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Cringe2793 ,

Wait you guys have free refills at McDonald's?

thezeesystem ,

Why I now don't ever go there. The one dollar drinks and the fries was something I went to for a treat every once in a while, now I just not go to any of the fast food or even restaurants

Besides in and out because I know they won't change anything, they haven't changed anything sense idk forever

semperverus ,
@semperverus@lemmy.world avatar

It's amazing watching the language of people who don't even realize they have an addiction.

ameancow ,

If I'm going to spend $20 - $30 for a burger and fries and a drink, I will go to a local diner and give the money to people who need it, and who care about their food, and what's more, those burgers are almost guaranteed to be vastly superior in quality.

When I was young my friends and I would stop at a McDonald's for value-menu snacks on the way to paintball or my family would stop there when traveling for convenience and cheap food.

Now that the "cheap" is gone, what exactly are they offering? For the price of one of their meals I can buy ground beef and make burgers for everyone. I'm so confused how institutions like this survive. Oh yeah, a population addicted to fast fixes of sugar and high-calorie carbohydrates.

BigMacHole ,

OBVIOUSLY they're ALSO going to drop prices since they don't have to give free refills now! THANK YOU Benevolent McJob Creators!

timmymac ,

Who goes there anymore. The only reason to go in the past was the price. That's been jacked up so fuck them.

Gigan ,
@Gigan@lemmy.world avatar

Good, maybe people will drink less soda now

LeroyJenkins ,

but it affects innocent people who wanna drink soda for fun or protect themselves

GiuseppeAndTheYeti ,

No kidding. No one needs 64oz of soda with their meal. McDonald's is actually one of the few fast food places that saw an increase in customers over the last few years and they're planning on releasing a $5 meal soon.

Alenalda ,

So a happy meal with no toy.

PiratePanPan ,

Fuck you! I need my Sprite Deluxe with 200% flavoring!

derf82 ,

If that’s the goal, fine. But we know the real reason is profit. If people are getting less, they should pay less.

hark ,
@hark@lemmy.world avatar

That's not the reason why they're doing this, just like how eliminating the super size option wasn't to have people eat less junk food. It's not effective in achieving that. This is just to squeeze more profits out of people, on an item that costs them pennies.

bitwolf ,

My friend worked at McD in high school.
Drinks are their profit, they don't have good margins on food and expect people to buy drinks which have the bulk of their margins.

McD is definitely struggling (good riddance)

thefrankring ,
@thefrankring@lemmy.world avatar

That's a good start.

But I'm assuming people going to McD are unhealthy in the first place.

Dhrystone ,
@Dhrystone@infosec.pub avatar

I wish had a dime for every time I’ve seen a homeless person walk into a McDonalds, Jack In The Box or similar, just fill up their skanky ass cup (I even saw one take a cup out of the trash can outside first) from the machine and walk out, of course without paying. Like it or not this move makes sense. I don’t mind asking an employee for a refill.

AFallingAnvil ,
@AFallingAnvil@lemmy.ca avatar

Yes, let's make a worse experience for everyone in the name of hurting vulnerable people who are already suffering immensely. And you approve because it'll save a multibillion dollar company 10 cents. Cool. That says a lot about you.

Norgur ,
@Norgur@fedia.io avatar

Well, your response is telling as well. You night not notice, but there is a serious twist in your logic: why is it on McDonald's to feed the homeless? It shouldn't be and they cannot be called out for not doing it. By blaming companies for stuff like that, you obfuscate where the blame should really go: everyone in any form of government and everyone supporting bullshit narratives that social welfare and capitalism are polar opposites and cannot go together. Don't waste your energy on fucking companies. They will not foot the bill the government should.

AFallingAnvil ,
@AFallingAnvil@lemmy.ca avatar

If they paid their damn taxes in proportion to their use of our public services and share of income maybe the government could actually do that. But hey, you're the one who decided that the homeless person trying to survive was sufficient justification for more widespread corporate greed.

emberwit ,

It's the governments responsibility to make companies pay their fair share of taxes.

