes you 15 minutes to order from drive through, it would be likely to be faster to park your car and walk in for a take out
or some mcdonalds even let you mobile order and pick up on designated spots, they added that because it gets better throughput than drive through.
As someone who worked in an understaffed fast food restaurant for like 3 years… No, going inside doesn’t make your order faster. From my experience, orders get made in chronological order of when they were placed. You may be able to place your order quicker (if you’re lucky there’s enough staff to take an in-store order while there’s people in the drive through) but you will probably still wait about the same since the food can only be made so fast, and the few people have to splits their attention even more.
If it’s a normally staffed restaurant then you might have luck, but usually long wait times in the drive through aren’t because the drive through itself is slow… Excluding the random people who pull up with the good ol’, “can I get a uuuuuhhhhhhh…”
that’s when the app shines. You basically cut the ordering queue, which drive through users cannot avoid at all.
Also even if stuffs are prepared in chronological order, they don’t literally need to fulfill everything in earlier orders before starting to work on the next one. In drive through if someone order something that takes longer to prepare it would clog up the queue that someone might not be able to even start ordering. The lack of parallelism is very visible especially when you do a walk in order and order very few items right after someone who orders a lot, you will often get your order first, despite their orders’ preparation started before yours.
That depends on a lot of factors as well, a lot of fast food isn’t made to order and some can be created ahead of time if you’re expecting a lot of orders to come in. Fries, burger patties, some other fried goods like chicken fingers can be held for a little while without them going bad. There’s always the chance that the people working the kitchen may have had the smaller order on hand but needed to make some fresh things for the larger order.
I mean, the primary benefit of fast food is that you can swing by and get a prepared meal on your lunch break. You can’t really do that at a sit down place unless you order in advance. They lost the ‘fast’ part too, since they don’t want to pay the amount of people it takes to run their stores though. Now the only benefit they have going for them is their hours, and they’re slipping there for the most part, since most places are still running on reduced hours because COVID gave them the excuse to never bring their old hours back.
“Why are our sales plummeting?”
Because you didn’t spend any part of that price hike on improving the quality of your food.
They almost doubled the price of their stuff. No fucking way I am paying that. I’ll pack my own sandwiches…
I already do. And I work construction so we live on fastish food. Wasn’t easy to transition but I now bring my own thermos with a pot of coffee in it and a small snack or lunch everyday. I’ve saved probably over a thousand bucks this year already. And spent exactly 0 minutes waiting in drive-thrus which I’ve realized now I really really hated doing that.
bring my own thermos with a pot of coffee in it and a small snack or lunch everyday. I’ve saved probably over a thousand bucks this year already
Since finally taking the time to actually budget out my spending, I’ve become big on packing sandwiches. I spend about $20 a week on sandwich things, which good luck getting 2 meals out of that same budget eating out
Saw an article recently, can’t remember where, that basically said that the sole reason fast food was doing so poorly was pricing. That McDonald’s was charging Texas Roadhouse prices, so people were choosing to skip McDonald’s and go to Texas Roadhouse.
found this, they all outpace the inflation rate so it’s just greed as always.
It’s sad that Taco Bell thinks it is gourmet Mexican Food now. Any local taco shop with Mexicans working in the kitchens will give you huge burritos for cheap. Without adding tofu to the ground beef.
I believe it. The whole appeal of fast food is that it’s fast and cheap.
As a european, fast food is just like a category of food, and more of an occasional treat for me. Normally, I just eat my own homemade food, which is even cheaper. So I guess I see it a little differently, and fast food is allowed to be not cheap if it’s “good”.
Hell yeah, gimme that cancer patty and those artery clogging fries, baby! But make the obesity water size “for kids”.
“Fast and cheap” as in cheaper than buying precooked food somewhere else. Of course stuff you make at home will be cheaper.
The thing is that at least in my corner of Europe, fast food costs about the same as a filling meal in a sit down restaurant that doesn’t deep fry or microwave everything.
There is an exception but they only have 3 locations in one single town. They’ve barely raised their prices in the last decade, they’re actually pretty fast, and there’s nearly always a bunch of people queued up.
