I've uncovered a "cheese conspiracy" at McDonalds!

XHonusWagnerX - 1-16-2009 at 12:53 PM

Ok… first off let me say that I know how ridiculous it is that I noticed this and it probably borders on insanity that I actually bothered to write it all down and keep track of it. That being said I do find it interesting and I would love to talk to some higher up at McDonalds to get some sort of explanation.

A little preliminary explanation of things incase you’re not aware. There is a new menu item called a McDouble which consists of 2 hamburger patties and 1 slice of cheese. The McDouble recently replaced the Double Cheeseburger, which consists of 2 hamburger patties and 2 slices of cheese, on the ‘value menu’.

So here it is….

Hamburger .95 cents
Cheeseburger .99 cents

Price difference is .04 cents which reflects that 1 slice of cheese costs .04 cents.

McDouble $1.00
Double Cheeseburger $1.19

Price difference here is .19 cents so now 1 slice of cheese costs .19 cents.
However a hamburger patty only costs an additional .01 cent.

Now if divide the time it takes to make each sandwich into fractions of seconds the difference makes even less sense. When you make a hamburger you never need to reach for cheese saving time in the assembly process. When you make a McDouble you do need to put 1 slice of cheese on the sandwich which means you have the cheese in your hand and can add an additional slice with less effort. So if it costs .04 cents to add cheese to a hamburger it could cost only .02 or .03 cents to add a slice of cheese to a McDouble since the cheese is already in hand saving the time of reaching for it.

Hamburger Happy Meal (hamburger, drink, side order & toy) $3.19
Cheeseburger Happy Meal (cheeseburger, drink, side order & toy) $3.49

So now we see that the cost of a slice of cheese here is .30 cents even though it’s going on the same sandwich that it only costs .04 cents to put on when it’s ordered separately.

Double Cheeseburger Happy Meal (double cheeseburger, drink, side order & toy) $4.09

So… the price difference between a cheeseburger & double cheeseburger sold separately is .20 cents (.01 cent for the patty & .19 cents for the cheese) yet the price difference between a Happy Meal containing a cheeseburger vs. a double cheeseburger is .60 cents.

So to recap, depending what sandwich you are ordering and if it is in a Happy Meal or not the price of 1 slice of cheese added to a burger is either .04 cents, .19 cents, .30 cents or .59 cents.

JawnDiablo - 1-16-2009 at 12:56 PM

Honus,
I also noticed this years ago.
However I was afraid that if I chose to address it , they would send an assassin dressed as Ronald McDonald to snuff me out.
Their cheese is in no was worth that much money.

Furly - 1-16-2009 at 01:09 PM

I've noticed this also, but never figured it out to the extent you have. You either have way to much time on your hands, or your brain activity is that of genius.

Either way, I hate orange cheese, so if you're planning on bringing this to their attention, please also let them know they should make a McFurlin sandwich which consistes of a beef patty, white cheese, pickles, and a touch of ketchup.

Furly - 1-16-2009 at 01:12 PM

and I would give my left thumb to watch you in a leatherface mask and chainsaw fight with a deranged Ronald armed with a spatchula.

clevohardcore - 1-16-2009 at 01:17 PM

A bigmac supposedly back in 1999 cost 19 cents to make and sell. The rest was pure profit.

Dave - 1-16-2009 at 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Furly
I've noticed this also, but never figured it out to the extent you have. You either have way to much time on your hands, or your brain activity is that of genius.

SS76 - 1-16-2009 at 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Furly
I would give my left thumb

I could never part with a thumb.....I've often fantasized about breaking someone's thumbs(like if I ever caught the cocksucker who broke into my jeep) ...you'd be a fucking marsupial. Imagine trying to sign your name or cut a steak or zip and button your pants. Might consider giving a pinky though. Useless for anything other than the shocker.

Discipline - 1-16-2009 at 01:55 PM

There is a standard button on a McDonald's register for extra cheese at a set price. When it comes to individual sandwiches like the ones Honus mentioned, they look at the base cost of what it costs and base the selling price based on the percentage they want to mark it up. In the case of the happy meals, they make almost nothing on the burger as the markup on fries and drinks is so huge.

The other thing to consider is whether the store you go to is a company store or a franchise. Franchisee's are allowed to raise their prices by a certain percentage if they choose. Many franchisee's try to wrench as much money out of the cutomers' hands as possible.

Eight years with the company, half of which as upper management.

JawnDiablo - 1-16-2009 at 01:59 PM

My cousin is married to the president of Keystone foods which supplies McDonalds with all their meat products and such in this area.
they have much loot.

Furly - 1-16-2009 at 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Shootingscars

Quote:

Originally posted by Furly
I would give my left thumb

I'm a righty. I've also come extremely close to losing my left hand, I could deal without a thumb.

moron - 1-16-2009 at 02:41 PM

If I wanted to eat cheap I always got the double cheeseburger off the dollar menu. One day the McDouble appeared, and as much I love cheese and would love to have a second piece of cheese on my burger I refuse to pay $.19 for one slice of cheese. So, I order the McDouble and silently curse McDonalds. I never did the calculations on all of the other burgers though. That makes me hate the place even more.

