I stopped eating at McDonald's back in the mid to late 90s, nowadays I absolutely never intend to eat at McDonald's ever again. McDonald's has screwed the pooch.
I worked in a sit down restaurant, back end workers were well paid. It is only those that repeatedly serve the same table that got tipped. McDonalds doesn’t have that position.
I went into Baskin Robbins to get a half gallon of Rocky Road ice cream. picked out of the freezer myself, went to the counter to pay. They wanted a tip. I did not leave a tip. they did nothing but work the register.
McDonalds prices went through the roof and the market won't sustain the higher prices. Maybe it's because McDonalds is one of the largest landlords in the US. They rent property to franchisees who are forced to buy McDonalds products. McDonalds still gets their rent paid, even if the franchisees can't generate a profit. If the franchisees sell the food products at inflated prices and subsequently can't generate enough sales due to price gouging, it may not actually harm McDonalds corporation, since the franchisees are trapped in their leases, sometimes with buildings they paid to build on McDonalds property. There are a lot of fools who have bought into franchises which reward the corporation, but put the franchisee at substantial risk, up to and including losing all their money and going out of business. I don't understand why anyone would take the risk of buying a franchise. The corporation reaps the benefits, and the franchisee assumes enormous risk. The corporation never has any risk in these arrangements. I don't know why some small business people aren't smarter with their money.