McDonald's

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:10 pm

Statistically speaking, it's more likely than not that you experience the symptoms of "food poisoning" from a meal you at 8-12 hours prior to the gastrointestinal distress. That's not to say there aren't things that can ruin you in 30 minutes or less, it's just that the overwhelming majority of foodborne illness comes from a meal you ate half a day before. Most people associate illness with the last food item they consumed and of course that makes finding the actual item responsible rather difficult as in my experience they're insistent it was something that was just consumed.

But I digress.

Rumpy wrote:I think that's a really good point. Simplicity is key. You add too much and it's likely to grind the service down to a halt and back up the lines.

No one is going to McDonalds for the gourmet experience. You're there (likely) because you're trading time for quality and historically speaking McDonalds made their name on rapidly serving burger and fries of consistent quality. Once you start broadening the menu and adding wraps or sandwiches that take an extra 20 or 30 seconds to craft or specialized coffee that might take 90 seconds+ to make you've now impacted the ability to move customers through quickly - arguably your greatest strength when you're being held against someone else that can make a burger and fries.

The time element is also why you're unlikely to get ill from eating fast food. Time is one of the greatest variables controlled in food safety (the other is Temperature). Fast food has a short shelf life - it's essentially made to order and not hot-held for hours on end as that would both diminish what is likely marginal quality at best and at the same time significantly increase the chance of illness.

It's not very often I get to expound on what I know, so when it happens on OO, I take the opportunity so thanks for indulging me.

EDIT: More coffee please, Fret forgive me.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:20 pm

Hmmm...now that I'm thinking back on that day, I DID eat out of the trash at work earlier in the afternoon.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:21 pm

hepcat wrote:Hmmm...now that I'm thinking back on that day, I DID eat out of the trash at work earlier in the afternoon.

So you at some McDonalds that somebody else couldn't finish.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:36 pm

Smoove_B wrote:Statistically speaking, it's more likely than not that you experience the symptoms of "food poisoning" from a meal you at 8-12 hours prior to the gastrointestinal distress. That's not to say there aren't things that can ruin you in 30 minutes or less, it's just that the overwhelming majority of foodborne illness comes from a meal you ate half a day before. Most people associate illness with the last food item they consumed and of course that makes finding the actual item responsible rather difficult as in my experience they're insistent it was something that was just consumed.

I ate it the night before, was sick as a dog the entire next day. The coleslaw (which I suspect was the culprit) had an odd yellow tinge, but I was a stupid college kid, and I had rather liked their coleslaw. Coleslaw, especially if made with real mayo (not sure if their's was) is not heated to temperature, and therefore a more likely candidate than, say, the chicken.

Speaking of time, one of my minions stopped at McDonald's for breakfast yesterday on the way back from another location and bought a breakfast burrito. Apparently, they time-stamp their food. He bought it around 9:30 am, the time stamp read 4:50 am.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:48 pm

Smoove_B wrote: It's not very often I get to expound on what I know, so when it happens on OO, I take the opportunity so thanks for indulging me.

No problem

Also, the effect of having too many menu items can confuse staff. Sorry to be mentioning Tim Hortons again in another thread, but they have so many similarly themed products, I really wish they'd trim it down some. Every once in awhile, they announce a group of themed products, and over the holidays it was the sugar cookie, wether it be coffee, donut, and cookie itself. I went ahead and ordered the sugar cookie itself, and when the order was spoken out, the reply was, "Sugar cookie what?" If I have to repeat my order a second time because they can't figure out I asked for the sugar cookie, that's not my problem and it's a failure in itself. I don't even know how else you're supposed to order it in a case like that due to the other products, but it made me facepalm.

Eh, well the sugar cookie wasn't great anyway.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:58 pm

Jeff V wrote:I ate it the night before, was sick as a dog the entire next day. The coleslaw (which I suspect was the culprit) had an odd yellow tinge, but I was a stupid college kid, and I had rather liked their coleslaw. Coleslaw, especially if made with real mayo (not sure if their's was) is not heated to temperature, and therefore a more likely candidate than, say, the chicken.

