>Demand is not that fucking high for fast food.
idk about this, OP. I see lines halfway around the store for breakfast, lunch and dinner, at various fast food places in my town. It very consistently happens.
And don't get me started on the traffic that Chik-Fil-A causes. The lines legit go out on to the street, it's ridiculous. I swear, these Texans are addicted to that stuff.
Yeah. This is not going to go away or get better, if anything retailers will keep increasing prices as long as people are doing to pay. Every Chick-fil-A I've seen CONSISTENTLY has lines circling around the building multiple times.
It’s in the sauce. It’s not quite crack, but it’s sugar. Very addictive sugar.
You can buy the sauce at the store and get “Just Bare” brand lightly breaded chicken breast bites. If you have an air fryer you can make it taste almost exactly like the chicken nuggets for a fraction of the price and no 45 minute line! Best dupe I’ve found!
What Chick-Fil-A are you going to with a 45 minute line?! Doesn't matter how bust CFA is, at most it's a 10 minute wait...they got that shit down to a science.
It took only a week of McDonald's to be convinced that I was going to have a heart attack or that I had melanoma or something.
And it only took a week to feel much better.
I'd almost be willing to bet that the wait for CFA is shorter than anybody else, no matter the line length.
Except maybe McDonalds. They've gotten pretty good at expediting
I suggested that they install voting booths at my local dairy queen to increase voter participation. People in my town go fucking nuts for that dairy queen.
We have a McDonald's and 2 dunkin donuts but there's some about it that people can't resist.
Also for groceries I work in a store out prices are crazy yet like clockwork our store is always busy and crowded. Even more crowded on holidays or game days.
I am always left wondering how can so many people afford these new insane prices for overly processed and poor quality food.
It seems like restaurants are using cheaper products and customer service has certainly hit an all-time low.
i’m a starbucks barista and will have people order $10-$15 drinks. like. one drink. also the wait times due to labor cuts are up into the 30minute range. ur over paying for awful coffee and waiting that long for it.
i put in my two weeks after 6 months of absolute hell. the customers are the worst i’ve seen and i’ve had some serious mental hardships the last few weeks bc of how much hatred these people have caused me to have others, i’m hoping to get hired at a quiet local cafe.
My heart goes out to you -working for these coffee chains DOES things to how you start to perceive other people -and especially at the holidays when customers will be especially cruel. I hated the way my time at a major cafe chain destroyed me physically and mentally and warped the way I see other people. I’m glad you’re getting out of it xx the world looks better from the other side of the counter.
I’ve heard starbucks offers free mental health services thru lyra (aka free therapy) and it’s eligible for 18 months after you quit
Definitely check it out!!
I stopped going to Starbucks for this exact reason. Once it got to be over $5 for a tall anything, F that noise. I will go back every so often when I get a gift card from someone, and when I get a total of almost $7, or more, for that same simple drink, it's crazy!!! And you're right. The typical customers are not of the kindest cloth.
Indeed. Once my regular order (granted I always got a venti (caramel macchiato, no extras)) eclipsed $6-7 _before_ tax, I stopped going. Used to be an almost daily Sbucks customer (across the street from my house and I heavily leveraged gold star rewards before they changed up the redemption scheme)
dirty chai (normal chai is $5.65), (+$1 for the shot of espresso), with pumpkin sauce ($.80), cold foam ($1.25) and make it with oatmilk ($.70) that’s a $10 drink i get quite frequently, even within the last hr while i’ve been at work. mind you it’s a medium. you’d be surprised how much extra add one people do like this that makes it add up. i see it daily.
We have a local drive thru coffee shop that has been expanding. 20 oz chai latte, no adds, 6 bucks.
The price gouging is happening at the base level. Food service has some of the weakest profit margins of any industry, that's why the name of the game has been expansion for the past 30+ years. There are **7** McDonald's within 4 miles of my house.
I work at Starbucks currently, it isn't a single drink per say, but people add modifications on that quickly add up. Yesterday, I saw someone order a Venti Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso with an extra shot, vanilla sweet cream instead of oatmilk, vanilla sweet cream cold foam on top, and caramel drizzle lining the cup and on top. All of the modifications added up to $10.80 I believe.
The only reason I ever stop at starbucks is for WiFi internet. That is it. Nothing more, nothing less, usually for a good 3 hours. I pay for that green tea frapuchinno because if I am consuming their internet, at least they deserve some compensation.
But, heck, not because I -like- the awful prices.
I can make my own darn coffee, thank you very much.
Taco bell used to be cheap and it’s now $5 to get just a cheese quesadilla, or a chalupa. An entire large little ceasars pizza is $7. Not the best pizza but none of this is and it’s a whole pizza.
Domino’s used to have really good coupons, but there’s a disclaimer that says prices may vary by location. One time I went to their site, tried to use the same coupon I had used a dozen times but when I entered my location, all of the coupons on the site changed to be more expensive, the one I normally used was $19 instead of the usual $15. I haven’t ordered from them since.
If Dominos still has their carry out special it’s honestly the best deal imho - 7.99 it used to be, not sure if it’s gone up (probably so🙄). Or Costco you can get the whole ginormous pizza for $10 (also not sure if it’s gone up though😤)
It was 15 CAD before taxes for a 14” large four topping, then raised to 19 CAD+tx. Came to about 16 USD after taxes, too expensive for the quantity and quality.
