Comments on: McDonald's price increases over the years

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:52:00 +0000

Rooms are not as good value in Brighton as the food :)

By: ocker3

ocker3 — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:41:00 +0000

Not sure what makes the difference in the UK, but here in Australia Subway is damn competitive. Although I agree that the bread itself doesn’t always taste that wonderful, their wraps are good, and as a way of getting a big dose of veggies I like it.

By: ocker3

ocker3 — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:39:00 +0000

Oh get a room you two :D

By: artbyjcm

artbyjcm — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 23:40:00 +0000

I have a theory on this. McDonalds and Wal*Mart (coincidentally, McDonalds are often found inside of Wal*Marts) built a reputation as being far cheaper than the competition, to the point that many people were raised knowing this was “fact.” And for a time, this was true. But what I’ve noticed, time and time again, the items at both stores are becoming much more expensive than the competition. Black running shoes, Target $29.99 / Wal*Mart $35.99. In terms of quality, the Target ones are much better. I pulled the soles out of the Wal*Mart shoes. They were held in with two dabs of glue and that is it. Combo with burger with two patties, fries drink and Soda at McDonald’s $6.50 / Jack in the Box $3.99.
How do they get away with this?
I think it is that people who have hit hard times are convinced that they have to shop at these “cheaper” establishments, and simply assume that because Wal*Mart and McDonald’s prices have gone up, that the competition’s prices must be astronomically high, and are now afraid to leave their “safe-zone.”

By: Analog Kid

Analog Kid — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:39:00 +0000

One thing I noticed: the old menu board was easy to read and it actually made me hungry, with all the food pics. The new one is mostly white, completely blah and the menu is much more difficult to read with lots of tiny print.

Also, nothing makes me shit quicker than a McDonald’s meal.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:42:00 +0000

They could bottle it and call it Père Lachaise.

By: Dlo Burns

Dlo Burns — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:26:00 +0000

@Antinous_Moderator:disqus god knows how much dead body juice has seeped into the ground water over the years.

By: Dlo Burns

Dlo Burns — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:25:00 +0000

Paris Idaho.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:40:00 +0000

Well water in India? No problem. Tap water in Paris? Diarrhea every time.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:17:00 +0000

Paris… France? Consider me sceptical.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:55:00 +0000

Dude you’re not living if you don’t get dysentery every now and then; sometimes it comes from the best meal on the trip!

Or from drinking the tap water in Paris.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:17:00 +0000

Pizza Spress? Are you a wizard?

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:56:00 +0000

For me it’s not really the grease, though it may be the salt. McD’s fries don’t hurt me a bit, and I love a Wendy’s Double, but a McDonald’s double cheeseburger (the 99 cent one that’s significantly smaller than a Wendy’s double) just about knocks me on my ass.

By: Boundegar

Boundegar — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:42:00 +0000

Why do you assume Burger King prices would be linked to food prices?

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:40:00 +0000

Haha yes!

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:22:00 +0000

And the bread and veg will taste like bread and veg. I’ve always marveled at the way Subway has managed to make fresh bread test like foam, and find the worst possible tomatoes on Earth…

By: jaduncan

jaduncan — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:21:00 +0000

“In the UK at least it does vary depending on where you are. But in Brighton I can get get a high-quality Indian Buffet in a charming sit-down restaurant for the same price as a McDonalds meal.”

Prediction: you’re going to the Bombay Aloo.

Brighton hometown shoutout.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:19:00 +0000

It’s barely even more convenient either.

At least if you’re building your own sandwich on a park bench you have an opportunity to be hilarious like Mr Bean.

By: Dlo Burns

Dlo Burns — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:16:00 +0000

Subway-esq sandwich places drive me nuts, they do far less work than other food people, and it’s so overpriced I could get the supplies from a grocery store for the price of one and have enough to last a week.

By: Dlo Burns

Dlo Burns — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:12:00 +0000

I think they stepped up their coffee game to get in on Starbucks.

By: toyg

toyg — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:11:00 +0000

Sign me up for the “I cannot believe how expensive Subway can be” UK group.

By: Dlo Burns

Dlo Burns — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:11:00 +0000

Heh, not me, I can pretty much handle anything as long as it isn’t avocados or beans. I was talking about this with some friends recently; one has the grease problem, but the other one is only affected by McD’s. He eats it and not only has stomach problems but gets headaches too. My hypothesis is that maybe it’s a certain preservative or just really high salt since the burgers are rather dry.

[I hate Wendy's, those things are so greasy they become slimy and that's p much what my dad wants to eat for every meal. Also I got served a severely under-cooked one once too]

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Nobody’s going to fault somebody for going to Subway (or wherever) in an unfamiliar town (or highway exit) if it’s a matter of convenience, that’s entirely different than not exploring other comparable options in your own city. Of course I will say that with smart phones and internet/apps etc. it’s increasingly becoming inexcusable to not be somewhat curious and engaged with the world. I would never blame anybody who can’t afford access to those things though, but I don’t think many BoingBoingers fall in that category. Maybe traveling is a rare enough (non work related) event that it’s exciting for me, but I can’t imagine going to a town and not asking about (or researching) places to visit and eat, especially if they’re convenient to where I’m staying.

Also, I’d say that guarantee of quality is overrated. It’s more like a guarantee of what can be passable for the cheapest price while making the necessary profits. You may run into a wretched ma and pa restaurant now and then, but you’ll likely find as many that are better than chains for the same (or less) price. On top of that there are the ethical reasons for avoiding large chains.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:52:00 +0000

I actually commented recently that I find it remarkable how LITTLE they’ve gone up in price.

Since I was a boy a Burger King has gone up maybe 20%, at the most. A block of butter or a loaf of bread from my local supermarket has gone up that much in the last 6 months.

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:48:00 +0000

This is true, and if you’re determined to eat greasy burgers and fries there are any number of locally owned and operated places that are as good/better and comparably priced. At least you’re keeping the money in the community.

It’s really annoying actually. There’s been all kinds of articles popping up in recent years that try to paint legitimate criticism of chain restaurants as nothing but food snobbery. In some cases sure, but in most cases they aren’t a good choice ethically or budget wise.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:47:00 +0000

Dude you’re not living if you don’t get dysentery every now and then; sometimes it comes from the best meal on the trip!

Joking aside, ignoring some of the far corners of Europe you shouldn’t really have to worry much about such things. Consistency I get though, if you want to guarantee what you’re gonna get, even if it’s not what you want, McD’s generally does the job. Depressing but true.

By: Wreckrob8

Wreckrob8 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:01:00 +0000

How many hours would I have to work in 2013 earning an average wage or salary (mean, median and mode) to buy one Big Mac compared to 2002?

By: leicalemur

leicalemur — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:58:00 +0000

I do find it funny he never compared the breakfast menu, of which many items stayed constant for 11 years…

By: wysinwyg

wysinwyg — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:37:00 +0000

Even given that all of your info on CPI is true, I don’t see how that would indicate that it is “not helpful” to compare the change in McDonald’s prices to CPI. It absolutely helps to give sense of the scale of the increase.

Perhaps you meant to say “misleading because it’s comparing increasing food prices to changes in prices of things that are not food”. Even then I don’t really see a problem with it, though.

By: Mostafa Alattar

Mostafa Alattar — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:28:00 +0000

Great, now I want a 75% marked up Big Mac.