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McDonald's year over year sales were terrible. How would you fix (1 Viewer)

Soulfly3 said:
Henry Ford said:
eoMMan said:
They had pizza at one point?

Jesus, how old are you ####ers?
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He's Canadian. Their Taco Bells serve fries. It's the tradeoff for living in a frozen wasteland known as the hat of the U.S.
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fries?

you mean cheese fries and fries supreme??????

Remains the only thing to go to TB for... fries slathered in taco toppings and their dog meat
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Yes. That's what I mean.

I do appreciate that you're willing to argue about my giving Taco Bell fries the proper respect, but have no issue with being referred to as "the hat of the U.S."

 
It's been years since I've eaten at McDonalds. The problem I had wasn't brand perception or price it was quality. Plain and simple. The burger was salty, gray and void of flavor. . .other than the overwhelming saltiness of it. The fries were okay but they weren't crisp like they used to be, saltier than hell. My son had a milk shake, it was thin and watery. I haven't had a breakfast meal from there in over a decade but, going from memory, the eggs were always cold and bland. I will say, even though I never eat there, I do stop for a cup of coffee.

If you're not a coffee snob and you just need a hot cup of caffeine to wake yourself up, I do think they make a decent cup of coffee when you really, really need a cup of coffee and you are a cheap b@star@d. For $1.50 or whatever a coffee costs, honestly, I think you could do worse.

 
culdeus said:
we discussed this in the stock thread a long time back. someone posted an article that was perhaps one of the best articles I've ever read about a company, but damn if I can find it with the search engine or google.

Someone like this post so I don't go kill myself.
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I remember the article. I think Sand posted it.
 
Henry Ford said:
Soulfly3 said:
Henry Ford said:
eoMMan said:
They had pizza at one point?

Jesus, how old are you ####ers?
Click to expand...
He's Canadian. Their Taco Bells serve fries. It's the tradeoff for living in a frozen wasteland known as the hat of the U.S.
Click to expand...
fries?

you mean cheese fries and fries supreme??????

Remains the only thing to go to TB for... fries slathered in taco toppings and their dog meat
Click to expand...
Yes. That's what I mean. I do appreciate that you're willing to argue about my giving Taco Bell fries the proper respect, but have no issue with being referred to as "the hat of the U.S."
Click to expand...
Why argue? The US is our toilet bowl ;)

 
Soulfly3 said:
Henry Ford said:
Soulfly3 said:
Henry Ford said:
eoMMan said:
They had pizza at one point?

Jesus, how old are you ####ers?
Click to expand...
He's Canadian. Their Taco Bells serve fries. It's the tradeoff for living in a frozen wasteland known as the hat of the U.S.
Click to expand...
fries?

you mean cheese fries and fries supreme??????

Remains the only thing to go to TB for... fries slathered in taco toppings and their dog meat
Click to expand...
Yes. That's what I mean. I do appreciate that you're willing to argue about my giving Taco Bell fries the proper respect, but have no issue with being referred to as "the hat of the U.S."
Click to expand...
Why argue? The US is our toilet bowl ;)
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Wait, what does that make Mexico? And why is there a hat on the toilet?

 
Of the fast-food chains McDonalds is pretty low - crappy food, crappy service, older buildings, etc. Just feels like a poor dining experience.

On top of that, my kids saw the report on pink slime and refuse to ever eat at McDonalds - the don't care if the report is true, or if other chains have questionable food products, they equate McDonalds with something unnatural. :shrug:

 
I still eat McDonald's breakfast sandwiches from time to time and they've gotten a good bit of business from me on $1 32oz Cokes over the last few years, but I've come to hate their burgers. I seriously can't handle the taste anymore.

 
I think people have hit on some of they key points. Offer cook to order and fresh/local options where it makes sense. Don't kill the cheap/fast stuff for those people that are looking for that, but get with the times. I think they tried to do that with "healthy" options but missed the real target.