BDx13 - 1-16-2009 at 03:15 PM

first off, i think this should be referred to as a "cheespiracy".

second, moron's right. mcdonalds patrons should be outraged! they wouldn't dare simply raise the price, they gotta introduce a new item that is essentially the same thing with a different name, and jack the price up by 20%.

random - 1-16-2009 at 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Shootingscars
I've often fantasized about breaking someone's thumbs(like if I ever caught the cocksucker who broke into my jeep) ...you'd be a fucking marsupial.

how does having broken thumbs make someone have a pouch like a kangaroo?

and honus, too much free time.

i'm sure if anyone complained, mcdonald's would claim that the mcdouble is the healthy alternative to the double cheeseburger, so this is part of their larger anti-obesity campaign.

this thread is also the first i've heard of the mcdouble. but i used to love some dollar menu double cheeseburgers. that shit was awesome.

SS76 - 1-16-2009 at 03:48 PM

marsupials have no thumbs to my knowledge....don't we have an australian or two here to back this up?

morgan - 1-16-2009 at 03:48 PM

Am I the only one here who can't stand McDonalds?

SS76 - 1-16-2009 at 03:56 PM

no, I hate Mcdonalds like I hate broccoli. I like their soda for some reason though.

MarkV - 1-16-2009 at 04:51 PM

I'm shocked this many people on here have a working knowledge of what goes on in a McDonald's.

JawnDiablo - 1-16-2009 at 05:02 PM

I only eat it when I am beyond drunk and the 24 hour drive thru is the only thing open.
I am assured a vomiting session every time.

random - 1-16-2009 at 05:04 PM

The New York Times had an article over the weekend on how McDonald's is having huge growth recently. Guess that dollar menu looks much more appealing when the good times are history.

barc0debaby - 1-16-2009 at 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by morgan
Am I the only one here who can't stand McDonalds?

Can't stand McDonalds or the slop they call food. I was at a McDonalds when I was 12 and one of my chicken nuggets had a blood in it. Shit freaked me out, there I am gorging on this psuedo chicken bullshit and it starts bleeding in my mouth. A couple years later I was desperately hungry enough to eat their again and that time there was blood and something that looked like a tumor in my mcnuggets. McDonalds can go to hell.

XnMeX - 1-16-2009 at 07:42 PM

THis is the type of stuff people come up with when they are high... Did you break edge Honus?

MarkV - 1-16-2009 at 10:09 PM

I've maybe had fries from there 2 or 3 times in the past 10 years.

defstarsteve - 1-16-2009 at 10:51 PM

haven't even thought about eating anything from there in over 10 years
I think the only psudo fast food we eat are del taco and subway...
even our pizzas come from private resturants

tireironsaint - 1-16-2009 at 11:04 PM

You people spend way too much time and money at that shithole. This scares me.

JawnDiablo - 1-17-2009 at 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by defstarsteve
haven't even thought about eating anything from there in over 10 years
I think the only psudo fast food we eat are del taco and subway...
even our pizzas come from private resturants

we NEVER get pizza / pizzaria food from aany chain places.
they are just.....well shitty

Enyo - 1-17-2009 at 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tireironsaint
You people spend way too much time and money at that shithole. This scares me.

I have to agree with that. Haven't you all seen the experiment with the regular fries/ hambuger next to the McDonalds stuff??

It doesn't break down, months later and it looks exactly the same! If you eat enough of that shit you won't have to be embalmed.

not to mention that they have sugar in every fucking thing on the menu.

MarkV - 1-17-2009 at 01:18 AM

Quote:

I hit Subway once in a while, and that's about it. If I'm grabbing quick Mexican, I'll hit a taco truck or stand. Every once in a while my gf goes to Jack in the Box, but it's mainly because the drive in is open all night.

Furly - 1-17-2009 at 02:53 PM

I spend a lot of time driving, so I usually need a quick lunch that I can eat on the road. Wendy's chicken sandwich is uaually what I do. But if there is only a McD's around cheeseburger happy meal is my bag. plus, I love toys.

DaveMoral - 1-17-2009 at 05:23 PM

I like Baja Fresh. Really really like Baja Fresh.

MarkV - 1-17-2009 at 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DaveMoral
I like Baja Fresh. Really really like Baja Fresh.

Good salsa bar. I think I prefer Chipotle, but with the amount I hit either, it's kind of a moot point.

barc0debaby - 1-18-2009 at 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Enyo

Quote:

Originally posted by tireironsaint
You people spend way too much time and money at that shithole. This scares me.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/648675/mcdonalds_food/

Discipline - 1-18-2009 at 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tireironsaint
You people spend way too much time and money at that shithole. This scares me.

I've probably eaten more McDonald's food than everybody on this board put together, and I still love the stuff. Their breakfast sausages fucking rule.