Clicking on banner ads enables JWR to constantly improve
Jewish World Review Jan. 24, 2003 / 21 Shevat, 5763

Lenore Skenazy

Skenazy
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


Golden arches are falling


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | How ironic all the old McJingles are sounding now! "We love to see you smile." Oh yeah? Then how come none of you are smiling?

"It's a good time for the great taste of McDonald's." The great taste of congealing grease?

"We do it all for you." What, precisely? Dawdle? Deep-fry? Get the order wrong?

McDonald's is a hap-hap-happy place these days only if you are 3 years old and painting a ketchup smile on mommy's purse. Otherwise, the fast-food empire is aging about as well as a French fry.

For the first time, McDonald's posted a net loss last quarter. True, it still feeds 45 million Americans a day, so this slip could be a blip. But when you consider that the corporation just lost its CEO and announced it may change the basic burger's flavor (or lack thereof), it becomes pretty clear that the chain is falling faster than you can say "twoallbeefpatties ..." and all that other stuff that used to seem so cute.

Why? Simple. It is a relic of another era, a fossilized nugget in a world of seared tuna on focaccia.

"McDonald's was born in a time when TV dinners and Tang were new and exciting," says Paul Jerome Croce, head of American Studies at Stetson University. And just like those wonder foods that now seem more tacky than trendy, "McDonald's is in danger of becoming a period piece."

The problem has less to do with any dumb moves McDonald's made than the fact that we Americans have grown up, dining-wise. Our tastes have matured but McDonald's still treats us like kids, right down to serving salad in a Coke cup. What normal adult would serve another adult that way? Mickey D's is the classic, clueless 1950s parent.

Mostly, it is clueless about how worldly we've become. "In the 1980s, we sort of reached a critical mass in our knowledge of food," says Brett Thorn, an associate editor at Nation's Restaurant News. "We started using Dijon mustard and eating spicy foods from other countries." That spicy food can now be found in many of the newer chain restaurants.

As can food that is healthy. "Back in 2000, healthy eating was a 6% consideration in terms of food purchase. Now it's 23%," says Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a firm that studies brand loyalty. The McDonald's menu, meanwhile, is still synonymous with artery-clogging death wish. Supersize.

Moreover, these days when we eat out, we want to do it with a little class. "When you compare McDonald's to a Panera Bread or Cosi sandwich shop, where you walk in and the lighting is great and they have these big couches - it's like going into a living room," says John Goodman, a dad in suburban New York. "When I'm in a McDonald's, I can't wait to get out."

At the dawn of its existence, Mickey D's was every bit as exciting as any of those swanky sandwich shops. It was a destination. Even the counter help seemed psyched. But gradually, it has become a last resort, the place to go when you've got little time or money. Or, of course, if you have kids.

Alas, as even Ronald McDonald must know, most kid-friendly places are not places where unencumbered adults want to be. Think Chuck E Cheese's. Think school cafeteria. What was once a treat has become a generic, even depressing, experience.

As Americans eat out more and more, a restaurant meal is no longer a break from the family dinner table, it is the family dinner table. It's home.

When that home comes with hard plastic chairs, danger-frought fries and a parent corporation that just doesn't understand us, it's time to cut loose.

Enjoy this writer's work? Why not sign-up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.




JWR contributor Lenore Skenazy is a columnist for The New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here.

Up

01/14/03: Designs soar, critics fall flat
01/10/03: Don't smile for the camera
01/06/03: Have they no shame!? My sanity meter is running out
12/31/02: You know, like, resolved
12/23/02: Warning: Art ahead
12/05/02: Hey, boss! Can you hear me now?
12/03/02: Raw & steamy food fight
11/19/02: The new power tie
11/12/02: Googling be gone
11/05/02: Time waits for no blender
10/28/02: As debate rages about 9-11 memorial, a perfect one quietly appears
10/24/02: Your health, their wealth
10/10/02: Sometimes death opens up the door
09/24/02: Reality hits Mickey
09/19/02: Should you report me to the authorities?
09/12/02: War and love: Romance rises from the ashes
08/30/02: If beer is good, spinoffs are great
08/13/02: Braving difficult steps
08/08/02: Can't trust those tourists!
08/02/02: Enquiring about the 'stars'? I already know
07/26/02: Reunions that defy history
07/18/02: Where'd all the logos go?
07/12/02: He's why Boomers leap and twist
07/09/02: Hold on, my molar's ringing
06/25/02: Pitching the fish fork
06/11/02: Water fad is bottled nonsense 06/11/02: 06/07/02: He who brings menus deserves praise
06/04/02: Relish This! The World Trade Center Hot Dog Guy has been found
05/23/02: The return of the tight squeeze
05/15/02: A Little Too Spicy
05/10/02: Okay, start the movie already!
05/07/02: If you win the lottery, you may be out of luck
05/01/02: Driven nuts by drive-time cell phoners
04/16/02: Chats of a lifetime
04/10/02: This Pet Has a Tail to Tell
03/26/02: Hey, New York - Take a Haiku
03/21/02: Your 'victim,' is my 'survivor' is somebody else's 'hero'?
03/19/02: Terrorists, get out your No. 2 pencils
03/14/02: Tribute Has City Back at its Windows
03/06/02: Dumping Ted: Gray Day For the Baby Boomers
02/27/02: Sometimes, lying's the best policy
02/20/02: The Fad That Won't Fade Away
02/12/02: The smoking gun of white-collar crime is making some folks very happy
02/05/02: Exterminators are evolving, too
02/01/02: Don't suffer … do drugs
01/22/02: The Blue Light of Happiness
01/18/02: Marlboro's surprising gift to U.S.
01/08/02: Hospitals make me sick
01/02/02: Read-Aloud Resolutions
12/21/01: Nothing's Worse/Than Bad Verse
12/18/01: This Little Dog Bytes
12/13/01: Palm Pilot or Calendar? Paper Wins
12/07/01: The gift of 9/11
12/03/01: Altria Is Really Smokin'

© 2002, New York Daily News