OK - I went to McDonalds for lunch yesterday. For $3.23 I got:
A double cheeseburger.
A mcChicken sandwich (fried chicken product)
A small french fry bag.
Now - with Oil at $100 a barrel, with everything else hitting the inflation mark - I get a massive amount of unhealthy calories to take care of my cravings for next to NOTHING. I wonder how they stay in business, when will we see the end of the dollar menu, and if I could have beat that price by packing my own lunch.
Seriously on that last part. If I wanted to bring the same amount of food to work, it would be close to that in price wouldn’t it? Can you beat a dollar menu price list with a comparable product?
I can buy potatoes for .70/lb at the local greengrocer. I'm guessing about 1/4lb is needed to make the equivalent of a small fries, so that's roughly .20 once I add in the cost of the 1 tbsp of olive oil and the dash of salt to coat the fries. Might as well oven-bake those suckers, since it’s healthier than deep-frying.
I can usually find chicken drumsticks on sale for $.99/lb. So, to be generous, let’s go with a 1/2lb of chicken, sprinkled with some S&P and brushed with $0.10 in BBQ sauce (I usually manage to get the good stuff at 2 bottles for $4.00 on sale 'round these parts).
So we’re now at $0.80, right? Add some salad, just for balance. A head of lettuce goes for $1.29 at the store, but I only use a few leaves for a single serving of salad - let’s say $0.50 worth and another $0.10 for the 1 tbsp each of balsamic and olive oil I’ll toss it with. And that’s good lettuce, not this shredded iceberg nonsense you get from McD’s.
So we’re hovering at the $1.40 mark and it’s already looking like a pretty tasty meal with a fraction of the calories of your McD’s fat-fest. So let’s splurge and get some fresh fruit. Basket of strawberries is $2.00 since they’re in season, but you’re probably not going to play piggie and eat the whole thing, are you? Let’s say you eat half, which is $1.00.
So we’re at $2.40 and you’re probably starting to feel full. Still want McD’s now?
These are all prices for the Toronto, ON area. YMMV.
Yes. While your meal is healthier, sometimes you want some fried potatoes, a couple slabs of cow meat (w/ cheese!), and more importantly someone else to make it for you.
As to the OP, it gets at a question I was wondering about. In a tough economy, there are some sectors that are more profitable because economic times are rough, right? Could fast food be one such sector?
For what you are getting, you can’t match it by yourself. Economies of scale and all that. Not to mention that my labor is quite a bit pricier than the fry cook at McD’s. But because McDonald’s controls almost their entire food supply, from foeld to freezer, it enables them to realize savings that you and I can’t hope to match. But costs will get to them eventually.
The real purpose of the dollar menu is as a loss-leader. They get you in, and make their money on the Coke you order to go with your meal.
When things start to tank, the extremes always do well. Designers and high end fancy pants things still sell, and the off-price and discount retailers still move units. It’s the vast middle grey area that gets boned.
I figured up the cost of the lunch I brought to work the other day.
2 slices of bead (Pepperidge Farm, but I buy it for $.89/loaf at the cheap store) - .09
Sara Lee sliced deli chicken (about 3 oz) - .25
1 slice swiss cheese - .15
Cheetos (buy the $1 can at the 1 store) - .25
Coke (bring in 12 packs and keep them under my desk) - .20
Orange (I'd stopped eating them when they went over .50/lb, but they’re more reasonable now) - .30
For about a dollar I got a filling lunch. I buy a lot of my stuff at the cheap overstock grocery store. The bread I buy sells for $3.89 at the regular store. I buy brandname lunchmeat and cheese and if it’s a good deal, I buy a lot and put it in the freezer.
This is the thing that boggles my mind. Even if you only want six nuggets, you’re better off buying two four-piece nuggets and throwing two nuggets away. Hell, I think it’s the same way for the 20-piece too, that you’re better off buying five four-piece nuggest than one 20-piece. Isn’t it normally the other way around, that buying in larger sizes saves you money?
As for the OP and everyone else talking about cost, if you’re going to buy greasy food, I’d still go with McDonalds. Yes, you could save a dollar if you bought it and made it yourself, but once you factor in preparation and cooking time, the time you’d have to spend at the store, and the cost of energy for cooking. In the time it would take to make my own double cheeseburger, make my own chicken sandwich, and my own fries, that time is worth more to me than the difference in the price of the items were I to buy them myself. Of course, that’s ignoring taste and health factors, but no one actually eats at McDonald’s for that, right?
If you’re going to cook that stuff, you’ll have to factor in the cost of your gas or electricity, too. It may be negligible, but we’re going for precision here.
Some restaurants actually lose money on their dollar menu items and hope to make it up with higher priced items. From Nations Restaurant News:
I heard once (and can’t back it up with a cite now, sorry) that in fast food restaurants the margin is so high on their fountain drinks they don’t have to charge anything for the food to post a profit.
It’s also rare that you don’t get a drink with food. You might elect to pass on the fries, but most likely not the soda or tea. So it’s not only a high margin, it’s a stable high margin.
This brings up an issue with the local Taco Bells here in Denver. The have a promotion with the Rockies, that if they score 7 runs in a game, you can get 4 tacos for 25 cents. :eek: I have taken them up on this offer 3 out of the 4 times it has happened thus far, and each time, I wonder what they were smoking when they came up with the terms. It has to be a huge loss for them, especially when savvy customers like me come in and only order the tacos. Why didn’t they offer 4 tacos for 25 cents with the purchase of a medium drink?
Also, I agree with Cluricaun. Wendy’s new dollar double is better then McD’s. and the chicken sandwich is far tastier! I have given up on McDonalds, because everything they offer can be had somewhere else for either a lower price or better quality.
Oh, and sense I am posting anyway, Arby’s attempt at a cheap $1 sandwich, the Mini (which only comes in packs of 2) is a rip off. It appears to have about a 1/2 ounce of meat and the bun is like a dinner roll. Arby’s is not known for value, IMO. You pay more there for a better product.
Now I’m hungry… dinner tonight is a 25 cent box of Mac+Cheese + 99 cent can of chili… $1.24 fills my lunch and dinner needs! (breakfast was cereal, probably less then a dollar for a big bowl).
Absolutely. The time it would take me to shop for the meal, prepare it, wrap it up, and carry it with me is a bit more than the time it takes to swing by the drive thru on lunch hour and grab a few dollar menu items.
Not to mention the fact that McDonald’s Sweet Tea is the nectar of the gods. And no chicken product I’ve ever made is as succulent and delicious as their new Southern Style Chicken Sandwich.
Not me! I hardly ever order a drink at fast food places. I either get water, bring a can of soda with me (for “to go” orders), or just skip the drink. I’m not all that fond of any of the standard soft drinks, and if I did want them, I could get them way cheaper at the grocery store.