McD's franchisees say the brand in 'deep depression' & 'facing its final days'

[DGuller]

Sure, but a McDonalds can fail to meet standards as well.

Wasn't pretty much every McDonalds location shut down in Russia last year due to failing health inspections?

[garbon]

I can't remember the last time I went for a Maccy D's. More than 10 years ago? I had a brilliant gourmet burger in a local pub a couple of weeks ago. Quiz night, fancy burger, chips and a pint for a tenner!

http://www.thecastlefarringdon.co.uk/offers/burgerandabeerdeal

That's ten pounds? Isn't that like, $40 or something?

Five Guys charges 8 pounds for just the cheeseburger over here.

[Admiral Yi]

Five Guys charges 8 pounds for just the cheeseburger over here.

That's nuts.

[Caliga]

Not if people are willing to pay for it at that price...

[viper37]

Maybe they should figure out how to make a decent burger. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/25/us-mcdonalds-organic-idUSKCN0RP21H20150925 ?

Steps in the right direction.  The one and only time I ate a McDonalds burger, it definitely didn't taste like it had any organic materials in there.

in a blind test, you would not know the difference.

[PJL]

I can't remember the last time I went for a Maccy D's. More than 10 years ago? I had a brilliant gourmet burger in a local pub a couple of weeks ago. Quiz night, fancy burger, chips and a pint for a tenner!

http://www.thecastlefarringdon.co.uk/offers/burgerandabeerdeal

That's ten pounds? Isn't that like, $40 or something?

Not since 1948

[Monoriu]

So in response to this thread, I did my part to help keep the dream alive today. 

Business was worse than I thought.  Lunch time, central business district, Hong Kong, working day.  Should've been a war zone.  I didn't even need to line up to order food.  And empty tables were waiting for me.

The meal actually cost me US$4.5.  Every McDonald's have different prices in HK, and the one I went to is reported to have the highest prices outside the airport and theme parks.  That's on par with other Chinese fast food places, and about half the price of a White Spot burger meal. 

No goddess   I was pleasantly surprised that the clerk gave me two packets of ketchup instead of the usual one.  Still a far cry from White Spot that gave me an entire bottle.  Actually, I still had to seriously ration the ketchup 

Biggest problem is the burger.  I ordered a Big and Tasty, with a much bigger and thicker patty than their normal one.  Still felt that it wasn't thick enough, wasn't juicy enough, not hot enough, and was blend.  The bread was no good.  Not really roasted, was too sweet, and the texture reminds me of the cheapest kind of bread sold in the discount shelves of supermarkets.  The bread isn't even average.  It is crap.  The sauce makes the whole thing more tolerable, but it still felt uninspired.  The tomato was the best part.  Fresh and juicy. 

They have some halloween special on the menu, but it was yet another kind of fried chicken burger.  Why is it that they have to do fried chicken all the time?  It isn't really a special if you always put fried chicken in it and call it a fancy name. 

The biggest advantages of McDonald's are convenience, consistency and speed.  Convenient because they can negotiate with the landlords and open branches in the best locations.  A short walk from my office, 30 seconds from a train station.  Consistent (but poor) quality.  Speed.  It was really fast.  It took like a minute max for me to grab the food. 

They really have to do something about their burgers.  Out of all the burgers place I know in Hong Kong, McDonald's burgers are in the lowest category. 

[MadImmortalMan]

Mono, if I go to your funeral, I'm totally bringing ketchup packets instead of flowers.

[katmai]

Mono, if I go to your funeral, I'm totally bringing ketchup packets instead of flowers.

What an asshole, bring a whole bottle you insensitive jerk.

[Syt]

Five Guys charges 8 pounds for just the cheeseburger over here.

That's nuts.

One of the best burgers I've ever had here was from a delivery service - a simple beef patty with blue cheese (just enough to get soaked by the bun without making it sloppy), a bit of bacon marmalade, and a slice of tomato. With fries and a drink it was 14.90, though.

One of the worst I had was from another service - I ticked the box for "extra jalapeno" which added a full half inch layer of mild chili peppers. There was nothing else to taste on it. Oh, and I once had a burger with a shop's "home made pepper sauce." I love spicy food, but that one was like eating razor blades that have been set on fire, and there was no other taste to it besides "HOT" (you can make spicy food that still tastes of something, you know).

[katmai]

Last time i had Mcd's was living on Kodiak as only place open from midnight to 6am.

[Monoriu]

Mono, if I go to your funeral, I'm totally bringing ketchup packets instead of flowers.

What an asshole, bring a whole bottle you insensitive jerk.

1. Funerals are a waste of money.
2. Ketchup and flowers are both a waste of money.  Bring cash.
3. And bring it before my death 

[Brazen]

They used to have these on the tables at Wimpys.

[Malthus]

Sure, but a McDonalds can fail to meet standards as well.

Wasn't pretty much every McDonalds location shut down in Russia last year due to failing health inspections?

Is that a "rats dancing a conga line in the kitchen" fail, or a "cash package to inspectors unreasonably slight" fail? 

[Syt]

In Germany, a major Burger King franchisee had problems after an investigative TV report exposed poor hygiene standards in his restaurants. One of the main companies at the time buying ad time for that TV show was McDonalds ...