For many Americans it’s just lunch. If McD’s costs $5 they’re buying. If it costs $15 they’re packing.
Unless you get the promoted deals it’s starting to be like that everywhere. Near me if im getting two burgers and two fries, I spend less at five guys than I do at burger king. Why would I ever go to BK?
Even FG is unreasonable.
My wife and 6YO kid went to FG last week and spent $27 on a meal for two and they split the fries.
A few ounces of meat, 50 cents of soda, a couple potatoes and an arguably 2 nice quality rolls. That meal cost them $5. Even with inflated labor it should be more like $15.
Fucksake man, will you PLEASE think of the shareholders
Five guys has been expensive for a long time. The rest just caught up more recently.
Five Guys at least has better food than most fast food and the portions are so massive you basically have to share
I would kill for an in-and-out burger on the East Coast. You can get a burger, fries, and drink for less than an Five Guys cheeseburger.
Five guys is at the very bottom of my “list of things that are so needlessly expensive that now I actively hate”.
Cause they’re so fucking good, and they use better stuff than most.
The moment that changes… will be the day I either go no-beef, or start rioting.
Sometimes I go there just for an order of fries because they’re just that good. I can’t bring myself to pay $14 for a burger though.
They’ve barely raised their prices in the last decade, they’re actually pretty fast, and there’s nearly always a bunch of people queued up.
Depends on the location too. For my location everything on the menu is $2 more than it is in the nearby, similarly-sized city. And there’s a high quality Wendy’s right next door.
I’ll take good Wendy’s at half the price of Five Guys.
Of course everyone is doing tiered pricing. You either use their apps or pay double. I think half of it is to get the app on your phone, and the other half is simply to make you jump through hoops for lower pricing. They all want to charge obscene prices, and then if you object, give you an option other than not going there. “Just install our app” could just as easily be “pat your head while standing on one leg and rubbing your stomach, and we’ll give you 40% off.”
I’m sorry, but fuck Wendy’s. Yes, capitalism is in decline around us all, but fuck Wendy’s for deciding they’re gonna be the first in fast food to push that envelope to full-blown-shit mode. And their burgers are just eh.
(Hey, pssst… so, quoting etiquette typically means you’re not using the quoting carrot on something not in the the comment you are replying to without noting it in the comment somehow. I was staring very confused at my replies inbox for, like, 4-5 read throughs of your reply, because its an opinion I could have typed, and couldn’t remember at all lol. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️)
Pretty sure it was around after Dave Thomas passed that the quality took a dive at many franchise locations, similar poor business decisions looking for short term profits over long term customers affecting many businesses these days.
The recent Disney lawsuit reminded me of this. In order to get those deals, McDonald’s makes you use their app, and part of signing up for the app is agreeing to their ToS which has an arbitration clause
Yeah but there’s no way a judge will follow that reasoning. The response to the arbitration argument was that the argument was “unconscionable” and “no reasonable person” would think signing up for Disney Plus means they can’t file a wrongful death suit for a restaurant that has nothing to do with Disney Plus.
Also the lawyer who made the arbitration argument just got his client so much bad PR that i’m sure Disney Plus will take a hit over it.
I was with you until
Disney Plus will take a hit over it.
The average consumer is just so damn apathetic that nothing will happen
Selling your rights to Disney so you can get a cheaper burger is a uniquely American flavor of dystopia
This is exactly what subway is doing.
“A regular deli charges $16 for a sub/hero/grinder/hoagie/pickafuckingnameforalongsandwitch so we’re charging $14! It’s less they’ll still come the econ 101 book says they will! I’ll take my multimillion dollar bonus now tyvm.”
Yeah, but a regular deli makes a decent fucking sandwich and isn’t using the cheapest institutional ingredients imaginable.
Except a regular deli actually puts meat on their subs instead of lightly rubbing the sub with a piece of turkey then filling it with lettuce.
I very rarely eat out but if I am going to end up blowing on 30 on two meals I may as well blow 45 on a local spot with a seat and a hefty tip to the waiter.
and a hefty tip to the waiter.
