this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2025
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[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 178 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Household names like Chipotle and McDonald’s cautioned about flagging purchases among low-income customers.

"Flagging purchases" is an interesting way to phrase "we tripled our prices and cut staffing to the bare minimum and are surprised that it didn't result in infinite money".

[–] MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 58 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Right? A burrito is $10+ and they wonder why people don't go there as often.

[–] TrueStoryBob@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

I'm so thankful the local halal place around the corner from my house is there... and gyro and fries is only like 9 USD. I commented to the owner about how cheap his food is; he said he's seen a bit of an uptick in business over the summer and he thinks it's because the chain places have gone mad with pricing.

[–] Inaminate_Carbon_Rod@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago

Businesses: How can we pay our staff as little as humanly possible?

Also businesses: Why don’t people have any money to spend in my store?

It would be comical if it wasn’t so absurd.

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

But the M.B.A. told us to focus on our high dollar customers...

[–] Skyline969@lemmy.ca 151 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Fast food is too expensive and people aren’t willing to pay top dollar for shit quality. Who knew?

[–] sauerkrautsaul@lemmus.org 30 points 3 months ago (2 children)

the whole good, fast and cheap, you can only have two at once is true. when this formula is violated things fall apart. fast food is now only fast (it was never good but it used to be cheap).

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 27 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I would question if it's fast anymore either. In my days of working fast food long ago we had parameters of customer quality and speed we had to meet. I do not see any evidence that any of the chains care about any of that anymore. Why would they? They give shit for shit prices and shit speed, and people keep coming back for more. Capitalism rule, why do better when it's not needed or required?

[–] sauerkrautsaul@lemmus.org 5 points 3 months ago

yeah, I was gonna say that but I live in europe where the whole drive thru scene has never been as fast as how it used to be in the states. I do recall mcdonalds drive through being so quick you were scared of holding up the line. here, you are told to go park in one of the waiting bays 1:3 times, or you just wait 3-4 mins sitting at the window at a minimum.

I was in the states in summer 2021 and things definitely took longer than they once did, but I was so grateful to the kids working those shit jobs when covid was still prominent that I was tipping them $10 in cash at the window, not complaining.

I'll be back over in a few months and will 100% get both Arby's and Wendy's as you cant get those over here, so I guess I'll see what the pace is like.

Just to say though, prices have definitely gone down at the bigger chains, I dont think we're the only two people who feel this way and the companies realized they went past their ceiling in terms of how much they could charge for their mediocre food

[–] theoneandonlyeggboi@lemmings.world 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Fast food isn't even fast anymore.

It's a humiliation ritual for all involved, except the people making the decisions.

[–] FosterMolasses@leminal.space 8 points 3 months ago

Can confirm. In the UK, and a few years back me and my grad school buddies had a habit of going to McD after the bars closed, and it was so chaotic with almost no staff, broken kiosks, and no feasible queue amidst the crowd of people (in the UK) that it felt more like being stuck waiting for an appointment at a government office. We literally had to be drunk out of our minds to even consider it.

Taco Bell was an even worse nightmare. I swear, even drunk that place feels like purgatory. Seen people literally lose their minds waiting lmfao

[–] Ancalagon@lemmy.world 63 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They cut costs as much as possible and now they think it's the consumer because their food is shite. See the cost cutting.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

They may have cut costs, but they also raised prices

[–] Rooty@lemmy.world 48 points 3 months ago

If you're in the business of selling slop, it has to be cheap and readily available. Nobody is paying restaurant prices for warmed over garbage.

[–] Manjushri@piefed.social 48 points 3 months ago (2 children)

It's interesting that McDonalds saw increased traffic among higher-income shoppers. Apparently even high income people are feeling the pressure because they're apparently choosing to eat McDonald's over their usual restaurants.

[–] YurkshireLad@lemmy.ca 45 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I’d rather eat at home than eat at McDonalds.

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 15 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Maybe they're not used to cooking.

But sometimes you just want a sloppy, shitty burger that you didn't have to cook.

[–] shiroininja@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Fast food is like a nasty lay that you are ashamed of the morning after, but you were feeling feral and wanted to get dirty.

