McDonald's franchisee group reports weak comps, predicts poor second half outlook
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Nation's Restaurant News] By Mark Brandau - July 17, 2014 -
A group of 27 McDonald’s owner-operators representing 231 domestic restaurants have given the most pessimistic outlook for the next six months of business in the history of Janney Capital Markets’ quarterly McDonald’s Franchisee Survey, placing a majority of the blame on the brand’s senior leadership.
“All the money spent on rebuilds and remodels got us nothing,” one operator said. “It’s all about the menu. The recent Consumer Reports survey reflects this. Our competitors with simpler menus are doing just fine and run with far less labor. All the investment just increased operator debt load, making it harder to do much of anything for seven years until the debt is paid off.”
“We’ve put so many complex products in the store the last few years,” one franchisee said. “This impacts service, turnover and morale. I’m not sure what happened to our gatekeeper. His job was to ask the tough questions when new products were proposed, [but he] evidently approved them all, which requires the operator to invest $15,000 in a new prep table to keep the confusion sorted out. We need to trim the menu and focus on our core business.”
Others reiterated that McDonald’s was losing the ability to differentiate itself from competitors in the United States on food quality or service and expressed worry that the brand was becoming known among customers for being cheap and convenient but nothing else.
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