Because, unless you go every weekend I honestly can’t complain (Europe) about the taste of the meals (even though they’re rising in pricing).
Also for what I’ve seen the ones we have are smaller than USA big menu
Back when they were significantly cheaper than competing products, it was “you get what you pay for.”
Now…just go to Wendy’s.
My bugbear with Mc’D’s is how they now always ask you if you are using their damned app.
I know I shouldn’t, and that they’re just teenagers reading from a script. But I just can’t help myself. Whenever they ask if I’ll be using the app, I flippantly reply, “nah, I don’t want Ronald reading my email.”
I don’t really eat there much, but I’ve heard that it’s significantly cheaper to eat there if you use the app.
I like the app personally, I like to modify my burger a lot so it saves me time and I don’t like talking to people, so instead of saying a long ass line of words I get to go
“Yes”
“My Code”
My Macca’s will just give you a thumbs up when it’s done and I don’t have to talk to people, plus when you’re in a line where everyone’s using it, it’s actually fast food again.
But I get why people won’t use it.
“I didn’t realize you guys did appetizers!”
And if you’re there with a group, spend some time asking everyone if they want to try the new appetizers before letting them correct the “misunderstanding”.
If you go there repeatedly, have your eyes light up each time they ask.
Yes.
It’s that bad everywhere!
USA here. I’ve gone to McDonalds twice in the past year. Here’s the experience:
- Wait in line at the Drive Thru for 15 minutes.
- Get to the speaker, no one acknowledges me for several minutes.
- Someone finally asks me what I want. I tell them and it’s radio silence for several minutes, no acknowledgement that they heard me. The screen that shows my order is shattered.
- “Pull around”
- Get to the window, person opens it and holds out their hand for my payment. Doesn’t tell me how much it is or confirm my order. Doesn’t respond when I say “Hello, how are you?”
- Get to the next window, wait several minutes.
- Get my food. Person at the window doesn’t respond to my hello, Doesn’t even look at me.
- Get home, fries are raw, order is wrong.
I go to Wendy’s sometimes for the chili and it’s a similar experience, but at least my order is always right. Taco Bell at least the people say hi, depending on who is working.
I don’t go to McDonald’s very often, but the location near me has remarkably good service. I never use the drive thru, so maybe that’s it. The one time I thought my order got messed up I had actually ordered the wrong thing, and they offered to replace it for free when I came back in to order the correct thing.
Must be your region, all of the McDonalds here in my state and the two I travel to next to me seem to be able to get it right, actually talk to me, the screens almost always work (almost), and the orders are almost always right (almost). I’ve never had raw fries, those are usually the best part of the meal. I don’t usually eat it unless I am roadtripping, but that’s been happening a lot recently.
None of this is to invalidate your experience, mind you. What region are you in, so we know where not to get McDonalds at?
I havn’t eaten at McDonads in years. Maybe 1 time in 10 years+.
But its not about the taste, its about everything else. I don’t really go to any of the major chain fast food places. Sometimes I will go to Taco Bell or Carl’s Jr but usually I try to go to the locally owned or regional chains.
In my area there is a place called Zips thats an old fashioned burger place and Taco Time which is not mexican food but a weird PNW version. They have crisp burritos that are so dang good.
Generally I try to support local so thats why I don’t go to McDonalds.
Hey, another Spokane user on Lemmy! There
aremay be dozens of us!Your description of Taco Time captures it perfectly. It should be their slogan.
TACO TIME
Not Mexican Food
They are very high on my list of things I miss from Washington.
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It’ll be interesting to see how things change now that we’ll possibly get flooded with unregulated meat from Argentina et al.
I wonder how much of it is people’s taste changing. As in people who didn’t eat good food before starting to realize there’s more to food than fast food so their opinion of McDonald’s changing over time.
I ask this because in South America and Europe McDonald’s has always been consistently the same taste since I can remember. There were a couple of random specific locations where the food was subpar, but in general it’s been the same, a Big Mac is a Big Mac since I started going to McDonald’s over 30 years ago and in every city I’ve eaten it (never been to the US though).
Having eaten at McDonald’s in both USA and Europe, I can say the food quality is noticeably better in Europe.
I can add that the same is true for south America and Japan. I don’t have an explanation for it, but the quality and taste is consistently worse in the USA compared to my experiences elsewhere. Incidentally, KFC is almost inedible in the USA, but quite good in Japan for example. Maybe it’s related.
