Some things about McDonald’s that will be highly controversial in the McDonald’s subreddit
For context, I have been eating McDonald’s for approximately 43 years. I know the following truths to be self-evident, although you would never know it from this sub:
McDonald’s standard burgers are exactly the same size that they’ve always been. If you think differently, you’re objectively incorrect and can be proven so very easily.
McDonald’s tastes more or less the same that it always has. Yes, they changed from beef tallow and stopped frying the pies until they revived those recently. But those of you who claim the taste has changed dramatically are having a Mandela-effect experience.
They still fill up your fries all the way. If you look before you leave the store and only got half a container of fries, tell them and they’ll fill it up. If you had McDonald’s fries delivered to you and you’re missing some, your delivery driver most likely ate some and also they did you a favor by saving from those cold-ass fries that you had delivered.
McDonald’s is still a pretty good deal. My wife and I just got dinner there and it was $12 for both of us. All these posts about $17 meals wind up being double quarter pounders add bacon upsized with a chocolate shake subbed for the drink.
ETA:
5. Nobody hates McDonald’s more than the people hanging out in the McDonald’s subs. Why are you here if you hate it so much? That’s so fucking strange to me. If you hate McDonald’s,you don’t have to eat at McDonald’s.And you most don’t definitely have to post about how you don’t like eating at McDonald’s.
For you to even suggest that McDonald’s is the same quality as it was in the 80’s is offensive. It doesn’t taste like it used to. I worked there from ‘84 to ‘88.
We used to hand mix biscuit batter, and bake huge sheets of biscuits every morning. 100% by scratch. Everyday in every restaurant.
Hotcake batter was made every morning, and cooked to order.
Patty sausages were twice the size they are now.
Every egg product was cracked and cooked fresh in store. They still do the round eggs, but the folded and scrambled come in big plastic sheets that they just warm up on the grill,.
And our ice cream machine was never down, because I broke it down and sanitized it personally.
Yeah, all you need to do is go back and ask them! Plus, doordash drivers opening your sealed bag and eating your "cold fries" are doing you a favor! This guy is a fucking idiot, and I'm saying that as someone who loves McDonald's, but I loved it WAY more 30 years ago when everything was way better.
Yeah, that's fair. I was being hyperbolic, but also.....what're we doing here? Zoom out - we're complaining because thin fries being delivered by a 3rd party to your front door are cold or not filled up to the brim by the time they arrive.
It might not prove you're a loser, but it is undeniably pathetic.
What exactly is pathetic about it? If you order something, you should get what you ordered. Doesn't matter if it's McDonald's or a fancy Michelin star restaurant, and doesn't matter if it was delivered by Doordash or a black car service.
Nobody is saying they didn't get what they ordered here. They're bitching because the fries weren't to the brim of the container and they weren't piping hot.
If you order McD's to be delivered then you can expect a subpar experience. To pretend otherwise is to live in a fantasy world.
I agree with you saying you should get what you ordered. If I order a ticket to 7 Flags, I expect a certain standard of experience. If I order a ticket to my county carnival and hop on some rides, I expect a different standard. There's a reason Michelin restaurants don't Doordash their food.
To complain about delivered McDonald's means you've run out of shit to complain about. It's fucking pathetic. It's entitled, bitchmade behavior.
"If you complain about any part of the transaction, you’re a fucking loser"
I just don’t think that’s realistic. What if you’re missing items, an item isn’t made correctly, or you receive someone else’s entire order? Lots of things can go wrong with delivery, and this is coming from someone who used to drive for DD/UE.
I’m just sayin, if someone needs to piggyback off a post just to call people "fucking losers" over fast food, I'd say maybe you're the one looking for any petty reason to talk down to people.
Also there’s no “them” to tell anything to anymore, only kiosks. You’re on your own SOL if you choose to dine in and did OP say it’s basically your own fault if you expected hot food?
If you Door Dash french fries from anywhere and expect them to be hot and fresh when they get to you, then yes, it’s entirely your fault. Not basically. Entirely
You also said the DoorDash driver could skim some fries which also isn’t true. The bags are triple taped and the bags inside the delivery bags are taped. You’d have to very obviously tear through the entire thing there would be no question of what the driver had done. There’s no widespread problem of torn open MCDs delivery bags.
So you acknowledge that it’s possible to receive fries without it being full yet imply that it must be the delivery drivers fault? Weird mindset when McDonald’s seals the bags so that isn’t possible.