I doubt it was real mayo. I mean, I guess anything is possible but it would be easier and cheaper to use commercial prepared (and acidified) mayo. For something like coleslaw I would think the biggest risk would be something like B. cereus. That being said, coleslaw is a deadly environment for bacteria and viruses. Between the acidified mayo and vinegar I wouldn't normally consider it a high risk food. But you just never know...

Speaking of time, one of my minions stopped at McDonald's for breakfast yesterday on the way back from another location and bought a breakfast burrito. Apparently, they time-stamp their food. He bought it around 9:30 am, the time stamp read 4:50 am.

Yup - that's part of the quality control - so they can quickly toss all food made at a certain time that's been sitting under the lamps. I am not aware of what their current policies are, but I would have thought that breakfast burrito would have been tossed at 6:50 am based on what I've historically seen. In NJ if you're using time as a control (ignoring temps) you need to toss the food item after 4 hours.

My thermometers. Let me show you them. No really, I have a dozen -- they're fun.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 2:45 pm

Houston Chronicle

Dominant world force McDonald's is holding a contest to see who can design a signature burger for the state of Texas.

The chain has set up a website for hopeful burger architects to submit their ideas for a Texas burger that McDonald's might add to its menu.

The campaign is a part of the chain's recently launched "Create Your Taste" campaign.

They even have a mildly sacrilegious "Come and Make It" flag on the official contest site.

The winner receives $5,000 (that's all?) and the comfort in knowing they have added to the iconic chain's Texas offerings.
...
We submitted one that basically recreates the Whataburger Patty Melt. Maybe it can sneak onto the menu.
...
Some Texans are probably wondering why McDonald's is trying to make a Texas burger when everyone knows we have Whataburger to handle that.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 3:52 pm

I nominate the Jalapeno Double. It's small, cheap, tasty and already on the menu. I guess none of those qualify it for the official burger of Texas.

Redfive · Post by **Redfive** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 6:41 pm

Stolen from Facebook: I have a suggestion: Whataburger

EDIT: aaand guess I should read before posting.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:37 pm

JSHAW · Post by **JSHAW** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 6:12 pm

***Observation on the dual drive-thru lanes at McDonalds I've been to in NC.

There are 2 lanes, what I will call the "inner" and "outer" or outside lane.

Most of the time that I go to the drive thru I'll see 3-4 cars in the inner lane, with 1 or no
cars in the outer lane.

Why is it that people would want to stack in the inner lane when if they'd take the outer
lane with 1 or no cars in it they'd get faster service?

If I see more than 1 car in the inner lane, with 1 or no cars in the outer lane I always go
to the outer lane.

The people IN the inner lane have had plenty of time before I even drove up in the parking lot
to make their decision on which lane to choose, and if they had chose the outer lane they would be
car #2, behind the car currently ordering AT the speaker.

It seems kind of stupid to me for people to stack the inner lane with 3, 4, 5 cars, and
none of the sheeple want to pick the outer lane with less cars in it.

I don't understand people, they're the strangest sometimes.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:34 pm

Why is it no one cleans the soft serve ice cream machines anymore? If there's a dirty ice cream machine dripping into a cup, I'm pretty sure no one is minding the proper cleaning routine and the ice cream is nasty.

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 9:24 pm

Zarathud wrote:Why is it no one cleans the soft serve ice cream machines anymore? If there's a dirty ice cream machine dripping into a cup, I'm pretty sure no one is minding the proper cleaning routine and the ice cream is nasty.

People clean those things? I always assumed that getting a cone from one of them was like sucking on Ronald's anus.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 1:03 am

JSHAW wrote:
It seems kind of stupid to me for people to stack the inner lane with 3, 4, 5 cars, and
none of the sheeple want to pick the outer lane with less cars in it.

I'm only guessing, because I personally NEVER use a fast food drive through because "They fuck you at the drive-through!"