And I detest tipping culture, though I of course don’t fault the wait staff. I’d rather go to a local joint that pays its people appropriately…which are hard to find, admittedly.
There are a couple floating around out there, CNN/investopedia/Eat This Not That. The most scathing one I saw was from CNN, oddly enough: https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/09/business/consumer-spending-travel-value-nightcap
I just stopped eating fast food altogether and started using our company cafe, prices at the drive-thru got absolutely ridiculous and the service got worse. I just eat a small salad and a drink, still costs around $6–7/day, but it’s way better than fast food prices. I could probably get it down cheaper if I prepped at home, but fruit and vegetables go bad so frequently and our cafe’s rates are ok-ish, so I just make due with that.
prices at the drive-thru got absolutely ridiculous and the service got worse
And in the case of McDonald’s, the burgers and fries both taste like compressed napkins now. Idk WTF they’ve done to their burgers, but that’s not beef.
They added some food-grade sawdust filler and cut out the majority of beef with their latest round of shrinkflation. Their regular patties are so small and thin that they’re impossible to stay moist in th burger. There’s no more fat left.
They thought they could charge the same money as real sandwich places. Lol.
I quit them about 10 years ago when I asked for spinach on my sandwich and they gave me 3 small leaves of spinach for an upcharge. That and their instantly stale tasting bread made me done with the particular store and all Subway stores. Was a shame, because they were convenient to where I worked.
They took spinach off of their offerings when there was a listeria (or some such) scare with one of their suppliers. After a few months of going there I asked a ‘manager’ if they would ever get it back and they kind of just shrugged. I walked out a couple times after that and went down the strip-mall to another place a few times, hopefully to prove a point (moved offices so I’ve not really been back to Subway in years now).
Why is it that fast food thinks it can charge for sit-down restaurant prices nowadays?
Greed is, by definition, when self interest becomes irrational.
It’s not greed, it’s just ““international factors”” that are causing them to put prices up. Russia invaded Ukraine so they have to charge extra for a sandwich of course!
Okay perhaps you’re joking, but this is something that people across the world are not aware of or don’t want to acknowledge. Ukraine is a major agricultural exporter, and a lot of their produce go to farmers across the world. The supply of many Ukrainian produce, especially grain, had been restricted which increased global food price and has not gone down to pre-war level. Fewer supply but more demand leads to higher price. Including in the link I gave, it mentioned that if the war is sustained for long, it could further worsen food crisis in many developing countries. There is a reason why Africa sent delegates to try to mediate on the conflict. But they won’t tell you that it is because they rely on stable global food price to feed their people, and much of chicken feeds used by African farmers are imported from Ukraine! People don’t see the full picture at how integrally interconnected we all are.
When a country sneeze, we all catch cold.
Bread costs are a tiny % of prepared food. You are mostly paying for rent and labor of the employees.
Who, thanks to COVID, realized they were all getting fucked and did a silent rebellion and now make about half of what a professional office worker makes. Those dastardly socialists! 😠😠😠
While that’s definitely a factor in global food trends, I don’t see that impacting the US price of food as drastically as companies thinking they can get away with raising prices.
My reasoning is the web of tarrifs and subsidies that the US uses to stabilize domestic markets, prop up farmers, and generally ensure the US is the key grain player. Shortly after the war started the US and Canada also saw a better than average harvest of the grains that Ukraine typically exports.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WPU02120301 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU3112113112111 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIUFDSL
The domestic prices paid for wheat and flour both started to fall shortly after the Ukraine invasion, while food prices maintained a rocketing trajectory without much if any changes, with only a slight decrease in the rate of increase about a year after.
While protectionist US food policies are chock full of horrible problems, in this case they should have insulated people from radical changes in the availability and price of wheat.
That consumer prices have risen despite falling costs paid to producers is a big indicator that the cost increases are due to something else in the US.None of this applies to countries that are dependent on grain imports who have to rely on the global markets instead of adjusting export profitability to stabilize things.