 
I still hit up McD's or Wendys about once a week. I know what I am getting in for, and if I'm looking to spend less than $3 and need something quick, it is convenient. Usually will get a grilled chicken wrap and a cheeseburger or something similar. It's really not that bad :shrug:

 
Their prices have gone up while their "food" has fallen considerably into "non-food" territory. For the price of a combo meal I can get a huge, real burger with real fries and a salad from the food truck one block away. Or I could spend like $2 more and go to the Five Guys 1 block in the other direction.

Also, at McDonald's I always ask for extra pickles and every freakin time without fail they take an already made normal burger, slap the extra pickles sticker on it and call it good. I swear to god one of these days I'm going to leap over the counter. You had ONE JOB!!!

So my recommendations would be to start selling real food and if you aren't going to do that, at least make it cheaper than the other guys. Oh, and start giving people what they actually order.

 
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culdeus said:
Mr. Ham said:
Wife and I were discussing yesterday how Hershey's is switching off of high fructose corn syrup. I think that within 10 years the science will be irrefutable and a day of reckoning will come for business that kill people with food, like the backlash with tobacco in the 80s. People are getting culturally wiser to the contribution of bad food to poor health and things are apt to get far worse for brands that purvey death products.

Could be wrong, but I see punitive measures in terms of lawsuits and restrictions in our lifetime. Won't end well for burger chains.

Not saying they'll go away, but I predict that it gets a lot more expensive to operate and some of their profits go into education that their food is poison.
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Lol, you are still on the china study as gospel and hfcs as the devil. Does your google searching stop at 2011?
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Whether or not animal protein is a factor is almost moot. Combination of fats and sugars sold at ridiculously low price points lead quite clearly to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Cancers may be harder to prove correlation.

My point is that it can reasonably be theorized that the food itself and the way it is marketed and sold contribute to significant disease, and ergo death. That theory will be nothing but proven out empirically over time. You certainly don't need to take my word for it. I say this because the movement of healthcare to more global systems backed by big data will naturally facilitate more accurate reporting and empirical evidence for these kinds of correlations.

I'm just making a prediction that the trend towards quality information being available are going to catch up to truth, which will not be kind to several food companies (*cough* soda) and chain restaurants.

 
The breakfast mcgriddle is awesome and the hamburgers are OK.

My wife has very fond memories of eating McDonalds with her dad [SIZE=13.63636302948px]when she was young [/SIZE](it used to be a treat for her to go with him and enjoyed spending time with him) therefore we do take our son there.

 
shader said:
I'd take the Hardees/Carls Jr approach: Embrace the fact that you sell food that isn't good for you. Bring back the fries that everyone and their brother loved.
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This.

They should change their restaurant lay-out. Instead of tables and booths, have little cubicles with high walls. Call them "Consumption cubicles," or something catchy. This would let all the fatties eat as many burgers as they want out of the eye of judgemental people. Their overall customer base may go down, but they'll get a lot more $ out of each customer. I mean, imagnie how many burgers some of these folks would eat if they could eat 5 Big Mac's without having everyone stare at the guy eating 5 Big Mac's.

 
mrip541 said:
Their prices have gone up while their "food" has fallen considerably into "non-food" territory. For the price of a combo meal I can get a huge, real burger with real fries and a salad from the food truck one block away. Or I could spend like $2 more and go to the Five Guys 1 block in the other direction.

Also, at McDonald's I always ask for extra pickles and every freakin time without fail they take an already made normal burger, slap the extra pickles sticker on it and call it good. I swear to god one of these days I'm going to leap over the counter. You had ONE JOB!!!

So my recommendations would be to start selling real food and if you aren't going to do that, at least make it cheaper than the other guys. Oh, and start giving people what they actually order.
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You ask for extra pickles, they give you extra pickles. Sounds like they did their job to me :shrug:

ETA: Sorry, I didn't see the word "sticker". Carry on.

 
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They need to just go back to being what they were. Maybe have one specialty or promotional item going at one time. They try to get a piece of every kind of competitor whether it is starbucks, subway or the other fast food giants. Nobody knows what they are anymore. I would not be surprised if they started selling cheap clothes to compete with target or walmart or toiletries to compete with cvs and rite aid. "Would you like any socks or soap with your value meal today?"