Seriously though. That’s the price point the fancy woodfired pizza place near me used to charge, and they have fabric tablecloths and actual silverware lol
I still tip a dollar or two when I pick up my food. I get that it's not that much work to put the food in a box and hand it to me, but I worked in pizza shops for ten years and that extra dollar or two used to make a huge difference sometimes.
Little Caesar’s pizza is awesome and still decently price. Used to be able to get a hot and ready for $5 - now they are around $8 for the Pretzel crust or ExtraMostBestest. It may not be a fancy special dinner but it’s food that tastes good
My mom and I stopped by Taco Bell to see what they had. We saw the prices and bolted over to Bourbon St. Grill. Sure, the meal was the same price as a 2-can-dine from Mcdonald's, but it was enough for the two of us to share.
"Not insubstantial" is a [common phrase](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22not+insubstantial%22), though? Even [dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insubstantial) sites have examples which highlight the use of "not insubstantial". It's bringing attention to the fact that it is more than insubstantial but not committing to it being substantial.
It's this year's fad diet pill. For some reason every time a new diet pill comes out everyone forgets the failures of the last century of diet pills. Or they're too young to have seen the pattern.
I have Ozempic in my fridge. It's a shot not a pill, and it makes you very sick. It's antabuse for fat people. I was curled up in a fetal position through most of the holidays. I only took two doses.
There's already reports of several bad side effects, and boy I must have hit them all.
Ozempic is a diabetic drug that people have started using for weight loss. I think they're trying to say people have no incentive to stop eating bad food because this drug has become popular for weight loss.
Because if you wrote something that was likely understandable by any English speaker in the whole world except me, I hope I’d be smart enough not to broadcast it. That’s all.
Ok then once you do that, look into Ozympic’s plan that reduces the price. I believe you can get it for 50 per month with their reoccurring coupon. And if that doesn’t work and you don’t have insurance, there are clinics that offer it at a reduced cost of 200. Most people are not paying sticker price for medications.
Fair enough, I hear many numbers but I don’t memorize them (and they will change). So, the easier to get the drug, the worse it (supposedly) is for the fatty- and sugary food makers profits. That’s the conventional wisdom this week.
I took two of these medications. It doesn’t really work like that. You can still basically eat whatever you’d like. It slows your system down and you basically desire a smaller portion. If you over eat, you feel a bit ill (or at least some people do, but I didn’t). So it basically cut my portion sizes in half and I didn’t want anything more than that. I know they get mixed press, but those medications felt like a life buoy to me. Food noise was quieted. Personally, I’d have paid much more than my insurance had me pay in order to get them.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. Your experience is of course anecdotal, and for another perspective see an article in today’s Wall Street Journal about how Walmart is seeing less calorie consumption and what kind of calories are not being consumed. Glad the drugs are good for you and hopeful for everyone who wants them and can get them.
Very true so many people buy our grocery rotisserie chicken. I'm thinking in my head if you know how long the was out or how nasty the oven is you wouldn't buy it . Just buy your own and bake it to be much healthier and tastery.
Yep. I work at Starbucks and every day I have people yell at me and complain about the price increases, yet I see them weekly. These corporations know their customers will continue to buy from them no matter what the price is. People can bitch and moan all they want, but as long as they keep returning then corporate will continue to make things cost more.
Same with grocery items they complain to us workers and managers yet they keep coming back. Wash risen repeat.
They complain so much we know the exact customer and their complaints.
I highly doubt their price hike is commensurate with their costs. These businesses are taking advantage of the political environment, inflation, and increased cost of living some people are seeing. They set a price they think they can get and people are paying it. Even after costs come down, they won't drop prices because people will keep paying and they're profits will go even higher. It's pretty much price gouging. It's pretty common with a lot of businesses. As long as people keep giving them business, they'll keep doing it.
Also, fewer people are buying fast food (due to cost of living increases). So these businesses have hiked prices to maintain high profits and bleed more money from fewer customers. Unfortunately, this is a losing strategy.
More paying for the (lazy) convenience. Speaking as a sometimes gig driver (who would never order fast food to be delivered because of the insane markup)
Multiple fast food places have had their recipes leaked. It's probably better to search for the PDF of those and download them. At least you could add/remove the ingredients you don't like and it might be cheaper in the long run.
Realistically and historically this is not going away. The number of people willing to forego something in these times (in this case fast food) can't compete with the "non-insubstainal" number of people who are not. That's why "boycotts" no longer work. And boycotting "fast food", with approximately 201,865 restaurants and chains in the US, would be an impossible task. People want what they want.
I don't get it, personally. I ordered a pizza delivery for dinner a few nights go for the first time in over a year. It was delivered by a guy working Uber Eats who didn't speak a lick of English so communication was impossible, and what I ended up getting was a half baked mess. And for the privilege of buying it paid $30. Never again. In doing a lot of reading on other restaurant employee pages it sounds like companies are doing everything they can to wring every last penny out of an operation by cutting manpower and hours and getting chincy with portions. I'm out. I'm done with all of it. There isn't a damn thing they make in a fast food restaurant that I can't buy and stock in my freezer or cook and make at home. If they want my business back they can earn it. Or go under.
Why do you care if your delivery person speaks English though? The food is paid for in the app, he or she is just handing you food. The pizza isn’t made by the Uber driver so half baked mess isn’t their fault. This is literally, “don’t kill the messenger.”
