Coalition of Franchisee Associations

May 27, 2016

Some Operator Comments Deserve the Front Page

MCD sensitivity to the loudest interest groups regardless of the facts has always been a problem and an embarrassment. Be it nutrition, social issues, paper products or wages MCD usually picks an issue then caves into a position that is later determined to be meaningless or unnecessary. The list is long and undistinguished. From whole wheat English muffins and cereals to planting thousands of tree's in urban areas that mostly died. In the face of tons of our own data small groups convince management that this is what our customers and the public wants. Only to later ask ourselves "what were we thinking?" 

We lose sight of the basic fact that we SELL food. We sell it to satisfy demand and to be profitable. It is our job to respond to what our customers want in terms of the food they are buying. Believe it or not our customers have the intelligence and the right to choose what they eat. So, let them choose. 

Our employee's are important people and their wages are important. However, wages are not the only cost in our business. In many if not most MCD restaurants as much as half of all costs are tied up in two line items. Those are Food and wages. Plus, so much of those cost are out of our hands. The Federal minimum wage and commodity cost are huge factors. Our menu boards are very thin in that there is just so much customers will pay for a sandwich. You can't just raise wages and then raise prices to pay for it. It doesn't work that way. As prices go up customers go away and jobs go with them. Those people who are demanding a near 90% increase in wages will be the first to tell you that they are not willing to pay 90% more for any product in our stores. 

It is not MCD place to tell our employee's to adjust their lifestyle so that they can live within their means. Those are decisions they have to make. 

I'm simply asking MCD to make good (better) business decisions. Understand that our purpose is not to be an instrument of social change or to be moved by the "flavor of the month" in political correctness. Focus on our customers demand for quality food and be profitable. 


Originally posted at:  McDonald's told: Stop bowing to liberal pressure groups!
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Giving in to these leftist interest groups will never work. Whatever you give will never be enough. If you have anything,mother want ALL of it. You are not allowed to have anything left that is more than what they have, and even that may not be enough. The politics of envy and resentment are things that you crunch, not appease.

A franchisee that always gets the bill.

Anonymous said...

Hard to accomplish when the CEO, new Chairman and the Board don't know the first thing about store operations.

Anonymous said...

The three legged stool for management: stockholders, brand, golden parachute.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they consider ops people as just burger flippers and not capable of making the big decisions.