Norgur ,
@Norgur@fedia.io avatar

Exactly. Don't blame fucking companies for doing what companies were always about to do. Blame the government for letting them. If you get mauled by a lion, you won't blame the lion, you (or your heirs) will blame the zoo for saving money on the fence. Why is it different with companies?

AFallingAnvil , (edited )
@AFallingAnvil@lemmy.ca avatar

So because the zoo fucked up I shouldn't be upset with the lion for mauling people? You can be upset at two things simultaneously, and you sure as shit don't need to support making life harder for the people already being mauled.
That's some "Boys will be boys" defense right there.

Norgur ,
@Norgur@fedia.io avatar

there is no defense in there. I never defended the company. I just called your stance that companies ought to do social welfare unreasonable. I very much like everyone to do social welfare stuff, but to blame companies when they refuse to do what the fucking government should is just a pretty twisted stance, innit?

AFallingAnvil ,
@AFallingAnvil@lemmy.ca avatar

There's a difference between providing social welfare and not actively worsening the experience for paying customers to spite the vulnerable.

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

Ah I see. You're part of the crowd who sees homeless people are subhuman.

ares35 ,
@ares35@kbin.social avatar

that's not a 'problem' everywhere.

if they dump the free refills here and still take 15 minutes to make a simple order, i'm going elsewhere. i've already cut way down because of cost and time, i'll just forget they exist entirely. three competitors are literally adjacent. all three also have free refills, and all three can beat mcdonalds service times. prices are basically the same now, mcdonalds hasn't had that advantage since before covid.

HubertManne ,
@HubertManne@kbin.social avatar

I have literally never seen this but jack in the box is not a thing near me so likely pretty different area. All the same its easy to see why. One thing I have mentioned in inflation talks is how much the cheapest most base things have went up and soda is one of my poster children. Can still get 99 cents but only as a super loss leader which before was like 69 cents. buck 25 or buck 50 is still basic loss leader. 2 for five is a basic sale and they are 3 bucks not on sale. So it definitely doubled. Previously the cups cost more than the soda but I think that is changing.

Aggravationstation ,

Never been a thing at McDonalds here in the UK.

scrubbles ,
@scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech avatar

I stopped going to corporate fast food and my life got easier. If you are a hungry person like me, a couple of mental rules I set up.

If I actually want to eat out, I need to be motivated enough to go out and get it myself. (No more doordash/grubhub/uber/ anything).

If I'm willing to spend my hard earned money, I will only spend it on good, local food. No more McDs, I go to my local burger joint now. No more dominos, I go to the sticky tabled pizza joint.

If neither of those sound good, then I'm not actually hungry enough.

LodeMike ,

I have like, five resturaunts in my list.

mister_monster ,

I started living this way too. Honestly, fast food doesn't even have a value proposition anymore. It's not cheaper than some local family run taco or burger truck/shack, and significantly crappier. Also, the lady or guy handing you your food keeps the money after paying the cook and what not, if they're not the cook themselves. I'd rather that than it go to frozen patty distributors and stock buybacks or whatever they're up to these days.

It's marginally cheaper than a run of the mill sit down joint.

Also soda... I don't understand why anyone drinks that shit. I used to, then I stopped, and now when I try it it's gross honestly. Syrup with bubbles in it. You want some, make some ginger ale, its easy and delicious. You cut up some ginger, cook it in a pot with sugar and water, let it cool, put it in a pressure bottle and pitch yeast, it's ready in a couple of days.

I've never ordered door dash or any of that stuff, as soon as I heard about it o was put off by the idea.

