McDonald's announces major store change to win back customers

Why don't they simply reduce prices? Run specials like .99 Big Macs or 2 for $1 cheeseburgers. Bring back the McDonald's Monopoly game. Lower the prices and make it up in volume.

If they lowered their prices by 25 - 30%, they would see a large uptick in customers/visits.

They really kind of lost the plot and forgot their place.

The world would be a better place with no McDonald's.

Some of the down turn in sales must be the direct result of fatties taking Ozempic and not needing their fill of grease.

E. coli! My favorite!

I haven't had McDonald's in at least 9 years.

Here's the thing: no one wants to go to McDonald's and spend $50 to feed a family of 4. McDonald's has a place; they've forgotten it.

Reduce prices and extend breakfast hours. I don't see being open 24/7 being a big pull for customers.

So they're going to spend more hours a day selling food no one wants? That's... a choice.

They all look like prisons now and all the videos of people chimping out certainly don't help business.

You can see through their hamburger patties already they’re so thin.

We had McDonald’s as a treat when we were kids. I ate it only very rarely after that.

Then I read fast food nation in 2002. Haven’t eaten McDonald’s since.

I hate the fact that they got rid of so many employees, the stores are all self serve machines, you put in your own order and they don't even take cash...I want to talk to human. I want them to take the order...I am not there to do the fucking work for them!!!

[quote] I haven't had McDonald's in at least 9 years.

Your grammar is atrocious.

In the rest of the world, there food is not inedible crap---maybe they need to try that here.

[quote]r14 = Your grammar is atrocious.

But I got great gams.

R8 is right. Their breakfast foods look like the best options.

They tried serving (select) breakfast items all day/night but I guess that went away.

Is being open at 2am really going to turn things around? Doubtful.

All fast food is expensive now - better off going to a local place for the same $

If I was going to eat a ton of saturated fat I'd rather have ice cream.

If they stop eating Trumps ass and licking his balls perhaps we could have some loyalty towards them.

most of them around here keep the drive-thru open 24 hours

The menu is boring. It's not 1965 and people want more than a few onion silvers and one pickle chip on their burger.

I think Wendy’s burgers still taste much better.

They wanted to be a Chipotle's, selling up-priced fast food burgers to upscale Chipotle style customers, not cheap value meals to the icky poors.

Reaching for the stars, McDonald's

I am not against an occasional fast-food meal, but their food is atrocious. Low grade dog food at a premium price. And their locations are cold and not inviting. I drive right past them.

[quote]All fast food is expensive now

I beg to differ

I will stab a bitch for Wendy's.

McDonald's buns are dry, too airy and crumbly. The 'ground beef' has the texture of wet cardboard and absolutely no flavor, it's kind of creepy.

The fries are ok I guess. If they're fresh out of the oil. Their chicken tenders are better than others I think. I had one when we got a 4 pack for my dog.

I love their fried buffalo testicles and butter smoothies.

R28 Your dog must be healthy.

he's dead r30 😢

I just go to Chili’s when I’m down for some self loathing. . It’s costs less than McDonalds nowadays.

R31 McDonald's is not recommended for dogs... or humans.

r14 perhaps you should stay off the internet, you're quite delicate.

yes 50 bucks to feed 4. Or higher! When you could buy a wonderful dinner to make at home for your family. Roast a good chicken, something great for desert. McDonalds is fast food crap and it's not cheap.

I would have to be starving to death to eat McDonald's.

Bring back the pink slime!

Honestly they should just sell their fries in street corner carts in every city across the planet and call it a day

I do use the app every morning to get an app only deal for a 99 cent large coffee - that’s half the price of any deli nearby, and the McD’s restaurant is right in front of my subway entrance - that’s the only thing I ever get.

The vast majority of McDonald's locations are independently owned by franchisees. Not sure how many of them will go along with all of this unless they're forced to.

Why did they stop the Salad Shakers? The chicken Caesar salad one was good, i remember it had shredded parm.

I also use the app for breakfast only. I rarely eat breakfast but I crave a Sausage McMuffin once in a while...something they can't really fuck up. I also get a medium half decaf coffee that stays hot for a long time.

While McDonald’s is never going to be health food or a luxury item, if you’ve ever been to their European stores you know how much better they could be here. In Paris, the restaurants are clean and civilized, the employees don’t seem like they hate every second of life, and there are so many more diverse (and marginally healthier) food items that we don’t have here.

