Here's what McDonald's plans to do to win back 500 million lost customer visits

[Applewood]

Simple, make better food. Their stuff tastes like school cafeteria food. Their competitors are walking circles around them when it comes to quality.

Essentially, they should go back to the food as it was when Ray Kroc was around.

[Wingnut]

Essentially, they should go back to the food as it was when Ray Kroc was around.

It's too late for that.  They had a good run.  But like most all the bloated old companies that fail to adapt and rest on their laurels...their time is up. 

[GtHawk]

How about stop trying to market to the ghetto crowd.

Outstanding point! Remember when their commercials were directed at families and were actually not aggravating to watch or hear? Ads like grab a bucket and mop and others that targeted children and adults. Nowadays they are completely of the rails targeting from what I can see the Hip Hop and Rap market almost exclusively.

[Cyber Liberty]

Outstanding point! Remember when their commercials were directed at families and were actually not aggravating to watch or hear? Ads like grab a bucket and mop and others that targeted children and adults. Nowadays they are completely of the rails targeting from what I can see the Hip Hop and Rap market almost exclusively.

I noticed that too.  It's been going on for a few years.  The non-urban people in the commercials are there to serve as foils for sophisticated rap artists.  In most commercials (for at least the past 25-30 years) the butt of all humor has been "the Dad," now it's non-"people of color."

[GtHawk]

Simple, make better food. Their stuff tastes like school cafeteria food. Their competitors are walking circles around them when it comes to quality.

Well actually here in California their competitors like Burger King and Carl's Jr. use the very same kitchen practices resulting in the customer getting old lukewarm mediocre food, unless you insist on it being cooked fresh. Oh there are competitors like In-N-Out that basically cook to order because the demand is so high because they maintain a limited menu of hamburgers, double hamburgers, fries, shakes and sodas which makes it much easier to have employees make right because they don't have to remember how to make 50 different items.

[mountaineer]

It used to be quite simple.

[truth_seeker]

Burger joints that started in SoCal:

Habit (1969, 147 locations)
In n Out (1948, 313 locations)
Carl's Jr. (1941, 1385 locations)
McDonalds (1940, 36,615 locations)

Listed in order of selection, by truth_seeker and wife, SoCal natives and residents.

A couple of years ago, McD's revamped their menu and pricing, and I never go anymore.

[goatprairie]

It used to be quite simple.

I remember when the first McDonald's opened in my city in 1959.  Once when I was about 11 and for some strange reason I had about 30 cents (no idea how I managed that),I decided to treat a friend to a hamburger and fries.  The hamburgers were delicious.
My mother found out about it and became upset wondering why I would spend whatever little money I had at McD's.
I didn't have the courage to tell her McD's burgers tasted way better than her hamburgers.
Due to cooking to my father's tastes my mother cooked the h*ll out of whatever meat we had. Her hamburgers had all the juice cooked out and were almost as hard as hockey pucks. Ditto for roast beef and pork chops.
But now things have changed. No more McD burgers for me.....inferior to many other outfits.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Breakfast sandwiches are good at mcds. Everything else not so.


Wendy's makes good fast food imo.

[Suppressed]

I remember when the first McDonald's opened in my city in 1959.  Once when I was about 11 and for some strange reason I had about 30 cents (no idea how I managed that),I decided to treat a friend to a hamburger and fries.  The hamburgers were delicious.
My mother found out about it and became upset wondering why I would spend whatever little money I had at McD's.
I didn't have the courage to tell her McD's burgers tasted way better than her hamburgers.
Due to cooking to my father's tastes my mother cooked the h*ll out of whatever meat we had. Her hamburgers had all the juice cooked out and were almost as hard as hockey pucks. Ditto for roast beef and pork chops.

@goatprairie

You just put a big smile on my face with that.

[DCPatriot]

I remember when the first McDonald's opened in my city in 1959.  Once when I was about 11 and for some strange reason I had about 30 cents (no idea how I managed that),I decided to treat a friend to a hamburger and fries.  The hamburgers were delicious.
My mother found out about it and became upset wondering why I would spend whatever little money I had at McD's.
I didn't have the courage to tell her McD's burgers tasted way better than her hamburgers.
Due to cooking to my father's tastes my mother cooked the h*ll out of whatever meat we had. Her hamburgers had all the juice cooked out and were almost as hard as hockey pucks. Ditto for roast beef and pork chops.
But now things have changed. No more McD burgers for me.....inferior to many other outfits.

