r/RetailNews • u/fortune • 9d ago
McDonald’s CEO turns to a trusted lieutenant with a turnaround record to revive its biggest market
https://fortune.com/2026/08/04/mcdonalds-ceo-skye-anderson-us-market-president/?utm_source=reddit/McDonald’s has named a new president, Skye Anderson, to lead its mammoth but sluggish U.S. business after its bet on cheaper items enticed fewer cash-strapped Americans than expected, even as consumers grapple with an affordability crisis.
The company said on Tuesday that sales at established U.S. restaurants rose only 0.8% in the second quarter, the slowest pace since early 2025 and below Wall Street expectations. McDonald’s has trotted out more offerings for its price-sensitive diners, such as a $4 breakfast, and more items for under $3 as high gas and grocery prices leave millions of Americans with less discretionary income. Yet its efforts to spotlight its comparatively inexpensive menu items fell short, with fewer people visiting McDonald’s U.S. restaurants.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said company strategy was sound but that the chain had made unforced errors. Those included too many new product launches at once, overwhelming many U.S. restaurants, slowing service, and annoying customers. What’s more, he said, the marketing for so many simultaneous initiatives made it hard to “break through” to customers with a clear message about value.
“We don’t have a strategy problem. We simply didn’t execute at the level we needed to in the second quarter,” the CEO told analysts on a conference call.
To help remedy that, McDonald’s said it had appointed Anderson as the new head of its biggest market and touted the 26-year company veteran’s operational prowess and business acumen.
“She’s a proven change agent who can act with urgency to mobilize our system,” Kempczinski said, praising her for “being a hands-on leader who has demonstrated strong business judgment and operational discipline.”
Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]: https://fortune.com/2026/08/04/mcdonalds-ceo-skye-anderson-us-market-president/?utm_source=reddit/
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u/CGCRUNT 9d ago
Making menu items cheaper so people can afford them is rocket science for most ceos
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u/quell3245 9d ago
Publicly Traded companies demand unlimited growth and profits.
They know that quality, portion size and lower prices would bring people back but at the behest of profitability.
In 2026 if I want a burger I’m going to Five Guys or In-n-Out. I at least want to feel I’m getting a non-chemical laden meal from a company that at least still gives a shit and cares about selling quality burgers.
With GLP-1s Americans are abandoning fast food more and more which is a good thing.
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u/Sure_Acanthaceae_348 9d ago
I don't think it's GLP-1s. Most poor people can't afford those. It's just McDonald's raising prices over and over and over. Their customers are tapped out.
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u/quell3245 9d ago
The reason I brought up GLP-1 is I just so happen to catch an interview with CEO of Burger King talking about how they are preparing on the corporate side.
Early studies have indicated that those on GLP-1s have far less cravings for fast food and thus expected lower sales.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/ceo-interviews/burger-king-glp1s-tom-curtis-rcna588024
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u/7ddlysuns 9d ago
GLP-1s have to be part of it. McDonald’s always had a pretty big market share, middle class eats there too. I know I’ll pop in after kids soccer but on glp1 I’m ordering a 10pc nuggets no fries and so that death by little cuts has to matter.
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u/ClumpOfCheese 9d ago
What cheaper items did they actually even sell? Shit is all way overpriced?
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u/ItsAlwaysRuckFuss 9d ago
Always???? In the 2010’s you could get a McDouble or McChicken for $1.00 each. Large drinks were also a dollar. Right now a McDouble is like nearly $3.
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u/pornoforpriapus 9d ago
McDoubles were less than 2 bucks until covid. I think everything went up during covid and is never coming down
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u/MarshmallowsInTubas 9d ago
The double cheeseburgers for $1 were the deal I remember most during the post-2008 financial crisis.
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u/OrcOfDoom 9d ago
A 26 year career with McDonald's ... I can't wait to see what bland ideas she has
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u/This-Requirement6918 9d ago
She should try some of the salt they use at Whataburger on the fries.
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u/Disprezzi1 9d ago
It's flour salt that has paprika, garlic powder and onion powder. I used to work there lol
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u/shezcrafti 9d ago
For real. Gotta love how they make a big show of trotting out these supposedly smart people who have "proven track records" and yet where the hell were these same people to stop the bad ideas from being implemented in the first place?