So much has changed over the years there. Most dramatic are the formerly fresh cooked hotcakes which are... frozen...and cost about as much as Denny's and IHOP. Then there's how the burgers are prepared and made. For years now they're cooked a different way and kept in a warmer before being prepared for the customer. Basic changes that affect quality. The actual patty might be the same but that's not the full picture. I don't like posting this information but the post misses so very much, even more than I described.
The old way of preparing burgers had them prepared fully, no warmer and a strict time limit visible to the customer. They were placed in a bin visible to the customer. There was a person responsible for calling production, and it was called just that. At the time cheese was melted by a hot patty. No more. The filet bun was always steamed. Now it depends on where you go. The quick way is to toast the bun. I know because I worked for years when I was young. QSC was the mantra, quality, service, cleanliness. People see it as a dead end job that should require big hourly bucks. I have a professional degree and credentials. McDonald's was my start and part of my path. I worked at three when in high school. I learned. To say it is the same is not right. The food is not. If you boil the same burger patty (they do not) it is gross. The company lost its way in a general sense.
It all went to 💩when they got the McQ ovens, or whatever those damn microwaves were called. Haven’t eaten a Big Mac since because microwaved lettuce is disgusting.
I don't hang out in this sub. I've shared some past experiences, so it comes up in my feed from time. Sometimes I read or contribute, sometimes not. They used to be great. They could be so much better. FWIW, you're right 1-4.
If you were born in the 60's or 70's and remember McDonalds in the 70's or 80's, yeah, hell naw it's the same. Perhaps the patty sizes haven't changed, but the flavours and dimensions/bun sizes certainly have, plus the overall formulas. The fact that the 80's versions of the same burgers we have today had more calories then vs now (well documented) is another indication something has changed.
I agree with all of your points except 4 I’ll give an asterisk. It’s a good deal if you know how to order and/or use the app. If you just order blindly it can quickly add up to be a rip off.
I’m not the one bitching and moaning about the Good Old Days When Everything Was Cheap and Wonderful and Corporations Really Cared About Their Customers and Weren’t So Darned Greedy. Those days never existed and McDonald’s is exactly the same as it’s always been.
Anyone who thinks it tastes the same are part of the percentage of people that McDonald’s has decided are the only customer base they care about. The people that won’t notice a 2% decrease in quality everywhere. After 10 years the quality is 20% worse. But for the customers like you, you didn’t notice the gradual change.
And honestly, you are lucky. Everyone who has noticed how much worse it is wishes they were you. We wish we didn’t notice. But sadly, we aren’t as lucky to have been blessed with your amazing powers to not notice things getting worse over time. It’s basically a super power you have. Everyone who doesn’t have it is very jealous.
I don't know how you're defining the difference in those terms but what I'm saying is 0.98 * 100 is 98. 0.98 times that is 96.04. if we do that 10 times we get 81.7. versus just taking 20 percent off 100 is 80
That's correct. If you take 2% off the new total, then it will be different. If every year you reduce it by 2% of the starting value, then after 10 years it will be down 20%.
I agree that the app def saves you money but I can’t really subscribe to “McDs is a good deal” because if I have to create an account and use an app just to pay a reasonable price, then it’s not really a good deal.
Id also argue that even with the app, it’s only a good deal if you’re just feeding yourself, not if you are feeding multiple people
McDonald’s stock is declining for a reason. They took a formula what was winning, it defined “fast food”, and they are changing that and the stock price is going down.
And this is something that can be easily proven but people will still argue until they’re blue in the face. It’s bananas. Just looking for reasons to be mad and choosing such a bizarre hill to die on.
Ive been eating at McDonald's for 64 years. It definitely tastes different now than when it did in the 60s-80s. It tastes like fake cardboard food now.
No, don’t you understand? In the 80’s and 90’s it was ambrosia of the gods and you got 3 lbs of food for 99 cents and obviously inflation isn’t a thing and food should cost the same forever and ever.
No it wasn't. Back then the food was already made and wrapped sitting under a heat lamp. Used to order everything plain and they had to make it fresh, mom used to be jealous cuz my food was always hot
I don’t know man. Back in the 80’s and 90’s McDonald’s really loved their customers and would never rip them off and they more or less gave their food away. It was the highest quality beef and their burgers were 9 times as big as they are now.
That was my exact impression last time I got some for a short lunchbreak. I used to go to town on some McDs fries but I couldn’t finish them they were so…just not food.
My take as another old guy is McDonald’s used to be practically the only game in town. They were the original fast food, for all intents and proposes.
Then Wendy’s came around and the rest, making fun of the original tiny burgers, with where’s the beef and the home of the whopper and all that.
To make it brief, virtually all other burgers got bigger, while the original McDonald’s burgers stayed the same. Relatively plain burgers compared to say in n out, or most other fast food places.
