I disagree. There was definitely a cutoff point. Somewhere around 2008, where Taco Bell's meat became vastly worse.
Those were in my poverty days, so I ate Taco Bell quite a bit and it was like one day everything was what I expected and the next day everything was gritty and greasy and unsatisfying.
Yeah used to be able to drop 5$ there and get FULL. Not anymore. Last time I went I grabbed food for 3 people and it was like 30$ and for my part of it I was trying to be cheap as possible.
Fast food is ridiculous now. Everything around here is almost twice what it cost 5-6 years ago. Might as well go to an actually good restaurant for that.
Yup, also while prices may have gone up across the board the spread of prices seems to have reduced. At this point eating out is a bad value but I feel like spending $30 on a good meal gives me better value than a nearly $20 fast food meal.
Fast food has been hit hard by the enshitification. More expensive and doesn't even taste good anymore because they use even shittier ingredients than they used to. The only reason people still bother is typically lack of time to cook.
You can make most fast food items at home if you have the time. It will be cheaper and taste better.
A burger worth half a damn (in both taste and portion) in Burger King will cost me nearly as much as a smash burger with jalapeño aioli and loaded fries from a local burger joint. Pizza Hut/Domino's is the same, there's a proper italian dining place less than 50m from my place, prices are comparable but the taste just isn't there for Pizza Hut or Domino's.
I'm a very stingy person but that price difference is not worth the difference in quality.
Everything is artificially inflated by 1.7x to 2.4x ever since covid. The inflation you are seeing is not real inflation but rather manufactured by those in high-up positions at most fortune-500 companies.
Interestingly; Taco Bell has some of the cheapest fast food you can get with their luxe box line, but that more speaks to how bad everything else has gotten post-covid and during this term.
This! I have their app and I can still get a meal for $10 or under, even in California. Probably one of the last decent deals in fast food, along with In N Out.
You're correct, however, I think they use the insane price on individual items to make their combo boxes, or whatever they're called, seem like a better deal.
And to encourage you to use their app as well. Remember when 7/11 got the app a soda went from .89 to 1.29. “If you get the app you save money!”
No you’re charging me for not having the app. That’s what just happened.
It’s also part of why things have gotten slower. Again to use 7/11… now every person in line in front of you has to spend 30 more seconds fumbling with their phone or key fob barcode to buy their one damn soda.
All these replies and you're the only one to mention the apps. It's absolutely one of the reasons why (beyond them using "inflation" to cover for straight greed).
By jacking their prices way up, and only offering discounts via their apps, they win either way - You pay ridiculous amounts, or you pay slightly less ridiculous amounts and they get your data.
I wouldn’t even mind the stealing of my information so much if they were at least quick about it. Imagine Facebook every few minutes stopped working and said “now stealing your information… please wait…”
Some things have gone up much faster than others. And Taco Bell, McDonald's have both gone up in price much faster than home cooking has. Which is exactly where more and more of my food is coming from now.
Vast majority of fast food now: 'fast', 'cheap', 'good', pick zero.
Not just you, corpo fastfood like mcdonalds, kfc and whatever have been more expensive (and worse quality) than local non-chain street/fastfood for years.
This year a mcdonalds opened in my small-ish town, and I can't fathom why anybody would buy there. There's a better restaurant for every single item on the menu, with better quality for cheaper/same price. The only thing it has going for it is the drive thru.
Allen & Wright. But that's virtually useless knowledge, since they've been branded simply "A&W" for a dog's age. I assume you might not be American, so I'm treating your question as earnest and not pedantic.
Yep, price is up, quality is down, fast food seems more of an expensive novelty now than whatever it was supposed to be. Stopped going unless I was on a road trip or with friends. Frozen food with an air fryer (got the fryer secondhand for the cost of a McD meal) satisfies the craving, but for much less money.
Fast food has priced itself mostly out of my household. Probably better for our health, but we spend far more time cooking now.
Used to get it probably twice a week for convenience. Now it's down to about once or twice a month, during the handful of occasional evenings where we have absolutely zero extra time to cook.
For paying people more in some markets and adjusting the prices to be about the same everywhere. So the way a business works is, they have certain profits they have to make to appease the shareholders, and this has to improve year after year. It doesn't always, but to do so is the goal. So when things like regulation and etc. raise their costs, they raise their prices so their profit still increases.
Honestly, Taco Bell used to be cheap. Now it's not. It hasn't been cheap for a long time. But yes, all fast food places have gotten crazy expensive.