 
Fat Nick said:
shader said:
I'd take the Hardees/Carls Jr approach: Embrace the fact that you sell food that isn't good for you. Bring back the fries that everyone and their brother loved.
Click to expand...
This.

They should change their restaurant lay-out. Instead of tables and booths, have little cubicles with high walls. Call them "Consumption cubicles," or something catchy. This would let all the fatties eat as many burgers as they want out of the eye of judgemental people. Their overall customer base may go down, but they'll get a lot more $ out of each customer. I mean, imagnie how many burgers some of these folks would eat if they could eat 5 Big Mac's without having everyone stare at the guy eating 5 Big Mac's.
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Isn't that what the drive thru and parking lot are for?

 
Not gonna lie, I could go for a double quarter pounder with cheese right about now. haven't had one in several years, but damn it...this thread.

 
pollardsvision said:
Riversco said:
Here's my experience. If I want to get a quick breakfast in the morning, I might go to AM PM and grab a sausage egg and cheese croissant out of the warmer. I'm in and out in 30 seconds. If I want a breakfast sandwich from McDonalds, I have to stand in line, wait for them to cook it, call me over, and it takes 5x as long.

The AM PM sandwich tastes better, is cheaper, and faster. Why should I go to McDonalds?
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You are worried about speed......so you park the car and walk into the building?

McD's and a couple of other places have installed a fancy system where you don't even need to get out of your car to order/pay/receive your food. It might be worth checking out. Not that I'm advocating for McD's, but of all the complaints to have about them, speed shouldn't be one of them. At least not until you've tried the thing where they serve you in your car.

I didn't check my notebook, so if you live in a large city and walk to work, please disregard. Though, I assume if that were the case, you'd be telling us about the 50 great local joints within 3 blocks of you to get an amazing breakfast sandwich.
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If you are talking about drive-thru, it is often not as fast as going in at many times in many places.

 
The question is does it not taste like it used to taste? When I was younger I remember McDonald's being a guilty pleasure, more pleasure than guilty. The last time I ate there it tasted like cardboard. The hamburger tasted different to me. So is that because it is actually different or did I just get older and my taste buds changed? I just don't think it is the same. I know they stopped cooking the fries in the beef tallow but that can't be the only thing that changed.

 
Maybe they should have just kept their stock in Chipotle

Chipotle became a susidiary of McDonald's in 1999 when McDonald's acquired the controlling stake of the company. At one point, McDonald's owned shares accounting for approximately 87% of the voting power of Chipotle's common stock. In Chipotle's earlier stages, McDonald's helped Chipotle's operations by sharing its own distribution networks.

Currently, Mcdonald's no longer has anything to do with Chipotle Mexican Grill. They have divested completely from Chipotle.
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Henry Ford said:
I do appreciate that you're willing to argue about my giving Taco Bell fries the proper respect, but have no issue with being referred to as "the hat of the U.S."
Click to expand...
Sort of lost its bite now that we're suckling on their oil teat. Now they're more like America's brassiere.

 
I love Big Macs, even though they should be called the "Slightly Large Mac" now. They are about half the size they used to be.

The sauce they put on that is like crack to me.

 
Mister Martie said:
Hilts said:
Mister Martie said:
Hilts said:
I don't think it's terribly difficult. One, accept there are loads more competitors than ever before.

Two, stop trying to be what you're not. They're cheap, fast, consistent, mediocre meals. Keep the prices low as possible and advertise, advertise, advertise. More product placement in children's shows, and tie ins with kid's products.
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Cheap (it's really not that cheap), fast, consistent and mediocre isn't going to sustain a company this size anymore. That's what they are finding out. I'd also say that they aren't perceived as having mediocre food, they are perceived as having terrible food. They don't have a lot of fat to cut on prices either.I'm pretty sure McDonalds is aware of the competitive environment they are in. I'm not sure how recognizing that is going to help them.
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Lower quality food, what have you. I refuse to believe costs/prices can't be lowered. Advertise, pretty up the packaging. Maybe toy with the idea of running out a 'premium' line, either in store, or another store under another name. In that vein, also toy with the idea of turning some of these stores into a Starbucks type lounge for the food environment.
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Recognize they are cheap low quality food and cut prices. At the same time, create a premium brand and build higher end lounge spaces for their customers. Also, pretty up the packaging.Sounds like a brilliant plan.
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I'm not going to write an entire business plan, buddy. The premium brand obviously would not be the same as the standard.

 
shader said:
I think the "parents not taking their kids to McD's" angle is big. For whatever reason, when i take my kids to McDonald's, I feel like a failure as a father. Like if my friends see me doing it they'll think "man what a loser, takes his kids to Mcdonald's". It's all in the image, I know...but that's the image they have now. Crap food that is horrible for you.