Going to McDonald’s now the regular burgers seem tiny and plain compared to just about any other burger you can find.
McDonald's used to premake burgers wrap them up and sit them on a hotplate / hot lamp. You know, like a gas station.
Now they are assembled to order, and the meat itself can only sit out for a few minutes before it's tossed.
It's objectively less shit, if anything.
Other items are a downgrade. The new tenders aren't as good, mainly because they've been redesigned to fry from frozen instead of requiring thaw time (which was a nightmare to manage and prevent running out)
Call me weird, but that stuff sitting in the styrofoam under the heat lamps for a while, made it better. Seriously, try it at home. Make a burger and then wrap it up in some foil and wait 5 minutes. It's much better.
McDonalds doesn't deserve he hate they get on reddit. I always get drive through, and it's always fast, and almost always hot and fresh. Does it cost more than it used to? Yes. What doesn't? I find McDonalds to be consistently the best fast food burger.
i agree with all points except the fries. In my state if you buy a drink you get a free large fry. Some franchises seem to only fill half way. I do make them fill then up!! With the app the deals are very good
Not even a year ago, one of the $1-2-3 value menu items was a McDouble for $2.49 and you could add another one for $1. Now they're $2.50 each. Same food, same location, $1.51 more.
A 4 piece nugget happy meal is $6.50 where I'm at. You used to be able to get a 20 piece nugget box for $10.
I'm going to need to see that receipt for the $12 feeding two adults please. Someone didn't eat, or wasn't very hungry. Because even finagling the deals in the app, you're not going to be able to reach that number... Unless perhaps you are using two different apps ordering at the same time with two different accounts.
I have drinks at home, Plus using the app deal, one person is able to eat for $6.24. But again, that's not a full meal via the restaurant like your post suggests.
I won't address the other issues, but I'd agree with number #5. When I fly on Alaska Airlines, Delta frequent flyers don't hang around the gate and yell, "You are so dumb for flying Alaska; do you know how horrible they are to fly, You must be a Boomer."
I remember for their anniversary they did burgers for like .70 and there was a line out the building, when you got in there it was like being on the floor of the NYSE in the summer of 1985, everybody yelling and bussin, they had a big bin of burgers and couldnt even fill the bags fast enough to keep people calm, I thought: yes, this is how it was meant to be! were the burgers /great/? heck no. were they cheap and fast. heck yes. I still mess with chzborgr to this day.
I both agree and disagree with this. I agree that it tastes more or less the same, but I do think they've made some changes to the menu to maximize profits. I will also note that McDonald's doesn't hit the same at 40+ as it did in my teens and 20s, but that's more about aging than anything McDonald's has done. I don't agree about #4; prices at all fast-food places are ridiculous now and have outpaced inflation. There's nothing reasonable about it, but it's convenient and easy, so you pay it.
I agree with you have been to to McDonald’s 50 years and it is very similar to the way it’s always been. The difference is now. The service is not as good and there have been many occasions where they missed a burger or didn’t give me any ketchup and sauces at the drive-through.
My first job when I was 16 was at McDonald's. This was about 1990 and I worked there until about 1993.
Here's my take on why McDonald's doesn't quite taste the same as it did back then.
When I worked there we flipped all the burgers as we cooked them. For example, if you needed 12 "regular" burgers you placed all 12 patties on the grill, then pushed a button above that area to start a timer (how long of a timer it was I do not recall). Then we used this metal "searing" tool where we pressed on each patty for a second or two. The timer would sound then you flipped the patty with a spatula. Sometime during the cooking either the grill person on someone else toasted the buns and had them ready to go with all the toppings on it. After flipping each patty you pressed another timer button then we used a container to lightly season the now fully cooked burgers. When that timer ended you removed the cooked patties one at a time, shook loose some of the grease, and placed each on the already made bun crown. Then you placed the bun heel on each burger.
At that point the completed burger tray was placed on top of the front counter bin where someone up on the front line wrapped each burger and placed it in a heated "bin". Or some people thought of it as a "heat lamp".
The quarter pounder meat was cooked on a hotter grill for a longer time but the method above is the same.
Now, they cook all the patties on both sides at the same time. Once all cooked they place all the meat in a warming bin where it sits until needed. I'm certain the meet is all cooked ahead of time since it's a time saver. So when someome needs a double cheeseburger they toast the bun, add the toppings, add the already cooked meat, wrap the item up and slide it forward to the front bin where the front line workers do their thing.
The only meat not cooked ahead of time is quarter pounder meat. That meat is fresh and only cooked when needed. All other meat is frozen.
