McDonald's looks to sell quality: the makeover

[K8memphis]

....Sure enough it was good, cheap, fast and frozen/thawed greens again. Dag nab it. I mean you push against all the deserved bad reputation then you gotta deal with crapola.  They could fix the frige problem, no?

I mean if I have to drive to the other one down the road, I might as well drive a block more & get a LaBaguette's cobb salad--beaucoups of good, a couple dollars more but never frozen!

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If you've reported the problem to that location's manager and the problem still persists, you should email McDonald's corporation to let them know that this franchise location has a reported but unresolved issue with their food. The McDonald's corporation doesn't like it when someone is f-ing up their food.

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After calling several restaurants (for 2 days) and getting their fax machines I finally got someone but she insisted they were too busy and could I call back. I said no I could not call back. So she was able to cough up a number. It was not the corporate number for my IQF salad but that corporate office was intrigued to learn of the number of fax machines hooked up and that the chickie was not too busy to argue with me but too busy to give me a number.

So finally I get to the right corporate and they were indeed grateful for the info. She wanted my name and number and I then insisted that no coupons be sent that I wanted nothing except to let them know they have a problem.

[CaliPoutine]

I did try the SSCC yesterday. It was tasty. The breast was big( it hung over the sides of the bun). The bun was meh, kinda soft and spongy. I did ask for extra pickles on the sandwich and I added some mayo. I actually had the value meal for 4.40 plus tax. ( this was in MI)

Later on, I ran thru the drivethru for a fruit and yogurt parfait to bring back with me to Canada. We have them here, but they're 1.00 more. The fruit was totally frozen and I swear its at least 2oz smaller than it used to be.

[jsmeeker]

I did try the SSCC yesterday.  It was tasty.  The breast was big( it hung over the sides of the bun).  The bun was meh, kinda soft and spongy.  I did ask for extra pickles on the sandwich and I added some mayo.  I actually had the value meal for 4.40 plus tax. ( this was in MI)

Later on, I ran thru the drivethru for a fruit and yogurt parfait to bring back with me to Canada.  We have them here, but they're 1.00 more.  The fruit was totally frozen and I swear its at least 2oz smaller than it used to be.

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did you get the snack size or the regular size one?

I have had issue with some slightly frozen fruit before with mine, but if I let it sit for a bit, it thaws out. Yeah, the fruit should probably be totally frozen before the assemble them, but generally it hasn't been a major issue for me,

[CaliPoutine]

did you get the snack size or the regular size one?

Snack size.

[jsmith]

I tried the Angus burger the other day and must admit I was really impressed.

I got the bacon cheeseburger version and a milk which set me back $8 and some change.

The burger is really big. The cheese is real. It's just crappy orange cheddar, but much better than the processed stuff. It was topped with slices of red onion and tomato, with whole leaves of lettuce. There was some bad sauce on it I would skip next time. The meat was so so (came out of a steaming tray). I found this burger very comparable to what you would get at a generic chain restaurant (not fast food). Not the best burger I've ever had, but decent and miles ahead of anything else I've ever had at McDonalds.

[Toliver]

McDonald's now receives more revenue from Europe than it does from the United States, even though they have less restaurants in Europe.

Here's an interesting article on how they've been able to adapt their stores to their respective franchise countries:

"A Golden Recipe for McDonald's Europe"

I also thought this was spot on:

In the U.S., customers tend to eat on the go, and around 70% U.S. sales come from drive-throughs. Europeans prefer to linger. "In Europe it's more about the experience," he says. "It's convenient and a destination place at the same time."

They're also launching more McCafés in the European restaurants where I think they'll be a big hit.

The Gym Clubs (instead of play areas) sound intriguing and make me wonder if they could find success here in the states. Wouldn't it be ironic if kids could get fit at a McDonald's?

And who do we call so we can get the "Le Saga du Fromage" here, as well?

In France, McDonald's serves wine and runs an annual promotion called Le Saga du Fromage, where instead of the usual cheddar, burgers are topped with beloved French cheeses such as Reblochon. The concept has now been rolled out across Europe and Latin America.

[WiscoNole]

I wont be trying the Angus Burger because I dont eat meat.  I did, however, order a grilled chicken sandwich last month. 

Um...

[CaliPoutine]

I wont be trying the Angus Burger because I dont eat meat.  I did, however, order a grilled chicken sandwich last month. 

Um...

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um what? I dont eat red meat, but I do eat chicken.

[Jon Savage]

I had one of the Angus burgers. It was in a word... gross.

Ever since McDs stopped cooking their burgers on a flattop griddle onsite and opted for a weird airline/steam tray holding setup + microwave their quality has declined drastically on the burger front.

I know it was never haute cuisine but in my youth ('70s) it was at least an unpretentious decent burger. Now it just leaves a lump in my belly and buyer's remorse.

Adding insult to injury the fries have been missing a certain something (tallow?) for some time now.

[Toliver]

In this struggling economy, McDonald's is planning on expanding, with the majority of the new restaurants to be built in Asian countries:

"McDonald's To Open 1,000 Units"

In a related story (which can be Googled) they will be renaming the "Dollar Menu" as the "Saver's Menu" (if they haven't already done so in your neighborhood) which alleviates having to feature only dollar items on the menu.

[Toliver]

McDonald's is doing surprisingly well in France:

"Ronald McDonald: A 30-year romance with France"

There are 60 million people in France, and over 1 million of them eat a McDonald's meal every day.

I think it's interesting how McDonald's changed the way it operates in order to better assimilate into the country and win over the customers.

