Saw an article recently, can’t remember where, that basically said that the sole reason fast food was doing so poorly was pricing. That McDonald’s was charging Texas Roadhouse prices, so people were choosing to skip McDonald’s and go to Texas Roadhouse.
I believe it. The whole appeal of fast food is that it’s fast and cheap.
As a european, fast food is just like a category of food, and more of an occasional treat for me. Normally, I just eat my own homemade food, which is even cheaper. So I guess I see it a little differently, and fast food is allowed to be not cheap if it’s “good”.
Hell yeah, gimme that cancer patty and those artery clogging fries, baby! But make the obesity water size “for kids”.
“Fast and cheap” as in cheaper than buying precooked food somewhere else. Of course stuff you make at home will be cheaper.
The thing is that at least in my corner of Europe, fast food costs about the same as a filling meal in a sit down restaurant that doesn’t deep fry or microwave everything.
There is an exception but they only have 3 locations in one single town. They’ve barely raised their prices in the last decade, they’re actually pretty fast, and there’s nearly always a bunch of people queued up.
EUn ‘n’ Out?
True, McDonald’s is so expensive now that for 15€ I can go to Mc or I can go to a bib Gourmand restaurant for lunch (dinner is more expensive)
Was not my experience in the US. $1 fast food meals were a thing in 2016. A disgusting one.
For many Americans it’s just lunch. If McD’s costs $5 they’re buying. If it costs $15 they’re packing.
Unless you get the promoted deals it’s starting to be like that everywhere. Near me if im getting two burgers and two fries, I spend less at five guys than I do at burger king. Why would I ever go to BK?
Even FG is unreasonable.
My wife and 6YO kid went to FG last week and spent $27 on a meal for two and they split the fries.
A few ounces of meat, 50 cents of soda, a couple potatoes and an arguably 2 nice quality rolls. That meal cost them $5. Even with inflated labor it should be more like $15.
Fucksake man, will you PLEASE think of the shareholders
Five guys has been expensive for a long time. The rest just caught up more recently.
I would kill for an in-and-out burger on the East Coast. You can get a burger, fries, and drink for less than an Five Guys cheeseburger.
Five Guys at least has better food than most fast food and the portions are so massive you basically have to share
Five guys is at the very bottom of my “list of things that are so needlessly expensive that now I actively hate”.
Cause they’re so fucking good, and they use better stuff than most.
The moment that changes… will be the day I either go no-beef, or start rioting.
They’ve barely raised their prices in the last decade, they’re actually pretty fast, and there’s nearly always a bunch of people queued up.
Depends on the location too. For my location everything on the menu is $2 more than it is in the nearby, similarly-sized city. And there’s a high quality Wendy’s right next door.
I’ll take good Wendy’s at half the price of Five Guys.
Of course everyone is doing tiered pricing. You either use their apps or pay double. I think half of it is to get the app on your phone, and the other half is simply to make you jump through hoops for lower pricing. They all want to charge obscene prices, and then if you object, give you an option other than not going there. “Just install our app” could just as easily be “pat your head while standing on one leg and rubbing your stomach, and we’ll give you 40% off.”
I’m sorry, but fuck Wendy’s. Yes, capitalism is in decline around us all, but fuck Wendy’s for deciding they’re gonna be the first in fast food to push that envelope to full-blown-shit mode. And their burgers are just eh.
(Hey, pssst… so, quoting etiquette typically means you’re not using the quoting carrot on something not in the the comment you are replying to without noting it in the comment somehow. I was staring very confused at my replies inbox for, like, 4-5 read throughs of your reply, because its an opinion I could have typed, and couldn’t remember at all lol. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️)
Pretty sure it was around after Dave Thomas passed that the quality took a dive at many franchise locations, similar poor business decisions looking for short term profits over long term customers affecting many businesses these days.
The data is delicious for ‘em. Assists in world domination plans. Not really but they’ll eventually fine tune who gets deals real good IMO.
Connect to LinkedIn to see pricing
Income based fast food prices
Sometimes I go there just for an order of fries because they’re just that good. I can’t bring myself to pay $14 for a burger though.
