A Fool's Guide to Ordering a McDouble
How much of our price sensitivity as consumers is tied to idiocy? Has the art of frugality been lost?
I don’t know how I’ve managed to do it, but I’ve trained my Threads algorithm to show me every single post someone creates complaining about the cost of their drive-thru order at McDonald’s. And without fail, they did not use the McDonald’s app. You know, the app the restaurant has been begging you to download every ad break for the past 5 years? That one.
The lady on the other end of the speaker saying “will you be using your app today?” is the new “would you like fries with that?”
People. If you’re going to a McDonald’s alone (going to be calling myself out a lot on this one) – you should really never pay more than $7 or $8, if you’re really splurging.
I went to McDonald’s more than any other restaurant in 2024 - 29 times in total (seconded by Raising Cane’s, where there are no coupons and I know I’m spending exactly $11.90 every time, like clockwork).
And because I’m insane, I can tell you my average bill from those 29 visits last year worked out to $6.51. Between the $5 meal deal (+ 0.41 in tax) and discounts from the app (my lowest tab was $1.04 when I got a practically free breakfast, adding apple slices) – there is no reason that these numbers should be an anomaly amongst the Golden Arches-goers.
And through all of these posts I see of people complaining about how expensive McDonald’s has gotten, it begs the question: are the non-app users subsidizing the ‘regulars?’
Katie Notopoulos, noted “former CEO of Threads” and Senior Correspondent at Business Insider, asked this very question today. Replies echoed a similar hypothesis:
“Not using the app is the one way Boomers give back to the Millennials” - utahstock12
“ppl should not eat at McDonald’s unless they use the app. I feel like McDonald’s is betting on enough people not using the app to make up for the discounts for app users.” - @treyallday_
We used to be a proper country. One that revered Kohl’s Cash and Extreme Couponing was the hottest trend courtesy of TLC.
This has seemingly extended to grocery prices, too. People proudly posting their grocery hauls (pre-packaged and processed goods aplenty) and being informed by the rest of us that they just don’t know how to shop, because there’s no way you spent $210 on groceries and still don’t have any ingredients to cook a meal.
My theory here: folks have ‘tried nothing and are all out of ideas.’
There is some merit to the complaints. McDonald’s has conceded as much in earnings calls – the prices have indeed gone up. Inflation has definitely played a hand in our real economic anxiety, too. But there are folks out there who to start getting a bit better at penny pinching. Maybe not to the extent where you’re calculating your average cost per visit at each fast food restaurant you’re going to, though. That’s probably going to get cited by an armchair therapist as a clear sign of my insanity.
But c’mon people! You have to try, because the system is otherwise counting on you to be the fool with money to burn.
Download the damn McDonald’s app.
(Can you imagine if I ended this blog with #ad !?)