We must be related or something.....

My mother's stove had only ONE setting...."HIGH".

She over-cooked everything.   We were forced to eat liver a couple times a year, and I sneaked chewed liver into the kitchen table's silverware drawer...and empted/cleaned it after supper when I did the dishes.

Ah....the memories.

[massadvj]

McDonald's got where they are by delivering a calorie of good, greasy, sugary & salty food cheaper than anyone on the planet.  Then they tried to go upscale and expand the menu in response to the critics, and it has been downhill ever since.  They need to get back to what they do best and sell good value delicious calories without apology.

[goatprairie]

We must be related or something.....

My mother's stove had only ONE setting...."HIGH".

She over-cooked everything.   We were forced to eat liver a couple times a year, and I sneaked chewed liver into the kitchen table's silverware drawer...and empted/cleaned it after supper when I did the dishes.

Ah....the memories.

Several of my sisters have husbands who are excellent cooks.  One of my sisters told me that one thing that won her over to her future husband was his ability to prepare delicious, juicy roasts. She said after eating his cooking, she could barely bring herself to eat our mother's overcooked  meat when visiting.  Side note: none of my three sisters ever learned to cook.
While growing up I guess I got used to my mother's cooking and didn't mind her cooked to death red meat meals .
One thing that surprised me in my teens was seeing commercials on tv for spaghetti sauce. I was stunned to learn that you could actually buy spaghetti  sauce like Ragu or Prego in grocery stores. My mother's spaghetti sauce was catsup mixed with tomato soup.
After I got out on my own as a bachelor I bought Prego to make spaghetti with.  Again, I was stunned to realize how much better spaghetti tasted with real spaghetti sauce rather than my mother's concoctions.
Oh well, I still ate most of what she cooked.  I never could stomach liver which tasted like burnt erasers to me.  Fortunately, she only did liver about once a year. Maybe the horrible looks on our faces as we tried to force it down our gullets dissuaded her from preparing it more than once a year.

[Norm Lenhart]

While growing up I guess I got used to my mother's cooking and didn't mind her cooked to death red meat meals .
One thing that surprised me in my teens was seeing commercials on tv for spaghetti sauce. I was stunned to learn that you could actually buy spaghetti  sauce like Ragu or Prego in grocery stores. My mother's spaghetti sauce was catsup mixed with tomato soup.

My wife was a great cook in general but her Spaghetti was incredible. I was truly blessed. My mother was also great at Italian.

What was funny about my wife's Spaghetti sauce was that it was REALLY minimal. Tomato sauce/puree, spices and not much else. Her secret was pre cooking/de-greasing the sausage/meatballs most of the way, then finishing them in the sauce overnight with just enough heat to finish the job. The flavor of the meatballs (spiced but nothing crazy) and sausage made the flavor and they were 'fall apart' on first bite.

On the other hand, I had a crazy aunt that added about a pound of sugar and no spices at all to her sauce because apparently she thought it was supposed to taste like cotton candy. Needless to say people avoided her invites to 'Spaghetti night'.

[goatprairie]

My wife was a great cook in general but her Spaghetti was incredible. I was truly blessed. My mother was also great at Italian.

What was funny about my wife's Spaghetti sauce was that it was REALLY minimal. Tomato sauce/puree, spices and not much else. Her secret was pre cooking/de-greasing the sausage/meatballs most of the way, then finishing them in the sauce overnight with just enough heat to finish the job. The flavor of the meatballs (spiced but nothing crazy) and sausage made the flavor and they were 'fall apart' on first bite.

On the other hand, I had a crazy aunt that added about a pound of sugar and no spices at all to her sauce because apparently she thought it was supposed to taste like cotton candy. Needless to say people avoided her invites to 'Spaghetti night'.

Some dishes my mother prepared were very good...for instance, her fried chicken was delicious. But that involved batter, and making batter was something where my mother was excellent.
Her confections were outstanding....pies, cakes, cookies, cream puffs...all tremendous.  It's only in preparing meat dishes where she fell down....and again, a lot of that I'll attribute to my father's fondness for well-done meat.  Done to death.

[Norm Lenhart]

Some dishes my mother prepared were very good...for instance, her fried chicken was delicious. But that involved batter, and making batter was something where my mother was excellent.
Her confections were outstanding....pies, cakes, cookies, cream puffs...all tremendous.  It's only in preparing meat dishes where she fell down....and again, a lot of that I'll attribute to my father's fondness for well-done meat.  Done to death.

