# Are dollar menu cheeseburgers loss leaders? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527 "2009-12-08T23:15:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/41 "2009-12-10T23:34:34Z")
As a young Crew Chief in a franchised McDonalds (back in about 1978), I met Ray Kroc, who said: “Always remember, Rodd Hill–we’re not a hamburger store, we’re a french fries store.” (Hm. Probably the richest guy I’ll ever meet, now that I think about it). I know that our profit on sandwiches was very small–something like 5% range on beef, and if I recall correctly, 2.5% on the McChicken. The fries and drinks were the moneymakers, sugar and starch being cheaper than protein. At that time (I sound like Irving Cohen!), the average company store in this market made an annual profit of something like 7-8%: and we were considered the hot market in Canada (greater Vancouver) at the time. ---
**Author:** ![natlee75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@natlee75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natlee75)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/42 "2009-12-15T19:01:59Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Plus, if Cecil is to be believed, a good portion of their meat is not really “sirloin patties”, but rather other cuts that sort of “average out” to a decent-tasting cut. Granted, they are not using filler but rather, less expensive but still standard cuts, but even if they were paying the same price as you for the same cut, they might still be paying less for their patties due to using cheaper cuts of meat. We also have to consider the grade of beef McDonald’s uses. They make it a point to emphasize that all of their beef is USDA _inspected_ but there is never any mention of the grade of beef because it is far below the standards consumers would see at retail. Prime, Choice and Select are the top three grades of beef in the U.S. I don’t think you can even find anything below this in an American supermarket. After that is Standard, which lacks marbling. Following that is Commercial, which lacks tenderness and is produced from the really old cows. Then, Utility, Cutter and Canner. I venture a guess that McDonald’s beef would be somewhere around the Commercial grade, if even that high. ---
**Author:** ![natlee75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@natlee75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natlee75)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/43 "2009-12-15T19:03:44Z")
> [@curious11](#): > > By quality I meant, personal choice. As you can pick whichever lean/fat ratio you desire, the percieved quality will go up as you approach your personal tastes/desire. I leave it up to you to decide which ratio is desireable. Turkey burger anyone? > > Well, decent tasting after being “scented” with “McDonald’s Hamburger Scent #5” (from Fast Food Nation, many chains apply a scent to the food so it all tastes the same, no matter where in the US the product is purchased) Hell, the whole reason I eat at McDonald’s is to get that unique flavor. If I want a fast food burger that tastes more like an actual burger, I’ll go to Burger King or Wendy’s. You can’t get that McD’s flavor anywhere else, though… that’s worth at least 50 cents right there! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/44 "2009-12-15T19:16:58Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > There was this recent Burger King lawsuit: > > [http://www.rbr.com/tv-cable/18537.html](http://www.rbr.com/tv-cable/18537.html) > > The franchise owners claimed that the promotional campaign was forcing them to lose money. I loved this in the article: “[H]ead to your nearest Burger King restaurant and get a double cheeseburger for only $1. But franchise owners say it costs them $1.10 to sell them and are taking BK to court.[…] RBR-TVBR observation: We wonder how much a double cheeseburger would cost when you factor in court costs and attorney fees.” 😃 I’m not a fan of the McD’s cheesburgers, but I love the BK ones. Nice to know I’m getting a good deal! ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/45 "2009-12-15T19:17:47Z")
> [@natlee75](#): > > We also have to consider the grade of beef McDonald’s uses. They make it a point to emphasize that all of their beef is USDA _inspected_ but there is never any mention of the grade of beef because it is far below the standards consumers would see at retail. > > Prime, Choice and Select are the top three grades of beef in the U.S. I don’t think you can even find anything below this in an American supermarket. After that is Standard, which lacks marbling. Following that is Commercial, which lacks tenderness and is produced from the really old cows. Then, Utility, Cutter and Canner. I venture a guess that McDonald’s beef would be somewhere around the Commercial grade, if even that high. Prime choice and select refer to the amount of marbled fat in the muscle tissue. Once the beef is ground marbling doesn’t make much difference just percentage of fat. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/46 "2009-12-15T22:11:22Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > And there’s a massive blizzard where I am today. I can only dream of Dairy Queen. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dandmb50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba9def/32.png) [@Dandmb50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandmb50)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/47 "2009-12-16T16:56:55Z")