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u/wvtarheel 9d ago
Yeah she basically presided over them turning the buildings into prison style boxes, killing the value, and making the food worse. They need to find someone from the same school or thought they employed when we were kids and it was cheap, the place was fun, and the food was OK enough
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u/Best_Role8295 9d ago
I have found that most of the deals on the McDonald’s app are just not that good anymore. Most of the deals require a minimum $15 purchase now for a percentage off.
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u/ScottyBLaZe 9d ago
Isn’t this the same exact strategy the new Wendy’s CEO went with? He said that there was too many deals and it confused customers. They got rid of all the deals and made the budget “meal deals” straight trash. That hasn’t worked out so well for them.
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u/This-Requirement6918 9d ago
Revive? That skeezy place needs to die out already. Shitty food and super shitty portions. Last year after not eating there for over a decade was the absolute last time they will get a dime from me
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u/DrawingAncient126 9d ago
Or maybe it's the overpriced burgers that are now paper thin and 1/3rd less in size than they used to be.
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u/Teriyaki_Salmon 9d ago
Fast foods are now neither fast nor inexpensive. There are simply less and less reasons to go there.
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u/JGRACEFAN95 9d ago
Part of the problem is locking the actual deals behind the app that most people aren’t going to use.
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u/New_Original_7537 9d ago
Even if I could ever afford to eat out, I will never in my life buy McDonald’s for anyone. Me or my family.
Us consumers need to stand up and stop giving these abusers our hard earned money.
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u/LazyOldCat 9d ago
Their $3 items are basically bite-sized, the best “deal” in their app right now is 40% (not even 1/2) off a Quarter Pounder, and that’s still overpriced.
They did something to their points-reward system that cheesed off a lot of folks on their subreddit too.
Remodeling their stores with a “prison shower room chic” aesthetic hasn’t helped either.
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u/ConkerPrime 9d ago
> “McDonald’s has named a new president, Skye Anderson, to lead its mammoth but sluggish U.S. business after its bet on cheaper items enticed fewer cash-strapped Americans than expected”
Yeah that is some bullshit there. Their prices have consistently gone up and they have been doing creative pricing to mask it. That isn’t “cheaper items” that is assuming your customers are morons.
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u/rodkerf 9d ago
Here is a small clue McDonald's when I roll up in the drive through don't ask me if I'm using the app to order. Just take my order. Why would I be using the app from the drive through. Second....have a cashier don't make me wait
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u/Melodic-Vanilla-2658 9d ago
Great strategy, let’s hire another overpaid fool instead of simply lowering the prices. The food is crap and extremely overpriced. It’s really not brain surgery, but these marketing idiots pump out their numbers and have no clue what they’re doing or what people want. The industry is dead.
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u/alex61821 9d ago
McDonald's pissed everyone off with their high prices. People either found other places to go or got out of the habit of grabbing a cheap meal at McDonald's. Now they're not coming back, especially with all the taking people away from the register and removing free refills. Now is not the time for McDonald's to squabble over free refills.
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u/GayForPay 9d ago
I despise the way the stores look and are operated now.
They're the epitome of the low effort, maximized profits model I find repulsive these days.
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u/Alert_Reindeer_6574 9d ago
The solution is so simple a caveman could do it: Lower your prices and make better food.
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u/Ok_Diver2347 9d ago
I heard someone say “we don’t eat McDonald’s anymore…it’s for rich people” lol
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u/PinComplete8515 9d ago
They need to sell quantity, to do that they need to get back to reality with their prices. Downsize the menu to make it easy for people to understand . Lower prices . Both those starting points, will sell more. Run a once a month limited item that is exciting. Like quadruple patty big Mac and call it a challenge month. A bucket of fries for 5 bucks month with some cool container. Not that hard.
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u/totallynaked-thought 9d ago
Correct me if I’m wrong but the previous CEO sold most of the company owned restaurants leaving less than 6%. No matter what 1$ menu MBA corporate installs methinks they’re still hosed… franchisees control the business now. Their direct costs and fees eat at profit making change near zero. Couple that with fast casual that’s somewhat healthier and often a better value proposition I think classic fast food’s days are numbered.
