MickyD's, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love McDonalds
I have a confession to make. I like McDonalds now.
I didn't always, in fact, this is something which has only really changed over the past couple of years. So, what happened? Well, McDonalds has crap burgers, average fries and an overpriced menu.
Mmm, their apple pies though... so good...
Then, a few things changed. They got bitched about the unhealthiness of their menu options, they brought in the American Value-Menu idea, and their meat/produce went way up in quality. Did you know that Maccas' requirements for it's cattle source are so stringent they outstrip RSPCA levels? So, if you're keeping any animal that could be used for a Maccas product, you'd better be the best you can to have any chance of tapping into the biggest market in Australia. By virtue of their sheer size, Maccas has changed the quality of care (and death) of animals everywhere, even ones which don't end up in their buns.
What got me really liking them (for food) was their value menu a while ago. $1.95 for the double beef burger (a cheese burger with an extra patty of beef). Nothing special, but decent, and good price. That was replaced by the cheeseburger deluxe (beef, cheese, mayo, lettuce), and now the Beef, Bacon BBQ cheeseburger (as the name says, a cheeseburger with bacon & bbq sauce instead of tomato), again, $1.95. Mini frozen cokes for $1, apple pie for $1, mini iced coffee for $1.50... mini chicken wraps for $2.45... Basically for $5, you could get a collection of snacks which were tasty. My usual 'cheesburger & pie' for $3 was pretty sweet.
Now, sure, 90% of Maccas' menu is still shite. But then I remembered the old saying: "90% of everything is crap." So, hey, I forgave them the 90% of crap on their menu. They brought out the Mighty & Grand Angus (amusingly, they were going to use even better meat, like Waygu, but testing showed people either didn't know what it was, or thought it was TOO fancy)...and are expanding that range. Sure, they're still over priced, but the options are there. Heck, between the McCafe and Breakfast, their food range is HUGE. Choice counts for something, especially in the fast food industry, when the margins are low, so you have to make it up in volume.
What about the fat, calories, etc of their food? Well, if you go there, you automatically accept that you're getting that too. Ignoring their 'healthy' range for a moment, eating there at /all/ is a choice. No one is forcing people to go there. Encouraging, yes. Forcing no. Choosing to eat there, then choosing to eat unhealthily, then choosing to supersize it - that's the consumers fault. I don't in anyway blame the restaurant for offering the choice.
And there is free wifi now!
And they're all open 24 hrs around the world (it seems) - a mean feat for Perth.
(and McCafe's carrot cake is really quite tasty)
So, what's there to hate about Maccas now? Sure, 90% of menu is crap, but I've covered that. Lack of option X? So eat elsewhere, that's not so much a failing on their part as a difference in preference on yours. To clarify - when it comes to just the "regular" burgers I GREATLY prefer Whoppers over most all Maccas burgers. But just because I now like Maccas doesn't mean I dislike any others - I am in no way stating any order of preference in this rambling diatribe; just a new like.
Old McDonalds: nothing special, like any other fast food place. Dislike.
New McDonalds: cheap AND sensitive to changing trends (health, animal welfare, etc). Like.
I didn't always, in fact, this is something which has only really changed over the past couple of years. So, what happened? Well, McDonalds has crap burgers, average fries and an overpriced menu.
Mmm, their apple pies though... so good...
Then, a few things changed. They got bitched about the unhealthiness of their menu options, they brought in the American Value-Menu idea, and their meat/produce went way up in quality. Did you know that Maccas' requirements for it's cattle source are so stringent they outstrip RSPCA levels? So, if you're keeping any animal that could be used for a Maccas product, you'd better be the best you can to have any chance of tapping into the biggest market in Australia. By virtue of their sheer size, Maccas has changed the quality of care (and death) of animals everywhere, even ones which don't end up in their buns.
What got me really liking them (for food) was their value menu a while ago. $1.95 for the double beef burger (a cheese burger with an extra patty of beef). Nothing special, but decent, and good price. That was replaced by the cheeseburger deluxe (beef, cheese, mayo, lettuce), and now the Beef, Bacon BBQ cheeseburger (as the name says, a cheeseburger with bacon & bbq sauce instead of tomato), again, $1.95. Mini frozen cokes for $1, apple pie for $1, mini iced coffee for $1.50... mini chicken wraps for $2.45... Basically for $5, you could get a collection of snacks which were tasty. My usual 'cheesburger & pie' for $3 was pretty sweet.
Now, sure, 90% of Maccas' menu is still shite. But then I remembered the old saying: "90% of everything is crap." So, hey, I forgave them the 90% of crap on their menu. They brought out the Mighty & Grand Angus (amusingly, they were going to use even better meat, like Waygu, but testing showed people either didn't know what it was, or thought it was TOO fancy)...and are expanding that range. Sure, they're still over priced, but the options are there. Heck, between the McCafe and Breakfast, their food range is HUGE. Choice counts for something, especially in the fast food industry, when the margins are low, so you have to make it up in volume.
What about the fat, calories, etc of their food? Well, if you go there, you automatically accept that you're getting that too. Ignoring their 'healthy' range for a moment, eating there at /all/ is a choice. No one is forcing people to go there. Encouraging, yes. Forcing no. Choosing to eat there, then choosing to eat unhealthily, then choosing to supersize it - that's the consumers fault. I don't in anyway blame the restaurant for offering the choice.
And there is free wifi now!
And they're all open 24 hrs around the world (it seems) - a mean feat for Perth.
(and McCafe's carrot cake is really quite tasty)
So, what's there to hate about Maccas now? Sure, 90% of menu is crap, but I've covered that. Lack of option X? So eat elsewhere, that's not so much a failing on their part as a difference in preference on yours. To clarify - when it comes to just the "regular" burgers I GREATLY prefer Whoppers over most all Maccas burgers. But just because I now like Maccas doesn't mean I dislike any others - I am in no way stating any order of preference in this rambling diatribe; just a new like.
Old McDonalds: nothing special, like any other fast food place. Dislike.
New McDonalds: cheap AND sensitive to changing trends (health, animal welfare, etc). Like.