I get a quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a drink. It costs almost $15. I can go to a cafe where I’m waited on and served decent food for $20.
I think you answered your own question. It’s still “cheaper” than your second option.
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.
Because it’s fast and good enough. Not looking for a restaurant experience. I just want to eat and I forgot to defrost my chicken.
It’s addictive, it’s marketed well, people are uninformed about how awful it is for them, and think prepping healthy meals is a lot harder than it is.
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.
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.
Plenty of people probably went “fuck fast food is getting too expensive, better start cooking” and then went to the grocery store, bought less food than they expected, then they also had to motivate to cook at home.
When everyone is getting fucked so hard at the grocery, it’s easier to see why people stick to fast food if they also like the convenience.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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! 😋
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.
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 like cooking at home. I make really tasty food with fresh ingredients, and I know what’s in it.
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.