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[–] aceshigh@lemmy.world 41 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Mcds is so expensive now. You might as well get actual food.

[–] Tujio@lemmy.world 29 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I went to Taco Bell the other week and spent $20 on processed crap.

I went to a local burger joint and spent $16 on a damn good burger and fries.

[–] Soggy@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

You can also go to Taco Bell and get the $5 meal box, it's one of the last fast food chains that still has a reasonably priced option.

[–] theoneandonlyeggboi@lemmings.world 5 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Taco bell died when they got rid of the $1 beef burrito a few years ago.

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[–] Ougie@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

And the portions are half of what they used to be. Shrinkflation is insane, a burger is the size of a slider these days.

[–] ianhclark510@lemmy.blahaj.zone 45 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Yes Chipotle, consumer demand is the issue, not the fact that your food safety track record reads like a Chinese bio lab

[–] switcheroo@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

My hubby refuses to eat there since he gets sick about 65% of the time. Definitely questionable food safety. Probably safer to just lick you cell phone.

...

Reminder: disinfect your cell phones often!

[–] osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org 5 points 3 months ago

Reminder, licking your cell phone is free level ups for your immune system

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

I've never gotten sick from then, but doubling the prices while halving the serving sizes made it pointless to go there any more

[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 42 points 3 months ago

These restaurant g suite idiots just can't figure out how they tripled prices and people are staying away.

[–] Blackfeathr@lemmy.world 39 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I haven't ate McDonald's in over a year and I don't plan on it ever again. Doing my part!

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[–] etherphon@lemmy.world 35 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

Maybe people are realizing how terrible a value it is, you can make the place look as fancy as you want, you're still serving what's supposed to be cheap food for crazy prices. There is no possible way you can justify blaming the consumer when the CEO is making tens of millions of dollars, he doesn't do that fucking much, no one does.

[–] dreadbeef@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

this is a recession indicator

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[–] eestileib@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 3 months ago (15 children)

If you're housed you can buy the exact same shit they heat up from frozen at a restaurant supply store and heat it yourself.

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 29 points 3 months ago (1 children)

So they are failing their customers expectations, and all they know to do is cry for help?

[–] Ougie@lemmy.world 20 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Wait that's communism! They should calm down, the market will regulate itself /s

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

the market will regulate itself

Success! It actually does!

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[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 28 points 3 months ago

That's a strange way to say they aren't selling as much as they were expecting to, even a few months ago. How about, "Some restaurant chains are reporting decreased consumer spending"

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 24 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Wages basically stopped rising (compared to asset prices) a couple of decades or so ago

Funny that people without any more money, aren't able to buy as much stuff now it's more expensive

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[–] CaptainBlinky@lemmy.myserv.one 15 points 3 months ago

Chipotle: Increases price of a burrito from $6.99 to $12.00.

Customers: eat elsewhere.

Chipotle: Pickachu Face!

[–] tired_n_bored@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Can I say something? Fuck fast food, embrace slow, healthy food

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[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

I don’t know why anyone on the west coast would eat this crap when we have legitimate taco shops. That being said we’re definitely at the end of the monopoly game a few of the worst most psychopaths own everything and working people are tapped out completely. Hard to run a consumer based economy without consumers. That’s why they are installing an oppressive facist police state with AI driven mass surveillance. A feudal dictatorship is what comes next and mass killings of anyone inconvenient to this new system. Anyway that’s why you can’t afford to buy subpar burritos

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[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago

Chipotle Mexican Grill, which operates thousands of U.S.-based stores, faulted consumer weakness for disappointing sales…

There ya go. Blame the very people for something that’s not their fault that you depend on for your overpriced luxury foods, clothing, houses, and yachts.

~That sounds like a good strategy to win them back.~

[–] balance8873@lemmy.myserv.one 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Chipotle Mexican Grill ... faulted consumer weakness for disappointing sales

Interesting phrasing

[–] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Consumer weakness.

It's not that you've failed to offer a product that's a good value proposition for the consumer no..

It's their weakness. If they were stronger they'd buy your overpriced trash. The problem certainly is not that you're selling trash. It can't be.

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