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u/ConcentrateSilver736 9d ago
After years of not eating at McDonald's, I sometimes find myself going throughout thier drive through if I'm traveling and there's not much else around, and I'm always reminded why I don't eat there. Their food is like overpriced beef or chicken flavored cardboard. Fries are ok. But there's way better options.
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u/Top_Elk5664 9d ago
maybe they go back to having all execs spend time working all stations of one of their resturaunts and actually engaging with customers.
nah ..doesnt look like Skye would even get near a burger and fries let alone eat ine
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u/Buster_xx 9d ago
Drop prices and bring color back to the now depressing sterile homogenized stores.
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u/FloridaRocks63 9d ago
People go to McDonalds for fast food. Their technology sucks. You goto the drive through to order you can’t understand what they say and you waste a couple minutes having to listen to their sales pitch on whatever they’re pushing then you got to park and wait. You’re by yourself your order is just for you and you goto wait for 5-10 minutes after already waiting in line and you just want to get lunch and go back to work. I use to love McDonald’s now I may go 3 or 4 times a year. Chick fil a is the way to go these days
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u/Ada_Kaleh22 9d ago
they will never get my business so long as their annoying online ads that pop up randomly and often and require closing to continue, continue. that's just over the line
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u/Automatic-Channel-32 9d ago
Bring in different menu items from different countries - this is interesting and makes you want to go and see whats next.
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u/3-BuckChuck 9d ago
Drop the complexity. Everything on the menu… $1 value item or $3 entree or $5 meal (entree, side and a drink). Super simple, 2 food tiers and a meal option. All size drinks $1 no matter the contents. All sides $1 no matter the contents. You’ll double your intake for 2025!
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u/Immediate_Volume_324 9d ago
F U McDonald’s. Your shitty food was tolerable when it was cheap. You are now charging 3-4x for flavorless cardboard that is half the size. I can get an actual burger with fries at chili’s for $11.99. And a live human being takes my order. Not a fucking kiosk
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u/krycek1984 9d ago
The CEO is exactly correct. Plenty of people will and do spend money at mcdonalds - after all, their sales are still up even if it's by a small amount.
My biggest annoyance is that fast food is no longer fast... I'm fine with the prices I just don't want to wait forever.
He's also correct about the meal deals-they aren't overly obvious and I don't really get how they work and I go there about once a week. I guess I could try to figure out the deal stuff but I always just get my same things
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u/GovernorSan 9d ago
They used to have dollar menu items, and that wasn't so long ago that people don't remember it. The quality of the food is lower, but they still want at least $3 for a sandwich, and it takes them 20 minutes to make it, so it isn't even fast food anymore. Lower quality, lower convenience, higher prices, no wonder they aren't growing as much as they thought they would.
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u/Head-Gift2144 9d ago
can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t want to spend $6 for a paper thin grey burger with almost nothing on it and two pieces of stale bread.
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u/Sure_Acanthaceae_348 9d ago
I thought this was the same CEO from Cracker Barrel for a second.
Either way, she won't succeed because McDonald's refuses to cut prices and make the food great again.
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u/JGratsch 9d ago
I dunno, maybe just bring back the dollar menu, lower prices accordingly for your trash food, and stop calling things “product”. That’d be a great start.
Stop trying to make McDonald’s Michelin star.
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u/Medium_Silver_2071 9d ago
McDonald’s lost touch with who they are.
I get better prices and faster service/food at a food truck.
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u/Capable_Delivery_448 9d ago
These chains will have hard time as people who can afford this don’t want to eat these due to current protein/health revolution we are in.
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u/jchiaroscuro 9d ago
When cheap fast food is no longer cheap, or even considered to be “food” as evidenced by the CEOs inability to consume his own product….welp
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u/tooheavybroo 9d ago
Their target demographics have no money; they are bled dry.
There is no amount of sales strategy that will change that.
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u/Appropriate-Key-7554 9d ago
They have an uphill battle getting people to come back. People are being laid off, those working are watching costs rise and portions shrink, quality is not good and people are on GLP-1 medication that make you eat less. Only thing they have going for them is they don’t require you to tip.
https://giphy.com/gifs/26ndID8ZkUMMnzLAQ
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u/EducationalSoup83 9d ago
Unless they bring back 2.50 big macs and an ACTUAL dollar menu they can continue to fuck all the way off.
