S5E4: About Fast Food and Things
Hello, and welcome. My name is Christopher Chandler.
Speaker 2:And my name is Chris Schauer, and we are generally American. In our podcast, we discuss events, culture, whatever else we want from a generally American perspective.
Speaker 1:From our differing viewpoints, our goal is that we can offer others and ourselves nuanced opinions on fascinating topics related to the US.
Speaker 2:We invite you to be part of the discussion, and we hope that you'll stick around to see where the conversation takes us. So let's dive in.
Speaker 1:Ends live.
Speaker 2:We are in another week with no countdown. That's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It is.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you always open that way. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So the weather. Because we have started the weather. So the weather here has been actually, okay. It's slowly starting to feel like spring, but I did hear that we're gonna get like some arctic wind. I read that correctly.
Speaker 1:So it's supposed to drop to, like, below freezing here within, like, the next couple of days. So I really don't look forward to that. But it's been really cold in the apartment because of it. Not a lot of rain, which I guess is a good thing. So we've had more sunshine.
Speaker 1:I actually felt like going for a walk today, but I didn't. I have to use the stroller that we got from my wife's aunt to go and, you know, walk with the baby, and I just can't, for the life of me, bring myself to actually get it from the basement and take it upstairs and go for a walk. So but I'm moving soon. So we'll have a garage, and I'll just put it in the garage, and I can just, you know, pick up pick it up and go whenever I feel like it. So
Speaker 2:And you can use I'm about to move, I am moving, or I just moved as an excuse to avoid things for a long time.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I've been kind of using that for a while for a lot of things. Like, my beard is really out of control, and so is, like, the rest of my, my hair. My hairdo is just crazy. And I'm like, yeah.
Speaker 1:Or the apartment isn't so my current apartment isn't as clean as it should be. But it's like, you know, well, I'm moving soon, so it's okay if it's a bit
Speaker 2:too everything out of there.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So it's a bit unorganized, and I'm really looking forward to just throwing stuff away. I really am just throwing away old papers, like
Speaker 2:like, I be afraid to do it either.
Speaker 1:I mean, I I did it actually during, Christmas break when we were off. I sold, like, 4 or 5 things. I made a couple $100, so I was actually pretty happy about that. And, I threw in a lot of I I don't know if it's trash, but, you know, it's it was trash to me. So I coulda sold it.
Speaker 1:I didn't want to, so I threw it away. But yeah. So that's the weekly weather report here. What about where you are?
Speaker 2:Well, real quick, I'll say I've moved 4 times in the last 10 years. And at this last time, there are things I moved all four times that I'm like, alright. I'm finally throwing this away. There were things I packed and I unpacked here, and I'm like, why did I bring this? And then I threw it away.
Speaker 2:But, no, weather here, it's finally, finally starting to transition into spring. We've aside from, like, probably the harshest week of winter I've ever seen in my life, It's been a very mild winter here. So it's gonna be a brutal summer with, wildfires because it's just gonna be so dry here, but I went for, like, my my Fitbit says I walked about 5 some miles in walks yesterday, so that was good. Part of the what the good weather is bringing is I could hear some children outside earlier. So if you hear a bouncing ball or some some kids, that's that's why.
Speaker 1:I I didn't know I didn't know kids still played outside. I just assumed everyone was inside.
Speaker 2:Yeah. They well, they play in, like, our, our parking lot here, which I'd you know, and I can't there's really nowhere else to to go, so I can't really blame them. Oh, that was a scream. But, no, other than that, like, it's been great. It's always super windy here.
Speaker 2:It's not as big of a deal in the summer, but it's been great to finally be able to go out and walk. Although daylight savings, which just triggered in the US today, plus having walked 5 some miles yesterday out of shape, it was really hard to get up today. It was really hard.
Speaker 1:Daylight savings time is supposed to be in, I think, in 2 weeks here, so, I'm not really looking forward to that. I I never really understood the benefit of that. Most states in the US do do say, like, the daylight savings times, but I think there's one state that doesn't or 2. I I believe Arizona is one of them.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But it's not the entire state. There's little pockets of it that do or don't. Really? Which I which I actually you know what?
Speaker 2:And I need to make sure I have that hammered out because I do some things in Arizona for work, So I always need to make sure I know what what because, you know, an hour is a big difference. If someone tells you to send something at 10 AM Mhmm. You know, an hour earlier, an hour late, you know, it's a big difference.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. That's true. That's why I enjoy, you know, having an hour more of sleep. Wait.