You've got the right idea man. No lazy food. If it's not worth effort you're not actually hungry.

tyrant ,

Where I am "fast food" big chain stuff is only a buck or two cheaper than the good local brewery sit down place. It's weird.

mister_monster ,

Yeah man, used to be you could spend like 5 or 6 bucks and get something quick. Full meal too. Nowadays I think those companies are just riding on inertia, Americans are used to eating it and still have this idea that it's cheaper even though if you think about it for a second it's not. By the time you pay it's like 10-12 bucks. Meanwhile there's a Cuban lady down the street, she has no menu, she just makes one thing each day it's something different, whatever she wants, you don't get to decide, you hand her 10 bucks and she hands you a little box of the most delicious surprise you've ever had. Why would I pick the corpo garbage over that?

scrubbles ,
@scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech avatar

I ditched soda a few years back and I'm glad I did. I had really bad headaches but after cutting soda they have more or less gone away.

I drink la Croix and sparkling water. People make fun of it for no flavor, but I say back to them no, your taste buds are shot because you drink fizzy syrup so anything less than pure sugar tastes like nothing

paige ,

I did the same thing when the pandemic was over, although I’m never really sure where to go in my neighborhood so in effect I hardly ever eat out

1984 ,
@1984@lemmy.today avatar

I'm super disappointed also in what these burger chains offer. All of them have small shitty burgers full of sugar.

Started making my own burgers. It takes 10 minutes! Mix meat and a bit of salt and pepper and make the pieces really thin. Fry in pan. It's delicious.

Fast food is disgustingly expensive for the amount of food you get too. Their drinks are ultra cheap sugar water, and even that they are thinking of limiting.

jeena ,
@jeena@jemmy.jeena.net avatar

Don't make them thin, at least 1cm or even 2, then it' juicy and delicious and don't overcook them. If you can get safe meat (grind it yourself) then go with medium raw, it makes the burger absolutely stunning!

1984 ,
@1984@lemmy.today avatar

I knew I would get opposing views here :)

There are many ways to do it, but I think everyone should make their own at home. It's super tasty and quick.

jeena ,
@jeena@jemmy.jeena.net avatar

That I can agree with ;)

7U5K3N ,

Haha I love Lemmy. Anywhere else you'd have started a flame war.

Personally I love mine super thick, medium well with crispy crispy bacon. Top it off with mayo, lettuce and tomato.

Smash burgers are a interesting diversion... But I want to need to unhinge my jaw to eat burgers. Lol

lightnsfw ,

How do you keep the bun from disintegrating before you're done when they're very thick? My parents and a lot of burger restaurants make them that way and I hate it because of that. It turns into a mess. I make mine like 1/4 lb and that seems to be the sweet spot for me.

MaggiWuerze ,

You can try adding an egg to the minced meat, that usually helps keep it together.

lightnsfw ,

That helps the patty. I'm talking about the bun. With thick burgers the juice gets into it and by the time you're halfway through the thing has completely fallen apart. It's even worse if you have any kind of sauce on the burger.

MaggiWuerze ,

That depends on the kind of bun you get. I usually toast their inside and get brioche, And don't really have that issue

Passerby6497 ,

Do you toast your buns or eat them raw? I've not noticed the issue nearly as much when I pan toast my buns.

lightnsfw ,

I toast them. But I don't make my patties really thick so it'd be fine either way. I don't know if all the various ones I've had fall apart on me over the years have been toasted or not. I suspect not.

7U5K3N ,

Buddy of mine likes to say that's why you have a layor of mayo on the bottom. It keeps the bun from disintegrating.

Idk he read some where once that's why it was an invented, as a moisture barrier. But who knows.

Honestly... Buns fall apart. It's part of the experience I guess. Haha

jeena ,
@jeena@jemmy.jeena.net avatar

Example: https://youtu.be/iM_KMYulI_s?si=QA-I5MvLkCAkLgbv

grue ,

Smash burgers and thick burgers can both be good; they're just different.

HubertManne ,
@HubertManne@kbin.social avatar

if done right thin is fine, but thick is better. We have a place where double is the standard burger and its made to order but fast because you can cook them fast. That being said the place with the thick jucy burgers has a line out the door constantly while they are open.

jeena ,
@jeena@jemmy.jeena.net avatar

Somehow this is a really good idea. I'm delegating "Coupang Eats" from my phone, it's too easy yo use.

