• GooberEar@lemmy.wtf
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    7 hours ago

    Most national/international fast food places seem to have looked at the “good, fast, cheap” principle and decided the answer is D) None of the above.

    Have they been getting by on inertia and nostalgia in recent history? I could be an incredibly unlucky person, but all my experiences with these places have just been bad, bad in the past 5 or so years. I excused it a bit during the height of covid, but there’s been time to work things out and they just haven’t even bothered.

    I’m not exactly their target audience, since I rarely get food at fast food places, but as it stands, if I were going to get fast food, the whole Trump McDonald’s circus show has turned me off to that brand entirely. Burger King is a no-go after getting incredibly sick from their food. Taco Bell just completely gave up on themselves. Wendy’s is so expensive now that I can’t justify it anymore even as a guilty treat while traveling. I’d rather pack some ham sandwiches in a mini-cooler and make do with that.

    • Pheonixdown@lemm.ee
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      5 hours ago

      With Wendy’s, if you’re looking for cheap, gotta skip their premium meals and go to their Meal Deals, Sandwich, nuggets, fries, drink for $5, more if you want extra meat/bacon.

      • GooberEar@lemmy.wtf
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        5 hours ago

        Not that I plan on going back to Wendy’s, certainly not any time soon, but is that $5 deal a relatively new thing and/or a national thing?

        When I was a poor college student working multiple jobs and having to do a lot of driving to get from one place to another, Wendy’s was one of my go-to places. For about $4 I could get 2 burgers that had real, fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, plus a drink. I went to Wendy’s a year or two ago and the same exact thing was a bit over $11. For what it’s worth, if they had some kind of $5 special, I didn’t see it on the menu.

        Taco Bell was the same way. Back in my college days, I could get a couple 5-layer burritos and a drink for $3 and some change. Last time I went and got that order, it was $9 or $10 and the burritos were missing a few layers, not to mention just absolutely gross.

        • Pheonixdown@lemm.ee
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          3 hours ago

          It’s an evolution of their 4 for $4 deal they started about 10 years ago, pretty sure it’s national. It’s just not well advertised compared to the more premium stuff.

    • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      These exact reasons are why places like Buc-ees, Sheets, and Chick-fil-A are doing so damn well. People actually feel like they are getting something they want (good, fast, and/or cheap), when compared to McDs which somehow provides none of them.

      • njm1314@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        Well not familiar with sheets but you certainly aren’t getting cheap on the other two. Fast though yeah.

      • BradleyUffner@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        Sheets is no longer all that cheap. Chicken tenders and a drink (no fries) are now close to $11. Still fast and tasty though.

              • pulido@lemmings.world
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                6 hours ago

                Great, now how much is a McChicken and what can you buy from Chick-fil-a for a similar price?

                What kind of deals does each restaurant offer?

                Right now you’re just telling me Mcdonald’s is the same price as Chick-fil-a because you don’t know how to order cheap food.

                • Crikeste@lemm.ee
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                  6 hours ago

                  Nah, you can go do that work and try to prove your point, I’m not doing it for you. You said Chick Fil A is NOT cheap, but I just proved that their chicken sandwich is cheaper than McDonald’s.

    • ibelieveinthehousehippo@lemmy.ca
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      7 hours ago

      Not only is the food bad, expensive, and slow, but it’s also unhealthy. They fuck up orders constantly and the dining area in unpleasant to be in due to the incessant beeping. That business has literally no redeeming qualities.

    • pulido@lemmings.world
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      7 hours ago

      Fuck, you’re so right.

      I didn’t even realize how slow fast food as become over the years. Literally waiting on average 20 minutes in a drive-thru is not fast.

      • Oderus@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        Perhaps that’s a local problem as I’ve never had to wait more than 5m for a drive through.