No Stupid Questions

It's not about the quality, it's about the speed.

That said, i generally plan ahead and rarely eat fast food. And rarely eat out in general. That shit is expensive

I genuinely have no clue. I only ever have it once in a blue moon if I stop during a road trip and don't have another option. I wish I had money to open a fast food place with because holy shit, how can you even fail, given what is successful???

It's actually more expensive than other options, truly awful service, usually much slower than it was in the past (I've literally never gotten my food in a McDonalds in less than 30 minutes in the last 10 years because they prioritize drive through and online orders), it tastes like shit and makes me feel like shit after I eat it.

If you can limit it to just the sandwich you can save some. But otherwise, it's just baked into our society for all the reasons already mentioned. Seems like the choice for a cheap meal is gone however.

I live in southern CA and burritos are cheap ✌️ Once a week it’s nice to not have to cook.

I mean, McDonald's is an insane ripoff. At Taco Bell I can get veggie cravings box for $5.99 - that's a Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme, Bean and Cheese Burrito, Fiesta Potatoes, and a drink. It's like 1500 calories for $6 and takes 5 minutes to get. We get it every couple of weeks when we're just feeling super lazy and don't feel like cooking, and we can make two meals out of it.

I don't want to be waited on. I don't want to have to wonder when or if someone might refill my drink. I don't want to have to ask for extra napkins. I don't want to be put on the spot deciding what sides I want. I don't want to have to ask what salad dressings there are.

I want to interact with other people as little as possible. McDonald's might be basic, but give me a kiosk to order from every time.

What I do want is to know exactly what I'm getting. Fast food has continuity of product down to a science.

I don't know, but I can tell you with certainty that I don't.

Me 2001: Mcdonalds is running an anniversary special. Cheeseburgers are $0.10. Fuck yeah! I'mma order 20 them sumbitches!!!

Me today at age 41: I haven't had Mcdonalds since before the pandemic.

"Hi, I'll get a double quarter pounder with cheese meal, large, and I'll wait for new fries."

"That'll be $26.69"

"HAHAHAHA, right??? Could you imagine??? what's you're name? James? Could you imagine that James? Charging that much for some Mcdonalds? HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Ok James. That's a good one. Now what's the actual price?"

"$26.69"

"HAAAAAAAA, ok, ok, funs fun, but c'mon. I gotta pay for my food. What is it really?"

"$26.69"

"Wha---are you being serious?"

"Yes."

"ARE YOU HIGH???"

"Yes."

"Well.....uhhhhh......"

checks the board and does the math

"WHAT THE FUCK??? IS RAY CROC HIGH???"

"He's dead."

"WELL I DON'T THINK YOU CAN BE HIGH WHEN YOU'RE DEAD JAMES!!!"

"I know. That's why we gotta spend the time that we've got on this planet doing what we love, with the people that we love. We don't have a lot of time on this planet, and someday, maybe someday soon, something could happen. Then your best friend is just taken from you. With no warning. Maybe a lightning strike. Maybe hit by a drunk driver. You never know. So you gotta live your life doing what you can while you can to make sure that you have no regrets. Last thing you want is for someone to die before you can tell them you love them."

"Wow. That was beautiful. I'm sorry about your friend."

"Oh no. All my friends are still living. I tell them I love them all the time. And they love me too. Not in a romantkc way, but in a pure of heart real human connection kind of way. We love each other like brothers."

"That is a surprising level of introspection from someone of your age. You have a real sense of emotional maturity."

"Hey, thanks! That'll be $26.69"

"FUUUUUUUUUUU-----"

I'm not sure where this cafe you can get waited on is selling a hamburger, fries, and a coke, with tax and tip, coming out less than $20, but if it's edible, definitely, I'd eat there if I had the choice. The difference between the cheapest sit down restaurant and fast food is almost down to nothing, but fast food is still the cheapest thing you're going to find, and the fast food companies know this, which is why they're comfortable raising the prices. They're attitude is if you don't want to pay our prices, eat at home, but we know you're not going to do that.

where I'm waited on

That’s the problem. I’m hungry and on the way home from work. I don’t want to sit anywhere but in front of my TV.

Not sure who would buy it full price but in most of the apps if you're not picky there's always some amount of deals to get a meal under $5. I only go occasionally as the deals aren't as good as they used to be across the board and the quality is universally terrible. Taco Bell is also its own unique thing which no other Mexican restaurant will get you so occasionally it just sounds good.

That being said in my area you can go to nearly any proper restaurant and get carry-out under $15 with Texas sized portions. As someone with an unhealthy work/life balance particularly in the evenings, this or bulk curry is how I usually eat dinner.