MrVilliam ,

Now that fast food is no longer cheaper than a sit-down restaurant, it just means that fast food has no use case anymore. You're better off picking up a grab&go type thing from the grocery store. Fast food used to be cheaper, more consistent, and faster, but with the concession that the quality wasn't great. Now it's expensive, it completely sucks in unpredictable ways, and it isn't actually that fast. It's like the industry only exists for people who are on a road trip and also want to punish themselves for some reason.

Jaysyn ,
@Jaysyn@kbin.social avatar

If you're not traveling, $7 at my local Publix's butcher can buy you some decent sushi or a fish & vegetable entree w/ either salmon or talapia that cooks in 17-18 minutes.

Nindelofocho ,

Publix subs also rock and are filling

Num10ck ,

stoners and idiots will keep them afloat for decades.

Soggy ,

Fast food is often the only restaurant option for people working night shifts. I used to clock out at 5am. You know what's open at 5am, when you're hungry but too tired to cook dinner because you've been on your feet for ten hours? Fast food. Maybe a diner if you're near a truck route, but honestly that's not much different.

It's far from the only way society ignores the needs of people who keep everything running behind the scenes, but it sure was annoying.

BmeBenji ,

My life has definitely gotten better since I started doing this. Local restaurants are almost universally better anyways

cosmicrookie ,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

European: you guys have unlimited drinks at mcdonald's?

European 2: you guys still have self-serve?

lightnsfw ,

One of many reasons Americans are generally fat as fuck.

TseseJuer ,

yea so how about spreading awareness about health issues that arise from consuming garbage instead of trying to rip on a sick society numbnuts

your slave masters care as little about you as ours do about us

lightnsfw ,

I'm not a health expert. No one should take diet advice from me. There's plenty of credible information available if they bothered to look. I don't even know what the fuck you're talking about with slave masters or what that would have to do with watching your diet so I'm not even going to try to respond to that.

TseseJuer ,

right because "information is available" really solves everything. we have ads for fast food instead of how to keep your mind and body healthy but yes blame the sick society and not their "slave masters"

lightnsfw ,

I didn't say it solves everything. It's the first step. After acquiring the information the next step is to exercise a modicum of self-restraint and make healthier choices. I blame the individuals because everyone is responsible for their own choices. Blaming advertising is just laziness.

TseseJuer ,

im not blaming anyone you are

lightnsfw ,

we have ads for fast food instead of how to keep your mind and body healthy

TseseJuer ,

how is me stating a cold hard fact blaming anyone?

noobnarski ,

Here in Germany some McDonalds and Burger King do have self serve drink machines with unlimited drinks, but they are not that many (I would guess 10-20%). Some other fast food chains are more likely to have them, like Subway.

samus12345 ,
@samus12345@lemmy.world avatar

"Free ketchup, too??"

GreatAlbatross ,
@GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk avatar

Five guys do unlimited refills, but the cup is 5 fucking quid. Similar tale in Marugame Udon.

And that's on top of a tenner each for the burger. At least they don't police whos cup is whos.

r00ty ,
@r00ty@kbin.life avatar

This is pretty much how it is in most of Europe. At least generally in the UK drinks are served by the people working there and the machines are behind the counter.

I remember some years ago burger king sometimes had self serve drink machines. But cannot say I've been inside one in the UK for some time. So may no longer be the case.

The other exception is Costco which seems to work like an outstation of the USA over here. They have the self serve drink machine that is almost always out of syrup and allows refills.

Having said all that it does seem like penny pinching.

PrettyFlyForAFatGuy ,

At least a couple years ago the burger king on the ring road around bluewater had a self serve machine. could be gone now though

r00ty ,
@r00ty@kbin.life avatar

Yeah and I'm sure probably 10 or so years ago I saw it in the one in lakeside retail park.

Taalen ,

Here in Finland, since their return in 2013, Burger King has sought to differentiate from other chains by having self serve drinks and unlimited refills.

SkyezOpen ,

does seem like penny pinching.