Even though I'd argue it's ten times worse to take your family to Chili's/Friday's/Outback or any of the sitdown chain restaurants that are absolutely LOADED in calories.
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I agree. Fridays, Chili's is far worse with all the sodium and calories.

When I take my kid to McD's once in a while (which for us is about 3-4 times a month) for a quick easy meal he has the original hamburger for 79 cents (49 cents on Wednesday and Sunday) plain with ketchup a small fry and an unsweet iced tea. About 360 calories. If he is still hungry one more burger and add another 250 calories. Kid is super active and burns that meal in his sleep.

It's all about what you order there. Big Macs and large fries, and cokes and shakes all the time...that's why 1/3 of kids are freaking whales now.

I ate at McD's as a kid....it was fine as long as it is not all the time. Too many people eat this crap 3-4 days a week. That is insane. And the ones who go to Chili's and Fridays once or twice a week...even worse. Much worse. Best meals are made at home on the grill.

 
Rayderr said:
Fat Nick said:
shader said:
I'd take the Hardees/Carls Jr approach: Embrace the fact that you sell food that isn't good for you. Bring back the fries that everyone and their brother loved.
Click to expand...
This.

They should change their restaurant lay-out. Instead of tables and booths, have little cubicles with high walls. Call them "Consumption cubicles," or something catchy. This would let all the fatties eat as many burgers as they want out of the eye of judgemental people. Their overall customer base may go down, but they'll get a lot more $ out of each customer. I mean, imagnie how many burgers some of these folks would eat if they could eat 5 Big Mac's without having everyone stare at the guy eating 5 Big Mac's.
Click to expand...
Isn't that what the drive thru and parking lot are for?
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I suppose...but that could be a differentiation strategy. "You don't have to eat shamefully in your car. You can eat shamefully in the restuarant like the rest of the folks."

 
As a matter of interest for this thread I just visited the McDonalds around the corner and ordered a "double cheeseburger, dressed like a Mac" at the advice of a friend.

That's a double cheeseburger, with the big mac sauce on it.

Pretty convinced if they just sold this, at a reasonable cost (which it currently is) - They could hit the jackpot.

It tasted WAY better than a traditional big mac. jesus. and really, it isnt all that different. at all. but it just tasted way better

 
For purely scientific reasons I went to McDonald's for lunch. Ordered a burger with extra pickles. Open bag, see extra pickles sticker on burger. Open wrapper, no extra pickles on burger. I walked back up and said I actually wanted extra pickles on the burger and not just the sticker. Guy rolled his eyes at me, but I got my extra damn pickles. RESIST!!

 
mrip541 said:
For purely scientific reasons I went to McDonald's for lunch. Ordered a burger with extra pickles. Open bag, see extra pickles sticker on burger. Open wrapper, no extra pickles on burger. I walked back up and said I actually wanted extra pickles on the burger and not just the sticker. Guy rolled his eyes at me, but I got my extra damn pickles. RESIST!!
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Those SOB's. Should have sued for false advertising.

 
mrip541 said:
For purely scientific reasons I went to McDonald's for lunch. Ordered a burger with extra pickles. Open bag, see extra pickles sticker on burger. Open wrapper, no extra pickles on burger. I walked back up and said I actually wanted extra pickles on the burger and not just the sticker. Guy rolled his eyes at me, but I got my extra damn pickles. RESIST!!
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Did he put an "EXTRA SPIT" sticker on it?
 
I don't know if it's been said here, but their competition has gone thru the roof. Most people don't even think that a place like WaWa competes with them......

 
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