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[ChristianTW]

The prices of McDonalds food are already fairly low. Lowering them even more may increase their customer base, but at a loss to already lowering profits.

What McDonalds needs to do is introduce new foods. Change up their recipe a bit. McDonalds was badly hurt by the pink slime thing and in order to recover, they will need to do something drastic. Updating their whole burger menu may be the best thing they could do to bring people back to their stores. They need to reintroduce all of their burgers and put extreme emphasis on 100% beef, maybe even do a fresh beef thing where the customer can actually see them making the burger. As it stands now, the only tactic that McDonalds has tried is random Facebook posts saying, "Nope, no pink slime here..."

 

[Loofy]

I cant remember the last time I saw someone order a big mac. Its really a terrible burger for the price. They'll usually buy the much cheaper and superior junior chicken or mcdouble/double cheeseburger.

Also, make the big xtra cheaper and available in more locations.

Big Xtra - The Big Xtra included the same ingredients as the Big N' Tasty, but the beef patty was seasoned with a spice and salt mixture unique to this burger. The patty was also larger, weighing three-eighths of a pound (6 oz, 170 g). It was quite popular in German McDonald's restaurants. It is still sold in Canadian Wal-Mart McDonald's locations only.

 

[Jarate]

There's a few things that I would do

-Nobody wants "premium" items from McDonalds, there are other Burger joints that make "premium" sandwiches much better. Either improve the lackluster burger or step away from that thought process
-Touchscreen ordering is a must. With so many menu options, ordering mcdonalds is not only difficult to maneuver, but it also leaves a lot of error for the makers to get your order wrong. Touch screen ordering is one of the best inventions ever and really limits mistakes to negligence.
-Work in other brands that appeal to your target demographics. Doritos and Taco Bell worked together to create quite possibly the most successful fast food item in this decade. McDonalds needs to find something that people want and make it happen.
-Made to Order food, Mcdonalds Patties are very thin and do not take long to cook, there should be no reason why im getting a burger that'sd been placed in a bin for 10 minutes. It dries out the flavor and makes the food worse.
-Focus on what you do better. What are the things people at McDonalds enjoy? Fries, why not work with fries, maybe try a sandwich that incorporates fries, or maybe add in Fry seasoning. Other items needs to be worked like this. Focus less on "new" and more on "familiar with a new addition"
-Appeal to stoners - one of the last bastions keeping fast food alive will also become a much larger demographic in the future, McDonalds appeals to them, but not well. Make things like "the McGangbang" official items.
-Improve worker morale - I have never been to a McDonalds with happy employees. I have been too many other fast food places that have happy employees. McDonalds should know that happy workers make happy customers.
-Work on corporate culture - McDonalds always seems like a company that has a faccade of evil behind it's happiness it tries to present. Work on your corporate image, work to make it seem like you might care about the future and other such tasks.
-Add Mozzarella Sticks - Everybody fucking love Mozzarella Sticks

give me my fucking money now mcdonalds, I just saved your company

 

[Winterfang]

Not everyone can be Taco Bell.

 

[Boston]

Bring back the brownie melt. Profit.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Eating their stuff makes people feel guilty. Sure there is the technical health aspect, but it's in their image too.

 

[The Sarcastic Dude]

To be honest the best way to improve business for them would be to reduce prices, expand the dollar menu and push more restaurants to be open 24 hours, which seems like the exact opposite of what they're doing now.

Pretty much exactly what I would do.

 

[JustinBB7]

Like others have said lower the prices (EU at least, I heard it's not so bad in USA) and delivery would be amazing.

Still don't know why they don't deliver, have they ever talked about that? Actually I remember something about them not being able to handle it or something, because it would be too much.