[Toliver]

McDonald's has introduced a sweet tea. I found it to be pretty good. It had a nice brewed undertone to it and was, of course, very sweet. It made me wonder if the brewed flavor was real or if it was artificially added.

I'd also recommend they don't go too heavy on the ice when ordering. By the time I finished the tea, it seemed like I still had a full cup of ice.

I just did a web search on their sweet tea and discovered that some McDonald's will charge you extra if you request anything less than a full cup of ice with your sweet tea:

McDonald's Charges More For Sweet Tea With Anything Less Than A "Full" Cup Of Ice

Wazzup wit dat? I imagine they're going to be doing some quick backpedeling on that issue given the bad PR they could get for doing that. I have a feeling it's a franchise issue and not a corporate issue.

[OliverB]

Better revenue in Europe? It's the beer! You can get a decent beer at a McD in Germany, and no, it's not that bottle back wash bud either. And the crappiest burger tastes better with a beer

On the new prime coffee side I have to laugh though, if it's early in the morning and I crave a good strong coffee, the last place I'd ever visit is a place that smells like frying oil and burgers.....

[emilyr]

They really brew the tea, both for the sweet tea and the unsweetened. The excuse we got for "not recommending" less than a full cup of ice is that the tea might still be hot. I guess they brew the tea and add sugar syrup before putting it in the dispenser. I don't order sweet tea, but my sister does and says it tastes like our "homemade" Lipton sweet tea.

[Toliver]

McDonald's is upping the ante in the morning by adding a breakfast value menu:

"McDonald's to expand breakfast Dollar Menu in 2010"

McDonald's new nationwide breakfast Dollar Menu will be

backed by national advertising and include a sausage McMuffin,

a sausage biscuit, a sausage burrito, a small 12-ounce coffee

and hash browns.

I think it's interesting that sausage seems to be the only meat choice offered with the value breakfast items.

The article also states that Burger King already has a breakfast value menu. I wonder how the rest of the fast food companies will respond to the McD's breakfast value menu.

And will the new breakfast value menu at McDonald's sway you to eat there more often in the mornings?

[jsmeeker]

McDonalds has introduced a new item to their snack wrap line. It's a Big Mac snack wrap. Yup. Basically, a Big Mac in wrap form. I haven't tried it. In fact, I've never even had a Big Mac before. If you are a closet Big Mac fan, have you had a chance to try this new snack wrap?

[Toliver]

This is interesting...

I stopped by a local MickeyD's for breakfast to find that they were no longer selling the chicken biscuit for breakfast.

It's still listed in the official menu on McDonald's web site so they must be available somewhere.

Is it still around at your McDonald's?

[Dignan]

This is interesting...

I stopped by a local MickeyD's for breakfast to find that they were no longer selling the chicken biscuit for breakfast.

It's still listed in the official menu on McDonald's web site so they must be available somewhere.

Is it still around at your McDonald's?

This happened to me about a month ago in Rapid City, SD. I ordered it, and denied!

[Toliver]

"McDonald's Bets Pricing Drinks At $1 Will Heat Up Summer Sales"

McDonald's, aiming to become a destination for buying beverages, has used dollar-drink promotions in summers past, with most markets opting to sell large sweet tea for a buck last year. But the franchisees say the fast-food chain is making a greater effort this year to get more markets—which have the final say on any offer—to sell all fountain drinks for $1.

Their dollar sweet tea last summer was a winner for me.

It will be interesting to see how the other chains respond.

[Nasi_Campur]

Awesome... can't wait to give it a try.

NOT.

It will always be Mc____ in my book.

[Toliver]

Awesome... can't wait to give it a try.

NOT.

It will always be Mc____ in my book.

Thanks for adding to the discussion but it's your loss, IMHO. As I posted earlier, the sweet tea is quite good for a fast food chain offering.

There was a time where chains stopped offering brewed ice tea because of some sort of health issue with the leaves and the brewing process. They switched to the horrible fountain "instant-like" tea or the raspberry tea which tastes like little more than Koolaid. I was taken by surprise at how good McDonald's sweet tea tasted.

[Toliver]

Burger King has answered McDonald's $1 drink challenge:

"Fast food fight moving to drinks"

They can afford to slash drink prices since the profit margin is huge for fountain drinks. I used to work in a movie theater during college and learned that the cost of the fountain drink syrup per beverage works out to be just pennies of the total price.

Compare this to the $1 double cheeseburger competition...the Burger King franchises were forced to sell them at a loss (they lose 10 cents for every $1 cheeseburger they sell) just to match McDonald's price.

[IndyRob]

They can afford to slash drink prices since the profit margin is huge for fountain drinks. I used to work in a movie theater during college and learned that the cost of the fountain drink syrup per beverage works out to be just pennies of the total price.

McDonald's (and perhaps your theater chain) must be getting incredibly sweet deals on syrup. I found a five gallon bag-in-box of Diet Coke syrup in our local food service store for $60. The box makes 30 gallons, which (if I haven't screwed up my calculations again) would come to about $0.52 per two liter bottle. The CO2 for my SodaStream is about 20 cents a liter, so the total 2 liter cost is about $0.92. I can still often find 2 liter bottles of Diet Coke for 99 cents, so it's not a huge savings.

While a proper CO2 tank would reduce the CO2 cost to next to nothing, the syrup cost still seems higher than what I had heard. If McD's pays half what I would pay, it's probably close to the rule-of-thumb 25% food cost (although with a near zero labor component).

Well, then there's the ice factor....

Edited May 5, 2010 by IndyRob (log)