to think McDonald's have lost the main idea of "fast food"

[urwildquoter24]

It's not even fast anymore. It takes at least 15 minutes on a good day to get food, and on a bad day even longer. The drive-thru is even worse, I was in there last weekend and there were three cars in front of me and took half an hour to get my food and go.

I haven't even seen McDonald's do anything particularly creative recently. They're just bringing back old things and the food really doesn't look anything like in there adverts (which we established years ago)

And don't start about the new Happy Meal toys!!!

McDonald's is basically where fast food started, and now I think it's lost it a bit.

I think we still have a Happy Meal toy from the 90s somewhere, unless it's been scooped up in a clear out. It's made of decent plastic, and has a simple robust spinning mechanism which mildly entertained a sibling of mine, kids my folks fostered, and my own kids. Now that the toys are so shit, they just get thrown away quicker!

I gave up with them - as others have said they prioritise Deliveroo orders over those customers who physically turn up to get and order. When I go to footy I use a Wimpy - sit down, order, eat off a plate and be out the door within half hour!

Yep, customising means a longer wait but it generally means your food is hotter and fresher.

I got fed up with cold soggy fries, so I've started ordering them without salt, which means they have to be a separate batch. Most of the time, it works, but sometimes, they're actually colder and soggier because they made a batch of unsalted a while ago, and they've been sat there getting colder/soggier until some other unfortunate soul comes along to ask for unsalted!!

Certainly ordering a big mac, without, say, pickles, usually means a hotter/fresher one!

I don't go often but when I do I avoid anything containing Bacon. On the Ads it's crispy, golden brown deliciousousness. In real life it's sad, twangy and Pink with uncooked Rind.

🤣🤣🤣

There are two on the A1 I’ve used regularly (right in the middle of a 200 mile drive) and I’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes (often less) for a fish finger happy meal and a filet of fish meal, even when busy. Always hot, free dips, and when my DD dropped her orange juice they replaced it for free which I didn’t expect or ask for. The loos are also really clean.

I just wish you could ask for chips without salt on the app, but there doesn’t seem to be an option - I always have to go to the counter.

I've noticed that they are much slower these days since putting new systems in maybe 7 years ago.

They may be "built one by one", but if you order a standard/common item, you may not get the specific one "built" for you. Say, a bog standard, Big Mac, the one you get could have been sat in the "warm tray" for a while and a customer who ordered one a few minutes before you could get the fresher one as soon as it comes through from the cooking area, if the rest of their order was taking longer, if you see what I mean. All the "ready to go" items are sat waiting in a large warm tray, with no markings on them as to allocation to orders. When I've been stood at the counter, there have been boxed-up burgers which havn't moved from that tray in the 5-10-15 minutes I've been standing there, so will be cooler and less fresh, but eventually get put on to someone's tray or in someone's bag.

At least with a customised order, you're more likely to get your "own" burger as it's less likely someone else will have ordered exactly the same customisation at around the same time.

I cook from scratch most days and haven't had a McDonalds in a year but I still dream of the dopamine hit I get from the Filet of Fish, fries and chocolate milkshake combo.

I guarantee nothing you make can beat that dopamine hit, because fast food is designed to hit those receptors in our brain with all the sugar, salt and fat.

What country are you in? I can customise to have unsalted fries on the app I use.

I think your problem is with the branch you're using, not with McDonald's. We went to a very busy local branch with a drive-through last week. There was a long queue for the drive-through, so we parked in the car park, walked in, sat at a table, ordered on the app giving the table number. Ordered customised toppings on all the burgers. The food was brought to the table in five minutes.

Incidentally, the employee who brought the food over offered us free dips from a pouch they were wearing, so the "dips now cost 10p" isn't an issue round here either.

It's not just that the deliveries slow the speed, the drivers usually park dangerously, or in the disabled spaces, or take up 2 spaces, in their ancient unroadworthy cars that often don't have valid road tax nor MOT, and they seem to clog up the counter area just waiting and making it harder for other customers to get to the counters, as they don't wait for the number to be called before going to the counter, they just go straight there, and wait, right at the counter, so sometimes, other customers can't get near.

I think I read that in some places, they've built special McDonalds that only do deliveries, i.e. a completely separate building not open to the public at all, and in others, they've redesigned the existing stores to have special waiting/serving areas for the delivery drivers, so McDonalds themselves clearly know there's a problem!!

@CasperGutman you are very lucky then, there are 5 near me and they are all equally slow and shite. The food is always cold from one, the queues out the doors from others and one always fuck up your order.

That's without mentioning the hair I found whilst chewing a chicken mayo burger.... 🤢

The UK - maybe I have completely missed it because I can’t customise no salt on the screens on site. Will have another look!

And the milkshakes are often not available due to the machines “not working”. However I heard from someone who worked there that what that actually means is they haven’t cleaned it and they’re a pain to clean, so the job gets put off.

I used to love it as a teenager but I can't eat food like that as an adult. It makes me feel gross.

That's your franchise they are free in non franchises.

Same with the ice cream. I've heard the same that it's either they can't be bothered to clean the machine (that apparently needs a lot of cleaning at least once a day) or it's that they don't have enough staff as they're labour intensive and ideally need two people in that area, one doing the hot/cold drinks and another doing the ice creams, so if they don't have two at busy times, they just change the system to show ice cream not available on the apps/screens. Apparently, you can still order in person at the counter and they'll take your order if not ridiculously busy, they just don't want a lot of app/screen orders which is harder to control when done online.

If you ask for dips after you've ordered and theyve given you your food they don't tend to charge you ime

Most are franchises. According to their website, 1100 of the UK's 1300 restaurants are franchises, i.e. 85%. The three local to us are all franchisees (all three owned by the same owner) and dips are free in proportion to the food you order.

I'd be surprised if that was right. Back when the dinosaurs roamed and I was a teenager I worked briefly at Maccas. There was a metal sign with a time marked on it that was put behind the burgers as they were loaded . 15 minutes each. You got to that 15 minutes you threw them out, and gave the customer the next burger.

We dined in the restaurant with 6 children last week. Ordered on the app before we went and it was delivered to the table in around 5 mins. Couldn't fault them.

And I had the £1.99 happy meal and was very pleased with the uno game!

I agree op. Takes forever whenever I've been.

They ALWAYS ask us to park
Up and wait for the food, but give us the milkshakes and ice creams first, which then melt while you're waiting. They forget the dips. Every time.

I do love the breakfasts if we are off out early on a day out.

I wonder if they are a victim of their own success?

A customised order is called a "grill" where I live. It will definitely be freshly made. ( For example a Big Mac with no cheese)

Funnily enough I was thinking of starting a thread about the same thing. Even when I’m the only person queuing I still wait a fair while for my food. They just prioritise the drive thru and Uber eats now.