The French had a higher plateau of basic food preparation expectations from which to fall

I have this bizarre thing with Mcdonalds; i think, Oh, will i get Mcdonalds...then within 1 second my brain runs the gauntlet if wanting it, practically tasting it and mouth watering, then thinking how i feel so crap afterwards..so i then dont want it. This happens every time.

because you have a functioning brain that remembers what crap food it is. Your brain is reminding you how your body feels. Yes it is better in Europe but depends on the country and its regulations and the McDonalds policy in that country. For example in swizerland quite a bit of the food is sourced in switzerland and swiss meat and dairy is a stratosphere above American in quality.

R33 My accountant’s brother has three female English bulldogs and he takes them through the drive-through at McDonalds every day. They have one hamburger each. He’s retired and that’s his daily routine.

[quote]I hate the fact that they got rid of so many employees, the stores are all self serve machines, you put in your own order and they don't even take cash...I want to talk to human. I want them to take the order...I am not there to do the fucking work for them!!!

I still go inside to have a human take my order on the occasional visits I am in the mood for McD's. The only problem is, the human taking my order never speaks. Ever. They just push buttons on their terminal, look up at you and stare at you with those dead eyes buried into their tattooed face. You then look down at the screen in front of you with the total, and pay with your phone, or if you're old school like me - your credit card.

End of human interaction. The self-serve kiosk has more personality than these employees.

In my area I think a lot of people went to Jack in the Box and probably aren't going back to McD's.

McD's used to have a fair assortment of things under $5 and a lot of that disappeared.

They used to have breakfast all day, but they shrunk down the offerings and then discontinued it all together.

Those things are still available at Jack in the Box. They haven't been at McD's for years.

Some McD's sandwiches can be as high as $6 $7 and depending on where you are, there are other options. In the Midwest I'd sooner pay that amount or a bit more for Culver's, where the quality is much better.

McDonald’s is pulling the plug on CosMc’s, its experimental beverage-forward concept launched just last year.

Designed to capture the elusive afternoon snack crowd with colorful drinks and customizable treats, CosMc’s quickly made waves online but failed to stick around long-term. The company now says it will phase out all five remaining locations by the end of June.

But fans of CosMc’s vibrant menu don’t need to mourn just yet. McDonald’s confirmed that select beverages—like its turmeric spiced latte and frozen sour cherry energy drink—will be tested at traditional McDonald’s stores in the near future.

Their franchise locations need to install a McBuffet!!!

Mc’scuse me but where’s my fucking McRib sammich?!

I sometimes will go to McDonald's exclusively for their breakfast. I get an Egg McMuffin without the ham (just egg and cheese). The last few times I've gotten one though, they were not very good. The egg was overcooked and rubbery, and I couldn't justify paying $4 and change for one of them. I actually think Burger King has a better breakfast sandwich. Their eggs taste better to me and the softness and buttery flavor of the croissant pairs better with the egg than the dry English muffin.

The bottom line is McDonald's food is no longer [bold]affordable[/bold] and it's also no longer [bold]fast[/bold]. Their brand was built on fast, affordable food.

That's what they need to fix if they want to stay in business and not be reduced to just a few token restaurants here and there.

I'll go to McDonald's occasionally for coffee. I prefer the kiosk. I really don't like dealing with service people anymore. Most times they are either automatons who say nothing and exhibit no emotion or they are miserable. They add nothing to the interaction, usually detract from it. I don't see the point of their existence.

[quote]Why did they stop the Salad Shakers? The chicken Caesar salad one was good, i remember it had shredded parm.

They had side salads too but they stopped them all during the pandemic and never got them back.

Ask for a McChicken with Big Mac sauce. You're welcome.

[quote]If they stop eating Trumps ass and licking his balls perhaps we could have some loyalty towards them.

But you have to admit the probability that Trump's ass and balls taste exactly like McDonald's.

I don’t know about the McDonald’s around your parts, r57

What a disgusting thought R57!

McDonald’s regret (def): that feeling of regret you experience the second you finish eating McDonald’s.

R45 knows what I’m talking about.

ditch the sad soot-grey color scheme

My aged father still loves a Big Mac so I go every so often to grab one on my way to his nursing home (I can walk). So I go in and the whole experience is just depressing. The other customers are as bad or worse than the employees - and some seem vaguely threatening. The crap food takes inexplicably long to come out while everyone crowds the counter like resource-guarding dogs. Then, on the way out the ever-present panhandler hits you up for cash. It's all just gross.

