Coalition of Franchisee Associations

July 7, 2021

NYT Interviews Accidental McCEO

"A lot of those costs are falling to the franchisees, who maybe feel like they can’t afford it. How do you see that tension getting resolved?

Our U.S. franchisees have never been in a better financial position than they are right now. The average franchisee in the U.S. is going to have record cash flow in 2021. They’ve had three consecutive years of compounding record cash flow. So our franchisees absolutely have the firepower to make these investments."

 "Our menu is Darwinian" (whatever that means)

21 comments:

Richard Adams said...

I've long been a fan of black and white World War Two newsreels and documentaries partially because our ancestors fought and suffered through WW2 but because the records include a fascinating amount of German and Japanese film footage. And, because WW2 was the first war in human history that was filmed in live-action.

So that brings me to one thought when viewing the leading photograph of the McCEO on the NYT website, "Hitler Youth".
.

Anonymous said...

Chris K = SYSTEM TRAITOR

Anonymous said...

I wish this MORON would just SHUT UP! Every time he opens his mouth to the media he hurts the System ! Good Grief.


#newCEOnow

Anonymous said...

The only way at this point to get Pajama oy's attention is through the Board of Directors.

The only way to the Board of Directors is by way of the shareholders.

And the only way to draw attention of shareholders is by the way of sales.

As long as operators remain successful, even in these turbulent times - and the other half remains ignorant followers of Pajama boy. There is no hope of stabilization and brand protection. It will take a serious crisis which will financially bankrupt operators to get operator leadership active. Then again, that will only be to save themself - and not their fellow operators.

Anonymous said...

I think its important to understand. While it may of been a simple Freudian slip in an effort to pretend to be intellectual.

It should be clear, a darwaian menu evolves thru small natural influences and occurrences.

However, McDonalds menus change thru a delibrate process in order to protect the brand imagine, and worldwide quality assurances.

McDonald's built its brand on CONSISTENCY. Darwin philosophies have no room for such delibrate change(s) to move AND protect the brand.

So once again, the new CEO with little to none history with the brand, playcating to the media. Has ignored the historical success of its brand, which not only made it a worldwide success. But who's restaurants are now 95% operator owned, continue its success by instilling those same historical principals. Many times IN SPITE of its corporate leadership comments and direction.

Anonymous said...

CK may try to act intellectual, but every time I have had a conversation with him (5x) , he can not even look you straight in the eye.

Anonymous said...

Chris K is in the process of destroying the brand ,while he enriches himself, before he takes the Golden parachute.

Anonymous said...

Chris K has been with MCD for only 6 years, and he has learned absolutely nothing about our culture, our stores, our customers ,and the McDonalds legacy. Sad and Shameful

Anonymous said...

Retire Chris K. Retire the board. Retire the long in the tooth “Im lovin it” theme. Retire OPNAD. Unretire Ronald.

Anonymous said...

You forgot to retire Erlinger and Spiro

Anonymous said...


Fyi… this absurd loyalty program is a license to steal that will accelerate at the employees catch on.

Anonymous said...

To be honest, I am a bit bored of people berating Chris K. He is who he is and in todays corporate culture I doubt we could expect much better. As the CEO he will get the credit or the blame, it is what it is. What I believe we need to be focused on is steering the boat in the most advantageous way possible for operators. We have done that over the pandemic with simplicity and streamlining service running the fastest DT's we have in years. But as we allow table service, discounting while the vast majority of restaurants are understaffed hurting our people, allowing customers to give us there loyalty number vs requiring them to use the app, make no mistake, its slipping back.

Anonymous said...

We may be having better than ever cash flows, BUT with the added burdens of BBV2020 MRPs and escalating labor and commodity prices, the end result is nowhere near as rosy as the myopic Chris K believes.

Anonymous said...

To the above- “Im lovin it” started in 2003 with Justin Timberlake. 18 years is a eternity in marketing. Replace it for gosh sakes.

Anonymous said...

To be honest I am growing tired of people giving Chris K a free pass on the extreme damage he has done to the system. And he has absolutely no clue on our history, our culture, store operations and many others. Totally wrong for us. Defending him leads me to believe that some posters are corporate trolls

Anonymous said...