 

[Game Guru]

How do you turn McDonald's around? You don't. You make a new fast food or fast casual restaurant that is in the vein of Five Guys or In-And-Out while letting McDonald's do what it does best... Making cheap fast food. McDonald's is far too associated with cheap fast food for the brand to successfully upscale, but if you really want to change things to make McDonald's successful again look to what Domino's did when they were in a similar position. Domino's had crappy ass pizzas that tasted like cardboard and found their market share declining, but instead of trying to continue with crappy ass pizzas, they revamped their pizza to make them good pizzas. Maybe if McDonald's made Big Macs and Quarter Pounders that actually look and taste like real burgers, maybe people might be open to going back to McDonald's again.

 

[FuturusX]

Simple. Make a better product.

The market has spoken. Starbucks is the new Mcdonald's.

Time to die.

 

[Bodacious]

Scrap everything on the menu except fillet-o-fish. Profit.

Seriously, only thing I ever eat from McD's, for many years.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Cut down the menu and focus on increasing the food quality.

 

[akachan ningen]

Make better food

 

[legacyzero]

Bring back the fucking McSkillet Burrito. You did it to yourselves, McDonalds.

I also think they need to reduce the menu. It also could be that people have just grown tired of their brand. Time for BK and other burger chains to shine again. I hear Five Guys is good, but they aren't in my area

 

[SaganIsGOAT]

Make McDoubles 1 dollar. That is all I need.

 

[Ichi_]

If I want a good burger I am going to five guys or burger-fi. I go to mcdonalds because its late, everything else is closed and I hate myself.

I agree with the simplify the menu idea, pick the top 10 menu items, two desserts, one seasonal item (like the mcrib). I also agree with paying their staff more and/or adding benefits. Other places have amazing service comparatively (chic-fil-a and the local arby's comes to mind).

They can fancy up the inside of the mcdonalds all they want but its still a shit show every time I have been inside one.

 

[Schlep]

In-N-Out will never be the next McDonalds if they don't ever plan to expand in the East Coast. It's the burger joint in the West Coast that is synonymous with quality... something McDonalds hasn't had in a very long time. (if ever?).

They're expanding into Texas right now. I'm sure eventually they'll get to the east coast.

And don't believe the hype. It's barely better quality than McDonald's.

 

[Pepboy]

Their profits fell pretty sharply last quarter, and the drop is looking likely to continue throughout the year. It seems like they just can't compete with Chipotle and Five Guys.

To be honest the best way to improve business for them would be to reduce prices, expand the dollar menu and push more restaurants to be open 24 hours, which seems like the exact opposite of what they're doing now.

I think Five Guys has already cornered the "so greasy and so good" market among youth, though I haven't eaten there. Given that, I would invest in

1. More vegetarian options, specifically veggie burgers.
2. Sweet potato fries as an alternative.

Class it up a bit, actually add some flavor, and try bringing in a younger + college crowd. Maybe they tried this in limited markets and it backfired, but I think it's something you have to fully embrace if it's going to work. If you get the same people going to McDonalds without a huge marketing push, these tactics will not work.

 

[RayMaker]

man it makes me cry that in n out burger will never come to the UK

I suppose I have this


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y81eo-ZqTzc

but its still not the same

 

[inner-G]

Breakfast. All. Day.

 

[neogaffer1]

They dropped prices here in Tucson, AZ.

 

[BertramCooper]

Ditch the lame ipod commercials and bring back Mighty Wings, one of the great underappreciated menu items of all time.

BRING BACK MIGHTY WINGS!!!!!

:lol

Mighty Wings are NEVER coming back. Not a fucking chance.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Make the food actually look like the food on the commercials.

 

[GatorBait]

1. Cut down the number of items on the menu to help limit costs and customer confusion. (I believe they are already trying do to this to a degree.)

2. Due to less specialty menu items, raise the quality of the core items. Use efficiency/economy of scale gains from the more limited menu to help offset the costs of this increase in quality.

3. Add a small handful of options customers can use to customize the the core menu items rather than having the menu crowded with multiple iterations of the same concept. (I.e., instead of 3-4 different quarter pounder burgers, have a quarter pounder on the menu, but have the option to add cheese, bacon, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, and a few different types of sauces to any burger).