That is not the definition of greed, what are you taking about? I agree that irrational greed is driving it though
Subway… Selling sandwiches that don’t contain actual bread,. Does not contain actual cheese. And does not contain actual meat. But DOES contain more odd chemicals than DOW Chemacals makes
Isn’t their bread considered cake in Europe due to the sugar content? Or is that just one of those stories?
it is, the complaint was made in ireland, and the courts agreed that it’s cake
Nothing more American than a cake sandwich 🦅 🇺🇸 🫡
It was considered to be cake by regulatory authorities in Ireland.
Ironic in that they bake their own bread in the actual store daily.
And when you walk in they ask you how to make a sandwich
That’s the same price as a succulent Chinese meal.
I see that you know your judo well.
I tried to actually go to one about 2 weeks ago. 5 workers, and they said - “oh he’ll help you” and pointed to another worker. While the 4 of them stood next to the till gossiping about home life, and the poor dude just kept making Sandwichs for the online orders coming in. Only said hi to me once, after the 5th sandwich, I just told them I’m out of time and I’ll go. They thanked me for coming in. They’re just awful top to bottom. Bad corporate culture
Not defending Subway overall, the price increases are nuts. However that experience of yours is definitely an individual franchise problem, not a “corporate culture” problem.
Never in my life have I seen a subway with more than 3 working people in it. I haven’t ate it in years but more often than not it’s just 1 guy.
Ya I just figured it was shift change or some bs. I don’t know, I left anyways and won’t be back either way.
That and the ingredients are awful! Why would anyone go to subway when you could go to Jersey Mike’s or the numerous other sandwich shops.
Where I live, the nearest … Basically any sub shop other than Subway is almost an hour away. Also, Subway is one of only two places closer than that that takes online orders; the other is a Chinese place that does take online orders but only accepts cash.
I’m not defending Subway, just suggesting an answer to why anyone would go.
Subway makes a better meatball sub than anyone. In my opinion.
It’s the only thing they do right. Imo.
You have very clearly never been to a Primo’s
I’ve never even heard of a Primo’s.
Niche tiny sandwich chain on the east coast of the US but they make a meatball sub with provolone and shredded Parmesan on it that is just decadent.
I will never forgive Jersey Mike’s.
A few years back they stole some much more valuable fast food places from me, and replaced it with Great Value Subway. I was pretty upset, because I could just go to get Subway down the road, since there are like 2 billion Subways, and then Mr. Mike rolls up and is like “Let’s make 2 billion more Subways.” I don’t really want one Subway, so in what world would I ever want two? Give me an A&W or a Long John Silvers or something. Or maybe an A&W/Long John Silvers.
Give me an A&W or a Long John Silvers or something
I don’t know if this is just a problem with my local A&W or not but they got super expensive. I was a town over for a thing, we said “oh lets just get A&W so we don’t have to spend the gas to go to [next town with more lunch options]” and the bill for 2 adults and 2 kids who never finish their shared kids meal was over $50
The “$5 footlong” campaign was a terrible idea, because it just makes consumers aware of how overpriced fast food is today.
That, and slapping a fixed price on a staple product the business sells. Even with normal two percent inflation eventually there’s going to be disappointment when the price has to be raised.
59, 79, 99!
No gimmicks!
No tricks!
You don’t pay till 1996!I miss that taco bell menu
It was McDonalds wasn’t it?
I’m not sure if McD’s did it (we didn’t have one in town when I was a kid) but taco bell lists it we a promo they launched in 1990.
https://www.tacobell.com/history
Talk about seeing my own mortality slip away before my very eyes. Ha!
“Guys this is really gonna bite us in the ass in thirty years”
Unironically yes. This is how long term marketing works.
Subway was founded in 1965.
The “$5 Footlong” was introduced in 2008.
The cost of a footlong tripled in 16 years.
You would think a business that has been in operation for 43 years at the time would understand that prices change over time, and creating a slogan that locks a single era’s price into people’s collective consciousness would be a bad idea long-term.
There’s a great last week tonight segment on subway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDdYFhzVCDM
Covers a lot of the insane shit they do / have done.
