They’ve been using some kind of dynamic pricing for a while. Last summer we decided to order McDonalds and I noticed it.
I have a nephew in high school. There’s a McDonalds that’s a close walk. A lot of kids hang out there and, in aggregate, they spend a ton of money. My nephew would often order through the app and his friends would give him cash. He’d end up with a bunch of rewards.
So, from McDonalds perspective he’s a customer buying tons of crap. Do you know what the true reward was? Price gouging, that’s what. In the app, everything was more expensive for him than it was for me.
So, since winning the lotto by having a McDonalds beside a high school isn’t enough, they’re ripping off their regulars. I hope they go broke. My family doesn’t spend money there anymore. We’re not price sensitive, but we’re definitely “getting ripped off” sensitive.
Screw McDonalds.
interesting, for me the app is always way cheaper than ordering in person. but i guess i have no way of comparing with other peoples prices in their apps. what an age we live in
"always free to determine the final price" indicates they are aware they are forcing collusion and creating an illegal cartel. Head office telling two competing franchises how much to charge is essentially the same as two competing franchisees agreeing to pricing over a round of golf. If it gets that far, will be interesting to see who ends up holding that bag.
Seems like that's the one weird trick to escape the law in the land of the free:
> McDonald's has power over decisions that can make or break a franchisee's business, such as their eligibility to renew or open new stores.
You're free to reject their prices but they're free to refuse to renew your contract. After all, what is the government going to do, force two parties to do business with each other and renew a contract? Freedom for all.
Our economy is becoming deranged & psychotic, the wheels are coming off. The old idea of a good product or service for a fair price is considered foolish in today's conditions.
In the end the economy is more like a religion than science - reliant on people's faith in the system. As that faith erodes and as central command structures fail to regulate the economy and people, it's going to be interesting to see what emerges from the chaos.
It's profit maximizing before the fall
I'm surprised the market accepted this sort of franchisee set pricing. When I saw how airport prices differed from regular prices, I just tried harder to avoid airport food. Its a world where people drive distances for a cent per liter in petrol, but they don't pay attention to where they can get their same dinner cheaper?
McDonalds used to be fun, whimsical places. The one now in my neighborhood feel like the DMV. What the hell happened?
Same thing that happened to Starbucks. Online and drive-through orders make more money with less work, so they concentrated on optimizing those while killing the brand.
Great. I'll continue not buying them.