I do however use bank drive-throughs, and I always use the inner lane even if it takes longer because I refuse to communicate remotely with another vehicle blocking my view so I get zero eye contact and facial expression. When banking, I want to make sure my communications are completely understood, and if we can't see each other, most of the time, they'll shut off the mike or walk away before I've finished stating my needs.

So maybe not wanting outer lanes at fast food places has something to do with wanting to make sure the stuff they hand you is the right stuff.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 1:13 am

My window is off track so I go in everywhere.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 10:16 am

I chuckle to myself every morning I get breakfast out as I walk in to an empty counter when there are a dozen cars in the DT, as I'll be in and out before the last one even makes it to the speaker.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue May 03, 2016 2:50 pm

Garlic fries

McDonald's said Tuesday it is testing garlic fries in a handful of restaurants, a nod to its efforts to experiment with core menu items and focus more on food quality, freshness and taste.

The "Gilroy Garlic Fries" — named for Gilroy, Calif., a city famous for its garlic crop — are offered in four restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area with the potential to expand to 250 in the area in August, depending on customer feedback. Nick Vergis, president of the local franchisee division, said the response so far has been "very positive."

The french fries are topped fresh when ordered by tossing them with garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and salt.

McDonald's menus can vary widely depending on location, and the world's largest burger chain said it's putting more of an emphasis on using locally sourced foods and flavors on its menus. A typical menu has about 120 to 140 items, including size variations, and about 100 of those are specific to a region.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue May 03, 2016 2:53 pm

Multi Macs

McDonald's may be making a big change to its most iconic menu item. The chain is testing a bigger Big Mac, called the Grand Mac, in some Texas and Ohio restaurants, a spokesperson tells Eater. And for those with smaller appetites, Mickey D's is giving a trial run to a smaller Big Mac called the Mac Jr.
...
The Grand Mac comes on a bigger bun and features two 2.7 ounce patties, which makes it a one-third-pound sandwich. At the other end of the spectrum, the Mac Jr. is a Big Mac with one of the patties and the middle bun removed. The former is selling for $4.89, and the latter is priced between $2.39 and $2.59, depending on the location.
...
"We carefully created the Grand Mac and Mac Jr. to pay homage to the original Big Mac," Chad Schafer, senior director of culinary innovation for McDonald's USA, said in a prepared statement. "Our goal is always to prepare the best-tasting burgers to meet our customers' expectations."

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue May 03, 2016 3:13 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:

I'm glad it's not my early onset alzheimers kicking in. Every time I order a Big Mac (which is rare) I look at it and wonder when it got to be so much smaller than the quarter pounder. Apparently the answer is 1975. Though it seems more recent than that, I'll take it.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Wed May 04, 2016 7:12 pm

LordMortis wrote:. Apparently the answer is 1975. Though it seems more recent than that, I'll take it.

I'm sure it's much more recent than that. I started noticing they were substantially smaller about 10 to 20 years ago, not 41 years ago.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Wed May 04, 2016 7:19 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:I chuckle to myself every morning I get breakfast out as I walk in to an empty counter when there are a dozen cars in the DT, as I'll be in and out before the last one even makes it to the speaker.

Agreed. I've never understood the apparently irresistible pull of the drive-through. Always faster service by walking in.

Okay, maybe you've got a bunch of kids you need to keep an eye on. In that case, by all means, please use the drive-through.

Or if it's 30 below zero and you don't want to shut the car off.
Or 100 above and you don't want to shut the car off.

But overall, life is too short to be waiting in line. In fact, if I walk in and there is a line (because it's noon and for some crazy reason they've got one trainee waiting the counter while I count 17 workers either standing around or doing other things), I'll leave and eat at a later time.

BooTx · Post by **BooTx** » Thu May 05, 2016 5:40 am

Giles Habibula wrote:I've never understood the apparently irresistible pull of the drive-through. Always faster service by walking in.

[Citation needed]

gilraen · Post by **gilraen** » Thu May 05, 2016 8:43 am

Giles Habibula wrote: I do however use bank drive-throughs, and I always use the inner lane even if it takes longer because I refuse to communicate remotely with another vehicle blocking my view so I get zero eye contact and facial expression. When banking, I want to make sure my communications are completely understood, and if we can't see each other, most of the time, they'll shut off the mike or walk away before I've finished stating my needs.

