McDonald's Slashes Prices in Desperate Bid to Win Back Customers! Plus 12 worst fast-food places in America!

1. McDonald's Slashes Prices in Desperate Bid to Win Back Customers!
2. $5 Meal Deals: McDonald's Secret Weapon to Regain Fast Food Throne!
3. Viral $12 McDonald's Box Sparks Nationwide Debate on Regional Pricing!
4. Taco Bell Unveils $5 Taco Discovery Box – LeBron James and Jason Sudeikis Star in New Ad!
5. Wendy's Unleashes Massive 50-Nugget Party Pack with Free Nugget Wednesdays!

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This episode, along with hundreds ofothers from Klaroga Shark Media, is available
without commercials. Just look for thebanner on your Apple podcast app to subscribe
and try it free for a month. Caalaroga Shark Media. Welcome back to

(00:22):
the Weekly Mac, your ultimate sourcefor the juiciest fast food news. I'm
your host, Mac Davies, andWe've got a jam packed show for you
today. First up, McDonald's isseemingly fighting to attract customers one deal at
a time. The fast food gianthas faced criticism as prices soared in recent
years, resulting in less revenue fromlower income consumers and reduced foot traffic in

(00:43):
stores. As a result, Chiefexecutive officer Chris Kimcinski said in a late
April first quarter earnings call that McDonald'shas to be laser focused on affordability.
In response, McDonald's has promised areduction in prices and expressed interest in explos
oring more avenues to win customers back, which could include five dollar meal deals.
According to reports, A prior bidto introduce a five dollar meal deal

(01:07):
specifically was rejected by franchise operators,reported Bloomberg and CBS, but it is
now being reproposed with some new terms. Here's what we know about McDonald's plans
to become more affordable and what's nextfor the fast food chain. The five
dollar meal deal will reportedly offer achoice of a McChicken mcdouble or four piece
chicken McNuggets with fries and a drink. Bloomberg reported that McDonald's corporate is still

(01:33):
working with franchise owners on plans toroll out the deals. As McDonald's deals
can be regional, it is notyet known where or when the meal will
be introduced. One of McDonald's locationbased deals went viral in March, as
a Texas mom shared a twelve dollarsmeal box she got from the chain that
she said fed her family of five. There's two cheeseburgers in here, but

(01:55):
there are four small fries, tenpiece chicken nuggets, and there's two big
macs. Twelve dollars, y'all,she said in the video. In another
clip, she showed her receipt,which read Mickey De's Dinner Box at the
price of twelve nineteen After tax,the total came to thirteen twenty, though
commenters from across the US chimed into say that the price was regional.

(02:16):
Some reported similar meal box deals sellingfor eighteen ninety nine to thirty five ninety
nine in their states. McDonald's toldUSA Today that franchise store owners set their
own prices and have the flexibility tocreate promotions that will drive demand in their
restaurants. These promotions may vary byrestaurant. Generally, shareable bundled deals vary

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by location, and fans can accessthem through the app. Just in time
for Taco Tuesday, Taco Bell hasa new meal deal, the five dollars
Taco Discovery Box. The meal,which comes with a crunchy taco, Dorito's
Locos taco, a new canteena chickencrispy taco, and a medium drink,
will be available on Tuesdays now throughJune fourth. Taco Bell launched menu featuring

(03:00):
its Cantina Chicken menu with slow roastedshredded chicken in March. The fast food
chain is also cooked up a funnyTaco Tuesday commercial starring Lebron James and Jason
Sudeikis. In this new ad,they co star as two friends trying new
things in a seventies themed sitcom calledTaco Tuesday. This isn't the first time

(03:21):
James or Sudeikas have championed Taco Bell. James helped the company prevail in the
long simmering fight over the Taco Tuesdayphrase. Sudaikas recently appeared in another Taco
Bell commercial promoting the new Cantina Chickenmenu. We should all strive to try
something new on Tuesdays, whether it'sa new taco, a different combination of
your favorites, or simply stepping outof our comfort zones during the week,

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Sudeikis said in a press release aboutthe new Taco Tuesday deal in commercial and
Wendy's has launched a new item forchicken nugget lovers, and it is celebrating
by offering customers free chicken nuggets everyWednesday. The company announced the Nugs Party
Pack is available every day in selectmarkets starting Wednesday. The party pack features
fifty all white meat chicken nuggets andwill continue to roll out across Wendy's restaurants

(04:08):
in the US, The fast foodchain said in a news release. The
party pack is available in crispy orspicy nuggets and is perfect for watch parties,
picnics, and so much more.Wendy said. The company said customers
can get a free six piece nuggetswith any purchase in the Wendy's app every
Wednesday. Last year, in November, Wendy's did a similar move by offering

(04:30):
free chicken nuggets on Wednesdays for therest of the year. Wendy's is committed
to celebrating our unmatched chicken nugget fandomwhile also delivering the value our customers have
come to expect from us, saidLindsay Radkoski, US Chief marketing officer for
Wendy's. With exclusive deals and evenbigger ways to nug our Nugs party pack
and Wendy's Wednesdays are all about satisfyingour fans cravings. Wendy said that in

