Why Are There No European Franchises?

[Caliga]

McDonalds and KFC are horrendous even by fast food standards.  I have no idea why they are successful, but I suspect it is simply that they have been around forever and people know them.

I generally agree with you on KFC, which is ironic since as you can imagine there's one on every damn corner here.  In general the quality of all of the chains owned by Yum! Brands is EXTREMELY POOR, IMO.

On McDonalds, they seem to have been making major strides lately though.  There's a brand new McDonalds in my town and it's always clean, the workers are efficient and professional and never screw orders up*, and the quality of food seems to be better than it was at other McDonalds in years past.  It makes the Dairy Queen down the street from it look like a total piece of shit.

* this is significant since they are all hicks from "the wrong side of the lake", i.e. the part of the county that's an outlier of Appalachia.

[Caliga]

Mcdonalds was always big on adapting itself to where it's located. It's one the main reason why it's so succesfull.

I think it's in the Philippine that they serve Spaghetti.

I don't miss the damn McLobster Roll though.

[Valmy]

On McDonalds, they seem to have been making major strides lately though.  There's a brand new McDonalds in my town and it's always clean, the workers are efficient and professional and never screw orders up*, and the quality of food seems to be better than it was at other McDonalds in years past.  It makes the Dairy Queen down the street from it look like a total piece of shit.

I will give you that.  When I was a kid people used to take us to McDonalds all the time because, you know, that is what kids supposedly like.  I swore I would never eat at that crap place again as soon as I was old enough.  So I guess I have to concede it could  have gotten better since 1987 or whenever the last time I ate there was.

[Warspite]

I wish Cold Stone and Five Guys would open up in the UK.

[Ed Anger]

On McDonalds, they seem to have been making major strides lately though.  There's a brand new McDonalds in my town and it's always clean, the workers are efficient and professional and never screw orders up*, and the quality of food seems to be better than it was at other McDonalds in years past.  It makes the Dairy Queen down the street from it look like a total piece of shit.

I will give you that.  When I was a kid people used to take us to McDonalds all the time because, you know, that is what kids supposedly like.  I swore I would never eat at that crap place again as soon as I was old enough.  So I guess I have to concede it could  have gotten better since 1987 or whenever the last time I ate there was.

DUDE, THEY HAVE A PLAYGROUND.

[Caliga]

I will give you that.  When I was a kid people used to take us to McDonalds all the time because, you know, that is what kids supposedly like.  I swore I would never eat at that crap place again as soon as I was old enough.  So I guess I have to concede it could  have gotten better since 1987 or whenever the last time I ate there was.

Man in your mind McDonalds must be the place to go to get a McDLT and listen to Mac Tonite muzak.

[Caliga]

Five Guys

We're getting one of them soon!

[alfred russel]

Coke and Pepsi also use the franchise model.

I think you can make a general rule that corporations using the franchise model to serve the general public that have a significant international presence tend to be American (even if some are European). I like the idea that someone had earlier of the relatively recent introduction of the european free trade zone. World War II probably influenced things as well, as many of the companies that are international franchises go back to at least the 1950s.

[Zanza]

Cold Stone should really come to Europe. I'd love that.

McDonald's here basically expanded their business to copy Starbuck's idea. A lof of McDonald's shops have part of their shop with nice chairs and dark wood now and serve different kinds of coffee. It's called McCafé. They also always have some special offers, which are probably Germany-specific.

[Caliga]

Cold Stone should really come to Europe. I'd love that.

McDonald's here basically expanded their business to copy Starbuck's idea. A lof of McDonald's shops have part of their shop with nice chairs and dark wood now and serve different kinds of coffee. It's called McCafé. They also always have some special offers, which are probably Germany-specific.

Actually the new McDonalds I was mentioning earlier is a McCafe concept outlet too.

[grumbler]

... in many cases, customers perceive a franchise (when it comes to food industry at least) as lower quality, actually

I think that this is the key.

[saskganesh]

Is Wimpie's still around? Weinerwald (who had franchises in USA at one point)?

[Malthus]

The world's worst McDonalds franchise location has to be the one on the 400 just north of Toronto. Always incredibly busy, staffed by brain-dead local suburbanite teens, filthy beyond compare, the food a lawsuit waiting to happen. Thing is they have a monopoly on the highway traffic, so they don't need to be any good.

[Faeelin]

Fag.

Dreyfuss wannabe.

[derspiess]

The world's worst McDonalds franchise location has to be the one on the 400 just north of Toronto. Always incredibly busy, staffed by brain-dead local suburbanite teens, filthy beyond compare, the food a lawsuit waiting to happen. Thing is they have a monopoly on the highway traffic, so they don't need to be any good.

Sounds like the McD's locations on the Garden State Parkway.  I *did* get sick after eating at one of them.  Should've known better, but I was dying of hunger & didn't have other options.

Ditto for the Roy Rogers places on the NJ Turnpike as well, come to think of it.