The McPlant

[Anselm]

I'd be curious to find out how McDo's in France is handling this.

In other cases I heard of, they had to adjust both their customer service expectations and their menus to get a foothold there.

The one upstairs near the Grenouille Metro station in the Paris 7th. was always full of kids when I went there; the one near the train station in Strasbourg not so much--or only on weekday lunchtimes.

Veg/veganism is huge among the younger population, though, so it might take (they might also be making a better product out of necessity.

M.

Do they still call it a Royale with cheese?

[polly_mer]

You are right, millions of folks eagerly hit the Golden Arches daily.

So why do we think this is?

Because people generally fail to account for Some People Are Different From You (SPADFY) as really, truly, no-foolin' meaning some people (not just one or two in the whole wide world of 7+ billion, but likely millions if not actual billions) are different from you in meaningful ways that gets translated into specific actions that aren't what you'd choose, but are logically consistent and based on equally strong beliefs.

When I was poor enough that any food we didn't make ourselves was a big treat, McDonalds once per year on the way to visit my grandparents was a huge treat.  Nothing we had at home was anywhere near as sweet as the strawberry shake, nothing was as textured as the fries, and we had nothing like chicken mcnuggets, even though we had breaded chicken a lot.

Now that I'm an affluent adult who (pre-Covid) traveled a lot on an expense account and know about things like grilled salmon served on roasted garlic potatoes with a side of garden vegetables and ice cream that is cream, fruit, and a tiny bit of sugar, McDonalds is more like a heavy sigh to pick up something quick and convenient in the airport that is filling enough I can wait until the good supper that is coming.  I can't eat chicken nuggets at this point because they are just gross now, but I can face a grilled chicken sandwich with the vegetables of my youth once in a while.

[apl68]

Some of us love burgers and fries and other fast food.  McDonald's has far from the best examples of these out there.  But it's widely available, inexpensive, and convenient.  In some communities there also isn't much in the way of other choices.  They're adaptable too, as their differing menus in different countries shows.

Me, I prefer Subway, of the limited number of fast-food options available locally.  When traveling and in the mood for a burger, I try to find something else.  Plus I happen to like Arby's, of which there are none nearby.

[uni_cyclist]

You are right, millions of folks eagerly hit the Golden Arches daily.

So why do we think this is?

Because they have a consistent product from location to location, plus marketing that reached most of us when we were kids and now has some nostalgia / comfort associated with it. Working the register at McDonald's was my first job twenty-some years ago and the fries taste the same now as they did then. Sometimes, having some salty, greasy fries just hits the spot (and bonus: they only cost a buck).

[fourhats]

I'm pretty much a foodie. But I consider the occasional McDonald's a treat, especially when it breaks up long drives. Julia Child herself said that McDonald's french fries were the best.

[mamselle]

I'd be curious to find out how McDo's in France is handling this.

In other cases I heard of, they had to adjust both their customer service expectations and their menus to get a foothold there.

The one upstairs near the Grenouille Metro station in the Paris 7th. was always full of kids when I went there; the one near the train station in Strasbourg not so much--or only on weekday lunchtimes.

Veg/veganism is huge among the younger population, though, so it might take (they might also be making a better product out of necessity.

M.

Do they still call it a Royale with cheese?

Don't remember hearing that, but they might. Where I was they called all the burgers "Mac-Do" (au fromage, a la tomate, etc.)

Now I'm missing France. In fact, I've been watching this at stray moments....

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVfnEyLOkrM

(Mille pardons pour les avertissements)...

M.

[kaysixteen]

I get that McDs can be a treat for the poor, and evoke nostalgia for many adults.   That said, virtually all other fast food joints are noticeably better, which does make me wonder how McDs evolved to have so many more outlets than any other.   And, of course, when Julia Child could have eaten their fries, they were fried in beef fat and tasted much better than the soggy, limp-arsed fried in polyunsaturated super tastesless  plant oil that they use today.   And back in the day, the Big Mac was actually a big mac, not the little mac you get today, where the #1 ingredient seems to be shredded lettuce, and the beef patties are much smaller than the buns that surround them.

[spork]

McDonald's was a first mover in the industry and established a very strong brand, it exerts relatively firm control over franchisees in terms of giving customers a consistent, reliable experience, and its hyper-rationalized supply chains and sales volume deliver economies of scale that allow it to crush much of its competition.

McDonald's leveraged its distinctly American, modern cachet when it entered markets outside the USA. Eating a Maharaja Mac or a Burger Vị Phở is not a bottom-end, drive-through choice of last resort but a young, aspirational, emerging-middle-class experience.

Specific to the McPlant, McDonald's is a bit like Apple. It sees the writing on the wall and tests concepts often before the customer demand exists.

[polly_mer]

I'd be curious to find out how McDo's in France is handling this.

In other cases I heard of, they had to adjust both their customer service expectations and their menus to get a foothold there.

The one upstairs near the Grenouille Metro station in the Paris 7th. was always full of kids when I went there; the one near the train station in Strasbourg not so much--or only on weekday lunchtimes.

Veg/veganism is huge among the younger population, though, so it might take (they might also be making a better product out of necessity.

M.

Do they still call it a Royale with cheese?

Don't remember hearing that, but they might.

It's a line from the movie Pulp Fiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab7eVVG3I8s

[mamselle]

Ah, thanks, never watched it.

I figured it was from the Champs-Elysees Mac-Do, and I was only there once, in 1973, when it opened.

We finally left the line after an hour. It was packed.

M.