I'm just going to ask that the generic "McDonald's isn't food" comment is left somewhere else, I want a discussion for once.Is it just me, or has McDonald's become a very expensive place to grab a quick bite?
I've been going to McDonald's since I was at least 3, and I've always enjoyed my trips there. I have fond memories of going there every Saturday as a kid with my grandma and getting a kids meal after watching Saturday Morning Cartoons. I remember loving getting a bite there during my teenage years, and sitting back and enjoying it. During college, though, and the last 5 years, I've been eating it less and less and heading to Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, KFC, etc...
I've popped back there a few times this year, namely for breakfast. Right now, I still feel like I can smell a McGriddle and I haven't had one in months! It was nice ti just sit back and eat one and remember being young and the trips with my grandma and the days with mom buying me a treat. I stopped largely because of one reason: Cost. The McGriddle's where I live, for a meal with a hash brown and Orange Juice, costs $5.
On average, in order to get a meal, it's $5. Not too bad... until you consider what your getting for the money.
For example, I don't eat burgers from McDonald's. I doubt I ever will. Instead, I eat McNuggets and Chicken Selects. The cost for a 6 Piece Nugget is $2.50. That's the nuggets alone. With a meal at $4.99, you get the nuggets, a medium soda and medium fries. In essence, your not getting a lot of food for the money because the entire thing can be devoured in only 7 minutes, 10 if you want, and doesn't fill you much.
Another example is the Chicken Selects. A 3-Piece Chicken Select normally goes for $3.99. Again, that's the cost of the chicken alone. In an average meal, it's $5.39. Same deal with medium soda and medium fries. And the result? Nothing too filling.
The problem with a large majority of McDonald's food is that the quality of the food has been declining more and more in recent years. The average complaint is that it isn't even "food" to begin with, a fairly valid claim depending on your position on the issue. For me, it is because it can fill you up. I've been to McDonald's from Philly, to New York, to Washington DC, Baltimore, and more. The best one I've ever been to is near the White House, trust me on that! But the overall quality has been lacking.
What do I mean by lacking? The food tends to be over-cooked and the result are dried and shriveled McNuggets and Chicken Selects, over-oiled French Fries, microwaved burgers, and an experience leaving you still hungry.
Compare this to Wendy's, now my restaurant of choice. The cost is this:
5-Piece Nugget - $1
Small Fries - $1
Value Soda (20 oz) - $1
Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger - $1.29
An average meal for me is a soda, fires, nuggets, and maybe a burger. The burger's are fresh, but still tend to be small and mostly bun. But for $5, I'm getting more than I would at McDonald's. The food tends to be healthier as well.
My point in all of this? McDonald's isn't cheap anymore, it's fairly expensive. At KFC for what could be considered the same meal (3-Piece Strip, Biscuit, Soda, and Fries) your paying $5.49. The quality of the food tends to be good because, like Wendy's, they have eliminated TransFat and the food tends to taste better.
2 comments:
You left out the bit about how the workers are treated like shit. Mainly the grill employees.
Hi, my name is Chris Cates. I am currently a manager at a franchised mcdonalds in moscow, Id. I understand where you are coming from and what you are talking about. And on behalf of Mcdonalds I truley want to apoligize. I love my job and I am very passionate about my work with mcd corp. The real problem that seems to arise with the poor quality of food is quite simple. It's Crew Training, We have several employees that are either to lazy or just poorly trained. so what happens is they don't follow procedures. Mcdonalds as a company actually has very strict procedures for every thing with do whether its cooking fries or apoligizing for poor service. and when these procedures are followed it is ensured that your experience with us will be of quality, great service, value and cleanliness. And this is a serious problem that alot of stores are constantly working on. And I know thats not enough.. when I climb the latter in my carear through Mcdonalds, I assure you this will be something that is taken seriously. While at this current time the best I can do for now is to just maintaine and enforce great quality in our franchise. So I do hope you get the Oppurtunity to visit our establishment and rekindle your childhood experience with a satisfactory meal on us. And as for the cost issue, It is a really difficult situation to control as it varies accross the nation. But the only excuse I have for you on our front is that we pay more money now to our reputable suppliers, due to the extreme gas prices included with transportation. also with the increasing inflation of our economy, we start employees out at 8 dollars an hour here just to keep employment drops due to the wages of our competitors. So I do apoligize and if you have any more questions please feel free to contact me. again my name is Christopher Cates, Email: chrislogancates@hotmail.com... Store: Mcdonalds of Moscow 1 ... 1404 W. Pullman Hwy 83843 Moscow, Idaho. Owner: Mills Inc
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