Sit-down restaurants have gone up, too. But not as much. So if you want a burger, a sit-down place might not be cheaper, but it might be a better value.
Fast food has kind of always been a scam though. You're paying for the convenience. So in the west market, Hardee's (which is called Carl's Jr. out there) marketed a burger about 20-25 years ago called the "Six Dollar Burger." They argued that their burger was the equivalent of what you'd pay six dollars for at a sit-down restaurant. What they assumed their customers were too stupid to understand was, that "six dollar burger" at a sit-down restaurant came with fries and cheese and was still bigger. By adding fries, the $4 burger got real close to that $6 price. The combo was more. So they were banking on people not being smart. Naturally, it worked. (Hardee's just called it the Thickburger. They've since discontinued the whole line. Hardee's and Carl's Jr. no longer make thick burgers anymore. They've honestly been trash ever since. And most burgers in fast food start at six bucks now.
Its more expensive, tastes worse, is prepared worse, and uses worse ingredients. The fuck is happening?
PROGRESS
I'm cooking more at home! That's what's happening.
Same! Cooking at home tastes better, healthier and usually much cheaper. The only catch is it takes time...
But I was in a hurry and didn't pack a lunch, that's why I was shocked at how high the prices were at Taco Bell.
Taco Bell has always been slop You just had the iron stomach of youth . 25 years ago that shit Inedible to me I would eat it and Just feel like shit.
But I will concede this that restaurants as a whole have gotten shittier in the last five years. It’s not just Taco Bell
I disagree. There was definitely a cutoff point. Somewhere around 2008, where Taco Bell's meat became vastly worse.
Those were in my poverty days, so I ate Taco Bell quite a bit and it was like one day everything was what I expected and the next day everything was gritty and greasy and unsatisfying.
Everyone goes through that with all fast food.
It was slop, but it was cheap slop.
Yeah used to be able to drop 5$ there and get FULL. Not anymore. Last time I went I grabbed food for 3 people and it was like 30$ and for my part of it I was trying to be cheap as possible.
Quarter after quarter of expected growth in an industry that only works with cheap prices.
Addiction
They're testing how hard they can squeeze their customer base and still profit. Prices will continue to increase as long as people pay.
Fast food is ridiculous now. Everything around here is almost twice what it cost 5-6 years ago. Might as well go to an actually good restaurant for that.
And it's not even that fast
It's also not food
Yup, also while prices may have gone up across the board the spread of prices seems to have reduced. At this point eating out is a bad value but I feel like spending $30 on a good meal gives me better value than a nearly $20 fast food meal.
Yup. And I can usually get an additional 1-3 leftover meals from that $30 good meal from a local restaurant.
Fast food has been hit hard by the enshitification. More expensive and doesn't even taste good anymore because they use even shittier ingredients than they used to. The only reason people still bother is typically lack of time to cook.
You can make most fast food items at home if you have the time. It will be cheaper and taste better.
You can get better food for cheaper at a local restaurant nowadays. Maybe not a fancy place but your local taco joint or diner.
A burger worth half a damn (in both taste and portion) in Burger King will cost me nearly as much as a smash burger with jalapeño aioli and loaded fries from a local burger joint. Pizza Hut/Domino's is the same, there's a proper italian dining place less than 50m from my place, prices are comparable but the taste just isn't there for Pizza Hut or Domino's.
I'm a very stingy person but that price difference is not worth the difference in quality.
Everything is artificially inflated by 1.7x to 2.4x ever since covid. The inflation you are seeing is not real inflation but rather manufactured by those in high-up positions at most fortune-500 companies.
Interestingly; Taco Bell has some of the cheapest fast food you can get with their luxe box line, but that more speaks to how bad everything else has gotten post-covid and during this term.
This! I have their app and I can still get a meal for $10 or under, even in California. Probably one of the last decent deals in fast food, along with In N Out.
Wait until you learn in certain parts of the world they're eating authentic tacos for only 70 cent
It's not just you. The price has gone up, but the quality has likely gone down.
Likely?
🎶
The quality has gone down and the price has come up
And long ago he finished his Baja Blast cup
But he's groaning and moaning and suffering the squirts
And regretting his decisions for which his asshole still burns
Yeah the prices are getting out of control. It can be cheaper to eat at a fast casual restaurant.
I went to a Taco Bell recently and was wowed by how high the price was. Last time I went was during 2020.
Don't go back. They don't deserve the prices they are charging.
I ate there a month ago after years of not going.