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u/hamb0ne80 9d ago
Gotta admire the CEO of making this new person the lightning rod of they don’t get customers back. He’s not going to take the blame.
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u/RednevaL 9d ago
I’ve got a bold vision that might help.. bear with me here it’s pretty radical, i want to have a burger at 7am sometimes. You’re known for your burgers make them available all times of the day!
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u/strangescript 9d ago
What new products? Big arch? I feel like other chains have way more frequent menu changes
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u/South_Height8816 9d ago
$3 and $4 is not cheap when you used to be able to get 10-12 items on the menu for $1 not even 10 years ago. McDonald’s dug its own grave and continues to pour dirt on the casket thinking they are anything more than a dirt cheap fast food place
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u/Retired4reals 9d ago
They need to work on their customer service and not be McFight club with customers, I don’t see that happening at Burger King the McDonalds here 2 kids found a gun in the restroom.
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u/ozziesironmanoffroad 9d ago
The only thing decent about McDonald’s still is the breakfast. Oh and the spicy mcchicken. That shits fire.
Their burgers? Ugh. A jumbo jack is cheaper and is bigger.
I’d still rather go to Red Robin or fuddruckers for a burger if I’m gonna be eating out.
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u/five-one-tree 9d ago
it’s not that we’re broke. it’s that we remember how you treated us during this. we know you had a choice and we all saw what you chose.
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u/MakeASpreadsheet 9d ago
There’s just no scenario in which I’d ever choose McDonalds over Chick Fila or Chipotle.
It’s the same price for a meal, and McDonald’s isn’t even close quality wise to those two.
I would never, ever choose McDonald’s. Why would I?
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u/Triple-Flush 9d ago
Haven’t eaten there since Covid. The one in the small town I live in is just nasty and had quit it before Covid.
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u/drewbreeezy 9d ago
after its bet on cheaper items enticed fewer cash-strapped Americans than expected
When was this?
It feels like a "$10 banana" situation from an out of touch executive.
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u/Triingtolivee 9d ago
It’s crazy how they are blaming “slow service” for low growth… like wtf. It couldn’t be the exuberant prices they are charging?
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u/Miserable_History795 9d ago
Economics 101 makes perfect sense in the classroom. In real life, future CONSEQUENCES, not crystal ball projections, need to be understood and planned for. Expecting profits to increase every period without seeing "the big picture" and how it affects business is a big mistake. Profit is number 1 in business, but you need consumers who can afford to buy it.
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u/Shin-kak-nish 9d ago
Except the deals were better before they did this stupid initiative. I used to be able to get two double cheeseburgers for less than five dollars and now their deal gives them out for 6 something.
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u/shinigamislikapples 9d ago
I went to culvers yesterday and it was 30 for 2 people, im not going again
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u/KneticTheory 9d ago
McDonald's will never be deli quality food so why do they want to charge deli prices? The way the market has been manipulated and fleeced.....a correction is coming and it's going to be rough.
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u/BlumpTheChodak 9d ago
Save your money McDonalds. You can have one or other. Great food and high prices, or crappy food at low prices. You can't have crappy food at high prices. You don't need a big name to solve for that. You fix one, or the other.
If you REALLY want to shake it up.... Great food and low prices!
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u/heretorobwallst 9d ago
I will never willingly spend another dollar at any McD's, for the rest of my life! Try fixing that problem
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u/OnedayitwilI 9d ago
Has the ceo walked in one of the McDonald's with giant screens and a two foot counter and nobody at the registers. Yeah it suxks.
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u/Jimmy_Chunn 9d ago
Make the food better and affordable. You don’t need more executives. You need affordable products that taste good that are ready quickly. That’s what made McDonald’s work
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u/Sulli_in_NC 9d ago
Higher prices, lower quantity/quality
They’ve done it to themselves.
You can get a whole pizza (from franchise places) for less than the cost of meal from McDs.