Five guys has been bad for a while. Super expensive for a really greasy burger. I had to stop eating there several years ago.
The recent Disney lawsuit reminded me of this. In order to get those deals, McDonald’s makes you use their app, and part of signing up for the app is agreeing to their ToS which has an arbitration clause
Selling your rights to Disney so you can get a cheaper burger is a uniquely American flavor of dystopia
Yeah but there’s no way a judge will follow that reasoning. The response to the arbitration argument was that the argument was “unconscionable” and “no reasonable person” would think signing up for Disney Plus means they can’t file a wrongful death suit for a restaurant that has nothing to do with Disney Plus.
Also the lawyer who made the arbitration argument just got his client so much bad PR that i’m sure Disney Plus will take a hit over it.
I was with you until
Disney Plus will take a hit over it.
The average consumer is just so damn apathetic that nothing will happen
That happens when you just think of a bigger number and forget the customer somewhere down the line.
Also publicly traded companies and shareholder value. Everything could be much cheaper if not for shareholders draining every penny from companies. Edit: and CEOs/ managers of course.
This is exactly what subway is doing.
“A regular deli charges $16 for a sub/hero/grinder/hoagie/pickafuckingnameforalongsandwitch so we’re charging $14! It’s less they’ll still come the econ 101 book says they will! I’ll take my multimillion dollar bonus now tyvm.”
Yeah, but a regular deli makes a decent fucking sandwich and isn’t using the cheapest institutional ingredients imaginable.
Except a regular deli actually puts meat on their subs instead of lightly rubbing the sub with a piece of turkey then filling it with lettuce.
found this, they all outpace the inflation rate so it’s just greed as always.
It’s sad that Taco Bell thinks it is gourmet Mexican Food now. Any local taco shop with Mexicans working in the kitchens will give you huge burritos for cheap. Without adding tofu to the ground beef.
I very rarely eat out but if I am going to end up blowing on 30 on two meals I may as well blow 45 on a local spot with a seat and a hefty tip to the waiter.
and a hefty tip to the waiter.
And I detest tipping culture, though I of course don’t fault the wait staff. I’d rather go to a local joint that pays its people appropriately…which are hard to find, admittedly.
There are a couple floating around out there, CNN/investopedia/Eat This Not That. The most scathing one I saw was from CNN, oddly enough: https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/09/business/consumer-spending-travel-value-nightcap
Might as well, I’ve only eaten at two Roadhouses, but they were damn good for a chain steakhouse
I haven’t even considered McDonald’s because their pricing skyrocketed post pandemic when inflation was high. They saw other businesses justifying large price increases by blaming inflation and the idiot consumers accepting the lie, and just ignored the niche their product is in, cheap shit.
Before the pandemic to be able to get a McDouble, Spicy McChicken and Fries for $4 with tax. Granted, the fries were only $1 with a digital coupon, but that coupon was always there. It was like the 2 tacos for 99¢ deal at Jack in the Box, you just gotta use the app.
Now that same group of food is $9 and the coupons available are dogshit. 15% off my $10 meal is not a good deal when sales tax is $12%. I’m not really saving much compared to things like BOGO offers and $1 items like it used to be constantly.
they brought the quality down to match the 5$… did they bring it back up to be worth 14?! i kinda doubt it
Fast food is losing the plot. If it isn’t cheap, then there is really no point.
I mean, the primary benefit of fast food is that you can swing by and get a prepared meal on your lunch break. You can’t really do that at a sit down place unless you order in advance. They lost the ‘fast’ part too, since they don’t want to pay the amount of people it takes to run their stores though. Now the only benefit they have going for them is their hours, and they’re slipping there for the most part, since most places are still running on reduced hours because COVID gave them the excuse to never bring their old hours back.
Also people really like that you know exactly what you’re getting no matter where you are if you need a quick bite.
The best local sandwich shop in my town sells really good ones for $8-11. If Subway were still $5 they might be competitive. At $14 it sounds like the company no longer understands its product.