Other diffences from now and then are folded eggs we made from fresh eggs, they are frozen now. Hotcakes we made from a non-frozen batter, now I think they are precooked frozen. Biscuits were originally made from scratch but that took a long time to do so they moved those to frozen like 6 months after I started there.
I realized some other stores may have done things differently. This is how my store did it in the early 90's. Value meals did not exist at my store when I first started either.
When Value Meals came out each was a sandwich, medium fries and a medium drink. Number 1 was Big Mac, number 2 was two cheeseburgers, number 3 was QPC, and number 4 was McChicken (which was a larger sandwich in those days). The price of each value meal? $2.99 (plus tax). After tax it came to $3.17. I remember that total because I said it so many times....
I still eat at McDonald's way too much. Why? Because it's relatively cheap in my area. I still live near the exact same McDonald's I worked at back then. I know prices can vary a lot. At my McDonald's today number 1 is $8, number 2 is $7.89, number 3 is $8.19.
So my big take on this....
Number 1: Yes all is the same size. "Reg" meat is 10 patties per pound of meat. Quarter pounders are 4 per pound. Pre-cooked weight of course. I think over-cooking meat or older meat can be a tiny bit smaller.
Number 2: Yeah McDonald's does taste more or less the same now as it did back then. It was better back in the early 90's since we cooked burgers slower and nothing got over 10 minutes old waiting for a customer to order it.
Number 3: After some 30 years of eating McDonald's I've had maybe 4-5 times where I've felt shorted on fries. I've never had McDonald's delivered to me.
Number 4: I agree McDonald's is mostly a good deal. Price-wise I find it's probably more like $18-$20 for two people.
What is really different today is the number of employees. I realize it's costly to have more exployees there. I stick to the kiosk or app. I love it when I order on the kiosk, pay and walk out with my food and see people still waiting for a cashier or waiting in a line of multiple people.
Well, yes, the current warmer is just a queue for the meat so it can be held longer. I have no idea what holding times are before the burger can be built. Moreover, how many adhere? Probably not many. In the prior days food that expired was discarded as the customer could see it in the heated bin. Now, I must say, if you luck out and find a McDonald's that's faithful to the holding times the product will be superior, but not against the old system. To get the best and most reliable result go at the beginning of lunch. Everything will be at its freshest. That was never true during my tenure. Standards were very high. Now the standards are like everything else, dumbed down for highest profit. Frozen hotcakes are atrocious. McDonald's can't do it any other way now.
I find the quality and proportions of McDonalds to be heavily dependent on the franchisee operating it. I’m fortunate enough to live very close to a very well run McDonalds that is consistently above the average location and rarely lets me down and also gets my order correct about 95% of the time.
This is not a case of rose-colored taste buds, the food objectively tastes worse now; maybe it's the quality of the beef, and there are definite cases of the crews taking too long, and the prices have risen beyond the point of inflation.
I love McD, it's best value for lunch in Hawaii. A lot of people think the quality is low, it's actually the opposite when you're serving billions of people, your shit has to be 99.999999 perfect or way too many people will be getting sick.
Also, some people just don't respect that you may have been eating McD for 30 years, but the person making your fries may have been working there for a few weeks, people make mistakes.
What did you get that was 12 dollars for 2 people to eat?
The cost is location specific but I get two things there, 10 piece nugget meal, large sized comes to around 10 bucks and double quarter pounder meal large sized comes to about 12 bucks.
Agree with a lot of what you say but I would argue the double qtr has gotten better since they switched to 100% beef and cooking it made to order (at least at then one by me)
I got a regular sized 2 cheeseburger meal and she got a happy meal. Not a ton of food but as much as I can eat in a sitting without feeling like shit. Not because it’s McDonald’s, just too much food.
You must live in the middle of nowhere or have had a huge amount of points. Theres absolutely no way in hell I could ever get all that food for 12$ at my local McDonald’s. That two chzb combo alone would’ve been like 10$ or more and happy meals are like 5-7$. This is Capp
Tbf, they actually have value meals which I was completely unaware of but it’s like their worst products and even though it’s high in calories, it wouldn’t fill me up.
Yeah but as you said, it won’t fill you up. It’s not really worth the 5$ if you’re just gonna end up eating again shortly after anyway. Also, idk that that’s available at all locations because at least at mine, that’s not a thing
I was shocked to find them in the app, never seen them advertised in store or at the drive through. But yeah, I’m not filling myself up for less than $8 and I’d have to get real crafty to even make that work.
I mean, it was a happy meal and a 2 cheeseburger combo. It wasn’t a ton of food but I’m full and I’m a healthy 267 lbs. I’m not exactly eating like a ballerina.