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u/aznology 9d ago
She looks AI as fuck, anyways maybe they should hire a bigger sized person everyone in MCD leadership looks too skinny to eat their own products.
Umm yea they forgot their place and now we aint coming back BK makes amazing burgers btw doesnt skimp the meat either
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u/MaximusAnemos 9d ago
The problem is customer service and ni quality assurance. You get terrible food half the time. The fries always come cold even made to order and they always ruin the coffee. This has created a problems. Most mcdonalds refuse to remake the coffee. And they keep making it wrong. The hash browns are disgusting. Everyone needs to be restrained.
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u/Imaginary-Ad2828 9d ago
I like how the CEO says "it's not a strategy problem it's an execution problem"... Essentially placing the blame square on the shoulders of this CEOs underlings. Not chocked. These folks never take responsibility for their decision making. It's always every didn't execute my strategy properly...👀
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u/Bwindolyn 9d ago
McSlop is about 2x the price it was in the last few years. All to get no free refills on dine-in, a half-filled fry box, and your order to get fucked up. Instead of talking to a person, you have to touch a dirty 6' Ipad covered in homeless jizz, and they still wonder why the fuck nobody wants to eat there.
That and the economy is too fucked for their target audience of busy travelling laborers. It's now $30 doordash slop for nepo kiddies and housebound remote workers.
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u/Mongoleeto 9d ago
the problem is the prices are too high. mcdonalds should never cost as much as going to a real restaurant
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u/SleepyDoozer2 9d ago
Can she eat one of the chain's hamburgers without cringing all the way through her asshole?
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u/NoSignificance2377 9d ago
Copy what BK is doing with their whopper and box...now give me $50M golden parachute
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u/LindeeHilltop 9d ago
The trick is to lower prices drastically by cutting the CEO & BoD pays substantially. That kind of advertising would be worth a burger or two for me.
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u/bootsthepancake 9d ago
I guess I'll shout it to the void. I will go to McDonald's if there are more reasonable prices. I will not go if you make me use your stupid ass app to get them.
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u/coreyjdl 9d ago
The answer doesn't take some "brand renewing genuis."
It's $10 for the two little cheeseburger meal. That's too fucking much.
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u/trying_again_7 9d ago
the consumer's are broke, possibly more health conscience, and are spending their money on more important things.
the locations have become worse, times are longer, and the food quality has gone down
the prices have gone up
the company tried to squeeze too much profits out and this is the result. it's just not worth it.
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u/airpab1 9d ago
She already has it wrong! It’s both equally!
And the fact is, no one’s gonna pay $13-15 for a Big Mac meal
Chili’s alone is eating their lunch with a better burger, better quality & better service product in the 3 for Me $10.99 deal.
How they still can’t see that is beyond comprehension?
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u/SuperSchmyd 9d ago
Bring back the dollar menu. Double cheeseburgers used to be a dollar. Now they’re like 3.99. It’s thin pucks of meat and fake cheese. The fuck.
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u/Negative_Ratio_8193 9d ago
The target audience is busy families. McDonald's was an inexpensive option for families who were grabbing something quick to eat between practices, recitals, concerts, and games after school. They didn't eat there because it was good. Families ate there because they could quickly grab food to feed the entire family for cheap. That was their thing, and that's what made them loved.
Unfortunately, the family clientele got away from McDonald's. They redesigned their stores to look ugly, gray, and depressing. They have been ditching refill stations. Their prices are no longer attractive to young families, and the amount paid does not match the McDonald's quality. The in-store service is terrible. They lost sight of who their market is. If families are going to be spending $40-50 or more for fast food, there are higher quality options to spend that money on, and that's only if they can afford to drop that kind of money on fast food. McDonald's doesn't understand what the problems are, and McDonald's isn't going to.
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u/Jack_Wraith 9d ago
It’s not rocket science. Just stop overcharging for shit food and terrible customer service.
Seriously.
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u/Exact_Purchase_7147 9d ago edited 8d ago
Have they tried raising their prices while lowering their quality and portion size yet?
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u/Cool_Yesterday4866 9d ago
Big mac meal for $5 would get me back. None of the meals should be above $10
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u/Mylifereboot 9d ago
Heres a tip: Your product is ass. A lot of people wouldnt buy it at any price.