The best sandwich shop in my town is the deli at the grocery store. They are less concerned about skimping on ingredients because it’s more important to entice you in and get you spending money in the aisles.
For $8 or $9 they will stuff a footlong sub so full they can barely fold it over. And it’s generally fresher ingredients than you’d find in a Subway
Publix?
Harris Teeter where I live. We do have Publix locations around now though. I still need to check them out and see if they live up to the hype.
HARRIS TEETER GANG HARRIS TEETER GANG Better than Publix, Harris Teeter gang for life. When Sheron is on shift you know you’re in for a delicious fully loaded sub
Nah don’t let Publix consume your town.
Trust me it’s not as good as wanting that monopoly.
There’s a Jewish deli near me that gives me a full meal for ~15USD and the sandwich they give you is PACKED with meat and incredible bread. It’s glorious. There’s no chance I’d go to Subway over that.
Local options are always better. The Mexican joint sells you a massive breakfast burrito for $6. Nepalese takeout will feed you for days for $16. Hot dog truck will fill you up with delicious processed meat for $4.
Subway? Subpar lunch made out of cardboard and ground up yoga mats for almost $20.
Also, subways business model is predatory to their franchisees and employees.
Why is it that fast food thinks it can charge for sit-down restaurant prices nowadays?
Quit buying from giant corporations.
I can go to my local family owned Banh Mi joint and get a sandwich made with real meat and fresh bread for $6. For $12, I could add a boba tea and a side of fried dumplings.
Cool, I don’t have one of those. I have subway, mcdonalds, burger king, and a bunch of local restaurants that charge just as much for food because they can.
At least your rent is cheap compared to actual cities worth living in.
A lot of smaller places only have like two options for going out to eat and one is a subway attached to a gas station
Food deserts are real, and they show you real fast how exploitable you can be.
Popeyes and Taco John’s at the Love’s.
Well, good for you. The town I live in has a Sonic, a McDonald’s, a Mazzio’s pizza, two local Tex Mex restaurants, and… a Subway.
Milk tea where I am is 6 usd by itself (not incl tax)
Please bring me back to the 3 dollar milk tea timeline
I can get an entree and a Thai tea for under $10 as a lunch special at a small restaurant within walking distance. I live in the second largest city in my state which happens to be one giant sprawling suburb.
And if you don’t have any local places nearby you can either break yourself financially by moving somewhere else or just go fuck yourself. I never realized how much shit was jacked up in the small country town I lived in until I moved somewhere with a ton of competition. Suddenly the prices were way better, it was surreal. Food was cheaper and tastes better. Hell my Internet was twice as fast for half the price!
My apartment, however, is twice the price for a third of the space.
It still took me a decade before I could move without fucking myself.
This comment was written in the early wee hours of the AM and I’m not entirely sure what I’m rambling about.
Nah I get it. Competition for our dollars creates a marketplace that’s actually thriving and competitive costs.
Its actually why I shop in rich neighborhoods. Seriously the prices are never better.
But housing isn’t a competitive marketplace it’s still mostly owned by a few rich who all agree to raise their price lest they lose out.
Sigh… This backwards shit hole.
IMO, no sandwich on Earth is worth $14. Especially not one from SooubWay.
A footlong NY Italian at my local sub shop with like 4 kinds of meat and a ton of veggies on it costs $9. It’s better than subway in literally every way. The people who work there are chill and seem to like it too
Oh man, you’ve never had a good Rueben then. Good corned beef, a pile of kraut, swiss, fresh rye bread (or sourdough), and that thousand island and/or spicy mustard. Grilled up and served with a pickle spear and some fresh chips.
Making one is not cheap, though not a lot more than your typical burger. But, a 14 usd price is reasonable when you factor in labor. I’ve paid more than that for a truly great Rueben where the corned beef was made in house, and the bread came from an attached bakery. Completely, totally worth twenty bucks.
Our closest deli that’s like the kind of deli in bigger cities charges 15 and some change for their Rueben that comes with a pickle, potato chips, and a drink. I ain’t mad at that price even though it makes it a rare treat.
