Gee, it’s almost like corporations are gouging consumers so badly that their market advantages are being lost due to greed. Inflation this quickly isnt real. It’s what happens when you come off a global pandemic with millions dead and corporations see they can freely abuse you by exploiting the public zeitgeist that prices are going up due to inflation.

  • DAMunzy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 months ago

    Fries from fast casual local joint: $3.99.

    Fries from McDonald’s: 4.39

    Local joint fills the bag like Five Guys. McDonald’s barely has fries in the fries sleeve.

    It’s just not worth going there unless I use the app and that’s only for when it’s got one person.

    • SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today
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      8 months ago

      It’s just not worth going there unless I use the app and that’s only for when it’s got one person.

      You look at the privacy policy or app permissions for the McDonalds app? The thing is datamining your life.

        • SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today
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          8 months ago

          Not all of them. Phone ID for example, I think phone number also, and unless you force it to sleep whenever not using it, it can collect your IP address when at home on Wi-Fi which can be used to locate you.

    • SokathHisEyesOpen@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      They’ve been huffing their own farts. They’ve used ad placement about having legendary fries for so long that they actually believe it. Last time I had McDonald’s french fries about 5 years ago they tasted like shredded and compressed napkins, smothered with salt. No thanks, at any price.

    • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
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      8 months ago

      Dude Taco Bell is one of the worst offenders. I don’t eat there anymore but I know they’re charging up the ass for rice, beans, and what can only be described as meat product that barely meets the legal definition of “beef.”

      • theragu40@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        It’s worth trying if you’re interested, IMO.

        Morning mind-blowing (except the morning crunch wrap, which is mind-blowing). But they are pretty consistent, and have a lot more options than most fast food places when it comes to healthy-ish options.

        It’s not Mexican food, it’s not even tex-mex. It’s just taco bell. It’s its own category of food. Go in without preconceived ideas of what it should be and you might find that you enjoy it.

  • SokathHisEyesOpen@lemmy.ml
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    8 months ago

    We went to Subway a few weeks ago without paying attention to the prices and it was over $30 for two 6" sandwiches, chips, and drinks. What in the absolute fuck? Oh, and then of course the stupid credit card machine asks for a tip with 20% prefilled. A single 6" sub is $10 now. We won’t be going back.

      • M0oP0o@mander.xyz
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        8 months ago

        $5 ! $7! $10! $15, Footlong! $5 ! $7! $10! $15, Footlong! $5 ! $7! $10! $15, Footlong!

        The song really is not as catchy anymore…

        • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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          8 months ago

          Subway also used to be the “build your own sandwich” place. Locally, they’ve moved to a “catered” menu or some such nonsense, now it’s just a run of the mill submarine sandwich shop.

          I’m pretty sure you can’t even get anything from the “old” menu anymore. the $5 footlong is now a point in history that will not be repeated, since all of those catered sandwiches are easily $10+ for a footlong, unless you want them to modify it in any way at all, because that will cost extra. Drink? fuck you, $3 for a fountain drink that costs less than $0.50 in materials, and you have to get it yourself. Want a bottled drink because you’re heading out and don’t want to spill it in the car? that’s $4.50. want to make it a combo and get a uselessly small bag of chips or a couple of heated ice-cream scoop sized dobs of pre-made batter that’s been heated? ha ha, PROFIT!

          The prices are made up but being fairly regular at soubway, they’re not far from the truth. the whole idea of getting a meal at any food place for $5 or less is basically impossible. I consider it a good deal if I’m getting lunch for less than $10. The nice thing is that burger king still has whopper wednesdays, where you can get a second whopper for $1. Makes the whole meal of two whoppers around $5, then I just pour myself a nice glass of go fuck yourself I’m drinking tap water, and I have an actually affordable lunch.

          Thanks burger king.

          • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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            8 months ago

            Bk is my cheap option too. I can’t eat 2 whoppers but they have a special for 2 whopper Jr’s for 5$ going. When that isn’t going I just get 2 double cheeseburger. Both come out to 6ish dollars which is a he’ll of a lot better than 10+ I have to pay anywhere else near my job.

  • FARTYSHARTBLAST@kbin.social
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    8 months ago

    Yeah, I can’t remember the last time I went to McDonalds: Progressively shitty food, progressively higher prices, and increasingly lengthy wait times.

    It’s not fast, it’s not good, it’s not cheap, and it’s not convenient.

    • Arin@kbin.social
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      8 months ago

      I miss the times when fast food was fast, you place your order and pickup your meal right after without waiting more than 10 seconds

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        8 months ago

        I actually miss when maccas used to make the stuff in bulk and chuck on a rack. you’d order, they’d grab your burger and stuff bag it and your done. now it’s “made to order” and while it’s admittedly pretty quick, during peak times you’ll be waiting a while.

        there was never an issue with the bulk system cause everything moved so quick anyway

        • FARTYSHARTBLAST@kbin.social
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          8 months ago

          I would not describe any of them as “pretty quick” but I do know how long it takes to cook a burger and it’s never as long as I’d have to wait at these shitty places: It sure as shit doesn’t take 10-20 minutes to cook a burger on the presses they use. These corporations understaff their restaurants and pay shit wages, so, of course, they don’t get very good employees (or even if they do, why would they try very hard for that pay?)