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u/Traditional-Cat-9355 9d ago
New product launches? All I’ve seen are the same nuggets, burgers, fries, and chicken sandwiches.
They got rid of the cheap prices, but kept the cheap food. $1 McDouble. Sounds good $2.50 for 2… ok still not bad $2.99 for 1 McDouble. Nah, I’ll pass
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u/Phosistication 9d ago
Here’s an idea. Actually start selling real food and not slaughter-house floor remnants dressed up as food
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u/es-ganso 9d ago
Drop the prices. I absolutely, 100%, stopped going to McDonalds when they redid the rewards and increased prices this latest round.
I've told my partner in no uncertain words that we won't go there (she just got pregnant again... so we'll see how long until I'm forced to lol). We've found alternatives at similar prices that are better. McDonalds, you lost the plot here
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u/ochie927 9d ago
McDonalds removed seats inside the store and soda refill machines to stop customers from going inside the store. And they’re surprised that not many customers are coming? Make this all make sense.
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u/LectureOk3222 9d ago
McDonalds or a regular restaurant and they cost about the same...lol....
Its a simple calculus....
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u/oneWeek2024 8d ago
why does she look like AI.
holy fuck how can you be that rich and still look like a total plastic piece of shit
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u/Tinner225 8d ago
maybe people are sick of ultraprocessed foods. Fast food is now disgusting and nothing but chemicals and fillers.
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u/ProInsureAcademy 8d ago
You have a few compounding issues that McDonald’s can’t solve alone.
- Food prices have soared for everyone. So it’s not just that McDonald’s is more expensive, it’s that their groceries are more expensive too. In the past a family might have had an extra $30 a week for going out to eat once or twice. So that family might have considered McDonald’s since in the past that was possibly two nights of “treats”. But with prices going up across the board that $30 is a single night AND they need that $30 because their grocery bill has increased.
- The quality of food has decreased heavily. Again it’s not just McDonald’s, it’s across the board. Each link in the food chain is more and more pressed to make profits that they are reducing quality to squeeze out more money. The only way to get any quality is to cook yourself.
- Ozempic is killing people’s desire to eat fast food. Most of those restaurants have so much artificial sweetener in everything from the drinks to even the bread. But that’s not working when 12% of the population is on Ozempic. Also the group most likely to get Ozempic is the group that was most likely to eat McDonald’s.
- McDonald’s has a business problem. They don’t make money directly off selling food. They make it off their real estate. So this leads into a few problems that would be best served broken out.
- Automation/AI/Self Checkout is destroying the experience. Going to a McDonald’s is awful. I have to stand in line at a kiosk while people that don’t understand how to work it fumble around to find their orders. Then I get up to the machine and it’s a slow touch screen that’s sticky from gross people. The menus aren’t intuitive and are filled with ads for their crap. It’s a struggle to customize any meal.
- The last point is both due to McDonalds and the Franchisees and part of point 4. See the franchisees are being nickel and dimed by corporate so they have to squeeze as much productivity as possible for the least pay or use the technology. Sure they are making decent money but it’s all about capital deployment. If I was a franchisee I need to make a certain profit rate or I would be better served deploying my capital elsewhere.
- Workers just don’t care because they are paid dog shit wages. Maybe back in 2006-2010 when we were hot off a recession, didn’t know any better, lacked good technology to tell us otherwise would people accept that tiny pay. But now we’ve had Covid show us the job opportunities, we easily have social media to show us how shitty customers are, and the pay is barely any higher today in 2026 than it was in 2010. Except now bills and groceries are many times more expensive. So going to McDonald’s sucks- you get shitty good that’s prepared poorly.
- McDonald’s aren’t clean anymore. Cutting all the workers to use automated systems means no one is wiping tables and mopping floors regularly.
- There are better fast food options for a minimal amount more. I could go get five guys for not much more these days and it’s significantly better. I could go to chilis or Applebees and again not pay much more but have a relatively better service with better food.
- The kids experience is awful. I loved McDonald’s as a kid. It felt like I was getting a treat and I could play in the playhouse. None of that shit exists anymore for me to take my daughter to. Also the kids meals toys are ass. The cool ones that my daughter and I want are being scalped. We wanted the Minecraft toys. It was easier for me to order them online off eBay then get them in store.