You won't use a fast food drive-thru because it's "faster" to go in - but you will use the drive-thru in a bank when there's a chance that you'll be misunderstood? Isn't that important enough to get out of the car and go inside the branch?

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu May 05, 2016 9:04 am

Maybe Im citing a stereotype but I find it strange that they launched a Giga Mac i na country where the people are overall on the small side.

A nonny mouse · Post by **A nonny mouse** » Thu May 05, 2016 9:19 am

Isgrimnur wrote:Multi Macs

McDonald's may be making a big change to its most iconic menu item. The chain is testing a bigger Big Mac, called the Grand Mac, in some Texas and Ohio restaurants, a spokesperson tells Eater. And for those with smaller appetites, Mickey D's is giving a trial run to a smaller Big Mac called the Mac Jr.
...
The Grand Mac comes on a bigger bun and features two 2.7 ounce patties, which makes it a one-third-pound sandwich. At the other end of the spectrum, the Mac Jr. is a Big Mac with one of the patties and the middle bun removed. The former is selling for $4.89, and the latter is priced between $2.39 and $2.59, depending on the location.
...
"We carefully created the Grand Mac and Mac Jr. to pay homage to the original Big Mac," Chad Schafer, senior director of culinary innovation for McDonald's USA, said in a prepared statement. "Our goal is always to prepare the best-tasting burgers to meet our customers' expectations."

If they remove the middle bun and a patty, wouldn't the Mac Jr. just be a cheeseburger with special sauce? what else is there besides a few strands of reconstituted "lettuce?"

I haven't eaten at a mcdonalds or any other fast food place in like 20 years so I'm not sure.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Oct 06, 2016 3:48 pm

Sexual harassment

McDonald’s ignored serious instances of sexual harassment ― including groping, propositioning and lewd comments ― endured by hourly workers in eight states, according to 15 separate complaints that restaurant cashiers and cooks filed with a federal agency over the past month.
...
The complaints to the EEOC paint a sad picture of working life for those at the very bottom of the pay scale in America and at McDonald’s, the nation’s second-largest employer.

They point to a much larger problem with sexual harassment in the fast food industry. In a survey released Wednesday, 2 in 5 women working in fast food reported experiencing some kind of harassment. Fearing retaliation and unsure of where to turn, few workers tell anyone about their experiences, instead suffering through the horrifying and stressful treatment.

The complaints also test a new legal standard just established last year, which would hold McDonald’s accountable for labor violations in franchise-owned stores.

Only one of the complaints involves a McDonald’s that is owned outright by the corporation; the rest are franchise operated. Current and former workers who are members of Fight for 15 in California, New York, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida filed the allegations with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

For years, under the law, McDonald’s could not be held accountable for labor violations in franchise-owned stores. That changed last year with a decision from the National Labor Relations Board, which established that some companies can be considered a “joint employer” and held accountable for the actions of franchisees and contractors.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:38 am

gilraen wrote: You won't use a fast food drive-thru because it's "faster" to go in - but you will use the drive-thru in a bank when there's a chance that you'll be misunderstood? Isn't that important enough to get out of the car and go inside the branch?

Sorry I'm a bit late, but yeah, I'll go into the bank whenever possible, but sometimes I get there either before or after the lobby opens/closes, so I have to use the drive-through.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 12:18 pm

Trailer

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:43 am

Isgrimnur wrote:Multi Macs

McDonald's may be making a big change to its most iconic menu item. The chain is testing a bigger Big Mac, called the Grand Mac, in some Texas and Ohio restaurants, a spokesperson tells Eater. And for those with smaller appetites, Mickey D's is giving a trial run to a smaller Big Mac called the Mac Jr.

Nationwide

Although it's anyone's guess as to what McDonald's will reveal in the "big announcement" it has planned for January 26th, there's at least one new menu change you safely rule out now: new Big Mac sizes. Why? Because they're already here.