Which, I get you, you led off with IMO which means you’re speaking only for yourself, so I’m not saying your opinion is wrong, or trying to change your opinion! Just giving my opinion on the matter of expensive sandwiches for my own tastes.
I’m willing to pay a decent amount for Schlotzkys tbh. But they’d have to exist in my area first.
I can either: A. Drive to fuckin’ Toledo Or B. Drive to Kentucky.
If I could have the best burger I’ve ever had right in front of me right now, I’d pay ~$25 for it. The cost we pay for top-notch sandwiches is typically a search cost.
That’s a common price for any entree at most restaurants in my state. Indian, Thai, American (burgers), Italian, etc. Fast casual and casual dining all have many items in that price range. Most want tips on top as well. There are many sandwiches I’m willing to spend $15 or more on.
I went to a BBQ joint here in Texas a week ago. Got 3/4 lb of brisket and some potato salad for the missus and me.
To my surprise… It costed the same thing as 2 menu items at McDonald’s. Like seriously?..
What’s the point of going to subway and McDonald’s if I can just get some BBQ at a restaurant.
(Didn’t name the restaurant since I’m concerned this will make them realize they can charge more)
Name the restaurant and give them more business. They deserve it.
Yes. And fancy burgers around here cost between $11-16. We’re talking super fancy burgers, mouth watering medium-rare locally grown beef, crazy sauces you’re never heard of, actual fucking grilled onions, etc etc. and beer, they serve beer.
Meanwhile the fast food burger joint is basically the same price, but you get overcooked pink slime.
That and they fucked up the menu so they’re pushing premade sandwiches over the “build your own” model they’ve had for years. I used to go to subway because I knew exactly what I wanted and asked for it, now their menu is unrecognizable.
Which is hilarious, because its not as if they pay enough people to be on shift at the same time so that they could make their menu items efficiently. The last 2 dozen times I’ve had to pick up someone’s order from one of 5 or so local Subway’s, they have had 1 single person running the entire joint. I’ve made it a point to ask every time I go:
- -how many people are supposed to be working today?
1, and about half of them opened alone, and all were closing alone! (Even young women!!!)
- -Is it always this busy? (Every time its a 12-30min wait for them to even begin the order)
Always gets met with some form of “Yes, or even busier, with the occasional half hour where nobody comes in”
- -Are you the manager?
Nope.
Its at that point I tell them to take all the time they need. And that they are dramatically underpaid and should riot…
So not defending them, but the franchise owners were royally fucked by subway corporate. Lead on with a cheap buy in, be your own boss, make money, etc. subway takes advantage of it’s franchises more than almost anyone else around. Things like requiring all food comes from corporate, no changes, even allowing rivaling franchises to open up next to you.
John Oliver does a good bit on it https://youtu.be/jDdYFhzVCDM?si=AMkHeXR5yIpZCu3l
Sounds a lot like the management fuckery that caused Quiznos to collapse
I know, I saw it, and I don’t envy franchisers who’ve fallen victim to it. But passing along the fuckery to an employee is so. not. ok.
THEY WHAT?
I don’t even eat at Subway, but nearly tripling the price in one go? My gawd.
It hasn’t actually been $5 in a long time. It was like $7 last time I went (a few years ago).
I go to Subway with an upsetting degree of regularity, but it’s the only place where I can get fresh vegetables as part of my meal in under 30 minutes. The cheapest footlong on the menu is the Spicy Italian (or whatrver their latest menu refresh is calling it) for $10.99. Any other sub is $11.99 and up.
Lmao I unknowingly liked their cheapest sandwich best
Five years ago I could get a foot long spicy italian combo with chips and a drink for less than $10.
You can get more reasonable prices per sandwich with coupon codes. For the ones near me, they almost always have a “FLBOGO” or “BOGOFTL” or “FTL1299” or similar variation to get two for the price of one. But YMMV and you have to be ok with leftovers if you’re eating alone.