I only ever get nuggets and fries there, and those always taste fine to me, I even look forward to it sometimes. can’t speak on the rest of the food they serve. thier water taste like ass
Same, but I stopped going after they raised the price to over a buck a nugget.
where do you live where its more than a Buck a nugget? I can get a 20pc for $8.39 and thats before any discounts from having thier app
Eastern North Carolina. The last time I picked up a 10pc meal, it was over $11.
Any food at the end of a long line of industrial processes is going to be bad. Fight me.
Flour
I was about to say something against it, but the only long processes I could think of were fermentation and pickling and they make stuff delicious - and those aren’t industrial.
and those aren’t industrial.
Mcdonalds used to be cheap, tasty, but unhealthy
Now it’s expensive, taste horrible 🤮, AND unhealthy.
IDK why they hate money so much, they’re tanking their company.
doesn’t bother them if they’re a property investment company
are they really though, they seem quite concerned that the sales been falling.
I know this was targeted at the US but Ill answer from my perspective as an Aussie. Maccas used to be a good option for a cheap but by no means healthy meal. I dont eat there anymore because I no longer eat meat and the only things I would consider buying are exorbitantly priced. $1 AUD for a hash brown was a decent price, $2 is ok but not great. $3.60 for a single hash brown is simply outrageous even before you consider they are 2/3 the size they used to be. Even if I did eat meat, there are far better, more substantial options available for the same price
McDonald’s ranks just above Arby’s. It isn’t cheap anymore, they have doubled their prices in the last 10 years completely divorced from inflation and you pretty much have to use a self-Order kiosk if you go inside.
I do live within a somewhat unreasonable drive of their corporate headquarters, so I can get the best version of McDonald’s possible in America if I have that level of self loathing.
I absolutely 99% of the time will go to Culver’s instead and pay like $2 more for a vastly better fast food experience despite having to drive 30mins round trip instead of 10 minutes.
I would love to try golden arches in a European country or Japan to find out how good McDonald’s can actually be.
I can get a double cheeseburger and fries from my local burger shop for $6 and not feel like shit after eating it. Why would I ever go to McDonald’s again?
Hell, I can spend like $3 more and get an 8oz sirloin and 2 sides (at least twice the food) from Texas Roadhouse instead of a bigmac meal at McDonald’s. The only time I’d even consider going there at this point is when they’re the only place open, and frankly I’d rather go to White Castle or Jack in the Box at that point.
This was about $4 USD in Ho Chi Minh City back in 2023. Looked much nicer than almost anywhere I’ve had in the US and tasted better too. Of course, you could get a special banh mi for half that price almost anywhere in the city.
100% with you on places like Culver’s. At McDonald’s new price point I would rather go somewhere slightly more expensive and get better food and/or experience.
Arby’s is pretty good
I miss the Arby-Q. I think it’s been 20-30 years now?
I have to travel at least 40min to have anything now
It’s ok to be wrong, just understand that you are and accept that.
While we’re at it, in n out is fucking terrible. Fries are the worst I’ve ever had, and burgers are bland
If you plan on going to Dubai, there is a McDonalds in the Burj Khalifa. There I got a spicy chicken burger. It was crispy, extremely delicious and they used a deboned thigh as the patty!
I would never knowingly give UAE my money.
Yes. It’s literal fucking dogshit in the USA and Canada now and for a long time. I was a trucker, sometimes I had to eat there for lack of options. The only time I ever found it passable was somewhere in Montana, Rocking i think, where they cooked it fresh after I ordered like the old days, it tasted like 1995.
Wait hang on… They don’t cook it freshly nowadays? What the crap? What do they do? Microwave it? How long does it take to cook a burger 😂?
A few years ago western Canadian Mcdonalds were advertising that their food was going to be served hot again, not warm. It’s pretty pathetic.
As far back as I can remember they’ve used these warming trays to keep items that were previously grilled warm until someone orders them. This is pretty much required for fast food with the volumes and wait time people expect, otherwise you’d be waiting 5+min for your burger.
It’s somehow always disappointing, but comforting.
I will say, McDonalds in Japan was pretty impressive. The food was still basically McDonalds’ flavors, but was made like they actually cared. All of our food looked like it did in the pictures, flawless bun and fries appearance. It was kind of jarring, since I couldn’t recall the last time I had seen a US McDonalds burger that wasn’t a loose-wrapper intentionally-squished disc of sadness, with ketchup splattered and leaking from the side of the bun.