McDonald's has always addressed pre-debt cashflow numbers.

Richard Adams said...

But that little fact never gets mentioned when management discusses the topic with analysts and investors.
.

Anonymous said...


After relying for decades on the brand’s internal franchisee group, the National Franchisee Leadership Alliance (NFLA) to communicate their displeasure, McDonald’s franchisees did what virtually every major franchised chain had already done. In 2018, they created an independent franchisee association to promote franchise owners’ interests and protect their investments. The National Owners Association (NOA) promotes itself as a “self-funded advocacy group of ‘Owners-Serving-Owners’ on the most crucial issues.” Chief among those is spending money on things that could raise the stock price but fail to create profit for franchisees. From conversations with franchisees, they say a chief complaint is that “the company isn’t prioritizing what we want to prioritize and the company doesn’t understand our cash flow.”

Easterbrook, escaped with a golden parachute after evidence surfaced that he had violated company policy by engaging in relationships with employees, Later, McDonald’s filed suit against him for concealing evidence. During Easterbrook’s tenure, the number of franchisees in the system decreased. Many sold out to larger interests, creating a system that is growing heavy with corporations of multi-unit franchisees and losing family-run, single-store owners.

Independent franchisee associations are important because there is strength in numbers—rendering brands powerless to punish every franchisee that participates in the organization. But predatory behavior is always a concern, as evidenced by the NOA’s published mission statement, which explicitly calls for “protection from intimidation and retribution.” Friction is endemic in the franchise industry. Because one party measures top-line sales and the other bottom-line profits, tensions can arise. It is only when each side demonstrates a commitment to collaboration, communication and transparency that the relationship works.

To restore a working relationship to its system it is essential McDonald’s includes its franchisees in the work teams that make decisions. If not, it’s just a recipe for failure. Franchise owners must absorb some of the cost (not all) of upgrading their IT infrastructure, but such a plan has to be done fairly. Ultimately, it is up to the CEO to determine whether the company is going to take the high road with its franchisees.
Chris K has NOT.

Anonymous said...

Darwinism-A theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. Darwin's ideas have been refined and modified by subsequent researchers, but his theories still form the foundation of the scientific understanding of the evolution of life.


WTF ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Anonymous said...

McDonalds Corporate. Good at acronyms and NOTHING ELSE

Anonymous said...

I don't know what's more alarming, the asinine comments from our Worldwide leader - or the lackluster responses from our NOA / NFLA / OPNAD representatives. I guess many people shrug off Chris K's comments, as most don't believe he is qualified. Therefore, his arrogant, if not ignorant, comments are to be expected. Not saying it's right, just an observation.

But we keep getting these messages about TRUST....

My question, as well as observation over half a century, is trust is earned not given. Its earned with mutual communication over a period of interactions. Case in point, the mere agreement to paying 50% on technology fees that were originally declared not due. Operators got the WORD, did they get the data?

Every operator I spoke with has said, they haven't received any evidence of the due amount. As well, each has said, at this point, it's not worth the fight. In layman's terms, that's an uneasy settlement. Hardly the kind of interaction that builds trust. Neither with the corporate partners nor with the operator leadership that agreed with it.

The NOA specifically stated the amounts were NOT owed, but a 50/50 settlement was reached. Amazing. The same holds true for the People EVP program. Amazingly similar to the topics operators were financially against in the last year, is now the stakeholder for the company.

Now we can discuss the MCDONALDSWIDE $15.00 per hour? Because it seems there are those restaurants still paying $7.25 p/hr (or very close to it) - when other parts of the nation are now paying $14 for crew starting, plus state-mandated PTO and other programs. They must now ADD these "EXTRAS" to be a "TEAMPLAYER" - when the rest of the team doesn't have those added expenditures. How convenient.

More expenses - on top of continuing the added discounting, promotions and $1 drink. PROMOTION that was 1-2% of the cash sheet is now exceeded 6%. This doesn't add the additional THEFT % that REWARDS is bringing to the table. The next 90-days will reflect those additions. Interesting times, and more interesting revolution of developments.

The conglomerates have control and the system that differentiated McDonald's from its competitors. Has finally evolved into being like their failing competitors.

The TICK, TOCK has grown significantly louder....