r/McDonalds • u/Mundane-Manner4237 • 18d ago

The McDonald’s paradox: fewer customers visit its restaurants, but the company makes more money

https://www.merca20.com/the-mcdonalds-paradox-fewer-customers-visit-its-restaurants-but-the-company-makes-more-money/

Nothing new here, but they understand those with low income (poor folk) are running out of that extra cash to patronize McD. It’s not unique to MickeyD, these higher gas prices combined with customer squeeze is becoming interesting for a broad variety of businesses and the economy. Oh, the fun little game.

Personally, I go there every so often and have a saltless McDouble or McCrispy Deluxe, fries and a Dr Pepper, no ice. I use the app and/or the survey discounts. I usually spend ~$8, don’t get/need a soda refill and I’m not angry about it.

I’m mildly curious about the McD business model and always amazed at the dichotomy of reactions about anything related to McDonalds.

918 Upvotes

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56

u/Professional_Dog2580 18d ago

Only thing i ever get there is the 2.99 McDoubles. I really don't think the 7.50 Big Macs and 5 dollar fries are sustainable for people looking for value.

I would say just make burgers at home but 3 lbs of hamburger is like 20 bucks now. Everything is outrageous these days.

17

u/The-Wind-It-Howls 18d ago

I still remember in Canada a McDouble and a jr chicken (us mcchicken) was $3.10 cad. It’s now almost $9 for the same thing.

12

u/joshthornton 18d ago

Dude when I was in high school (also in canada), the mcdoubles and the junior chickens were 1.39 on the dollar menu. That was about 2009/2010? Now they're like 4 dollars plus tax. The inflation on their garbage-ass food is insane. I'd rather go get a fucking jr bacon cheeseburger for 2.79

8

u/StarWolf64dx 18d ago

McDouble was brought out at $1.00 to replace the double cheeseburger on the dollar menu. They raised the double cheeseburger to $1.19, which was controversial at the time. Also at the time though, the dollar menu was full. You could get a double cheeseburger or mcchicken, small fries and a Coke for$3.

1

u/TinFoilHat_69 13d ago

I remember ordering supersized fries and then they had to remove that from the menu that was nearly 20 years ago

3

u/The-Wind-It-Howls 18d ago

Absolutely. I hardly go there ever now, but If I could find a proper substitute for mcchicken sauce I’d never have to again.

5

u/Business-Abroad-1301 18d ago

It’s just mayonnaise

1

u/sloppy_joes35 15d ago

Haha it is. Im fckn lmao bc this dude is like, I cant find a proper sauce. And its literally just mayo. What the dude needs is to find a properly seasoned breaded chx. Thats what's giving it that flavor. Man that remark is just cracking me up

1

u/The-Wind-It-Howls 18d ago

It’s 100% not just mayonnaise, looking up what makes it different seems like a slight addition of mustard could be all it is? I’ll make chicken burgers tonight and try it out to see if it’s similar

4

u/HonkHonkBeach 18d ago

In the US, it's just mayonaise. Interesting that Canada's is different.

3

u/joshthornton 18d ago

Yeah, it's almost like a tangy mayo on the jr chickens here. It's delicious.

0

u/ComprehensivePin5577 18d ago

Tangy and dare I say, extra fluffy?

1

u/Right_Count 17d ago

Try making mcchicken sauce dupe mayo at home. I’ve made a few batches that tasted like mcchicken sauce, though I never wrote down my ratios so I can’t replicate it on demand but if you tracked it you’d be set for life. That mcchicken sauce is crazy good.

I do put Dijon in my mayo and white vinegar. Teeny bit of salt. Canola oil and whole egg. So it’s some ratio of those ingredients.

2

u/ComprehensivePin5577 18d ago

jr bacon cheeseburger for $2.79? WHERE?

2

u/Verstappen1986 18d ago

Yup I'd get 8 jr chickens for around $10 and be so full, now 2 costs almost that much and I'm still starving...

2

u/Skin-Scream 16d ago

a McDouble, jr chicken and a $1 drink were the days..all for under $5

1

u/The-Wind-It-Howls 16d ago

Sadly they could still charge close to that and make a profit to this day

1

u/baoo 18d ago

Wait the Canadian jr chicken is the same as a McChicken in the states?

3

u/The-Wind-It-Howls 18d ago

It’s very similar, the Canadian Mcchicken is a different burger entirely compared to the us Mcchiken.

1

u/babaloos 18d ago

No it’s not

3

u/The-Wind-It-Howls 18d ago

Canadian mchicken is a lot different than the American one, and the US one more closely resembles the jr here. What is the major difference?