Speaker 1:But that'll that'll be in the in the fall. I just double checked. So it actually you're right. So it's Arizona with the exception of the Navajo Nation, which I didn't know that, in Hawaii. So in Hawaii, they don't do it, apparently.
Speaker 2:No. I'm glad I don't have to play around with Hawaii.
Speaker 1:Well, I'd love to go to Hawaii.
Speaker 2:I'd love to go there, but I don't do any work in Hawaii, which it would be cool, but I just don't.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. That's true. Anyway, so that is, you know, the biweekly, bi national weather report. So what are we talking about?
Speaker 2:Today, we're talking about a topic, you suggested, I think, mostly to torment me, which is fast food. I say torment because I think it was, like, 2 or 3 weeks ago, I decided to start losing weight again.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:So not that fast food is anything special, but Well Taco Bell is always gonna be a problem.
Speaker 1:So, like, when people talk about the US, I think there are 3 things. Well, I mean, there are obviously more, but I think there are in my mind, there are 3 main things that people like to bring up, which is, like, the weather, which is why we always start off with the weather, especially, like, with hurricanes and tornadoes where I'm from. So, like, from, like, the Midwest, there are a lot of tornadoes, so that's not really a big deal to me. Another one is guns. So people always like to talk about guns when they talk about the United States.
Speaker 1:That's very popular. And food. And, usually, it's very positive or very negative. In the center of all that would be fast food. So I was like, you know, we'll start with fast food.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And it's it's one of those things that once you hit a certain age, it's just it just feels like a reality of life. Like, when I went to high school so, you know, I'm 14. I got $4 a day from my dad for lunch, and, the high school was, you know, within maybe a 5, 6 minute walk of of one of of a pretty major street here in town with, like let's see. There was McDonald's, KFC, Little Caesar's.
Speaker 2:There was a Subway and a gas station across the street, Taco Bell. There was not not really fast food, but, you know, like, it was a place called Mongolian Grill. It was one of those places you get, like, your freeze dried ingredients, and then they put it on a steaming hot flat top with all the sauces and stuff and make you, like, a stir fry.
Speaker 1:I don't know if that counts as fast food, though.
Speaker 2:It was It doesn't, but it was fast, and people loved it. So that's unless I'm forgetting something. Like, that's what we had. Mhmm. So it was like every day at lunchtime, you just see a mass mass exodus of teenagers at all these different fast food places.
Speaker 2:And and it's still like that today. I live pretty nearby, so, you always have to think, do I really wanna go over anywhere, in the 2 hour block where the high school has their 2 lunches? But it was just the reality of life. So I would have I still remember Little Caesar's had a, like, a big slice of pizza and a large soda for, like, 3.25, so I I could profit 75¢ a day if I ate there. Or McDonald's would have, like, their dollar menu, so I could get, like, 2 McChickens and a soda for, like, $3 to profit a dollar.
Speaker 2:Taco Bell, always I can't remember what I used to get, but there was always something cheap there. But yeah. So I just, as a teenager, I basically ate fast food 5 days a week.
Speaker 1:I I mean, I normal. I I did the same thing. And, I remember at our our high school, a lot of the seniors were allowed to leave, during lunch and would actually go to, like, the local Domino's and, like, buy pizza or whatever or go to McDonald's. That I think it's kinda weird because it used to be kind of like a treat back then. In general, I think fast food for was a treat.
Speaker 1:Especially when I was growing up, it was always, woah. Like, let's go to McDonald's or Burger King or or whatever, and it was like a treat. You know? Like, because our parents wanted to do something nice for us. And as you said, now is just kind of like a way of life.
Speaker 1:I guess it supplements a lot of a lot of cooking for a lot of people for better or for worse. I don't I don't really knock on fast food, though, because I think for a lot of people, and I know a lot of people where this is the case, that's usually all they can afford. You know? Unfortunately, that's all they can really afford. So it does help people, especially in, like, food deserts.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you've heard that term before.
Speaker 2:Is that like it's, like, a small town that has, like there's, like, a hotel, a casino, and a McDonald's, and a gas station, and that's it?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Pretty much. Like, a food desert is pretty much just that is there's no way to buy, like, freshly sourced or, like, organic food, and so you're kinda just forced to buy food at, like, a 711 or go to McDonald's and whatnot. And so so yeah. I read an article the other day, which is kind of the inspiration for, I guess, this episode's topic, which was saying and I can't remember what city it was.