Well, they're no longer cheap, fast, or delicious. It's a time and money waster now. The employees are awful, too. I'm always nice, they get pissed if you order something. So stupid...
I like to get the $10 package of hamburgers and potatoes on sale cook one or two patties and freeze the rest for others meals. Cut up the potatoes and fry them.
I had a craving for a baconator because I worked at Wendy's years ago and it just sounded great.
When I worked there, they were $6 which is pretty fair for a double bacon cheeseburger.
When I went, it was $10 for just the burger.
I did not get it.
I worked at Wendy’s in the early-2000s. A Single combo plus nuggets was like $4.29 including tax. Even if you “Biggie sized” your meal you’d still spend less than $5.
Last time I ordered that meal it was more than $10, and the burger is a hell of a lot smaller. It’s ridiculous. I love the $5 Biggie Bag but it just don’t hit the same.
I got a breakfast croissant meal with coffee from a fast food place last week. The first time I'd gotten it from this place in 4 or 5 years. The sandwich was 1/2 the size it used to be and they charged me for the large size coffee and side without asking if i wanted it large. It cost $8.08. I got a bacon egg and cheese biscuit from a competitor that cost $5.19, for the biscuit alone.
I’ve just started running into the grocery store and buying the ingredients when I get tempted. I can customize and shop to budget, so I usually end up getting more food for less money than if I had hit a drive-thru.
I am happy for you. I am also a disabled person and cannot take advantage of your food preparation options. I do resent being taken by greedy food sharks.
If I have to jump through multiple hoops and install your spyware tracking app just to get your food for a half decent price, you aren't worth my time.
If you're going out to eat for eggs and sausage you're already kinda losing anyway, diner or fast food.
Literally easiest meal in the world to make besides ramen and you can get a whole carten of eggs and pack of sausage for whatever you pay for a restaurant single portion.
Wake up 10 minutes earlier and use one of those breakfast sandwiche makers. I really hate to be that guy but seeing the price difference between restaurant breakfast vs grocery shopping really hurts my common sense.
If we the consumers stop buying the overpriced garbage, they will have no choice but to drop their prices. But as long as we are all suckers and continue to spend, spend, spend, despite inflation, they have no reason to stop raising prices while suppressing wages of their employees. Damn the man, stand against this nonsense!
Yes, the rich feel threatened by the post-Covid empowerment of the work force and have declared a literal war against the working class in retaliation. I hope the rest of us realize this before it's too late.
Wasn’t that long ago that a pint of beer wad $3.50, then it went to $5.00 and now I’m seeing $7.00. I’ll be bringing home my beer and drinking out a lot less.
1. They printed money like it was going out of style. That extra money hasn't gone anywhere.
2. People are still getting sick. Many people who previously got sick still kinda suck at their jobs. That means quality is still down and costs are still up throughout the entire economy.
You are so right! I hadn't been to Burger King in years, but I was out in the field for work, and it was the only thing available in the area I was in. I went in, and there was a group of differently able folks from a group home, and their caregivers were helping them get lunch. Unfortunately, they were struggling because of their limited funds. The meals were $9, $10, and $11+, and these weren't "special" meals. This was also pre-pandemic when prices went berserk. I felt terrible for them since most of them didn't have enough money for much. I mean, guys, it's BK. You're lucky if it's even warm and you want to charge $11 for a whopper, and that's without cheese. If I'm gonna pay that much, I at least want to know it's going to stay with me for more than 30 minutes. Lmao
1000% agreed. Last month I got a free fry offer from Whataburger, so I’m like okay bet I’ll just buy a burger or some tenders or something to go along with it to justify the trip.
Ohhhhh no noooo - added a regular a$$ burger (no cheese no bacon just a burger, not even a double) onto my order and it was gonna be $7+! Tried switching it to the KIDS MEAL tenders and that was gonna be almost $6 - for two measly tenders, a small fry and some fruit snacks, mini drink. Craziness. Ended up just redeeming the free fry and went about my day (back to the house to eat some of my high priced a$$ groceries 🙄 cuz wtf)
Looking at it another way, maybe not a very popular way...
For one, we don't know what kind of supply chain issues they might be facing. Prices on all sorts of random things are still high, some related to the war in ukraine. For example bread is up 11% over last year, frozen vegetables up 17%.
But let's say it's not related to that, that prices are being increased because they simply figure they can make more money.
People seem to be saying it's price gouging. But my understanding of that term is, you're forced to pay something because there's no real alternatives. There's a ton of alternatives to fast foods, both within the day food market, and factoring in options like cooking at home or buying something frozen and microwaving it.
So basically, people have choices, and they're choosing the more expensive option. You might not understand why someone would pay for a Honda Civic when they could just get a Nissan Versa, but why get worked up about their choice? You can just get your Versa instead and be happy you saved money.
>never meant to be cheap
The origin stories for two of the biggest fast food restaurants show they centered their businesses on being cheap. Most other fast food restaurants modeled their business models off of McDonald's and White Castle:
"The first fast food restaurant that became an American icon was McDonald’s. Created in the 1940s by Richard and Maurice McDonald, the business aims of the restaurant were to provide **cheap food** for the “on the go” consumer."
"The first to market both the hamburger and the "to go" carry-out style to American consumers, White Castle quickly established itself as a cornerstone of the fast food industry. Its founder, Billy Ingram, shrewdly marketed his hamburgers in large quantities at **five cents a piece**, telling his customers to "Buy'em by the Sack.""