Not even penny pinching. Gouging. You could steal gallons in a cleverly disguised backpack and still not even negate their profit from the 3 bucks or so you paid for a cup.

MaggiWuerze ,

Yeah, our BK has that s well. Love it because you can mix the different options. I always mix regular with Lemon Fanta (Fanta is drinkable in Europe :D)

Foreigner ,

France banned soda refills a few years ago to combat obesity. Honestly that makes sense to me.

jonasw ,

The BKs here in germany have all these machines

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_refill#/media/File%3ARed_Coca-Cola_Freestyle_soda_machine_at_a_Burger_King.jpg

Zorsith ,
@Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

If they leave a dedicated water fountain I see no issues. You shouldn't need employee assistance for freaking water.

Norgur ,
@Norgur@fedia.io avatar

Never travel to Germany with that mindset.

Zorsith ,
@Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Yeah, I've heard getting water in restaurants is weird in several countries in Europe. Sparkling water is apparently default in some places (italy I think?).

stiephel ,

In Germany it is and you gotta pay for water.

atrielienz ,

It's illegal to charge for water in the US.

Furbag ,

One of the only fucking things we've done right in this country, right up there with banning coin-op pay toilets pretty much everywhere.

samus12345 ,
@samus12345@lemmy.world avatar

I remember my mom having to order "Leitungswasser" whenever we went to a restaurant when I was a kid. And ice in drinks isn't a thing there, either (or wasn't then, at least).

Norgur ,
@Norgur@fedia.io avatar

No, it's not. People will complain regularly about places like Burger King and McDonald's who throw ice cubes into drinks. I, personally, hate it as well. I don't want my water close to the freezing point, and I would rather not get bumped int the teeth by lumps of frozen water that dilute my drink and hurt my teeth.

samus12345 ,
@samus12345@lemmy.world avatar

Straws negate the ice bumping your teeth problem, but not the other things. It's an acquired taste. I'm fine with either, personally.

meowMix2525 ,

What, do you bite the cup when you sip? You shouldn't be bathing your teeth in whatever you're drinking like that unless it's just straight water

RememberTheApollo_ ,

One of the things I haven’t seen yet is that this may push people to upsize their drinks so McD’s can charge more. If you know you can’t get a refill some may choose the larger drink.

Profit.

possiblylinux127 ,
@possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip avatar

Sodas tend to have a huge margin. It might cost you a dollar but it cost them like 7¢

Not that its that big a deal honestly. You aren't going to not drink soda.

Johnmannesca ,
@Johnmannesca@lemmy.world avatar

Just make the drinks 75¢ and have certain hours where drinks are even cheaper to encourage sales. Corporations can find a way to make this work in more than just their favor. The last place anyone wants to get gouged is where they eat. I know it's cheaper to cook at home, but after a year of working at a McDonalds I have concluded many people can't cook, and thus have relied on automated means of foodservice. The modern drink dispenser at most stores is co2 powered mechanisms that automate almost everything down to just the push of two buttons, but the co2 is relatively cheap compared to the cost of plastic. They can cut corners because they already do, and the auto dispenser is a great example of why drinks should be cheaper because it's faster to make them and no more refills should entitle us to lower costs as consumers. McD knows they messed this up, and it would be nice to see them lower prices and double down on some really cool automation tools, like an automated wrapping machine or maybe something even cooler that just does all our jobs so we don't have to.

possiblylinux127 ,
@possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip avatar

There is some physiological reasons around making it a single dollar. The big money maker for them is the meal bundles where they can sell you a bunch of stuff for a lot more.

Asafum ,

it would be nice to see them lower prices and double down on some really cool automation tools, like an automated wrapping machine or maybe something even cooler that just does all our jobs so we don’t have to.

Corporations: "first part: lmao. Second part: we're working on it, but you're not going to benefit, just us. As is tradition."

rottingleaf ,

So why is there no competition arising, simply with some fries, burgers, soda and without this bullshit.