I'm from the Dennis Leary school of cooked meat. I'll eat what I want and ride the rest home. If it ain't still mooing I aint gonna be chewing. I don't understand the attraction to 'well done' at all. Me and Bill Clinton feel your pain. Flavorless shoe leather does nothing for me at all, either.

[Applewood]

I'm from the Dennis Leary school of cooked meat. I'll eat what I want and ride the rest home. If it ain't still mooing I aint gonna be chewing. I don't understand the attraction to 'well done' at all. Me and Bill Clinton feel your pain. Flavorless shoe leather does nothing for me at all, either.

I prefer to have my meat well done -- primarily because of the threat of disease.  You can do well done without turning the meat into shoe leather.  I can do it. You just have to keep your eyes on the cooking/grilling the whole time. 

My brother is the opposite.  He cooks his burgers no more than 30 seconds on each side.  His steak takes longer, but the end result is barely gray on the outside, but bleeding on the inside when you cut it open.

[Norm Lenhart]

I prefer to have my meat well done -- primarily because of the threat of disease.  You can do well done without turning the meat into shoe leather.  I can do it. You just have to keep your eyes on the cooking/grilling the whole time. 

My brother is the opposite.  He cooks his burgers no more than 30 seconds on each side.  His steak takes longer, but the end result is barely gray on the outside, but bleeding on the inside when you cut it open.

Your brother and I are of like mind.

I actually stopped eating steak in restaurants years ago because the health regs have turned 'rare' into 'nearly charred to the core'. I'd hate to see what 'well done' would look like today.

[Cyber Liberty]

Your brother and I are of like mind.

I actually stopped eating steak in restaurants years ago because the health regs have turned 'rare' into 'nearly charred to the core'. I'd hate to see what 'well done' would look like today.

At home is where I have steak for the same reason.  A few years ago I started cooking it "Sous Vide" and never went back to the grill with it.  I get exactly the same level of doneness every time.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

At home is where I have steak for the same reason.  A few years ago I started cooking it "Sous Vide" and never went back to the grill with it.  I get exactly the same level of doneness every time.

Does that caramelize meat though? It always struck me as being close to microwaving food, unless I am misunderstanding what you are talking about.

[dfwgator]

I'm from the Dennis Leary school of cooked meat. I'll eat what I want and ride the rest home. If it ain't still mooing I aint gonna be chewing. I don't understand the attraction to 'well done' at all. Me and Bill Clinton feel your pain. Flavorless shoe leather does nothing for me at all, either.

My favorite Dennis Leary bit...

"Shiny Happy People” “Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey! Pull that bus over to the side of the pretentiousness turnpike, alright!? I want everybody off the bus. I want the shiny people over here, and the happy people over here, ok! I represent angry gun-toting meat-eating f****** people, alright!"

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Also, any chef will tell that fat is what makes meat tasty.

[Cyber Liberty]

Does that caramelize meat though? It always struck me as being close to microwaving food, unless I am misunderstanding what you are talking about.

@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Right before serving it you sear the outsides in a hot skillet with oil or blowtorch.  I find the pan-searing the best, or dip it in a deep fryer for 15-20 seconds.

[geronl]

It's too late for that.  They had a good run.  But like most all the bloated old companies that fail to adapt and rest on their laurels...their time is up.

They haven't had any innovation in a while.

[goatprairie]

I'm from the Dennis Leary school of cooked meat. I'll eat what I want and ride the rest home. If it ain't still mooing I aint gonna be chewing. I don't understand the attraction to 'well done' at all. Me and Bill Clinton feel your pain. Flavorless shoe leather does nothing for me at all, either.

The wife, like most Brits,  likes  her meat well done. One time at an Outback five or more years ago she got her steak,  and it was real red on the inside. She asked the waiter to cook it some more.
 When she got it back it was shoe leather tough.  She took one bite, looked at me, and then burst  into tears. The manager came over and tried to console her, but she was so mad she couldn't be consoled. We didn't eat there for another year.
The bad thing about that is I always order medium-well.   I like it a little pink on the inside. But if it's medium, that's fine as well.  A number of times after I cut into my steak and it was pretty red she's looked at me in horror saying how could I eat steak that red.
I've told her just watch me.  Red, tender,  and juicy beats juiceless and tough every time.