I buy fast food because I can get it quickly and because it tastes good to me. There's nothing quite like getting a fresh serving of battered fries covered in sauce when you're hungry and too tired to cook! 😋

The general consensus seems that people pay for the convenience, not having to cook or clean and not having to wait very long for it. Which is kind of crazy because that seems like such a luxury to me lol. Like a lite version of having a personal chef.

I wonder what the price point is where people will stop paying for the convince and just do it themselves because it costs too much. I would've thought most people reached that point but apparently not.

Stop ordering the fries and a drink. Shit's bad enough already. Dinner's $5 and I bring a drink with me.

Consumerism is killing us and corporations will not self-correct until you hit them on the nose with a curled up newspaper.

Because most of the non-fast food restaurants in my rural town are priced highly for the rich yuppies LARPing blue collar living.

I personally have adopted a mantra of if I'm going to eat fast food it's going to be as frugal as possible so I have all of their shitty mobile apps. I check them when I want fast food, and I generally won't eat out unless I find a good deal.

There's a lot of reasons people still eat fast food. Others have pointed out though that fast food these days isn't all that cheap and in some cases isn't even all that fast/convenient when compared to other alternatives.

I can't speak to that as it's been decades since I've stepped inside a fast food restaurant save to use the bathroom while traveling, but I can guess that it also has to do with nostalgia. Some people grew up eating that shit and it provides them with a sense of comfort and familiarity. While I'm not going to hold my breath, it is my hope that the predominance of fast food will die alongside cable news when the younger generations come of age.

I know it's poison but it's the only option that opens after 10pm

Because when its good, and I mean everything is correct... its fucking amazing.

Last time I got Kentucky it was all perfect. The bun was fresh, the lettuce was fresh, just the right amount of mayo, the chicken was hot and crunchy. The chips were hot, fresh and had just too much enough salt and the pepsi was just a shade away from being frozen. It was the best chicken burger I've had in recent memory.

Now, this was an isolated incident. Normally I wind up slightly disappointed in something. But when its right...

I buy it for my kids because they are on the spectrum and McDonald's French fries are literally 1 of 7 foods one of them will eat. I would eat it, because I love it, but I have celiac and can't.

I got Subway yesterday.
It cost less than $8, took like 10 minutes, i drove 5 minutes to get there, and I didn't have to clean anything.

I don't really. It's a treat sometimes that's it.

Sometimes I want cheap, fast and delicious.

Not always, but sometimes.

I know it sound crazy, but maybe some days use the time you spend on traveling to and from the fast food place and cook home instead multiple portions of food you enjoy for a fraction of cost.

I sometimes get the $5 bag from wendys. It fills me up. I used to use the taco bell app to get a cravings box for $6 or $7 dollars, but my credit cards would become compromised. It happened to 2 cards only when I used the taco bell app. I refuse to spend $10 on fast food. The quality is just so bad I can justify spending $5. My girlfriend wanted a sundae from McDonald's the other day and the person in front of me ordered 2 mcchickens for $5. When I was in high school I could buy 1 for $1. They were barely worth it then.

Currently waiting for my order at burger King. I was headed out the door to pick up some plywood in the nearest town, just as two of my kids returned from school. They asked if they could come too. We're currently about to head back, but wanted to pick up something for the one hour drive back.

It's because of the drive-thru. If I could get a locally-made channa masala on rice or a good salad at the drive-thru with a decent cup of coffee, that would be my daily lunch. And, yes, I know that's lazy, but the drive-thrus are packed so I know I'm not the only one. Unfortunately, only the fast food chains have drive-thrus where I live. There is a business opportunity.

That's the neat part: I don't.

Not anymore. I scaled back my fast food consumption quite a bit in previous years, but when the prices of everything skyrocketed to absurd levels during COVID I just quit going to fast food places and never looked back. I get Taco Bell or something like, maybe two or three times a year now and that's usually when I'm on a road trip or something. Otherwise they can get bent as far as I'm concerned.

If I want slop it's cheaper and honestly also easier to just buy a TV dinner from any of the selection of general goods stores within walking distance of my house and pop it in the microwave. And these days probably faster, too, because I don't have to deal with the McAttitude or inevitably discover that the fast food place is trying to run with half the staff it's supposed to have because its franchise owner is a greedy prick, nor have to worry about getting sucked into the thrice-weekly fistfight in the parking lot, nor getting caught in the crossfire because some fuckmuch is salty about not getting enough ketchup packets and decides to shoot up the joint.

I have rarely gone to get fast food in the last few years, a lot of the reason because of the cost. That, and quality has gone down a lot even with price increases.

The times I have gone, were because I was short on time. I miss the days I could overlook the poor quality due to the cost.

I like fast food. A steakhouse hamburger from Burger King is just as good, if not better than most hamburgers I've gotten from restaurants. On top of this I don't need to wait 30 minutes to get it, I don't need to deal with waiters and I can just leave when I'm done rather than wait for someone to bring a a check.