And then I watch my father eat his Big Mac which has more sauce and lettuce than meat, and the thing slides around and breaks apart while he tries to eat it, making a huge mess.

This new "plan" of theirs shows they are clueless as to the real problem, so I don't expect any improvement.

McDonald's then and now. There was another one with an interior comparison, which I can't find. You can imagine the difference.

"We're going to stay open later. So if you're a drug addict wandering the streets and looking for a box of fries to get you through the night, or if you've been out all night bar hopping with your friends and need something to quickly shove down your gullet so you don't puke all over yourself, we're here for you. We aim to make McDonald's the envy of late night eateries for wasted people. Move over, Denny's and Taco Bell!"

R63 why did they go for goth-emo-dungeon?

Their restaurant redesigns/updates are horrible - not sure what look they were going for, but they wasted a lot of money on a huge mistake.

It looks like a crematorium

[quote]Ask for a McChicken with Big Mac sauce. You're welcome.

Sure - ask for it. First surprise: See if the Zoomer behind the register knows what you're requesting and knows how to ring that up. Second surprise: See what you get when you bite into it.

[quote[And then I watch my father eat his Big Mac which has more sauce and lettuce than meat, and the thing slides around and breaks apart while he tries to eat it, making a huge mess.

This is what he enjoys - no matter how messy it is - so treasure these moments.

My dad used to request a Whopper and onion rings from BK, and my sister and I would get him one on our way to the nursing home when he was there the last six months of his life with dementia. Most of his life he ate healthy and hardly any fast food, so when he started requesting BK a couple of times a week, we got it for him on our way to visit him, The smile on his face eating this lunch is what I'll always remember, as he didn't want to be in a nursing home and was becoming very depressed. Five years ago, on Memorial Day weekend, he tested positive for COVID (at age 88). Next week will mark five years he died. I still look at the photos on my phone of him eating his Whopper he so enjoyed. I cherish those memories.

Can confirm BK's breakfast was better tasting than McD's. Not the highest bar to clear but I agree.

I also like BK's chicken sandwich, which they haven't changed for years.

If you have a masochistic itch to scratch, go in a McDonald's to order a "meal".

The last time I did, I used the kiosk and ordered two items.

The counter staff was surly and hostile.

Got home and they had forgotten to place one of the items in my bag.

This was two years ago.

I won't be back.

I forgot to add, McDonald's "meals" are expensive as a Shake Shake. Shake Shake costs a little bit more, so if you have a craving for junk food, SS is the better option in terms of customer service and quality of food. SS has expanded a lot and it's also now a degraded experience but it is not the nightmare McDonald's' is. Sometimes I watch old movies that feature a McDonald's as as location, McDonald's' was the Shake Shake of it's day with fresh food and great customer service.

Next up on the chopping block?

Starbucks.

R71 R72 Wow - two years ago they forgot to put something in your bag, and you're not returning. You really showed them ! No forgiving on your part - you know how to hold a grudge.

And when you keep saying 'Shake Shake" are you referring to 'Shake Shack' by any chance ? Never heard of 'Shake Shake'.

Shake Shack service has degraded, for sure. They changed so that, like McD's, orders are now taken by kiosk.

They got us this month though, they've had a free burger promotion all month.

[quote]The counter staff was surly and hostile.

This is probably because they get paid so little that they can't live off of their wage R71. And because McDonald's pay so little they can't attract better quality staff. The staff also have to deal with a lot of rude and aggressive/violent customers so it's not exactly a dream job. The McDonald's and fast food lobby have been at the forefront of political lobbying to keep the minimum wage as low as possible and have fought wage rises zealously. Now those low wage earners can't afford to buy their product.

About twenty-five years ago, 'Johnny Rockets' took off like a rocket in RI (I guess it helped that the founder had ties to RI). They were opening everywhere, especially near the college campuses. They were more expensive (back then) than McD's, BK and Wendy's, but their quality was much better as was the service (could be their 'honeymoon period' which they wanted to make a good impression on their new customers). Slowly but steadily, their prices went up, their quality went down, and their service has dropped to the quality of BK and McD's. Their locations started closing one by one. Now it's down to two or three.

The fat bitch in me prefers a good Whopper.

[quote] I'll go to McDonald's occasionally for coffee. I prefer the kiosk.