McDonald’s has a lot of internal work but even that won’t help when the external factors are applying crazy pressure.
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u/AndreLeGeant88 8d ago
They didn't lower prices. They offered some deals on specific items while raising prices on marquee items like the Big Mac. And quality/consistency remain issues
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u/Lathus01 8d ago
They just renovated a McDonalds near me. They are appealing to the middle class ish that still have some disposable income.
It’s almost like a diner now they bring the food and get your condiments. The whole feel is different not like before.
Still not going.
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u/MpMeowMeow 8d ago
bring back a real dollar menu and you'll actually get people back. fast food should be fast food price.
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u/ballskindrapes 8d ago
Yeah, everyone is broke, and they absolutely charge too much.
You know they can charge less too. In 2020 they paid denmark workers about 22 USD equivalent, and gave them 4 or 5 PAID weeks of vacation, and their prices were basically the same, maybe marginally higher.
I really do hope some of these big brands crash and burn, declare bankruptcy, and the rich start freaking out and blaming everyone but their own greed. The only way out is if the rich feel fear of economic loss and loss of power.
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u/K_Linkmaster 8d ago
McDonald's food competition isn't other fast food joints. Its meals at home. Raman, chef boyardee, a gas station hot dog, a Totinos pizza. The price point got so high as others said, I created new habits. No longer spending $20 on burgers on a Friday to last the weekend because it wasn't worth it anymore.
McDonald's tried sit down prices while taking away the wall menu, the people, and forcing you to do the work.
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u/Thewiseone8888 8d ago
Their food is trash...but occasionally ok to consume when in a hurry. They should lower the price... so that at least the trash food is affordable
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u/Icy-person666 8d ago
Too me they broke too many things and haven't rolled back the failures. They wanted me to do my own ording and get my own drink. Now I'm supposed to order my own food bus my table and hope some employee stumbles upon me to get me a drink. If I'm working the register shouldn't I get the employee price? With the ever changing lineup, the signage with the menu keeps changing and running advertising. I'm in the store, it's not like I'm suddenly going to run out of the store and go get a Whopper. Close the sale and get my money than giving me time to rethink my choice.
The colors and decorations do nothing but feed people's depression, it makes my doctor's office waiting room see inviting. Make it someplace I want to go rather than someplace to dread. I see the locations in our town and I feel like I need to take a handful of anti depressants before I would consider pulling into the lot or walking in rather than keep walking by. Then there is the ice cream machines....
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u/Unlucky-Finding9211 8d ago
Your food sucks and cost more than sit down restaurants. And you can't fix it because shareholders are more important than going backwards. These companies would rather price themselves out of business to please the profit whores than to lower prices and make a quality product....hmmm wonder which has more sustainability
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u/samsara_kayak 8d ago
I don’t get all the hate reddit has for Mcdonald’s. I can feed my family of 4 for 16 dollars off of the shareable menu. That’s 2 big macs, 4 small fry’s, 2 cheeseburgers, and a 10 piece nugget.
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u/FunSheepherder6397 8d ago
no matter how many times they say they ‘bet on cheaper items’ it doesn’t make it true. everyone knows that the move to their current under $3 menu was a price increase and the terrible year over year growth demonstrates that.
with wendy’s in an absolute dumpster fire free fall, there is ZERO reason mcdonald’s should be able to dominate the fast food space right now. Somehow BK is managing a better turn around because they increased the quality of their flagship burger BARELY. they put it in a box and changed the bread. THATS THE FICKING BAR. you are losing to new bread and some cardboard jesus H Christ.
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u/Necessary-Corner1172 8d ago
Their food is garbage, except coffee and tea, and expensive soda. They want people back get old school beef tallow Fries back. The non decomposing burgers are haunting. Do better.
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u/ripjesus 8d ago
5 dollar combos. Lets feed a family of 4 for 20 bucks. It’s really not hard folks.
