McDonald's RFID cups with limited/timed refills

[Pea-n-Me]

I don't find meal combos all that great a bargain - at least not locally. A la carte may actually be cheaper with the dollar menu. My kid's favorite thing at McDonald's is Chicken McNuggets, which has some of the oddest pricing these days. I haven't even purchased a Happy Meal for my kid since they stopped being a $3 item.

But Chicken McNugget prices are a lesson in WTH? Here are the prices (checked on the app for my closest location):

4 - $1.00
6 - $3.99
10 - $4.99
20 - $5.00

The other thing I see is a "Daily Deal" at $5 for a 20 piece Chicken McNuggets. Makes absolutely no sense, although I also have a $4 deal for the same if I do it with a mobile order.

I have found some combos that made sense for breakfast. I have had a few experiences where I was told they couldn't make it a combo at the register, so I ordered via the app.

That is weird on the nugget pricing, lol.

I don't go enough to know exact prices, but generally when you try to order a sandwich and, say, a fry, they usually tell you that for a small amount more, and maybe even less in some cases, you can get the combo. I think if I'm not mistaken it was a selling point originally (probably to sell fries since many are apt at least get a sandwich and a drink). Maybe someone knows the history of the combo!

 

[bcla]

That is weird on the nugget pricing, lol.

I don't go enough to know exact prices, but generally when you try to order a sandwich and, say, a fry, they usually tell you that for a small amount more, and maybe even less in some cases, you can get the combo. I think if I'm not mistaken it was a selling point originally (probably to sell fries since many are apt at least get a sandwich and a drink). Maybe someone knows the history of the combo!

Combo prices are a mystery. Just out of curiosity I checked for that same location. Add a combo (medium fries plus medium drink) and it's anywhere from $1.41 to $3.80 more. That 6-piece Chicken McNuggets combo is $5.40 but a 10-piece combo is $8.79. If I really wanted that, I think the 6 piece combo plus a 4-piece a la carte for another $1 is cheaper. None of the pricing seems to reflect any rational thinking.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I can't believe I just did this but I looked up some prices at McD's.

For instance:

Separately, you can get:

A Big Mac @ $3.99
A Medium Fry @ $1.69
A Medium soft drink @ $1.29
Total $6.97

Whereas, you can get:
A Big Mac Meal w Medium Fries and Drink @ $5.99 (and save $.98)

Just the sandwich and the fries are $5.68 (a difference of $.31 from the meal)
Just the sandwich and the drink are $5.28 (a difference of $.71 from the meal)

And that's without any coupons or anything.

In many cases it does make economic sense to get the meal. But for lots of reasons, some don't want a drink, or don't want a fry, and don't really care about the few cents' difference, either!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Some reading about the combos

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combination_meal
Combination meals may be priced lower compared to ordering the items separately, and this lower pricing may serve to entice consumers that are budget-minded.[2][4] A 2010 study published in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing found that some consumers may order a combination meal even if no price discount is applied compared to the price of ordering items separately.[3] The study found that this behavior is based upon consumers perceiving an inherent value in combination meals, and also suggested that the ease and convenience of ordering, such as ordering a meal by number, plays a role compared to ordering items separately.[3] This study also found that the presence of combination meals encourages consumers to increase meal portion size by supersizing their meals.[3]

https://www.portablepress.com/blog/2017/10/fast-food-firsts/
FIRST COMBO MEAL

The combo meal allows customers to easily order a burger, fries, and a soda—it’s like a kids’ meal for grownups, without the toy prize. Generally offered a little cheaper than ordering each item individually, Burger Chef came up with the idea in the late 1950s.


https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161007221720.htm
A new survey of children's and teenagers' eating habits at fast-food restaurants suggests that consumption levels of sugary drinks are closely tied to their automatic inclusion in "combo meal" packages.

According to the NYU Langone Medical Center researchers who led the survey, kids who ate at any of five major fast-food chains consumed 179 more calories on average when their meal deals included soda, sweetened tea or juice, or flavored milks, compared to those who drank non-sweetened beverages or nothing with their food.

 

[soccerdad72]

Royal Caribbean has been doing this for years on their ships with Coke Freestyle machines. Although, in RCCL's case, it's a hard plastic mug, not unlike Disney's refillable mugs.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Doesn't the pop cost less than putting a RFID tag on the bottom of the cup?

It actually costs less than the cup itself even without the tag. That is just the product cost mind you. It doesn't count the cost of the delivery system or maintenance and repair and the like on it or a share of the overhead or any of that.