I'd prefer the kiosk if they worked better. Often they're offline. And when they work they are tedious. It takes twenty-something clicks to buy a breakfast meal. Each decision has its own screen. And then the attempts to upsell and donate etc. At the drive-through you just say 'I want number 10 with a small black coffee." As an experiment, I find these kiosks interesting, but in reality they're not quite there yet.

[quote]This is probably because they get paid so little that they can't live off of their wage [R71]. And because McDonald's pay so little they can't attract better quality staff.

When I worked at a university as a library assistant, I would drive by a McDonald's on the way to the campus. They had one of their message signs attached to their parking lot sign, which usually had their deals or new items posted. However, the last year or so I was employed at the university, McD's was posting help wanted signs, with their 'starting wage' - which was twenty-five cents less than what it took me nine years to make at the university in a much more prestigious job. And my pay at the university library was 'in market range' of what other academic libraries in a fifty-mile radius were paying for my position.

I wish we had Jack In the Box and Carl's Jr. in the Northeast. As far as fast food goes, they're pretty good. McDonald's is garbage. At least we have Wendy's here.

McDonalds tried for a while to improve their drive-through business and young crowds and was less interested in catering to families, hence the interesting but less inviting interior and more kiosks. And just like Starbucks they had to realize that making things worse didn't make things better.

End Times Chic

Oh god, you are so right, R78. Way too many clicks and options. And it takes about three additional clicks just to place your order. Not to mention your order number flashes for a second before vanishing and you cannot remember it because it’s out of receipt paper. Again.

R83 WTF is a "cutback'?

I never gave McDonald's that much thought before R81. But it does seem to be a reflection of corporate America sucking the fun and joy out of everything and turning us into dull, joyless consumers.

McD's is no longer a bargain. I'd rather spend a couple bucks more and get something healthier and less processed. So I only eat fast food during car trips, or during a time crunch. Wendy's or BK usually. McD's is avoided for everything but breakfast sandwiches & coffee.

I would be tempted to get a burger if my local McDo looked like the fabulous ones through the 80s into the 90s. But I am in my 60s. Todays grey sludge boxes look like budget restrooms on highway rest stops. Not even the big designy truck stop structures. Just functional tractor trailer like buildings.

They were all reno'd into greige boxes. Like HGTVdonald's.

Imagine taking your kids to such a greige nightmare for a McDonalds birthday party.

[quote]The bottom line is McDonald's food is no longer affordable and it's also no longer fast. Their brand was built on fast, affordable food.

… and it’s no longer FOOD, r54.

So fuck it.

[quote]The smile on his face eating this lunch is what I'll always remember,

I give my Dad anything he wants to eat at this age. But when he's finished with that messy Big Mac he's miserable and always says, "That wasn't worth it." I mean, he's got dementia but he still has standards...

yup, shake shack. and yup,never returning. ever. you read my comment thoroughly enough to correct shake shack but not thoroughly enough to read about the hostile customer service. never returning. not even to use their toilet for an emergency. never.

All of these places are in the FAFO stage. They kept raising prices 'to what the market can bear' and started making people angry and changing their behavior.

Once people who liked your brand and product are angry about gouging and start to find other places - you've just shot yourself in the leg.

I love how they think there's so much business they're leaving on the table by not being open at 3am. They're not.

Everybody knows the answer - but execs pretend that it isn't it. Fine - fuck the big chains and big corporations - support local.

Grew up on Long Island there still is a McDonalds in Bay Shore where the back of the parking lot was a white four foot wall. When you got to it you realize it is a lake filled with ducks, geese and swans. We always got extra fries to feed them. That store probably made made more in fries with all the families lining the wall.

On NPR this week an commentator observed that many McDonalds employees are now aged over 50, and typically these older low wage/low skilled workers are the working poor. The economy has changed so much that these shift jobs are no longer taken by high school or college-aged kids earning money for textbooks and gas, but instead a growing underclass of people displaced from other jobs.

The ability to earn and save money in your 30’s and 40’s is becoming rarer, and people who can’t build assets end up working in rough, depressing jobs like standing over a fryer or driving around in a car delivering food and groceries.

I’d hate to be so vulnerable. Sorry to derail this thread, if I have,

unfortunately, getting a special or discount on the fast food apps seems to be where all this is heading ...

otherwise you are paying way too much

R92 As I said earlier, that's quite a grudge to hold against the company. As I read your post again thoroughly, it sounds like it was a one-off experience (your last visit there) and not a repetitive experience. Sounds like a rather extreme response for a one-time experience to me.