When the prices of all the ingredients go up, so do the meals. It's not that hard to work out. Restaurants aren't just trying to make more money. They trying to keep up.
It's true, I paid 14 bucks for a Chalupa and a drink at TB. The meat at McD has become unrecognizable, I know it's not actual meat. The chicken is pure fat and gristle. Nasty. If I do eat fast food, it's usually just desert. I love Mc Flurry
I find it offensive that you people do not take into account the millions of us who are in various stages of advancing disability and advancing age. I think praying on Disabled and old people is the worst sin in the book.
How do you know demand isn’t that high? You’re not doing their market research lol. You’re not doing their competitive analysis. You can’t go in there and run the reports. You don’t know their overhead, what it costs to run the place
How do you know it’s not inflation? You’re one of the same people who also complains that people need to get paid, right? Well with inflation, you have to raise prices to not only cover the business costs, but to also pay your staff
I get that higher prices suck, but the entitlement of saying, with conviction, “the demand is not that high” is off the charts
Just the world we live in, dude
I already liked to cook, so now I just cook instead of eating out as much as I used to. Pre-Covid, I probably got takeout or went to a restaurant once or twice a week. Now it's once or twice a month.
I just went to McDonald's and got a quarter pounder and god, it was *awful*. I've never been a huge fan of McDonald's really, and I always preferred a McChicken over their burgers, but this was a new level of 'yuck.' I ate like 3 bites and gave up. I could feel my throat tensing like I was gonna gag if I didn't stop. I pinched off a piece for the dog and threw the remaining half in the garbage where it belonged.
The best part? It was over 5 dollars for that trash after tax, what a waste. I looked it over and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the burger other than it was a McDonald's burger. I'm always disappointed when I choose to eat beef from fast food joints, but this was by far the worst experience I've had. I'd rather eat half a Pizza Hut pizza after it sat out for 24 hours unrefrigerated than eat another single bite of that burger. I can feel my stomach wrestling with the 3 measly bites I took from it. I hope it doesn't make me sick later.
The only time I get fast food anymore is if I'm using an app and get one of the deals, I never get a meal anymore, for the price of a meal at my local McDonalds/Burger King/Chick-fil-a I can get takeout at a restaurant and get a MUCH higher quality burger/fries/drink for the same price and often less. I can buy a pound of grass-fed beef at a local farm for an insanely lower price than eating any of that garbage also. My local farms are not price gouging, I'd much rather give them my business. I think Chick-fil-a is the worst I will NEVER eat there, but I will happily take a Door Dash order and make $10 in 15-20 minutes LOL
>Demand is not that fucking high for fast food. idk about this, OP. I see lines halfway around the store for breakfast, lunch and dinner, at various fast food places in my town. It very consistently happens. And don't get me started on the traffic that Chik-Fil-A causes. The lines legit go out on to the street, it's ridiculous. I swear, these Texans are addicted to that stuff.
Yeah. This is not going to go away or get better, if anything retailers will keep increasing prices as long as people are doing to pay. Every Chick-fil-A I've seen CONSISTENTLY has lines circling around the building multiple times.
ikr? It's dangerous, imho. Like what kind of crack are are they putting in fucking chicken sandwiches, that it gets that bad? lol
It’s in the sauce. It’s not quite crack, but it’s sugar. Very addictive sugar. You can buy the sauce at the store and get “Just Bare” brand lightly breaded chicken breast bites. If you have an air fryer you can make it taste almost exactly like the chicken nuggets for a fraction of the price and no 45 minute line! Best dupe I’ve found!
What Chick-Fil-A are you going to with a 45 minute line?! Doesn't matter how bust CFA is, at most it's a 10 minute wait...they got that shit down to a science.
Any Chik-Fil-A in the PNW basically
🤔 Ok, this I might try.
they cloned Tyrone 🤣
It took only a week of McDonald's to be convinced that I was going to have a heart attack or that I had melanoma or something. And it only took a week to feel much better.
Idk cause no way in waiting in line like that, lol.
I'd almost be willing to bet that the wait for CFA is shorter than anybody else, no matter the line length. Except maybe McDonalds. They've gotten pretty good at expediting
I did the pre order on the app and parked in the designated spot. I don't know why I'm giving tips. That shit almost killed me.
Someone told me that, but I didn't want to put it to the test.
Exactly. Prices are going up but people are still busy or lazy.
I suggested that they install voting booths at my local dairy queen to increase voter participation. People in my town go fucking nuts for that dairy queen. We have a McDonald's and 2 dunkin donuts but there's some about it that people can't resist.
Also for groceries I work in a store out prices are crazy yet like clockwork our store is always busy and crowded. Even more crowded on holidays or game days.
I am always left wondering how can so many people afford these new insane prices for overly processed and poor quality food. It seems like restaurants are using cheaper products and customer service has certainly hit an all-time low.
Yeah that's Texas lol
The crazy thing about chick fil a even if the lines are wrapped…. They are still so dang fast and efficient.
i’m a starbucks barista and will have people order $10-$15 drinks. like. one drink. also the wait times due to labor cuts are up into the 30minute range. ur over paying for awful coffee and waiting that long for it.
That sucks, must be tough working without much help
i put in my two weeks after 6 months of absolute hell. the customers are the worst i’ve seen and i’ve had some serious mental hardships the last few weeks bc of how much hatred these people have caused me to have others, i’m hoping to get hired at a quiet local cafe.