 

[lostangel52577]

It might not be about cost so much as keeping a type of person out of the store. If people know they can no longer walk in and get soda in their own cup they probably won’t come at all.

 

[wenrob]

Doesn't the pop cost less than putting a RFID tag on the bottom of the cup?

This. Just seems like overkill for something that costs practically nothing in the grand scheme. A Roberto’s I used to live by would give you a free Pepsi no matter what you ordered. If you ate in you could refill it. Another place by me will refill your drink no matter how adamantly you tell them you DO NOT want one. Their manager insists and if the servers don’t they get in trouble. I personally have not ordered a soft drink at any place in years but even when I did I was never a refill person but a good majority of people are. It’s always been something to draw people in. This seems like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

I don't find meal combos all that great a bargain - at least not locally. A la carte may actually be cheaper with the dollar menu. My kid's favorite thing at McDonald's is Chicken McNuggets, which has some of the oddest pricing these days. I haven't even purchased a Happy Meal for my kid since they stopped being a $3 item.

But Chicken McNugget prices are a lesson in WTH? Here are the prices (checked on the app for my closest location):

4 - $1.00
6 - $3.99
10 - $4.99
20 - $5.00

The other thing I see is a "Daily Deal" at $5 for a 20 piece Chicken McNuggets. Makes absolutely no sense, although I also have a $4 deal for the same if I do it with a mobile order.

I have found some combos that made sense for breakfast. I have had a few experiences where I was told they couldn't make it a combo at the register, so I ordered via the app.

I won’t ever order the combos, larger fries or two Big Macs deals to save money (I’d toss it so it’s wasteful) but I always order Chicken Nuggets in 20s even if I only want 10. My kids will eat them the next day so that’s a no brainer for me.

 

[bcla]

This. Just seems like overkill for something that costs practically nothing in the grand scheme. A Roberto’s I used to live by would give you a free Pepsi no matter what you ordered. If you ate in you could refill it. Another place by me will refill your drink no matter how adamantly you tell them you DO NOT want one. Their manager insists and if the servers don’t they get in trouble. I personally have not ordered a soft drink at any place in years but even when I did I was never a refill person but a good majority of people are. It’s always been something to draw people in. This seems like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

I won’t ever order the combos, larger fries or two Big Macs deals to save money (I’d toss it so it’s wasteful) but I always order Chicken Nuggets in 20s even if I only want 10. My kids will eat them the next day so that’s a no brainer for me.

Depends on the location I suppose whether or not refills become an issue. The other thing is that most fast food refills are self serve other than coffee. The location I went to recently (with the tags on cups) was Berkeley, California on University Ave. That one deals with a lot of strange issues. t's popular with students because it's only a couple of blocks from the UC Berkeley campus. Also close to Berkeley High School. And the city no doubt has a lot of homeless/panhandlers, runaways, and assorted mentally ill on the street. My last visit someone outside was banging so hard on the glass that I thought it was close to breaking. Then the same guy came in to confront someone and the manager said she'd call the police to have him removed. It's also relatively cold and miserable, so they might have people just brining in cups and at least pretending to be customers in order to stay indoors.

I haven't seen this before. It just seemed odd when I tried to pour and it wouldn't do anything (save water) unless I placed the bottom of the cup right over the RFID transceiver.

As far as Chicken McNuggets go, they've been $5 for 20 around here for years, although it's up to the franchisee to set the prices. I can't recall a location around here that doesn't have that price. Maybe not on trips to Vegas, but they seem to have a different pricing structure. However, right now 4 piece at $1 is at a great price point, although a few locations don't have that price (seen as high as $2.80). One makes a good snack while two and my kid is full. I've also gotten an extra one and saved it for my kid's lunch. Getting 20 was just kind of odd unless it was three of us.

 

[Victoria3]

Ive seen people take cups out of the garbage and bring them back inside McDonald's.

 

[Dan Murphy]

One thing with most combos is that they come with medium beverage and fries. Both of those items are the profit drivers of fast food, and really most restaurants . If ordering item by item, most people would order a small drink and small fry. Comparing a separately bought sandwich with small drink and fries will almost assuredly be less cost than the combo with medium of each. Additionally, ordering anything larger than a small drink where free refills are available makes no sense, unless doing a carryout or drive-through. And same concept negates the value of a combo with medium drink when refills are free.

And I do agree on the crazy nugget pricing at McD's. When I have my nugget eating grandson with me and we go to McD's, it's always a 20 piece with more than half coming home.