You also have to order from the app to use these.
about 10 years ago subway replaced the ice cream shop at the local amusement park. the prices they had there were insane, and they didnt even have all the regular menu options. 20 something dollars for HALF a footlong. what a joke
No, it’s been incremental for a while now.
I tried to actually go to one about 2 weeks ago. 5 workers, and they said - “oh he’ll help you” and pointed to another worker. While the 4 of them stood next to the till gossiping about home life, and the poor dude just kept making Sandwichs for the online orders coming in. Only said hi to me once, after the 5th sandwich, I just told them I’m out of time and I’ll go. They thanked me for coming in. They’re just awful top to bottom. Bad corporate culture
Not defending Subway overall, the price increases are nuts. However that experience of yours is definitely an individual franchise problem, not a “corporate culture” problem.
Never in my life have I seen a subway with more than 3 working people in it. I haven’t ate it in years but more often than not it’s just 1 guy.
Ya I just figured it was shift change or some bs. I don’t know, I left anyways and won’t be back either way.
The “$5 footlong” campaign was a terrible idea, because it just makes consumers aware of how overpriced fast food is today.
They thought they could charge the same money as real sandwich places. Lol.
I’m not gonna look it up, but who recently bought Subway and is now cashing in on tanking it so they can sell the corpse?
If you ever watch CompanyMan on youtube, it’s like 90% of all “The Fall of [Company]” involves either going public and then rapidly expanding, or “acquired by private equity firm then died in 5 years”
Its like the saying, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
By far the worst one is always the private equity/leveraged buyout. It always ends in failure for the company.
What happens to the company doesn’t matter. What matters is what happens to the people making the buyout decision. If they can pad their wallets then who cares about what happens to the company?
It’s supposed to end in failure due to having all the money squeezed and sucked out of the company.
I hate that cliche’d, untrue, glurgey phrase with a passion. But your point is good.
Do these companies not realize their whole business model is cheap food for broke people? I lived off of $5 footlongs when I was a student. There’s no way I could have afforded that with the prices they’re charging now. And now that I do have disposable income and could afford their food I wouldn’t go there anyway because there are way better options for the same price.
Taco Bell used to be a goto, then they tried to get too creative and half their stuff became a sloppy greasy mess. Now you can’t go and simply get 3 soft tacos and a drink for under $10 and they seem to change the menu every other week.
BRING BACK THE 2 MENUS AT THE DRIVE THRU SO I CAN DECIDE ON MY ORDER WHILE THE DOLT IN THE MINIVAN IN FRONT OF ME IS ORDERING FOR 12 PEOPLE!
I really really want to be on your side, Taco bell has gone crazy on the prices and I hate it.
But, on the other hand, it sounds like you haven’t even had the crispy cantina taco meal and that’s not a life I’d wish on anybody.
Where are you? I just got on the app and 3 soft shell tacos and a large drink is $9.13 after tax. That’s still more than I would pay for that especially seeing as the build your own cravings box is only $6.48 after tax and comes with much better options. I seriously am flabbergasted when I read the prices people are saying they pay.
Where I’m at, the price for the boxes are minimum $8 or $9, most of the combos are $11-$15 before tax, and they change their menu so often that I can’t be bothered going there. 3 years ago the prices were a lot closer to what you’re seeing.
I used to go there pretty often, but with the prices going up particularly in the last few years and with the additional inconvenience of having to learn what their new gimmick of the week item is and what box or combo items they’ve removed to make space for it, I just can’t be bothered. Also because eventually I realized that there’s a local Mexican restaurant that sells bigger, better burritos for cheaper in a gas station closer to my work than Taco Bell is. Only downside is them not having a drive through.
I guess I’m thinking more of fast food places: After they got cheap food market, they had to keep growing so they tried to be semi fancy to convince people to go there instead of restaurants. It was back when people had more money / lower cost of living. They got too optimistic. Now we’re back to wanting cheap cheap cheap.
I think they’ve realized that they’ve successfully trained poor people to not know how to cook and then there aren’t any options left if they all band together.