After first introducing the new cheeseburger form factors in test markets last year, McDonald's has rolled out the new sandwiches -- the Grand Mac and the Mac Jr. -- to it's more than 14,000 restaurants nationwide, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune. As their names suggest, the new burgers are made with all the classic Big Mac ingredients -- all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions -- on a sesame seed bun -- in bigger and smaller packages.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:44 am

Boston publicity stunt:

If you ever wanted to order a cheeseburger void of any human interaction, then McDonald’s has a solution for you! A Big Mac ATM — you read that right — will pop-up in the Huntington Bridge between Copley Mall and the Prudential Center on Jan. 31. The automated hamburger dispensary will serve the Big Mac in three sizes: regular, Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac.

Oh, and they’re totally free.
...
The magic — or secret sauce, if you will — of the Big Mac ATM comes from its ability to pop out burgers without any visible staff or kitchen attached to the unit. Just pick the Big Mac of your choice the machine's touchscreen, Tweet out your swag (you've gotta pay somehow) and *BOOM* free burger.

When asked how exactly this will be pulled off, we received the following response via Vincent Spadea, local McDonald’s owner/operator, “We can’t give away all the secrets, but fresh Macs will be constantly loaded into the machine to ensure a high quality experience."
...
Get the Big Mac of your liking on the house on Jan. 31 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. while supplies last.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:46 am

Millennial market

Turning around the fast food giant’s long decline may take more changes in menu schedules. According to the company’s own internal research, reported on by Bloomberg, only one-fifth of millennials has ever tried a Big Mac. That’s a clear sign that tastes in fast food are changing, and McDonald’s hasn’t been keeping up.
...
It has announced it’s eliminating antibiotics in its chicken, and has a long-term plan to use cage-free eggs.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:55 am

I tried one when I was a kid and thought it was pretty disgusting. Haven't had once since, and no matter what they do to it, not likely to ever order it in the remainder of my life.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:56 am

Special sauce, pickles, and onions mean I choose something else.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:03 pm

I eat a Big Mac on very rare occasions, but most of my McDonald's trips these days are for breakfast.

As I also posted in the Random Randomness thread:

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:05 pm

pr0ner wrote:I eat a Big Mac on very rare occasions, but most of my McDonald's trips these days are for breakfast.

This. I might have a couple of sausage biscuits a half dozen times a year, a two cheese burger value meal twice, and a Big Mac once or less.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:16 pm

Speaking of which...

McDonald's All Day Breakfast eats its lunch and dinner

McDonald's has become a victim of its own successful all day breakfast.

Like-for-like fourth quarter revenue in the US, McDonald's biggest market, fell by 1.3% compared with late 2015 when it launched its all day breakfast.

While total global sales grew in the fourth quarter and full year, menu changes have eaten into growth.

Analyst Neil Saunders said instead of it pulling new customers into McDonalds, people had been switching to cheaper meals, including the breakfast.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:24 pm

The best Egg McMuffin I've ever eaten was on a late night snack run. Everything was fresher, and the egg yolk was actually runny. Shame that can't be reproduced every time I order one.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:38 pm

pr0ner wrote: and the egg yolk was actually runny. Shame that can't be reproduced every time I order one.

I honestly thought that was now impossible with how they are given their eggs. Like, that egg yolk isn't even runny when they get the egg...

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:40 pm

Unagi wrote:
pr0ner wrote: and the egg yolk was actually runny. Shame that can't be reproduced every time I order one.
I honestly thought that was now impossible with how they are given their eggs. Like, that egg yolk isn't even runny when they get the egg...

They actually make a point of stating that they use fresh cracked eggs for their Egg McMuffins, so I think it's possible. Of course, unless they're using pasteurized eggs, they probably try to avoid runny yolks. They're delicious, but when you crank out that many, you're bound to get someone coming down with salmonella at some point(1).

(1) Citation needed from Smoove

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:43 pm

Fresh cracked, at the restaurant, I assume you are implying. I have trouble picturing the guys at the airport back their cracking eggs... but maybe I'm wrong.