4. Aggressively market the above through a two-pronged advertising attack: 1) stress the increase in quality a la Domino's Pizza's "new recipe" ad campaign, and 2) leverage a "retro" angle. Play up the idea of going back to the company's "roots" with good, classic menu items at a reasonable price. Brand with retro-inspired packaging that is more simple and muted to appeal to modern sensibilities.

5. Update the interior dining experience to feel warmer in the vein of fast-casual. Make it so the majority of the middle class doesn't feel out of place/self-conscious dining in at a McDonald's for lunch.

 

[neogaffer1]

They need to introduce more menu items based off of customer feedback.

A new Big Mac that gets rid of the second patty and the middle bun sold for a lower price. Call it a "Mini Mac" or something.

Fries like In N Out's Animal Fries, but with Mac sauce and assorted toppings.

Chicken sandwiches that don't pander hardcore to the health crowd.

That type of stuff.

 

[t26]

Bring them back

 

[MicH]

I need DELIVERY! I don't understand why they haven't started doing this yet

 

[The Albatross]

Honestly? Work on automating entire stores.

Pretty much what I came to say.

Maybe it wouldn't be right for McDonalds (would probably be bad PR and not payoff), but the McDonalds-quality mostly automated fast food chain is coming and coming soon.

The future is:

1) Open the McDonalds app on your phone
2) Put in your entire order exactly how you want it and select "Pay"
3) Walk up to the kiosk and press your phone to an NFC pad. Enter the 4-digit pin that appears on the kiosk into your phone. This confirms your order.
4) Machines make your sandwich using an assembly line approach
5) When your meal is complete, it is dropped on a conveyer belt, but "locked" in a box
6) When it arrives to you, either by your name or order # or something, you press your phone to NFC on the lock box, it unlocks the box and you grab your order and go.

Manager on duty to service the machines, ensure customer happiness, and make sure that the machines do not rise up to destroy us.

Perks: The app is how you order. It is also what markets to you. It also has GPS capability so when you are within 5 miles from a McDonalds, on certain days that you order McDonalds, it pushes a message to you... Maybe it's a coupon. It knows that you usually get McD's fries after work on Thursdays driving home... So maybe once every three thursdays or so, it beams a coupon to your phone. "Large fries: $0.35 off within the next hour at Lake St. McDonalds."

Boom.

 

[Ryaaan14]

Breakfast all day

This post all day.

 

[Currygan]

bring the McRib back forever and I guarantee to single handedly double at least half of the income for the UK

 

[sooperkool]

Full menu all day

Every place is open 24 hours

Open coffee-only McDonald's with smaller food menus (McCafes, basically) -- no sandwiches or smelly-types of foods. Competes more directly against Starbucks franchises.

I don't think they'll be able to offer higher quality food without people thinking its too expensive. They could have a specialty burger chain that is positioned more like a five guys. Call it just "Donald's" or something

They tried that and it bombed here. You can also get breakfast after midnight here in NC.

 

[JMizzlin]

Sesame seeds on every bun.

 

[Turbowaffles]

Bring back Chicken Selects, you cunts.

 

[Strike]

Bring back the Arch Deluxe. That is all.

 

[kr2t0s]

Get rid of all the homeless. I refuse to take my son inside of a McDonald's in the morning.

 

[kirby_fox]

I would refocus the company on not trying to compete with every restaurant in the industry. McDonald's has over the years attempted to or gotten into a lot of areas- which I think has caused an identity crisis. It was trying to be fast food, while trying to be Starbucks, and now trying to be fast-casual. It's trying to be way too many things while it's competitors introduce new menu items that entice customers to come there instead and are doing just fine.

While doing that, I'd also work towards eliminating the idea that McDonald's is the lowest on the totem pole for food. This can be done by using fresher ingredients, less preservatives, eliminating the microwave, changing how long food can stay under heat lamps and making a job at McDonald's worthwhile. I think if you asked 100 people what's the worst/most embarrassing job to have and majority would answer "Working at McDonald's".