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order to help fans find their nearestNugs party pack, it is partnered with
Rashik Zaheed, the developer behind mcbroken, to create Wendy'snugparty dot com dot The
company says the site acts as areal time interactive map directing fans to their
closest participating Wendy's restaurant, serving upnugs party packs more In a moment this

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story from Yahoo, Whether they likepizza, hamburgers, chicken or sandwiches.
Americans want more than just cheap mealswhen they eat out at fast food restaurants.
The quality and freshness of the food, as well as the quality of
the service, have become top prioritieswhen choosing a spot to grab a quick
bite, as shown by the AmericanCustomer Satisfaction Index's most recent ranking of our

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nation's fast food restaurants. The ACSIsurvey, published in June twenty twenty three,
polled sixteen two hundred and fifty randomcustomers across the US US to find
out which fast food restaurants were theking of the industry and which sat firmly
at the bottom. The survey trackedsatisfaction with fast food restaurants from April twenty

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twenty two to March twenty twenty three, and asked respondents to rank chains based
on a variety of factors. Thisincludes the accuracy of their food order,
the quality and reliability of the chain'smobile app, the quality of the food
and food options, the cleanliness ofthe restaurant's dining room, and more.
The restaurants were then given an overallsatisfaction rating between one and one hundred.

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The worst ranked restaurant, perhaps surprisingly, was the brand that encapsulates American fast
food more than any other. McDonald's. The Golden Arches stood alone at the
bottom of the list of twenty fourrestaurants and was the only fast food company
to receive a satisfaction rating below seventy. A variety of other well known brands,

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including Subway, Wendy's, and Jackin the Box, also made the
list. Here's the top or bottomeleven. Panera Bread, the Missouri based
fast bakery company, was rated seventysix out of one hundred, a one
point drop from twenty twenty two.Panera has seen its share of recent headaches
and is facing lawsuits over its caffeinefilled charged lemonades, which the company recently

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announced it was discontinuing. Ten Chipotle, though typically viewed as one of the
higher quality Mexican fast food chains,Chipotle was toured the bottom of acsize list
with a rating of seventy five outof one hundred, a three point dropped
from twenty twenty two. The restauranthas faced several food safety mishaps and paid

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a twenty five million dollar fine intwenty twenty for violating federal food safety guidelines.
Nine Dairy Queen. You may notthink of Dairy Queen as a fast
food chain, but in some southernstates the restaurant is one of the essential
rights of passage, said Texas Monthly. Based on its hot food menu,
Dairy Queen was rated seventy five outof one hundred, one point increase from

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twenty twenty two. In eighth place, Subway. Subway is one of the
fastest growing sandwich chains and has evenraised concerns from Congress about a potential big
sandwich monopoly. The US largest sandwichrestaurant was rated seventy five out of one
hundred, with no change from twentytwenty two. Number seven is Little Caesar's.
Little Caesars remains one of the mosteconomical options for pie lovers, with

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their website currently offering a standard cheesepizza for seven dollars forty nine cents.
Despite this, the chain still receiveda low rating of seventy four out of
one hundred, a one point dropfrom twenty twenty two. Six Popeyes.
Their slogan may assume that people lovethat chicken from Popeyes, but the fried
chicken chain only received a rating ofseventy four out of one hundred. However,

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this was a four point increase fromtwenty twenty two, which ranks among
the highest boosts on acsi's list.Fifth is Wendy's The Girl with the Red
Braids, was in the headlines recentlyover a controversial plan to implement a form
of surge pricing. Despite this,Wendy still received a one point boost from
twenty twenty two, earning a ratingof seventy four out of one hundred four

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Jack in the Box. Jack inthe Box is also growing quickly, and
in November twenty twenty three, signedin order to open one hundred twenty three
new restaurants in multiple new markets.However, fast food goers do not appear
to be biting on the menu,as Jack in the Box earned a rating
of seventy three out of one hundred, though this was a one point jump

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from twenty twenty two. In thirdplace, Sonic. Sonic is a reminder
of a bygone era as one ofthe few remaining widespread drive in chains,
but even though this helps them standout, customers don't seem to be thrilled
with the food, as Sonic receiveda rating of seventy two out of one
hundred, a three point dip fromtwenty twenty two number two Taco Bell.

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Over the years, Taco Bell hastried everything from breakfast to the crazy Dorito
taco creations, and in twenty twentythree saw a two percent to three percent
in order volume. According to CNN. However, this doesn't necessarily mean people
are fans of the food, asTaco Bell was ranked the second worst fast
food restaurant in the US with arating of seventy one out of one hundred.

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This was a one point dropped fromtwenty twenty two, and in the
number one spot, McDonald's, thefast food restaurant that started it all,
is also the worst one in thecountry. According to Consumers, McDonald's received
a rating of sixty nine out ofone hundred. While this was a one
point increase from twenty twenty two,it still places the ubiquitous burger restaurant solely

(10:39):
at the bottom of the pack.In comparison, the highest rated burger chain
on acsi's list five Guys, wasrated nine points higher than McDonald's. And
there you have it. Thanks forjoining us today on this wild food ride.
The Weekly Mac is a Calarogus SharkMedia Production Executive producers Mark Francis and
John McDermott. Portions of this podcastmay have been created with the assistance of AI