I guess it’s a “loss leader” to sell the cheaper burgers but I kind of think McD is still making something off of the burgers. But I agree they make the real money off the fries and soda. Not from me though, the rare times that I do go in I always ask for a double cheese burger to go and I say that’s all and they still say would you like fries with that? I say I told you what I want. And then they say would you like a drink with that? I just give up although they never listen anywhere anymore. They are just programmed to say “anything else with that” even though I said nothing else. I was thinking of just handing them a card that said… I’m deaf I would like a double cheese burger to go and that’s all… But then they would probably write down, do you want a drink and fries with that?? That’s probably why I don’t go there very often. It’s fast food but slow ordering. Also after all that they ask me if it’s to stay or go? But then I said that when I order. Am I the only one that knows what I want and can’t be up sold? Oh yea sometimes I ask for a glass of water and then they say which bottled water would you like sir? It just never ends. And yes it’s to go… ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/48 "2009-12-16T17:34:39Z")
Reconcile these conflicting statements, please: **Dandmb50** : _“I guess it’s a “loss leader” to sell the cheaper burgers but I kind of think McD is still making something off of the burgers.”_ Burgers that are ''loss leaders" lose money; ergo, McD is not making something off of the burgers if that is the case! This thread is not young and yet the meat of the issue **still** hasn’t gotten across!? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/49 "2009-12-17T04:39:23Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I can only dream of Dairy Queen. 😉 Me too. We had one, but it was destroyed in an ice storm. It’s been supposed to reopen for a while, but it has never happened. It seems that reconstruction has stalled in this economy. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/50 "2009-12-17T14:54:33Z")
I’m betting the 4-piece Chicken nuggets on the Dollar Menu are a loss leader. Considering that for the 6-piece, they charge $2.79. ---
**Author:** ![CastleAnthrax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@CastleAnthrax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastleAnthrax)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/51 "2009-12-18T06:58:19Z")
The Value prices are funny, especially for McNuggets. 4 cost $1. 10 (I don’t know if they do 6 anymore) cost $3ish. 20 cost almost $8. We order 5 4-piece and save almost half the cost. I haven’t checked their fry prices, but I suspect the same, and I know the drinks are similar. Forget the lottery- this is a new tax for people who are bad at math, but the profits go to the company and not the state. I wonder what percentage of people are dumb enough to fall for this- and I also wonder why the company sets it up this way. I mean, why give people a cheaper out for what they’d buy anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/52 "2009-12-18T07:53:04Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > When I worked in on-site catering and bartending in an upscale place in New Orleans (often weddings), my boss told us never to skimp on alcohol because it was impossible to lose money on it based on what they were paying per person. People always got what they asked for and usually on the generous side. A group of memorable guests kept ordering Absolute vodka on the rocks filled to the top and that is what they got. That is what a truly open bar is and it is stupid economy to see places that try to ration alcohol in the name of cost savings when it is bought in bulk and quite cheap unless it is something rare. Our orders were to just make people happy. Yeah but if you offer large portions people will buy less of them. So at a table of 8 people maybe they would order 25 drinks instead of 30 over the course of a night. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527/53 "2009-12-18T07:54:11Z")
> [@HennaDancer](#): > > The Value prices are funny, especially for McNuggets. > 4 cost $1. > 10 (I don’t know if they do 6 anymore) cost $3ish. > 20 cost almost $8. > > We order 5 4-piece and save almost half the cost. I haven’t checked their fry prices, but I suspect the same, and I know the drinks are similar. Forget the lottery- this is a new tax for people who are bad at math, but the profits go to the company and not the state. I wonder what percentage of people are dumb enough to fall for this- and I also wonder why the company sets it up this way. I mean, why give people a cheaper out for what they’d buy anyway? I noticed that with cheesy tots at burger king. You can buy 6 for $1.49 or you can buy 12 for $3.19. Not a huge difference, but I don’t get why they are doing that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dollar-menu-cheeseburgers-loss-leaders/520527.md?page=2)