Oh, I remembered, it's all patented to hell. It's practically illegal to open a fast food place not in one of these franchises.

Same with many other areas of life. The Web and computers are the most obvious.

Rats and cockroaches have conquered the kitchen. While many people in bureaucracies and everywhere were thieves and parasites, that still wasn't socially acceptable. They didn't like it, so now it's almost official that the world is ruled by thieves and parasites and they are better than honest people. This IMHO also explains all the "geopolitical" stuff happening - it's not to any practical end, the common thing between all (Western\Russian\whatever) policies is ideological, that decency should be murdered, dignity should be punished, and honesty should be poisoned. All the "rules" and "competition" and "civilization" stuff was (in the eyes of those people) being grown like livestock to be slaughtered for meat eventually.

300 years from now this time is going to be called the start of the new dark ages, or the end of the thaw (Soviet analogy here), or something like that.

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

A bit surreal since they never had either here in Germany, at least in the 40 years I can actively recall. In fact they're suspiciously trying to improve themselves here, which feels even more surreal.

PureTryOut ,
@PureTryOut@lemmy.kde.social avatar

In fact, I'm pretty sure free refills is only an American thing. And that kind of culture is the biggest cause of obesitas. McDonalds definitely isn't healthy in Europe either, but at least we don't have it as bad as it could be 😅

XEAL ,

No, we've been getting those in Spain too in the last years.

Not complaining, tho.

IsThisAnAI ,

If it were a tech company everyone would be screaming about them telling you what you should be eating.

Tetsuo ,

We don't have many big fast food chains here in France.

But MacDo seem to be indeed the only one trying to be decent.

The staff is still very much underpaid/overworked but at least they try to reduce their waste and improve the quality of the food.

Still a soulless corporation but it seems they are actually doing things pretty well.

Gieselbrecht ,

What about Quick? I always like to go there when in France or Belgium, are they assholes?

SlopppyEngineer ,

Bought by Burger King.

Gieselbrecht ,

Sad :(

aesthelete ,

Don't care. Self serve machines are basically covered in diarrhea anyway. Everytime I awkwardly and semi-accidentally turn something into a combo I grimace as I use the taps some kid was just wiping their snot on.

Just getting over a brief cold which could've easily been caused by using a self-serve tea machine at a habit burger.

cosmicrookie ,
@cosmicrookie@lemmy.world avatar

I haven't seen them in ages over here. Especially since Covid, they disappeared fast!

HubertManne ,
@HubertManne@kbin.social avatar

man you guys live in some gross areas. im not sure a kid could even reach the nozle in places near me. They tend to be somewhere between 4 or 5 feet off the ground and a kid has to hold the bottom of the cup and use the top of the cup to extend his reach to activate the lever. now messy pop residue all over the counter. that is common.

aesthelete ,

man you guys live in some gross areas. im not sure a kid could even reach the nozle in places near me.

You tell yourself whatever you need to, but they've done studies and those nozzles were almost always covered in poop bacteria from the people using them, the people "cleaning" them or a combo.

meowMix2525 ,

Links to these studies would be nice

aesthelete ,

Thirty seconds of searching yielded this: https://www.delish.com/food-news/a44040735/are-restaurant-sodas-dirty/

meowMix2525 ,

Congratulations, you've provided a source for your claim and it was just that easy!

aesthelete ,

I really don't care man, everyone on the Internet needs sources for things that are pretty commonly known like they don't also have keyboards.

I honestly almost didn't bother searching for you this time either. Each thread on the Internet isn't the beginning of some scientific argument like a lot of randos seem to think. I used to care a little more before I realized just how worthless and stupid providing sourced claims was.

Now I know, you aren't changing most people's minds. They'll still think masks don't work, that covid is caused by 5g, that the world is flat, etc etc etc.

I'm happy to just know I'm right and whistle along and take the downvotes on the chin because it's all worthless anyway.

Many claim to want evidence just to give you a homework assignment, and won't be persuaded a single iota by it.

BigTrout75 ,

Just like the good ole days

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