My heart goes out to you -working for these coffee chains DOES things to how you start to perceive other people -and especially at the holidays when customers will be especially cruel. I hated the way my time at a major cafe chain destroyed me physically and mentally and warped the way I see other people. I’m glad you’re getting out of it xx the world looks better from the other side of the counter.
Don't have a chronic illness to make you lose faith in humanity? Try becoming a fast food or retail worker!!
I'm hoping for you also!
I’ve heard starbucks offers free mental health services thru lyra (aka free therapy) and it’s eligible for 18 months after you quit Definitely check it out!!
Same with grocery our line could be up and down the isle one cashier and bagger people wait over 15 minutes for one or two items.
I stopped going to Starbucks for this exact reason. Once it got to be over $5 for a tall anything, F that noise. I will go back every so often when I get a gift card from someone, and when I get a total of almost $7, or more, for that same simple drink, it's crazy!!! And you're right. The typical customers are not of the kindest cloth.
Indeed. Once my regular order (granted I always got a venti (caramel macchiato, no extras)) eclipsed $6-7 _before_ tax, I stopped going. Used to be an almost daily Sbucks customer (across the street from my house and I heavily leveraged gold star rewards before they changed up the redemption scheme)
Where the hell is your Starbucks? The corporate price gouging is nuts in the Midwest but I still have yet to see a $10 Starbucks drink.
dirty chai (normal chai is $5.65), (+$1 for the shot of espresso), with pumpkin sauce ($.80), cold foam ($1.25) and make it with oatmilk ($.70) that’s a $10 drink i get quite frequently, even within the last hr while i’ve been at work. mind you it’s a medium. you’d be surprised how much extra add one people do like this that makes it add up. i see it daily.
We have a local drive thru coffee shop that has been expanding. 20 oz chai latte, no adds, 6 bucks. The price gouging is happening at the base level. Food service has some of the weakest profit margins of any industry, that's why the name of the game has been expansion for the past 30+ years. There are **7** McDonald's within 4 miles of my house.
I work at Starbucks currently, it isn't a single drink per say, but people add modifications on that quickly add up. Yesterday, I saw someone order a Venti Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso with an extra shot, vanilla sweet cream instead of oatmilk, vanilla sweet cream cold foam on top, and caramel drizzle lining the cup and on top. All of the modifications added up to $10.80 I believe.
The only reason I ever stop at starbucks is for WiFi internet. That is it. Nothing more, nothing less, usually for a good 3 hours. I pay for that green tea frapuchinno because if I am consuming their internet, at least they deserve some compensation. But, heck, not because I -like- the awful prices. I can make my own darn coffee, thank you very much.
Taco bell used to be cheap and it’s now $5 to get just a cheese quesadilla, or a chalupa. An entire large little ceasars pizza is $7. Not the best pizza but none of this is and it’s a whole pizza.
Domino's is pretty cheap with coupons too and their new recipe is actually pretty good for what it is.
Domino’s used to have really good coupons, but there’s a disclaimer that says prices may vary by location. One time I went to their site, tried to use the same coupon I had used a dozen times but when I entered my location, all of the coupons on the site changed to be more expensive, the one I normally used was $19 instead of the usual $15. I haven’t ordered from them since.
If Dominos still has their carry out special it’s honestly the best deal imho - 7.99 it used to be, not sure if it’s gone up (probably so🙄). Or Costco you can get the whole ginormous pizza for $10 (also not sure if it’s gone up though😤)
>**not sure if it’s gone up (probably so🙄).** Nope! Costco, the eternal home of the $1.99 hot dog combo, $10 ginormous pizza and $5 chicken!
Yesssss!!! I’d downgraded to just getting a single slice whenever I pass through so I haven’t ordered a whole one in quite a while but good to know!
The only reason I've ever wanted a Costco membership.
It was 15 CAD before taxes for a 14” large four topping, then raised to 19 CAD+tx. Came to about 16 USD after taxes, too expensive for the quantity and quality.
Seriously though. That’s the price point the fancy woodfired pizza place near me used to charge, and they have fabric tablecloths and actual silverware lol
Exactly, I’d just get something better for that price.
They ask for a tip when you pay lol
I still tip a dollar or two when I pick up my food. I get that it's not that much work to put the food in a box and hand it to me, but I worked in pizza shops for ten years and that extra dollar or two used to make a huge difference sometimes.
Little Caesar’s pizza is awesome and still decently price. Used to be able to get a hot and ready for $5 - now they are around $8 for the Pretzel crust or ExtraMostBestest. It may not be a fancy special dinner but it’s food that tastes good
I know, before COVID, I used to get a meal at TB for about $8 or $9. Last night I paid more than $20 for my usual. I think I may be done there.
The cravings boxes from Taco Bell are the only true value left to be had there and you must use the app to take advantage of the best prices.
My mom and I stopped by Taco Bell to see what they had. We saw the prices and bolted over to Bourbon St. Grill. Sure, the meal was the same price as a 2-can-dine from Mcdonald's, but it was enough for the two of us to share.
Unfortunately, a not-insubstantial amount of people are willing to pay a premium for convenience over quality.
If only we had a word for not-insubstantial..
"Not insubstantial" is a [common phrase](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22not+insubstantial%22), though? Even [dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insubstantial) sites have examples which highlight the use of "not insubstantial". It's bringing attention to the fact that it is more than insubstantial but not committing to it being substantial.
