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The ‘biggest’ reason why McDonald’s tastes so different in each location
When you go to different McDonald’s restaurants, you’ve probably noticed that the food tastes different despite ordering the same thing.
The menus are exactly the same, but your McNuggets, Big Mac and Filet-O-Fish always vary slightly – and there is one main reason why.
Why McDonald’s tastes different
Mike Haracz, who used to be a corporate chef at McDonald’s, explained that the “biggest” reason why the food varies so much by location is because they all have different owners.
Approximately 93% of the fast food chain’s restaurants across the world are owned and operated by independent local business owners through a process called franchising, McDonald’s reveals.
There are rules they all have to follow. They have to offer the same menu, use the same ingredients and install the same equipment. However, some owners only have one restaurant, while others may own 25 in one region, which can affect the food.
Those who own multiple McDonald’s have more infrastructure to manage their restaurants, like a regional manager and the ability to move ingredients between locations on demand. Those who only have one restaurant don’t have enough sales to warrant this.
Managers all do things differently
As they all have different managers, the restaurants will be managed differently. Some are run great and bosses take care of all the necessities such as their employees, food costs, quality control and waste. Usually, this is reflected in better food.
However, in some locations, the management simply does not care, which has a spiral effect and usually makes the food taste worse.
There is so much that goes into the food, from the training of employees to the age of the equipment, all of which “actually matters” and varies between restaurants. If management doesn’t train staff well, they won’t cook the food as well, and it’s as simple as that.
“So it is quite possible that the McDonald’s you have here is not that great, but you can go across the street and have a better experience,” Haracz said.
‘You’re spot on about management’
In the comments, people are agreeing that the management really does make a difference in each location.
One person wrote: “Youre spot on when it comes down to quality and when it comes down to management.”
“Quality control is the key and the ability to take resources from another store to keep the quality and quantity up to standard especially when waiting for a delivery,” they continued.
Another said “regional distributors make a difference too,” the places that distribute the ingredients to each restaurant.
Someone else argued that “improper operations” and “not following franchise rules” are two huge reasons for bad food.