  • dhtseany@lemmy.ml
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    8 months ago

    In Ohio it’s become so bad that it’s literally cheaper to feed a family of four at a sit down family restaurant than eating at our local McDonald’s and the food is measurably better at the mom and Pop places than what you get at McDonald’s. It’s just not worth it and they pay their people nothing so the food comes out wrong or cold because they just don’t care.

    We gave up on McDonald’s some time ago and it’ll take a lot for us to go back, starting with the removal of those "Now hiring: $14/hr!" signs out front that have been there for years. If y’all pay your people that little it’s a sign to me as a consumer that my food isn’t going to be made by people who care so why even bother?

    Also screw those self-ordering kiosks, those only exist because y’all are under-staffed and you’re trying to make up for the missing staff by passing off the ordering part to the consumers instead of hiring more people.

    • Dark Arc@social.packetloss.gg
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      8 months ago

      14/hr in Ohio is actually pretty good for a fast food job.

      That said, please do support the mom and pop over the fast food giant! You’re keeping money in your community! So many (especially rural communities) have been drained of meaningful dining and shopping experiences by chains that contribute very little back to the local economy and the towns are in a state of disrepair.

      • 4am@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        $14/hr is like $1400/month after taxes, assuming you even get 40 hours.

        That’s not even enough for RENT in most places.

        • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          That’s why you hustle and have a second job, an Onlyfans, a Youtube channel, a Fiverr account, sell plasma, drive for rideshare, live out of your car and AirBNB the room you rent, sell drugs, turn tricks, and go freegan.

          It isn’t hard to make it anywhere if you have the motivation and can-do attitude.

          • 4am@lemm.ee
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            8 months ago

            What’s the point in letting us live if we can’t create value for all the billionaires?

        • Dark Arc@social.packetloss.gg
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          8 months ago

          I mean, you can get rent for $500-600 in some rural parts of Ohio. I don’t know anywhere in Ohio – unless you’re going for literally the most expensive area – that’s $1,400 for a single bedroom.

          For a high school student working fast food … which is really who these jobs are best suited for $14/hr is a pretty great deal. I mean not 10 years ago, they were paying like $8/hr. I know inflation has changed things but we haven’t seen 50% inflation since I was in high school.

          But yes, it’s not a comfortable wage, it’s just pretty decent as far as minimum wage standards go.

  • athos77@kbin.social
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    8 months ago

    The things that fast food had going for it is that it was ready quickly, was cheap, and was standardized across the country. It’s no longer cheap; between the waits to order, to pay, and to get your food, it’s no longer fast; and my tastes have evolved beyond that if a five year old so I’m more willing to accept variety in my diet.

    Nowadays, I only stop at fast food if I’m on a road trip and I don’t want to get out of the car.

  • jaschen@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    A bag of rice, soy sauce, sugar, some cabbage and some chicken will make you more and better food than any fast food restaurant.

    When I was struggling, I made meals, mostly from the microwave. Make Chinese food in bulk homie. Freeze some of it in packs so you don’t have to eat the same meals every meal.

    Going to a fast food restaurant is not saving you money, even before McDonald’s raised their prices.

    • Adalast@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      The issue is that it wasn’t about saving money, it was about saving time without destroying your finances. Not that I am one, but I can empathize with a single parent working two part-time jobs for 12 hours/day, both at minimum wage, being exhausted and knowing she has kids to feed at home but absolutely 0 energy or effort left to prepare a meal. Pulling through a fast food place and picking up some burgers or maybe a happy meal to see the smile on his/her kid’s face when they see the bag/box after a long day missing them. Prioritizing spending what little energy and time s/he has left on actually spending time with the kid.

      Please remember that there are different kinds of poor. Single-poor or college-poor are very different than single-parent poor or 2-income-family-but-still-worried-about-paying-rent poor.

    • Fizz@lemmy.nz
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      8 months ago

      2min noodles, 1 scoop of protein powder and a multivitamin. Eat smart

  • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
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    8 months ago

    I made a personal rule that if I’m hungry and want McDonald’s, that either I need to get in the car and go to a local burger place that isn’t a corporate chain, or I’m not actually that hungry. It’s been a good life choice. Much better burgers that while slightly more expensive, go to the local owners rather than mcdonalds

  • willis936@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    They dropped the two cheeseburgers meal this year. That was the most American meal they offered and they just dropped it.

  • MinusPi@yiffit.net
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    8 months ago

    And yet people keep buying it. It’s not going to change until people stop buying it.

  • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 months ago

    Inflation this quickly isnt real. It’s what happens when you come off a global pandemic with millions dead and corporations see they can freely abuse you by exploiting the public zeitgeist that prices are going up due to inflation.

    I agree that McDonald’s sucks and I don’t ever go there but this isn’t how economics works. The current inflation isn’t an illusionary public perception thing it’s a real and tangible transfer of wealth and erosion of the value of labor of regular people. We are heading towards a future where society’s resources are no longer being allocated to us.

  • guyrocket@kbin.social
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    8 months ago

    Fast food prices have become silly, I agree. I go to “sit down” restaurants more often now because they’re only a little more expensive.

    • cerevant@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      It is crazy. Stopped with my kid on a road trip - fast food burger, fries and soft drink was $15.

      I go down town to a sit down restaurant and during happy hour I can get a restaurant burger, fries and a craft beer for $15.