You're correct, however, I think they use the insane price on individual items to make their combo boxes, or whatever they're called, seem like a better deal.
Yeah, it’s like 1 good item + 2 bullshit items and a drink for $9 in the deluxe box.
And to encourage you to use their app as well. Remember when 7/11 got the app a soda went from .89 to 1.29. “If you get the app you save money!”
No you’re charging me for not having the app. That’s what just happened.
It’s also part of why things have gotten slower. Again to use 7/11… now every person in line in front of you has to spend 30 more seconds fumbling with their phone or key fob barcode to buy their one damn soda.
I’m bitter about it lol
All these replies and you're the only one to mention the apps. It's absolutely one of the reasons why (beyond them using "inflation" to cover for straight greed).
By jacking their prices way up, and only offering discounts via their apps, they win either way - You pay ridiculous amounts, or you pay slightly less ridiculous amounts and they get your data.
I wouldn’t even mind the stealing of my information so much if they were at least quick about it. Imagine Facebook every few minutes stopped working and said “now stealing your information… please wait…”
Is there anything that hasn’t gone up in price recently?
Some things have gone up much faster than others. And Taco Bell, McDonald's have both gone up in price much faster than home cooking has. Which is exactly where more and more of my food is coming from now.
Vast majority of fast food now: 'fast', 'cheap', 'good', pick zero.
I used to ask people, like, when was the last time you bought anything for a penny?
And now, it's like, when was the last time you bought anything for a dollar?
Hot dog & soda at Costco, but that's because they're intentionally keeping it at the same price.
Not just you, corpo fastfood like mcdonalds, kfc and whatever have been more expensive (and worse quality) than local non-chain street/fastfood for years.
This year a mcdonalds opened in my small-ish town, and I can't fathom why anybody would buy there. There's a better restaurant for every single item on the menu, with better quality for cheaper/same price. The only thing it has going for it is the drive thru.
Edit: This is in Poland
4 burgers and fries at AnW is close to over $100 now. Just not worth it anymore
AnW?
A&W
Which is the abbreviation for...
Allen & Wright. But that's virtually useless knowledge, since they've been branded simply "A&W" for a dog's age. I assume you might not be American, so I'm treating your question as earnest and not pedantic.
Not American, and it was an earnest question so thank you for actually replying in a normal fashion :)
LMWTFY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants
If clicking the link is too hard maybe someone can copy and paste the article for you
When the price of fast food goes up too fast, it’s an indicator of impending financial collapse.
Yep, price is up, quality is down, fast food seems more of an expensive novelty now than whatever it was supposed to be. Stopped going unless I was on a road trip or with friends. Frozen food with an air fryer (got the fryer secondhand for the cost of a McD meal) satisfies the craving, but for much less money.
Fast food has priced itself mostly out of my household. Probably better for our health, but we spend far more time cooking now.
Used to get it probably twice a week for convenience. Now it's down to about once or twice a month, during the handful of occasional evenings where we have absolutely zero extra time to cook.
Inflation in the West is correlated to de-dollarization happening worldwide
The 5-layer burrito is delicious and it's only $5. It's a bargain, even with the extra meat option.
For paying people more in some markets and adjusting the prices to be about the same everywhere. So the way a business works is, they have certain profits they have to make to appease the shareholders, and this has to improve year after year. It doesn't always, but to do so is the goal. So when things like regulation and etc. raise their costs, they raise their prices so their profit still increases.
Honestly, Taco Bell used to be cheap. Now it's not. It hasn't been cheap for a long time. But yes, all fast food places have gotten crazy expensive.
Sit-down restaurants have gone up, too. But not as much. So if you want a burger, a sit-down place might not be cheaper, but it might be a better value.
Fast food has kind of always been a scam though. You're paying for the convenience. So in the west market, Hardee's (which is called Carl's Jr. out there) marketed a burger about 20-25 years ago called the "Six Dollar Burger." They argued that their burger was the equivalent of what you'd pay six dollars for at a sit-down restaurant. What they assumed their customers were too stupid to understand was, that "six dollar burger" at a sit-down restaurant came with fries and cheese and was still bigger. By adding fries, the $4 burger got real close to that $6 price. The combo was more. So they were banking on people not being smart. Naturally, it worked. (Hardee's just called it the Thickburger. They've since discontinued the whole line. Hardee's and Carl's Jr. no longer make thick burgers anymore. They've honestly been trash ever since. And most burgers in fast food start at six bucks now.