I get a quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a drink. It costs almost $15. I can go to a cafe where I’m waited on and served decent food for $20.
The obvious answer is that it’s fast, tasty, and requires minimal effort for the consumer, especially if it’s getting delivered. But it also tends to be very cheap compared to dining out. I don’t know what you are ordering where a combo is so much but I normally get a bunch of food from Taco Bell to eat over the course of two days. I can get 2000 calories of food I like to eat for $12.
Wherever I am in the world, if I see a McDonald’s I know I can get something quick, easy, and satisfying enough to get me by. That’s true in America, Europe, South East Asia, New Zealand…
I know it’s poison but it’s the only option that opens after 10pm
I think restarurant food mostly requires using utensils and you need a flat surface to place the food to eat. You can just hold a mcdonalds burger in your hand. Its easier to eat a burger in a car.
That being said, I personally hate fast food and can never eat those disgusting food. Cost just as much as a good local Chinese restaurant food. But the Chinese restaurant makes much better food.
I have rarely gone to get fast food in the last few years, a lot of the reason because of the cost. That, and quality has gone down a lot even with price increases.
The times I have gone, were because I was short on time. I miss the days I could overlook the poor quality due to the cost.
It’s addictive, it’s marketed well, people are uninformed about how awful it is for them, and think prepping healthy meals is a lot harder than it is.
I think you answered your own question. It’s still “cheaper” than your second option.
Not sure who would buy it full price but in most of the apps if you’re not picky there’s always some amount of deals to get a meal under $5. I only go occasionally as the deals aren’t as good as they used to be across the board and the quality is universally terrible. Taco Bell is also its own unique thing which no other Mexican restaurant will get you so occasionally it just sounds good.
That being said in my area you can go to nearly any proper restaurant and get carry-out under $15 with Texas sized portions. As someone with an unhealthy work/life balance particularly in the evenings, this or bulk curry is how I usually eat dinner.
Because it’s fast and good enough. Not looking for a restaurant experience. I just want to eat and I forgot to defrost my chicken.
That’s the neat part: I don’t.
Not anymore. I scaled back my fast food consumption quite a bit in previous years, but when the prices of everything skyrocketed to absurd levels during COVID I just quit going to fast food places and never looked back. I get Taco Bell or something like, maybe two or three times a year now and that’s usually when I’m on a road trip or something. Otherwise they can get bent as far as I’m concerned.
If I want slop it’s cheaper and honestly also easier to just buy a TV dinner from any of the selection of general goods stores within walking distance of my house and pop it in the microwave. And these days probably faster, too, because I don’t have to deal with the McAttitude or inevitably discover that the fast food place is trying to run with half the staff it’s supposed to have because its franchise owner is a greedy prick, nor have to worry about getting sucked into the thrice-weekly fistfight in the parking lot, nor getting caught in the crossfire because some fuckmuch is salty about not getting enough ketchup packets and decides to shoot up the joint.
Exactly. If they are just reheating frozen food, it’s easier and cheaper just to do it at home using a mircowave. Throw in some frozen veggies for added health.
It’s not about the quality, it’s about the speed.
That said, i generally plan ahead and rarely eat fast food. And rarely eat out in general. That shit is expensive
I mean, McDonald’s is an insane ripoff. At Taco Bell I can get veggie cravings box for $5.99 - that’s a Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme, Bean and Cheese Burrito, Fiesta Potatoes, and a drink. It’s like 1500 calories for $6 and takes 5 minutes to get. We get it every couple of weeks when we’re just feeling super lazy and don’t feel like cooking, and we can make two meals out of it.
The general consensus seems that people pay for the convenience, not having to cook or clean and not having to wait very long for it. Which is kind of crazy because that seems like such a luxury to me lol. Like a lite version of having a personal chef.
I wonder what the price point is where people will stop paying for the convince and just do it themselves because it costs too much. I would’ve thought most people reached that point but apparently not.
Plenty of people probably went “fuck fast food is getting too expensive, better start cooking” and then went to the grocery store, bought less food than they expected, then they also had to motivate to cook at home.
When everyone is getting fucked so hard at the grocery, it’s easier to see why people stick to fast food if they also like the convenience.
It’s because of the drive-thru. If I could get a locally-made channa masala on rice or a good salad at the drive-thru with a decent cup of coffee, that would be my daily lunch. And, yes, I know that’s lazy, but the drive-thrus are packed so I know I’m not the only one. Unfortunately, only the fast food chains have drive-thrus where I live. There is a business opportunity.
I have long wished for a fast food joint offering healthy foods. But healthy foods aren’t addictive like frankenfood.
I buy it for my kids because they are on the spectrum and McDonald’s French fries are literally 1 of 7 foods one of them will eat. I would eat it, because I love it, but I have celiac and can’t.