Speaker 1:I should've saved the article. But in one city in United States, I think a Big Mac is, like, 12 or 13 or $14, and which which is outrageously expensive. And so now the question is, is because fast food is slowly becoming more and more expensive. And so the question is, is it becoming like a like a luxury item, you know, for people who can afford it? And I think the article stated, anyone who earns below, I think, $45,000 a year shouldn't eat out because fast food is that expensive.
Speaker 1:Whether or not that's true, it's like a blanket statement. I would say that. But it I think it's definitely gotten a lot more expensive. Every time I go back to the US, I'm always just kinda shocked about how much money you can actually spend when you go out to when you go out to eat.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. I I have had moments. So, I'm trying to basically, right now, cook everything. But up until pretty recently, I was having a lot of fast food. And if you're not smart about how and where you order, you might as well just go to a, like, a nice sit down restaurant.
Speaker 2:It's about the same. I mean so if you order, like, like, Big Macs, Whoppers, like, the the, you know, the big name, stuff like that, and get combo meals and stuff, you're looking at, like, 15 or more dollars for, like, one person, which is insane.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And those are comparable to the prices you pay here. So, you know, I've been here for what feels like an eternity, but I've been here since 2011. And when I first came here, fast food in the US was, I I would say, relatively cheap compared to the US or compared to Germany. Sorry.
Speaker 1:And, like, what you would pay for one like, a family, you know, a family of 3, for example, in the US is what you would pay for pretty much, like, 1 or 2 people a year at McDonald's. And so, like, my wife and I would never go, go out to eat at, like, a fast food restaurant because it's so expensive, and now it's even worse. We went because we had the consulate 2 weeks ago, so we went to a McDonald's, and they had, like, the vegetarian options, because now they're using, like, you know, vegetarian chicken nuggets and whatnot. It wasn't very good. And so it was an instant regret, and then, like, a reminder of why we don't like going to fast food restaurants.
Speaker 2:Are are fast food apps, like, a thing that people go over there?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Like, the other day, I saw, a McDonald's taxi. I was like, oh, they're delivering now. So, like, you can I'm pretty sure you can do this in some parts of the US, but at least for Europe, this is a this is a new thing, like, within past couple of years, where you can order at obviously, you can order Domino's because we have Domino's Pizza Hut over here, and they have the apps. Like, they have their own apps.
Speaker 1:And you can also order McDonald's, Amber, King through their own apps or through, like, what's the American equivalent? Like, I think, like, Grubhub is what it's called.
Speaker 2:Uber Eats or DoorDash, Grubhub.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Exactly. Stuff like that. So you can order either through those platforms or through the company's own apps. Okay.
Speaker 1:Which I was super you know, as a kid, he was like, oh, that would be so cool if you could, like, order McDonald's over the phone. Because, obviously, you can do it with, like, you know, Chinese and and pizza at, you know, back in the nineties and early 2000, but not with McDonald's. That would have been cool. Now I don't really care, but but as a kid, I would have loved that.
Speaker 2:So and I I assume they do the same rewards system. So, like, when I was doing a bunch here recently, so every every fast food place, they have their own app. You sign up, and then the more you order, the more rewards you get. You get a bunch of free food. Honestly, it's, like, such a good way.
Speaker 2:Like, you shouldn't be eating this much fast food, but it's a good way to see, like look at all the because when you're in a drive through, like, you don't you can't really sit there and take forever to order just out of courtesy for the person waiting on you at the window and the people behind you. Mhmm. But if you have time on the app, you're like, oh, what are the daily deals? What are this? What are that?
Speaker 2:Oh, I get you know, I have this for free I can redeem. It's kinda the Wendy's was the best about that because it's like every Wednesday, get free chicken nuggets with whatever you order, and every this day, get a 1¢ soda. And every and I don't know if they advertised them over there, but they were doing these really cheap meal. I think they were, like, biggie meals or biggie deals or something. Like, meals as cheap as $5.
Speaker 2:You got, like, a sandwich, fries, nuggets, and a drink.
Speaker 1:Yeah. They they do that here too. Granted, we don't really have, like, cable TV anymore. We I haven't had cable TV in, like, 7 years. So that's where I would say the bulk of the advertising is for really anything in in Europe.