If I stayed away from every business because I felt the staff was surly and hostile and/or something was missing from my order on my last visit, I wouldn't have any place left to go. And it would certainly rule-out on-line businesses, as well. I can't imagine living like that - but I guess (after reading your post) some people do.

[quote]The economy has changed so much that these shift jobs are no longer taken by high school or college-aged kids earning money for textbooks and gas...

I don't know any college aged kid - let alone a high schooler - who is working any shift job at any company these days making an hourly wage and being responsible for themselves financially. They all stay home and play video games, or try to become a 'social influencer' and strike it rich. Mom and dads are paying for these Zoomers to exist financially.

yup, as i said. NEVER. AGAIN. I hope your franchise goes bankrupt and you lose everything.

I didn't feel anything. I experienced hostile customer service and they ripped me off. Never going back. No exception.

R99/R100 - bu-b-but-but we're going to stay open to 2am now? Does that mean NOTHING to you? Are you saying that keeping open for drug addicts, drunks and a few nightowls will NOT make you want to come back?

That's CRAZY TALK!

😂 NEVER!

I am a nightowl with no life and I will never set foot in MCDONALD'S ever again. 😂

[quote]I don't know any college aged kid - let alone a high schooler - who is working any shift job at any company these days making an hourly wage and being responsible for themselves financially.

Even with a service job, they still couldn't be responsible for themselves financially in 2025 with the cost of living. It also become rather déclassé for teens and college students of the middle/upper middle classes to work the service jobs that were routinely filled with them in past generations. And this doesn't just mean whites, either. It also applies to Asian an South Asian Gen Zers.

Lots of Indian professionals in the area where I live and they are so class conscious, even worse than whites.

[quote] If they stop eating Trumps ass and licking his balls …

McDonald’s and Lady G have something in common.

R41, I LOOOOOVED their Salad Shakers!!!! The Chicken Ceasar Salad one was my fave. I had my own parking spot in the late 90s.

Miss R92 has Stomped Her Hooves and Stated Her Boundaries!

And it's bad enough McDonald's can't nail a pleasant dining experience at 12 bucks. My last dinner at Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville de Crissier was highway robbery!

They all look like if a Starbucks fucked a Jiffy Lube.

starbucks is thisclose to being cancelled too.

The ambiance of the joint is like it was designed by an autistic lesbian with corporate interior design experience.

The staff, universally surly and rude.

The food is shit.

Any questions?

And expensive r112 expensive shit food and fucked customer service

Great DataLounge myths:

1, I wouldn't be caught dead eating at McDonalds, or any other fast food pace, for that matter.

2. I never have to wipe my ass after taking a dump. It always comes out easy and clean because I eat well.

3. I'm 85, but my friends all say I can pass for 25.

4. My pussy doesn't stink.

5. I'm clever

On the contrary, I think many DLers will admit to eating fast food, just not McDonalds.

I love junk and hardly eat there for the reasons stated already-tastes gross, overpriced, dark depressing design. There are cheaper tastier options if you're craving grease and salt.

Long ago, their filet o’ fish was tasty. Now, it tastes like they have downgraded every single ingredient to garbage. The sandwich tastes nothing like it used to.

Also, McDonalds wanted to be part of the enshitification of consumer goods and services but don’t want the consequences to bite them. Fuck’em.

I like Wendy's but McDonald's is sickening.

I always feel slightly nauseated after eating McDonald’s food. But never after Wendy’s.

And BK? They can’t even assemble a burger nowadays without it looking sad.

enshitification of consumer goods

I'd rather Rax, wouldn't you?

R121 It's a good term. I think it was originally coined about online sites/platforms, but it's also applicable to just about anything we as consumers use where the price stays the same or gets higher, but the consumer is eventually groomed to accept the slow decline in service quality....the slow enshittification.

Micky D’s fruit leather. That’ll bring customers back. That and juice-box wine.

bring back fajitas and the cheddar melt

It's not about bringing back any particular items. McDonald's success was its standard menu, which tasted the same no matter which McDonald's location you were in. Kids loved it, and adults were okay with it. It was a cheap place to treat your family on Friday night, so Mom didn't have to cook. They overcomplicated the business model and overpriced the basic items.

McDonald's wasn't an everyday place; it was a sometimes place. How many of your moms said the classic line when the kids asked for McDonald's, "We have McDonald's at home."

Booze might make this dog food more palatable. Maybe get some liquor licenses for the 3AM drunks needing Big Macs.