Yes I've been known to enjoy an occasional McDonald's (don't judge). But wow, how's it's changed the last few years. It's sad what they've done to their restaurants. Let me think of all the ways they've ruined their restaurant experience...
Most noticeably, they completely stripped all the fun and color from their dining rooms and replaced them with minimalist, lifeless decors. The location near me doesn’t even have the menu displayed on the wall behind the counter anymore.
But it gets worse. They no longer have anyone at the front counter to take your order. Everyone is in the back doing the food or scrambling to fill to-go orders. They now expect all customers to order using those awful kiosks. If you have a special order and need to order from the counter, you have to stand there and wait and wait for an employee to notice you.
Want a drink refill? Tough luck. They did away with the self-serve drink machines, so you have to go to the counter and battle your way through all the pickup patrons and hope that an employee back there sees that you need a refill. And if your drink is ice water, they now put those in the tiniest possible 8 oz cup, so that's an awful lot of trips to the counter and waiting frustrated (as your food gets cold).
Don’t want to keep getting up to refill your baby sized 8 oz water cup? Well, the regular size cups will cost you. That’s right, they now charge for regular sized water cups.
It's funny how their slogan used to be "smiles are free". Now you can barely get them to look at you. The only way to make eye contact with an employee is to lean over the counter and hope someone sees you. Or speak out "Excuse me, can I please get...."
Let's get to the menu... Remember when they offered healthier items? Well, no more salads. No more grilled chicken. Nothing but fried stuff. They even charge extra for lettuce on a hamburger. Appalling.
And remember the dollar menu? They took that away too. Let's be honest, they did. $3 doesn't count. There is literally not one thing that is a dollar, I looked it up. And a tiny little hot fudge sundae (which is no longer hot, because they took that away too), is now $3.19. What?!?
And don’t even think of asking them for a mixed soda, or a half-and-half. You used to be able to get that, but now that’s a definite no.
Even the serving trays are gone. Now they just hand you a bag with your food in it. Yes, even if you selected "for here", and even after you typed in your locator number on your plastic tent thingy. Everything now comes in a brown bag.
Even parking is a pain in the butt now because nearly every spot is reserved for pickup and drive-thru. Is it clear yet that they no longer want people in their restaurants?
Oh and forget McDonald’s PlayPlaces. Those were way too happy, so they got rid of those too. I was actually surprised to see they still technically offer birthday parties in their restaurants. This is funny to me. What on earth do the kids do there? There’s no PlayPlace, and the dining rooms are now so small with nothing to look at. Ronald McDonald is nothing but a distant memory.
Okay, McRant over. But I do miss the McDonald’s we had as kids. Or even from three years ago lol.