McDonald's Customers Shocked by Price of $25 Meal Deal
Complaints about McDonald's prices have been far from a rarity in 2024. The fast-food chain has been facing persistent backlash since the start of the year amid a series of viral social media posts calling out its prices for items like Egg McMuffins and Hash Browns. Now, McDonald's has come under scrutiny yet again thanks to a new video highlighting the cost of a Golden Arches meal deal in one part of the country.
On March 27, TikToker @shannon_montipaya posted a video from the drive-thru at a McDonald's in southern California (the location's exact address was not specified). The drive-thru menu board showed that the store was offering a $25.39 meal bundle that included a 40-piece Chicken McNuggets (1,660 calories) and two large orders of French fries (480 calories). The TikToker complained that the meal didn't even come with a drink despite costing more than $25.
"You couldn't even throw in, like, a medium Sprite in there? Holy crap," she said.
It's important to note that McDonald's prices vary by location since franchisees have the freedom to decide how much they charge. To that point, several commenters on the video reported that the same meal deal was significantly less expensive in their corner of the country.
"That exact meal at my McDonald's costs only $16. This is a location thing," one TikToker commented, with other commenters speculating that the recent increase to California's minimum wage for fast-food workers might be to blame. That law, which went into effect on April 1, raised the wage from $16 to $20—and many chains in the state are already raising prices to cover the cost, effectively passing it on to consumers. The LA Times reported that McDonald's was among the chains raising prices, and although this video was posted three days before the new law took effect, the chain surely knew it was coming.
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Whether or not the minimum wage was a factor in the high price of the meal deal in CA, with all of the discourse surrounding Mickey D's prices nowadays, it should come as no surprise that the video quickly went viral. The post has racked up a whopping two million views and more than 32,000 likes so far. It has also sparked a heated discussion online. Several fellow TikTokers, for example, decried the meal as far too pricey.
"Too much for me. I'm gone," one commented on the post.
"No way I would pay those prices for fast food," another wrote.
Some even encouraged other McDonald's customers to stop eating at the chain altogether in protest of the prices.
"Boycott fast-food, they'll lower prices," a TikToker commented.
That's not to say every McDonald's customer believes the chain is lacking in value. Many noted in the comments section that enticing discounts are often available in the McDonald's app. Several also praised the amount of food included in the bundle at the $25.39 price point.
"That's a deal," one TikToker commented.
Still, the video seemed to underscore the frustration many McDonald's customers are feeling with the chain's prices right now. The company revealed during a February earnings call that it raised its prices by about 10% in 2023, but said it expects any additional price increases in 2024 to slow in conjunction with easing inflation.
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