We Blame the Great Disconnect: McDonald's Franchisees say Brand is in a 'depression'

McDonald's has been confused, and confusing, for years. 

The menu boards are as bloated as the 2nd page of a Prescription Drug advertisement.

Confusion kept new customers from coming back.  

The company's Dollar Menu promotion stayed too long. 

For many years a customer could buy à la carte and save the markup on the value meal bundle. 

Snap Quiz for Ms. & Mr. green MBA: when the customer keeps the markup, guess who knows that sooner than corporate HQ?

Constant cheap pricing eventually damaged the equity of the brand by incentivizing loyal users to rethink price vs. value.

When "24/7 promotional" remains 24/7 at the register, it is no longer a promotion: it is the brand.

What will seal McDonald's ultimate doom and make the headline a reality is the ongoing Great Disconnect between the field and the corporate.

That is what the article excerpted below tells me.  And ponder the meaning of it a bit longer than the next sip of your $1 small coffee with free refills and a couple of extra creams.

The worrisome Great Disconnect is everywhere: consider the leadership of our political parties, the politicization of our universities plus the Vatican and Big Protestant churches, and add to the list our union operated public schools.  

Confused?  Of course. 

Hopeful?  You choose, and act.   PB
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From www.businessinsider.com:

McDonald's franchisees believe the brand is in a "deep depression" and could be facing its "final days," according to a new survey.

"We are in the throes of a deep depression, and nothing is changing," one franchisee wrote in response to the survey by Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski.

"Probably 30% of operators are insolvent."

Another wrote, "The CEO is sowing the seeds of our demise. We are a quick-serve fast-food restaurant, not a fast casual like Five Guys or Chipotle. The system may be facing its final days."

More than a dozen franchisees expressed frustration with McDonald's management, saying that CEO Steve Easterbrook's turnaround plan — which includes initiatives like all-day breakfast and a shift to digital ordering kiosks — is a distraction from the core issues of McDonald's, like food quality and customer service.

"The lack of consistent leadership from Oak Brook is frightening, we continue to jump from one failed initiative to another," one franchisee wrote.

A second wrote, "I have been in this business since the early 1970s but have not seen us this leaderless in all my time."

The company's reaction to their frustration, one franchisee claimed, is for operators to "get out of the system" and quit the business...
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Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-franchisees-say-the-brand-is-in-a-deep-depression-2015-10