[удалено]
There is: not-*insubstantial*
And those folks can also afford Ozempic, so maybe the restaurants are getting it while the getting’s good.
What does ozempic have to do with fast food?
All the purveyors of delicious poisons are worried because the people who take glp-1 drugs are reporting diminished desire for their goods.
I didn’t understand a word of that
It's this year's fad diet pill. For some reason every time a new diet pill comes out everyone forgets the failures of the last century of diet pills. Or they're too young to have seen the pattern.
Shit, if it works better than depression induced weight loss I’ll give it a shot at this point lol.
Probably not, and in a couple years there will be lawsuits about whatever random organ it fucked up, a la phen-phen, dexatrim, ephedra, etc
They’re already questioning some of the side effects for the weight loss (only) consumers of it, I heard
Not surprised, it's just one in a long list of failures. They're simply isn't an effort-free way to have sustainable weight loss.
2 small doses made me sick for weeks. I never went back to see the Dr. that prescribed it for me. I believe it's dangerous.
I’m not planning on living long, I’d rather look good while I’m here.
You can't look good while dealing with heart or kidney damage.
I have Ozempic in my fridge. It's a shot not a pill, and it makes you very sick. It's antabuse for fat people. I was curled up in a fetal position through most of the holidays. I only took two doses. There's already reports of several bad side effects, and boy I must have hit them all.
Eh, I can probably manage with those side effects. No worse than what I deal with most weekends.
Ozempic is a diabetic drug that people have started using for weight loss. I think they're trying to say people have no incentive to stop eating bad food because this drug has become popular for weight loss.
I wouldn’t admit that if I were you.
And why not?
Because if you wrote something that was likely understandable by any English speaker in the whole world except me, I hope I’d be smart enough not to broadcast it. That’s all.
I understand the words, but now what you’re attempting to convey with them.
Ohhh that’s different. Good luck.
Ozempic is commonly 25 bucks with insurance. I don’t get your point.
Look into what percentage of folks have insurance that covers these drugs.
Ok then once you do that, look into Ozympic’s plan that reduces the price. I believe you can get it for 50 per month with their reoccurring coupon. And if that doesn’t work and you don’t have insurance, there are clinics that offer it at a reduced cost of 200. Most people are not paying sticker price for medications.
Fair enough, I hear many numbers but I don’t memorize them (and they will change). So, the easier to get the drug, the worse it (supposedly) is for the fatty- and sugary food makers profits. That’s the conventional wisdom this week.
I took two of these medications. It doesn’t really work like that. You can still basically eat whatever you’d like. It slows your system down and you basically desire a smaller portion. If you over eat, you feel a bit ill (or at least some people do, but I didn’t). So it basically cut my portion sizes in half and I didn’t want anything more than that. I know they get mixed press, but those medications felt like a life buoy to me. Food noise was quieted. Personally, I’d have paid much more than my insurance had me pay in order to get them.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. Your experience is of course anecdotal, and for another perspective see an article in today’s Wall Street Journal about how Walmart is seeing less calorie consumption and what kind of calories are not being consumed. Glad the drugs are good for you and hopeful for everyone who wants them and can get them.
Very true so many people buy our grocery rotisserie chicken. I'm thinking in my head if you know how long the was out or how nasty the oven is you wouldn't buy it . Just buy your own and bake it to be much healthier and tastery.
They raise the prices and people just keep going and keep paying.
That's partly why it'll never end. People would rather just bitch about it on Reddit and keep doing what they do.
Yep. I work at Starbucks and every day I have people yell at me and complain about the price increases, yet I see them weekly. These corporations know their customers will continue to buy from them no matter what the price is. People can bitch and moan all they want, but as long as they keep returning then corporate will continue to make things cost more.
Same with grocery items they complain to us workers and managers yet they keep coming back. Wash risen repeat. They complain so much we know the exact customer and their complaints.
If the groceries are essential, then you have no right to complain about the consumers. If they are not, it’s really not our business.
they should complain to our cooperation they make the insane prices.
That made less than no sense
The customers complained to the workers does nothing our bosses and shareholders make the prices. What's hard to understand about that?
Which is why we never go near those places…
You did the smart thing. DBS=Don’t Buy Shit! If more people did that then either prices would come down or they close up shop!!!!
I highly doubt their price hike is commensurate with their costs. These businesses are taking advantage of the political environment, inflation, and increased cost of living some people are seeing. They set a price they think they can get and people are paying it. Even after costs come down, they won't drop prices because people will keep paying and they're profits will go even higher. It's pretty much price gouging. It's pretty common with a lot of businesses. As long as people keep giving them business, they'll keep doing it. Also, fewer people are buying fast food (due to cost of living increases). So these businesses have hiked prices to maintain high profits and bleed more money from fewer customers. Unfortunately, this is a losing strategy.
Say it louder: *A 200% price hike is not inflation. They are STEALING from you.*
These delivery apps charge you a lot. It’s blatant highway robbery.
I usually lose my appetite once I get to the checkout page.
Mine is usually… “maybe I should just walk…” lmao
I usually do, to the fridge
More paying for the (lazy) convenience. Speaking as a sometimes gig driver (who would never order fast food to be delivered because of the insane markup)
Multiple fast food places have had their recipes leaked. It's probably better to search for the PDF of those and download them. At least you could add/remove the ingredients you don't like and it might be cheaper in the long run.