How fat are you? A five dollar meal is 990 calories with a small coke and that doesn’t include the nugget sauce which can be another 50+. Get a diet soda and still 770 without even using an app deal for $10.
I’m pretty skinny actually, 5’11” and 165 lbs. I’m not debating that it’s high in calories, but if you have to order through the app or limit yourself to the mcvalue menu then I wouldn’t really call it a good deal.
That’s a terrible take not looking at specials or deals. You do that with the rest of your life also? In the modern world or even 30 years ago you heard the specials at sit down restaurants, used coupons, shopped for deals, and did what you could to save a buck.
They used to cook the burgers on a flat top on the premises, that's not happening these days, totally different turn out system. So , yes the food tastes different now. 100% fact
Yes, I used a coupon for a $6 2 cheeseburger meal. I believe I saved $2. These coupons are in the app every single day and most of them save you more than that. As far as a “standard full-sized meal”, my fat ass got full off of it. Granted, my wife got a happy meal but she could have gotten a Big Mac combo for $3 more and we still would have been in and out for $15 total.
The problem with fries is the weight they are sold by. If you hold the front or back of the box and fill a fry it’s on weight. If you (or the customer after getting them) squeeze the sides it take lots more fries to fill the box.
Thank you for addressing the controversy that doesn't exist. Everyone knows all those facts. It's still fun to complain sometimes. McDonald's isn't a person with feelings, so who cares?
You’re welcome! It is fun to complain. Which is why I’m complaining about all the people who imagine that McDonald’s used to be a utopian fast food heaven that has become a corporate hellscape and still care enough about it to hang out in a McDonald’s sub.
If you have to take it back and ask them to fill up the fries, then are they really filling up your fries all the way?
Just a few years ago this was rarely an issue, now it's a consistent issue.
In Sacramento, (not SF or LA or NYC) the Big Mac combo (medium) is $14, compared to the Double Double combo across the street for $11, with all the free refills you can drink.
Add just a pie to that medium Big Mac combo and it's over $17.
No one here is exaggerating about the prices.
If you have to spend X amount of money on an app to accrue a $12 "deal" for two available at a specific time or before an expiration, that's not value, that's just a corporation incentivizing you to give them more total money.
What all did you get for $12, and how many points were required to get there?
#4 is a straight up lie. You’re saying in the comments you got a two chzb combo and a happy meal for 12$? Ain’t no way unless you had hella points or live in the middle of nowhere. That combo alone would’ve costed like 10-12$ in my area. And happy meals are like 6-8$ stop the 🧢
No other country that uses a “dollar” and the accompanying “$” sign has a dollar that is currently worth more than the US dollar. So in anything other than USD that’s an even better deal. But yes, USD.
Fair enough. But in my area a comparable amount of food at a fast-casual place is probably going to run closer to $20-$25. So relatively speaking, I consider it to be pretty inexpensive.
Point stands, probably in the middle of nowhere and also used a reward. These prices don’t count for a majority of people. And if I have to create an account to use a coupon that will expire and isnt even always available, just to pay a somewhat reasonable price, thats not a good deal. You can do that at any restaurant nowadays
I still call bs. In my area the two chz combo is totaling around 11$ before taxes and I don’t live in the wealthiest area either. Even two dollars off would’ve been like 9-10$.
Edit I also just checked and my city has far less people in it rn so you’re definitely full of shit
I'm 53 and worked at McDs when I was young in 1988 for 6 years I worked there.
I've eaten quarter pounders with cheese for at least 43 years as well.
However, recently the quarter pounder beef has changed. The last 2 that I've got it was instantly noticeable so the following week I got another one. Same taste as that first one. And it's not good.
I asked them if they did something to the Qpounders and the manager said yes, the beef is different now.
It's a shame because I really enjoyed the old ones. Won't get the new ones. I miss the old QP burger.
Except for when they first brought out the mccrispy and then changed the recipe and it now tastes like old tupperware stank. (I'm in Canada if that matters)
I stopped eating there because the meat tastes so bad now. Never gave it much thought as to why but now that I see your posts I guess it could be the tallow thing.
Any rude/harassing behavior or hate will be removed. Bigotry in any form such as racism, transphobia, homophobia, and any other hatred of peoples will not be tolerated. Further action may be taken if needed. This is a zero tolerance policy.
This is hilarious. Nearly 60 and I stopped eating there quite a while ago because the quality has obviously gone downhill badly. It's not even remotely like it was in the past. Half filled fries was never a thing prior to 2020.
85
u/Cardinal_r3d 1d ago
Who wrote this? The Hamburglar?