Posted on 04/20/2013 12:37:27 AM PDT by Olog-hai
McDonald’s managed to eke out a higher profit for its first quarter even as the world’s biggest hamburger chain failed to lift sales with its Dollar Menu.
The company said Friday that an important sales measurement fell 1 percent during the period and warned that it’s expected to dip again in April.
That marked the first quarterly decline in a decade in sales at restaurants open at least 13 months and underscored the troubles the company has been facing.
As Burger King and Wendy’s have stepped up their marketing over the past year or so, McDonald’s has responded by aggressively touting its Dollar Menu and other value deals to hold onto customers in an industry where imitation is rampant. …
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Their stock price is doing great. What I like best about McDonald’s is their stock price didn’t take off until the famous Jackass, Warren Buffett sold his shares.
But the prices have gotten way too expensive for the food I like best.
Ten years ago, I ate there at least ten times a month.
Now, maybe twice a month.
They gave out coupons like crazy last December. $2 Big Macs, etc.
Without the coupons the only deal is the $1 Spicy McChicken sandwich.
I expect another coupon mania.
I havea plan for McDonalds that has worked since trading began.
Sell food that is edible.
Sell food that does not taste like cardboard.
When I go into her shop to help Mrs. 2ndDivisionVet by handing out coupons in the mall (usually on a Sunday) I walk about 2,000 feet across the parking lot and cross the street to Burger King for our only outside-the-home meal. Their dollar menu is much more extensive than McDonald’s or Wendy’s and has better sandwiches. I get her one or two Whopper Juniors, while I might get a couple of their BK Bacon Burgers or some Classic Chicken sandwiches. Lots of food for about $5 or $6, which is all we can afford.
But the ammonia aftertaste of pink slime is so appealing.
problem is that MickeyD’s reduced the size of their Kid’s Meals to appease Michelle Obama, and started handing out sliced apples instead of fries. My kids rebelled against it, and I sure a lot of others did too. They also increased the prices of their milk shakes but halved their size.
Didn’t help that they alienated their white customer base by focusing solely on their African American customers for years.too.
Excuse my ignorance, but how did they do that?
Crap for only a dollar is still a dollar for crap.
Two words:
Market Saturation
I worked dozens of hours a week in one in 1964, when they made their fries on-site from real Idaho potatos, making hamburgers that had real meat in them, and mixing shakes that had real milk, cream, etc. in them.
Today, if I eat any of their burgers, especially the regular size, I can only detect fillers and a hint of something one might call meat, and the buns have been improved out of all semblance to bread. They are largely dry and tasteless. The french fries taste okay if you get them right after being fried, but they aren’t the same as fries cut from real potatos then blanched, and then fried. Bottom line is that my experience with McDonalds is that you’re getting a virtual meal in a 3-D simulation.
As the years go by a dollar buys less, which in this case is a good thing.
Ha—maybe they can use new 3D printers for home delivery!
-— I almost always get the dollar menu items——
Same with me. Can’t afford.the regular menu.
Sales would probably be lower without it.
If you go to their website, they always have coupons ready to print.
I agree with you on the fries. Once they cool, they are simply inedible.
Amazing how some people can talk about the horrible food at McDonald’s, but then got to the supermarket, buy the SAME INGREDIENTS, and think their home-cooked food is somehow healthier.
...incredible.
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