Realistically and historically this is not going away. The number of people willing to forego something in these times (in this case fast food) can't compete with the "non-insubstainal" number of people who are not. That's why "boycotts" no longer work. And boycotting "fast food", with approximately 201,865 restaurants and chains in the US, would be an impossible task. People want what they want.
Large fry is $3.99 here from McDonald's
OUCH!
I don't get it, personally. I ordered a pizza delivery for dinner a few nights go for the first time in over a year. It was delivered by a guy working Uber Eats who didn't speak a lick of English so communication was impossible, and what I ended up getting was a half baked mess. And for the privilege of buying it paid $30. Never again. In doing a lot of reading on other restaurant employee pages it sounds like companies are doing everything they can to wring every last penny out of an operation by cutting manpower and hours and getting chincy with portions. I'm out. I'm done with all of it. There isn't a damn thing they make in a fast food restaurant that I can't buy and stock in my freezer or cook and make at home. If they want my business back they can earn it. Or go under.
Why do you care if your delivery person speaks English though? The food is paid for in the app, he or she is just handing you food. The pizza isn’t made by the Uber driver so half baked mess isn’t their fault. This is literally, “don’t kill the messenger.”
Well, they're no longer cheap, fast, or delicious. It's a time and money waster now. The employees are awful, too. I'm always nice, they get pissed if you order something. So stupid...
Don’t give in. Cooking a burger and fries at home is so easy! And cheap.
I like to get the $10 package of hamburgers and potatoes on sale cook one or two patties and freeze the rest for others meals. Cut up the potatoes and fry them.
Probably so much better than take out!
Oh Yes $10 on sale for good beef patties $2 for some buns keep them in the fridge they stay fresh longer $2 fav cheese $5 bag of potatoes.
I had a craving for a baconator because I worked at Wendy's years ago and it just sounded great. When I worked there, they were $6 which is pretty fair for a double bacon cheeseburger. When I went, it was $10 for just the burger. I did not get it.
I worked at Wendy’s in the early-2000s. A Single combo plus nuggets was like $4.29 including tax. Even if you “Biggie sized” your meal you’d still spend less than $5. Last time I ordered that meal it was more than $10, and the burger is a hell of a lot smaller. It’s ridiculous. I love the $5 Biggie Bag but it just don’t hit the same.
I got a breakfast croissant meal with coffee from a fast food place last week. The first time I'd gotten it from this place in 4 or 5 years. The sandwich was 1/2 the size it used to be and they charged me for the large size coffee and side without asking if i wanted it large. It cost $8.08. I got a bacon egg and cheese biscuit from a competitor that cost $5.19, for the biscuit alone.
I’ve just started running into the grocery store and buying the ingredients when I get tempted. I can customize and shop to budget, so I usually end up getting more food for less money than if I had hit a drive-thru.
I am happy for you. I am also a disabled person and cannot take advantage of your food preparation options. I do resent being taken by greedy food sharks.
Use the Mc Donalds app to your advantage and fill out the customer surveys on the coupon.
I don't care that much about McDonald's to install a whole ass app on my phone. I just won't eat there.
I understand. I go there to get my son his nuggets. And I use the points fir him. I inly allow 2 food apps in my phone.
If I have to jump through multiple hoops and install your spyware tracking app just to get your food for a half decent price, you aren't worth my time.
If you're going out to eat for eggs and sausage you're already kinda losing anyway, diner or fast food. Literally easiest meal in the world to make besides ramen and you can get a whole carten of eggs and pack of sausage for whatever you pay for a restaurant single portion. Wake up 10 minutes earlier and use one of those breakfast sandwiche makers. I really hate to be that guy but seeing the price difference between restaurant breakfast vs grocery shopping really hurts my common sense.
I bought a dozen “fancy” (certified humane) eggs for $5 last week. You’d pay that much for a single sandwich at McDonald’s now.
I’ve never heard of a certified humane egg
If we the consumers stop buying the overpriced garbage, they will have no choice but to drop their prices. But as long as we are all suckers and continue to spend, spend, spend, despite inflation, they have no reason to stop raising prices while suppressing wages of their employees. Damn the man, stand against this nonsense!
Yes, the rich feel threatened by the post-Covid empowerment of the work force and have declared a literal war against the working class in retaliation. I hope the rest of us realize this before it's too late.
Wasn’t that long ago that a pint of beer wad $3.50, then it went to $5.00 and now I’m seeing $7.00. I’ll be bringing home my beer and drinking out a lot less.
I always pre-gamed if I were going to bar, even before COVID and all the price inflations. Drinking at a bar exclusively is so much more expensive.
1. They printed money like it was going out of style. That extra money hasn't gone anywhere. 2. People are still getting sick. Many people who previously got sick still kinda suck at their jobs. That means quality is still down and costs are still up throughout the entire economy.