Combo prices are a mystery. Just out of curiosity I checked for that same location. Add a combo (medium fries plus medium drink) and it's anywhere from $1.41 to $3.80 more. That 6-piece Chicken McNuggets combo is $5.40 but a 10-piece combo is $8.79. If I really wanted that, I think the 6 piece combo plus a 4-piece a la carte for another $1 is cheaper. None of the pricing seems to reflect any rational thinking.

I can't believe I just did this but I looked up some prices at McD's.

For instance:

Separately, you can get:

A Big Mac @ $3.99
A Medium Fry @ $1.69
A Medium soft drink @ $1.29
Total $6.97

Whereas, you can get:
A Big Mac Meal w Medium Fries and Drink @ $5.99 (and save $.98)

Just the sandwich and the fries are $5.68 (a difference of $.31 from the meal)
Just the sandwich and the drink are $5.28 (a difference of $.71 from the meal)

And that's without any coupons or anything.

In many cases it does make economic sense to get the meal. But for lots of reasons, some don't want a drink, or don't want a fry, and don't really care about the few cents' difference, either!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

One thing with most combos is that they come with medium beverage and fries. Both of those items are the profit drivers of fast food, and really most restaurants . If ordering item by item, most people would order a small drink and small fry. Comparing a separately bought sandwich with small drink and fries will almost assuredly be less cost than the combo with medium of each. Additionally, ordering anything larger than a small drink where free refills are available makes no sense, unless doing a carryout or drive-through. And same concept negates the value of a combo with medium drink when refills are free.

And I do agree on the crazy nugget pricing at McD's. When I have my nugget eating grandson with me and we go to McD's, it's always a 20 piece with more than half coming home.

Makes sense on the refills.

I just re-checked prices on the McD's items, though. Even ordering small items separately, it is still cheaper to get the medium combo (@ $5.99).

Separately:

Big Mac @ $3.99
Small Fry @ $1.39
Small Drink @ $1.00
Total: $6.38

They've got these things figured out pretty good!

 

[Praying Colonel]

Doesn’t wdw have this too?

It's been implemented at WDW for a few years, but I'm not sure if it's in place at every QS restaurant.

 

[LSUmiss]

It's been implemented at WDW for a few years, but I'm not sure if it's in place at every QS restaurant.

No I think just the resorts. I didn’t even think you could get refills in most QS places?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Makes sense on the refills.

I just re-checked prices on the McD's items, though. Even ordering small items separately, it is still cheaper to get the medium combo (@ $5.99).

Separately:

Big Mac @ $3.99
Small Fry @ $1.39
Small Drink @ $1.00
Total: $6.38

They've got these things figured out pretty good!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Makes sense on the refills.

I just re-checked prices on the McD's items, though. Even ordering small items separately, it is still cheaper to get the medium combo (@ $5.99).

Separately:

Big Mac @ $3.99
Small Fry @ $1.39
Small Drink @ $1.00
Total: $6.38

They've got these things figured out pretty good!

Here are our local prices

Big Mac $4.49
Small Fry $1.79
Any size drink (changes periodically, generally $1.49 small/$1.79 medium) $1.00
Total today $7.28

Big Mac combo $7.99

If bumped up to a medium fry ($2.59) piecemeal total would be $8.08, 9 cents more than piecemeal.

 

[Cloudy]

This is kind of insane. Does the price of the soda go up because we now have to pay for them to put little microchips on the disposable paper cups?? I agree, paying to implement this stuff must cost more than whatever amount of soda gets consumed by paying customers, and even those who "steal" it.

That being said, I have seen enough people come into a fast food restaurant (mostly McDonald's) with their own cup, fill it up with soda and just walk out. This is why we can't have nice things.

To me this is just the price of having self serve soda machines. Same with self checkout at grocery stores. Businesses save money on employee costs but customer theft is higher. Even with more theft, costs are still lower.

 

[ImDMous]

I definitely agree with a PP that this has nothing to do with how much the soda costs and everything to do with wanting people to leave when they will no longer be able to get refills.

 

[Yoshi]

No I think just the resorts. I didn’t even think you could get refills in most QS places?

It's usually 1 or 2 places in each park.

Magic Kingdom- Be Our Guest
Epcot - Electric Umbrella
Hollywood Studios - Backlot Express, ABC Commissary
Animal Kingdom - Restaurantosaurus, Satu'li Canteen

There might be another one or two I forgot about.

 

[Moliphino]

It's usually 1 or 2 places in each park.

Magic Kingdom- Be Our Guest
Epcot - Electric Umbrella
Hollywood Studios - Backlot Express, ABC Commissary
Animal Kingdom - Restaurantosaurus, Satu'li Canteen

There might be another one or two I forgot about.

Sunshine Seasons, too.