Speaker 1:But because we do a lot over, like, Netflix and, like, YouTube and Amazon, we still get, like, a lot of the apps, and they do do, like, reward systems. But the the biggest point for a lot of the companies nowadays is, like, the whole, like, vegan vegetarian thing. I know that's, like, globally, I would say, on the rise, like, being vegetarian or vegan or, like, a bare minimum, being more health conscious, which means eating less meat. By the way, that's not like a judgmental statement towards anyone. That's just like a general fact here.
Speaker 1:And so a lot of these companies are just really trying to bring in new customers with, like, these vegetarian options, And so that's where most of their advertising goes. Not so much point. Like, you we have point systems for everything here, really, but I would say it's definitely more of an American thing, like, getting points back for really anything, like, with credit cards, for example.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well, like, it gets silly to a point. Like, the Taco Bell app, it it was getting to the point where, like, every 2 or 3 visits, I got free food.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow. That's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But before I forget, speaking of the Wendy's, app, did you hear the story about what they're looking to do?
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah. With the with the dynamic pricing?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Which it's funny because they to me, they're, like, the last reasonable I mean, you can go to Taco Bell and order pretty cheap, but you have to, like, piecemeal it. Right? Like, I'm gonna get one of these, one of these, and you're ordering off the value menu. Wendy's felt like the last place you could go.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna have a meal, and it's gonna be relatively cheap. I'm gonna order one thing. That's it. Easy. And I I wonder if because I would go there, you know, a few times, and there was always, you know, there was always people there.
Speaker 2:So I wonder if it's one of those things where they're basically making no money from how cheap their meals were. And I I think it was like the CEO or president or something who had, like, a response to the story. He basically said, oh, we're not gonna make things more expensive.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:We're just gonna make things cheaper when it's slower. But most people don't trust that because, like, we don't have, like, good price protection in the US at all. Mhmm. And this is something I I learned way too late in life, but, you know, like, I'm pretty sure in Europe, it's illegal to just take something that costs a $100 and then mark it up to a 150 and then put it on a 50% sale and be like, 50 or you know, that's not the right number. But x percent sale, it's a $100 when that's just what it is to begin with and just leave it that way.
Speaker 2:We don't really have any consumer protection of that nature here, so nobody trusts them to actually, you know, use the system in good faith.
Speaker 1:But I but I will add, I don't think and I'll double check this real quick. I don't think they're actually going to implement the, the quote, unquote surge pricing or dynamic pricing as they call it. They really backpedaled on that pretty quickly. But you are correct. I think the I think in general, like, a lot of the laws here are a lot harsher, which is, I don't know if you remember this and probably a lot of people don't.
Speaker 1:In terms of the Internet, this is, like, forever ago. But I think, like, 4 or 5 years ago, when the European Union decided to change up, like, the the the data protection laws, it blocked a lot of US websites. So for, like, 2 or 3 weeks, I couldn't access a lot of sites from the US because of the way the US and, like, the US government handles data. So a lot of them were just blocked flat out here. That's not it hasn't been a problem since then, but for, like, the 1st 3 weeks of, like, the new year, you couldn't do anything.
Speaker 1:Well,
Speaker 2:that doesn't surprise me at all.
Speaker 1:I mean, it didn't surprise me at all either. Or, like, a more modern example was the the new cyber truck from Tesla. Can't be sold in the European Union at all, because of the way it's built. Has nothing to do with fast food. Just, has to do with the fact of, you know, how Europe and the US deal, I guess, with consumers, so to speak.
Speaker 1:But
Speaker 2:You know, it's funny. Speaking of data and fast food. So we had, I don't know if you've ever heard of this place. You probably have. Have you heard of Dave's Hot Chicken?
Speaker 1:No. I haven't heard of that.
Speaker 2:So it's basically what it says. All this place does is, like, chicken strips
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:And, like, chicken sandwiches, And you can get, like, them plain or basically on a sandwich, and they have, like, 8 or so levels of heat. And we got one here relatively recently, and, was going to hang out with some friends Thursday. I picked up a friend early. We were gonna get some food, And I was like, oh, let's let's go try Dave's.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:So I'm, like, sitting in his driveway while I'm picking him up, like, downloading the app, and he's like, dude, what are you doing? He's like, oh, well, you know, I'm just gonna get set up on their app and, you know, order ahead. That way I know exactly what I'm getting and, you know, start earning words. Like, is that really worth selling your data for? Because that's what because, I mean, aside from you know, you're basically signing up for loyalty programs with all these fast food restaurants.