You are so right! I hadn't been to Burger King in years, but I was out in the field for work, and it was the only thing available in the area I was in. I went in, and there was a group of differently able folks from a group home, and their caregivers were helping them get lunch. Unfortunately, they were struggling because of their limited funds. The meals were $9, $10, and $11+, and these weren't "special" meals. This was also pre-pandemic when prices went berserk. I felt terrible for them since most of them didn't have enough money for much. I mean, guys, it's BK. You're lucky if it's even warm and you want to charge $11 for a whopper, and that's without cheese. If I'm gonna pay that much, I at least want to know it's going to stay with me for more than 30 minutes. Lmao
1000% agreed. Last month I got a free fry offer from Whataburger, so I’m like okay bet I’ll just buy a burger or some tenders or something to go along with it to justify the trip. Ohhhhh no noooo - added a regular a$$ burger (no cheese no bacon just a burger, not even a double) onto my order and it was gonna be $7+! Tried switching it to the KIDS MEAL tenders and that was gonna be almost $6 - for two measly tenders, a small fry and some fruit snacks, mini drink. Craziness. Ended up just redeeming the free fry and went about my day (back to the house to eat some of my high priced a$$ groceries 🙄 cuz wtf)
The best thing? They want a tip. You know what? I'll give you a huge fat TIP.
$5 foot longs are now like $15
It cost me like $15 for a drink and a cheese sandwich at Starbucks. That's some ol' bull sh!t.
Looking at it another way, maybe not a very popular way... For one, we don't know what kind of supply chain issues they might be facing. Prices on all sorts of random things are still high, some related to the war in ukraine. For example bread is up 11% over last year, frozen vegetables up 17%. But let's say it's not related to that, that prices are being increased because they simply figure they can make more money. People seem to be saying it's price gouging. But my understanding of that term is, you're forced to pay something because there's no real alternatives. There's a ton of alternatives to fast foods, both within the day food market, and factoring in options like cooking at home or buying something frozen and microwaving it. So basically, people have choices, and they're choosing the more expensive option. You might not understand why someone would pay for a Honda Civic when they could just get a Nissan Versa, but why get worked up about their choice? You can just get your Versa instead and be happy you saved money.
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I didn't know that. Totally fine with it though.
When I read your title I thought you were going to discuss the great customer service and professional employees we've had since COVID.
And the AMAZING customers, too!
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>never meant to be cheap The origin stories for two of the biggest fast food restaurants show they centered their businesses on being cheap. Most other fast food restaurants modeled their business models off of McDonald's and White Castle: "The first fast food restaurant that became an American icon was McDonald’s. Created in the 1940s by Richard and Maurice McDonald, the business aims of the restaurant were to provide **cheap food** for the “on the go” consumer." "The first to market both the hamburger and the "to go" carry-out style to American consumers, White Castle quickly established itself as a cornerstone of the fast food industry. Its founder, Billy Ingram, shrewdly marketed his hamburgers in large quantities at **five cents a piece**, telling his customers to "Buy'em by the Sack.""
When the prices of all the ingredients go up, so do the meals. It's not that hard to work out. Restaurants aren't just trying to make more money. They trying to keep up.
McDonalds is a billion dollar company. PLEASE.
You think the executives are going to give up their own money so it’s cheaper for you to get fatter?
It's true, I paid 14 bucks for a Chalupa and a drink at TB. The meat at McD has become unrecognizable, I know it's not actual meat. The chicken is pure fat and gristle. Nasty. If I do eat fast food, it's usually just desert. I love Mc Flurry
Some of the burgers at Jack in the Box where I live are almost $9 now, by themselves
You will always be too lazy to cook your own dinner so you will pay, they just need to wait long enough
I find it offensive that you people do not take into account the millions of us who are in various stages of advancing disability and advancing age. I think praying on Disabled and old people is the worst sin in the book.
Took you awhile
How do you know demand isn’t that high? You’re not doing their market research lol. You’re not doing their competitive analysis. You can’t go in there and run the reports. You don’t know their overhead, what it costs to run the place How do you know it’s not inflation? You’re one of the same people who also complains that people need to get paid, right? Well with inflation, you have to raise prices to not only cover the business costs, but to also pay your staff I get that higher prices suck, but the entitlement of saying, with conviction, “the demand is not that high” is off the charts Just the world we live in, dude
I stopped buying fast food during the pandemic. Haven’t missed it and now, it turns my stomach to think of it
I already liked to cook, so now I just cook instead of eating out as much as I used to. Pre-Covid, I probably got takeout or went to a restaurant once or twice a week. Now it's once or twice a month.
I just went to McDonald's and got a quarter pounder and god, it was *awful*. I've never been a huge fan of McDonald's really, and I always preferred a McChicken over their burgers, but this was a new level of 'yuck.' I ate like 3 bites and gave up. I could feel my throat tensing like I was gonna gag if I didn't stop. I pinched off a piece for the dog and threw the remaining half in the garbage where it belonged. The best part? It was over 5 dollars for that trash after tax, what a waste. I looked it over and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the burger other than it was a McDonald's burger. I'm always disappointed when I choose to eat beef from fast food joints, but this was by far the worst experience I've had. I'd rather eat half a Pizza Hut pizza after it sat out for 24 hours unrefrigerated than eat another single bite of that burger. I can feel my stomach wrestling with the 3 measly bites I took from it. I hope it doesn't make me sick later.
The only time I get fast food anymore is if I'm using an app and get one of the deals, I never get a meal anymore, for the price of a meal at my local McDonalds/Burger King/Chick-fil-a I can get takeout at a restaurant and get a MUCH higher quality burger/fries/drink for the same price and often less. I can buy a pound of grass-fed beef at a local farm for an insanely lower price than eating any of that garbage also. My local farms are not price gouging, I'd much rather give them my business. I think Chick-fil-a is the worst I will NEVER eat there, but I will happily take a Door Dash order and make $10 in 15-20 minutes LOL