Can Fast Food Get Any Cheaper?

If you thought the food offered at many fast food joints couldn’t get any worse, just wait.

As I read in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and other prominent chains are in a bidding war to hit the lowest rung on the pricing ladder. Apparently, ordering from the dollar menu has gotten a little too steep for some folks.

“Fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Wendy’s may seem like they would be resilient in this tough economy, but consumers have come to expect $1 burgers, and more brands have jumped on the bandwagon, with chains like Yum Brands Inc.’s Taco Bell and Arby’s Restaurant Group testing out new value menus.”

What could say more than consumers that expect $1 burgers? Think about that. For one dollar (and under), people have come to assume that they can get a piece of ground beef, a bun, and all the usual toppings. Therefore, there is no such thing as a “value menu” when people don’t see the value – it is the norm.

You would think that McDonald’s and others would be taking a huge hit with such low-priced items, but no – they are making huge profits. So just imagine what kinds of ultra-cheap food they are using to create these measly imitations of real burgers.

But let’s take the next step – what’s going to happen if the profit margins get any thinner? In the name of competition, food will continue to get cheaper to raise sagging profits, and by extension, further decrease the quality of the food. This is an equation that has no good result, especially for the consumer.