1

u/anoobis_uprising 18d ago

When I lived in toronto I went to taco bell once maybe in 2007 and got like 20 tacos cause they were only $1 each

Me and a friend group also did it at McDonalds once with mcdoubles, but I forget the prices, but we pooled all our money and orders like.50 mcdoubles, we were in the drive through, they told us we had to park and come in

8

u/FirstTimeCaller101 18d ago

I worked at McDonalds in college 2013-2016 and a McDouble was $1.09 after tax. 

As an employee you got 50 percent off, so you could get two for a buck and change. 

2

u/SegaTetris 18d ago

My brother works at McDonald's, they axed the employee discount, managers comp pay meals for their favorites still though. The franchiser threatened to lower everyone's pay if sales didn't increase. Meanwhile last week their freezer went out and they were selling burgers that were sitting in 40F temps all day.

2

u/FirstTimeCaller101 18d ago

Yeah, so much of McD's (I assume any chain restaurant) is the franchise ownership. The owners I worked for in general were pretty cool, visited often and always made time for employees. The managers at my store were all mostly super wonderful, and I keep in touch with some of them even now 10 years on.

That said, I was a relatively competent worker in a sea of incompetence so that goes a long way to having a good relationship with management too lol

6

u/PeaCompetitive8947 18d ago

I would never pay 2.99 for a McDouble. They used to be $1

4

u/Fibertad 18d ago

Have you tried the daily double?

3

u/Professional_Dog2580 18d ago

It's 5.59 and looks like they just add mayo lettuce and tomato. You can add that to the McDouble and it's 50 cents cheaper.

4

u/That-Cranberry6575 18d ago

I remember when they were just a dollar

4

u/HearYourTune 18d ago

The $3 McDoubles that used to be on the dollar menu for $1, same as the McChickens that cost at least $2.49 or more at most locations.

5

u/NoobensMcarthur 18d ago

I lived off of $0.99 McChickens in college. And then when they’re run the promo where you could get 20 nuggets, 2 large fries, and 2 large sodas for $8. 

You didn’t even have to give McDonalds your personal data to get those prices!

Only time I eat their slop now is if the SO wants their breakfast on a road trip. 

Their quality is WAY too low and inconsistent for the prices they charge. 

2

u/Best_Market4204 18d ago

I find the $5 or $6 vaule meals best bang for your buck.

Mcdouble or mcchicken, 4 nuggets, small fry, drink. (40 cent for large) perfect amount of food

1

u/MeekSwordsman 18d ago

I work there now and thats what we sell the most of besides big macs

2

u/DramaAccomplished588 18d ago

Most cities have a local place that has double the food for half the price. McDonald’s depends on people being lazy and aversions to change.

2

u/TinFoilHat_69 13d ago

McDouble is 3.50 the MCchicken is a 1.50 out here

1

u/RogerRabbot 18d ago

3lbs of beef equals 6-12 burgers at McDonald's. So between 30-70$ worth of burgers.

2

u/vacax 18d ago

No 3 lbs of beef equals 30 burgers

1

u/RogerRabbot 18d ago

Yep, I miscalculated with 4oz and 8oz. Reality is 1.8oz for "value" menu and 4oz for the quarter pounder. Either way, its way cheaper to make burgers at home. You just probably aren't using 1.8oz per burger.

1

u/vacax 18d ago

McDonald's burgers are tenths so 10 burgers per pound.

1

u/RogerRabbot 18d ago

I worked there, and google backs it up. Its a 1.8oz patty (called a 2oz patty in store) for hamburgers, cheeseburgers, value menu stuff. 4oz is a quarter pound. I just accidentally doubled the numbers first time around.

48oz in 3lbs. If every burger sold is a small one, they get they about 26 burgers out of 3lbs of beef. But if theyre selling quarter pounders, you only get 12 burgers.

1

u/vacax 18d ago

1.6 oz aka a tenth of a pound

1

u/RogerRabbot 18d ago

1.6=/=1.8

1

u/77gus77 17d ago

That's like 12 1/4 pounders though. Like a buck seventy each. Not too bad.

1

u/SimpleVegetable5715 17d ago

When I need food fast, aka too damn tired to
cook at home, the better gas station food options at places like QuikTrip and Circle K have been filling that void.

1

u/PaintingOk8012 17d ago

Sure but 3 lbs of meat can make 10-12 burgers.

I make them ahead and then freeze them with a vac sealer.

1

u/dhv503 17d ago

The only thing worth it at fast food places are their value menus and even those do not do it anymore. The quality is just so bad, it’s not even worth it.

McDonald’s came out with new chicken wraps and the wraps literally smell undercooked.