Change public perception by actually changing things, instead of trying to use try-hard videos of a guy showing us where our food that tastes the exact same as it always has is coming from.

 

[Banjotanooki]

:lol

Mighty Wings are NEVER coming back. Not a fucking chance.

A man can dream....:'(

 

[acheron_xl]

I would refocus the company on not trying to compete with every restaurant in the industry. McDonald's has over the years attempted to or gotten into a lot of areas- which I think has caused an identity crisis. It was trying to be fast food, while trying to be Starbucks, and now trying to be fast-casual. It's trying to be way too many things while it's competitors introduce new menu items that entice customers to come there instead and are doing just fine.

While doing that, I'd also work towards eliminating the idea that McDonald's is the lowest on the totem pole for food. This can be done by using fresher ingredients, less preservatives, eliminating the microwave, changing how long food can stay under heat lamps and making a job at McDonald's worthwhile. I think if you asked 100 people what's the worst/most embarrassing job to have and majority would answer "Working at McDonald's".

Change public perception by actually changing things, instead of trying to use try-hard videos of a guy showing us where our food that tastes the exact same as it always has is coming from.

I think your first paragraph is at odds with your second. I wish they'd just own who they are and stop being ashamed of selling garbage food.

 

[A_Gorilla]

Bring back the Arch Deluxe. That is all.

This man knows where its at.

 

[BizzyBum]

Every single one having delivery service.

 

[acheron_xl]

Every single one having delivery service.

They'd have to have a 'minimum $15 order' or something to justify it. They wouldn't make any money delivering the dollar menu.

 

[-COOLIO-]

Raise prices and food quality. Offer more healthy choices.

 

[Pete Rock]

TMNT Ooze Pies as the sole menu item. Ectocooler will be the only refreshment available.

And bring back this creepy motherfucker just for laughs:

 

[Yoda]

Raise prices and food quality. Offer more healthy choices.

This, but it will require them to redo a hefty portion of the behind the scenes work to make it happen.

 

[Kibbles]

They seemed to have raised prices yet again since changing packaging here, fuck McDonald's Dollar menu McDouble is $1.29 wtf

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Prices are pretty ridiculous.

Large fries are $3 here. I could get like a bag of potatoes for that prices and make my own fries that don't have preservatives.

Raise prices and food quality. Offer more healthy choices.

According to a lot of health statistics, McDonald's is actually one of the healthiest fast foods with the lowest fat content and low calories.

 

[Oersted]

They have some nice items, I'm for one actually digging their Chicken Deluxe for example. Surprisingly good quality. But holy shit their french fries are bad. They are such low tier and disgusting, it is just gross. Really wonder how you can fuck up something simple so much up.

Oh and while we are at it, improve your fucking salads. Have never seen someone eating them, for good reason. Take notes from KFC, those are nice.

 

[kirby_fox]

I think your first paragraph is at odds with your second. I wish they'd just own who they are and stop being ashamed of selling garbage food.

Refocusing on your market is focusing one aspect of the market and not 10. Refreshing your menu and deleting the perception of garbage food IS refocusing your market, because it's not changing anything but perception.

Wendy's did this actually if you recall. Their onions used to be white, but now are all red onions. They also changed up the kind of lettuce, tomato, etc. and even reshaped the burgers a little bit. They then left the skin on for their fries and switched to sea salt.

Was any of this any better for us? Probably not, but it sure as hell made it look fresher. And with BK's rotating menu, it feels "fresh" every so often because it's slightly different things when you go back. When McDonald's added things, it was a reactionary thing more so than new menu items. This whole fast-casual thing is also reactionary, and I think it's not going to get people to come there because no perception has changed.

 

[illadelph]

I'm a manager at a McDonald's.

-They are currently simplifying the menu and getting rid of a lot of stuff, This takes effect the 27th. This is for the lunch/dinner menu, breakfast will remain the same

-Selects and hot mustard are coming back in a month or so, at least in the Philly region

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Man, I hope In-N-Out gets bigger and comes to my city. McDonald's will be FINISHED!