Personally, I like when a fork pierces the french fry just so, with a delicious scrunch and no tater guts left on the tines.
To sum up pictorially:
Posted on 12/12/2002 12:03:10 PM PST by Cagey
Edited on 04/13/2004 1:40:09 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The Golden Arches aren't going away. And poor Ronald McDonald will continue to muster a smile.
McDonald's in Hinsdale, Ill., looks cheery, but the chain has problems.
But with a new CEO on tap, just about everything else at McDonald's (MCD) is on the table. Or, perhaps, soon could be flying off the table.
(Excerpt) Read more at usatoday.com ...
Does anybody else remember the 60 second timer, where if you didn't get your order in 60 seconds, it was free?
Mark
One of my fondest memories of McDonalds, was when they came out with a bunch of fun stuff, based on the TV series, "The Green Hornet!"
Mark
About a year or so back, some Hindu group sued McDonalds 'cuz McD's used BEEF broth in the cheese-eating-surrender-monkey oil.
This really happened to me... I was working late at Truman Medical Center in KC, and I wanted something to eat. Either vending machine food (which is what I should have done) or McDonalds, which is actually in the building (not a good sign... A McD in a hospital! lol)
Anyway, I placed my order, and when I paid, the bill came out to something like $4.23. I handed the girl a $5 bill, and received three cents change. Before I could say anything, she turned around and walked away. When I called her back over, I told her that she owed me .75! Her response was that the drawer was out of quarters! I asked her if she would please get some then, since I wanted my change. Well, she got beligerant, saying that she was busy (I was the only customer), so I called the manager, and she wasn't any help either. She didn't speak much english either, so I told them that I wanted my money back, and I left, never to return.
Mark
They could dress up just such a thing as a pro-Atkins menu for low-carb deiters. It's a perfect angle. Develop an innovative way to serve a bunless-burger, and you gotta niche.
Unfortunately, society and the economy of today is such that if the manager gets on $6 an hour Johnny for talking to his coworkers too much, $6 an hour Johnny can tell the manager to pound sand, walk 100 feet to the next fast food joint, and get hired like that.
All that said, I give top marks to Rally's for best overall fastfood place, and the best burger goes to the Ultimate Burger at the DQ.
Did you see an Esclade for the price of a neon.
They devalued their best product!
And why is this simplicity so important? Two reasons. First, by keeping things simple, they limit the number of things that can go wrong, and they enable their cooks to concentrate on doing one thing perfectly. Second, their service is top notch. Because the per-store overhead is so low (limited menu, no playground, no national advertising, etc.) they can afford to pay their workers top dollar and still make a profit on every order. In-N-Out employees make a good wage for restaurant workers, and it shows: the kids at In-N-Out work harder because they're not treatd like crap, they are willing to be trained (who wants to be yelled at by some loser manager for what McDonald's pays?), and, because management pays them well and treats them with respect, they respond with respect and actually care about the quality of the food and service they provide.
I ate at the In-N-Out on the corner of Ventura and Van Nuys as often as I could for the five years I lived in Sherman Oaks and I never had a bad meal or received less-than-excellent service. The store was always humming, the kids behind the counter were consistently clean and on-the-ball, and the place was always spotless. If McDonald's wants to get their customers back, they should follow the In-N-Out model:
1. Slash menu. Sell only the Quarter-Pounder and Big Mac (with or without cheese), switch to fresh-cut, tallow-fried fries, and limit the drink selection to Cokes and ice-cream milkshakes. That's it. Nothing else. If I want a chicken sandwich, I'll go to Chick-Fil-A.
2. Get rid of franchises. Company-owned stores are much better run. Fire corporate bureaucrats; hire documented, English-speaking personnel of good character and train them thoroughly, then pay them a real wage ($12-$15/hour to start).
3. Dump idiotic uniforms; store personnel can work just fine in blue jeans, white t-shirts, white cloth aprons, and paper hats.
4. Hire intelligent older folks (authority figures) to manage stores, and pay them a wage appropriate for a managers ($35-50K/year) in return for results.
5. Get rid of playgrounds, toy giveaways, coffee and tea service, breakfast, salads, fake Tex-Mex, fake Chinese, fake ribs. Strip your business down to the bare minimum and then hone that minimum.
6. Hire enough people to keep register lines short, dining area spotless, bathrooms hospital-clean. Who cares if it cuts into your precious margin -- ou'll make it up in volume.
7. End tolerance of bad behavior in stores. Unruly kids, loiterers, ghetto gangs should all be evicted from premises.
8. Gut corporate structure. Have only bare minimum management needed to keep company going. If a store is in trouble, don't fire the employees -- fire the manager in charge of that store.
9. Slash advertising. Hire a Dave Thomas-like Guy Next Door for ad campaign, and limit same to advertising the food. Sample: "Hi, I'm B-chan, McDonald's hired me to tell you about our great burger. It's 100% all U.S. beef, grilled with melted cheese and served on a toasted sesame bun. You can add cheese if you like for a little extra. They come dry -- no toppings -- or wet -- with mustard, onions, lettuce, and pickles. We also have fresh-cut french fries, milkshakes made with real ice cream, and self-service soft drinks. Our stores are clean, our staff is friendly, and our food is inexpensive. Please drop by your neighborhood McDonald's and have a meal whenver you can. Thank you."
10. Dump clown. Jack in the Box has the clown thing sewn up. Concentrate on seling hamburgers, dammit.
Damn. Now I've got that In-N-Out Urge!
B-chan
When the Burger King opened up it was like heaven. Order anything you want...no wait.
I haven't eaten at McDonalds in so long I'm not sure if they ever figured it out...
I loved that place too! Several friends worked there and so it was our hangout.
lol Dave...that's the only part of French class that really stuck in my head. If I was ever going to be stuck in France (or Quebec)I am going to be able to use the bathroom.
Oh that's right! That's the reason I never got their burgers and always went for the fish. At least I could somewhat tolerate the scraped off tartar sauce.
A buddy of mine ate two 5x5's at one sitting. You can also order your burger "animal style" where they mix the patty with mustard and grill it. Or you can get the protein burger (sans bun for those on the Atkins diet).
Second, make the food taste a better. I don't eat a lot of fast food, but when I do I really avoid McDonalds. I understand fast food is at the bottom of the food chain for quality, but that doesn't mean it has to taste like nothing. Burger King at least understand that the food has to taste like something edible.
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