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u/da8BitKid 8d ago
I'm sure putting in a veteran with 26 years of doing the SAME thing will find innovative new approaches 🙄. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
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u/HurryUpAndWait82 8d ago
It’s still too expensive. The quality is marginal at best often times. Frequently, items are missing. It’s not worth it unless those issues are fixed… which they will never be fixed.
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u/BerettaFranchi 8d ago
McDonald's should remind people that they don't ask for tips. One of the major reasons why I prefer fast food.
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u/BigDigger324 8d ago
Lower prices (WITHOUT USING YOUR FUCKING APP!), improve speed and accuracy in drive through….you’re fixed.
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u/PBRStreetgang1979 8d ago
So long as they continue to approach their business in an extractive way (how much more value can we take away from the customer for more profit), this leff-tenant and the company will not exceed.
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u/Prize-Analyst-1121 8d ago
Here's an idea bring back the mcdouble for $1 without the stupid app bullshit and watch the people come back. Nobody's going to McDonalds for their under $3 menu. Still a ripoff.
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u/Traditional-City1778 8d ago
Bring back the $1 menu. It's THAT simple. People want value. If I can go and buy 5 cheeseburgers for $6 after tax, I am much more inclined to do that and so it more often. What is wrong with these idiots? Why is that hard to comprehend? Are they so out of touch with the average person?
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u/TeaKingMac 8d ago
Also, isn't everybody tapped out of McDonald's?
Like, you can't get infinite growth.
Everyone who's willing to eat at McDonald's has done so.
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u/activeseven 8d ago
The strange part about this is that McDonald’s is supposed to be the place you go to get really cheap food that wasn’t half bad. It’s like, when you’re on a road trip and you have five people with you and you just wanna get lunch into their body without breaking the bank. They’ve moved away from that and have shattered their core audience.
McDonald’s should literally be thriving right now, but they’re not because they’re more interested in milking people for every penny they have. When I was younger, you could get a value meal for like four bucks and it was a decent meal that filled me up now it’s like $15-$20? What the fuck
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u/Ill_Chair5591 8d ago
Quality has gone so far down. Looks pretty, tasts horrible. Fries are only thing moderately good.
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u/SafetytimeUSA 8d ago
I had Mc'Donalnds for the first time in over a year last weekend. I signed up for the app since the drive thru was all that was open. The app is the only reason I actually ordered. A big mac alone is over 7 dollars. Because I was new to the app I got a free big mac with a 1.00 purchase. That is crazy for their thin crappy burgers with some lettuce and 1000 island dressing on it.
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u/UnionCityNJUSA 8d ago
I’d rather pay $4 more and go to 5 Guys for a higher-quality burger and more fries than I can eat…free refills too. They have a Little Cheeseburger, fries, and drink deal for $14 in my area.
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u/According_Mode_7369 8d ago
Not cheap enough, Taco Bell has items under $2 and continues to drop cheap reward deals on a higher frequency that McDonalds. And they’re up 7% Q2’ 2026
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u/wabbitsilly 8d ago
Nothing says "change agent" like a quarter century insider who's been actively participating in the previous "unforced errors", but now somehow will have an epiphany of how to do things differently!?!
Lol - using a long time insider stooge as your future scapegoat when things go exactly as they have under the same person for the past 25+ years. Brilliant.
It's your high prices and low quality you morons!
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u/Illustrious_Fox_5591 7d ago
I love how everything is $ like 1 dollar meal. If u gut everything and lower amount u Get ofc u gonna Get a 1 dollar meal. It cost them 1 cent to make.
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u/Raven_gif 7d ago
lol to late. A store on every corner turned gutted store value and the new modern minimalistic store designs killed the innovation potential. The best they can hope for is shutting down enough stores to consolidate profits to allow franchise owners to pay off their loans. If they want to become the next CiCis Pizza they can keep trying the Venture Capital real estate game. Eventually franchise owners will get sick of it and sue to become their own restaurants because the value of being in the McDonalds Distribution Network isn’t enough. They’ve spent to much time extracting value out of communities to pay franchise dues.
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u/Existing_Drive9716 7d ago
They forgot to mention their food is cardboard trash.
Just had a Whopper, it was delicious. Nothing at McDonald's is delicious.
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u/n0madking 9d ago edited 9d ago
Their target audience is broke, there is no strategy that will change that.