Speaker 2:So it's like a sunk cost fallacy that a lot of people keep coming back for. So that's one of the benefits for them. And 2, yeah, they they do sell all your data.
Speaker 1:Of course, they sell your data.
Speaker 2:And I won't lie. I felt a little ashamed, but I was also like, I'm so far gone. Like, I got the Taco Bell app. I got the Wendy's app. I never use it, but I have the McDonald's app.
Speaker 2:I have the Subway app. Like, I'm a I'm a lost cause at this point, and I feel bad about it. But it's just it's so convenient. You save so much money in the long run if you're gonna eat at them, and it's nice to be able to go up to a window at Taco Bell and just say, hey. I'm picking up for Chris.
Speaker 2:I don't need to order I want this, but know that, and I want one of those, but light on this. Like Mhmm. You could just put all the annoying things, all the annoying mods you want in the order, which by the way, if you do get silly with it, they do hate that. Well, I
Speaker 1:mean, I'm not gonna fault anyone for that. I don't think there's any any harm in necessarily wanting to order things in advance. But, I mean, it is definitely true. I would say that is the biggest weak point for a lot of Americans is convenience. So if you can do anything and make it more convenient, people will just flock to that model.
Speaker 1:Even if it costs a little bit more, if it's more convenient, we'll do it. I know plenty of people who would would drive to their mailbox, even if it's only, like, 50 feet away from the house. Just because it's more just because it's more convenient to be in your car and just drive to the mailbox. And I get that. So, like, for example, here at the moment, honestly, I don't because I have my daughter and I work from home.
Speaker 1:But when I had more free time, I would do a lot of walking. So I'd walk, like, I don't know, like, a mile or 2 to, like, the grocery store. Just because, like, you know, I enjoyed walking there. And then the question from my parents is, like, well, why? Like, don't you have a car?
Speaker 1:I was like, well, yes. I have a car. Although I just drive. I was like, why would I? You know?
Speaker 1:It's not that far. I'll just walk. So the convenience factor, I think, really plays into a lot of fast food things.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That's with the at the risk of getting off topic, that is a a big thing here. If you decide to walk to an errand, just half for the sake of a walk and half for the sake of the errand, people will look at you like you're a snob.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Although, the one time I did that in relative recent memory, it was like a 45 walk 45 minute walk to a Target, and it started raining about 10 minutes into the walk. And it rained really hard. And, by the time I got back, I had to, like, completely strip at the front door because I was, like, soaked to the bone. So not the best example. But
Speaker 1:Yeah. So that that's definitely, I think, more more of a thing here. It should be said, though, that we pretty much have everything that the US has. So in terms of, like, fast food, like, obviously, there are, a lot more, like, niche things, like a lot like a newer fast food restaurants that you might not find over here. But, like, all the big players are here.
Speaker 1:You know, McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's. What what's the other one called? 5 Guys in the Burger or something, I think, is the name.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's just 5 Guys.
Speaker 1:No. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. So they have that here too.
Speaker 1:That's pretty recent. Their fries, I think, are salty as hell. But Oh,
Speaker 2:I love 5 Guys fries. Their Cajun fries are so good. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, at least here, they're a bit salty. So we have pretty much everything the US has, but we have different supply chains, which
Speaker 2:a lot
Speaker 1:of people don't know.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. I'm sure things taste way different.
Speaker 1:Oh, they're very different. And so
Speaker 2:there was
Speaker 1:this, this, like, pink slime scandal a couple years back with McDonald's. I don't know if you remember that.
Speaker 2:It rings a bell.
Speaker 1:So there is, like there are a couple videos making the rounds on, like, YouTube and Facebook, whatnot, about McDonald's adding some kind of, like, pink slime substance to their, like, meat. And you were eating that meat, and people were grossed out. And so a lot of people started boycotting, McDonald's food. And that kind of spilled over to Europe, especially Germany, because a lot of Germans were watching these videos and thinking, oh my god. It's so disgusting.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to eat that. And the German department or, like, the German side of things had to say, like, well, like, relax. Like, we don't use the same distributors. Like, the US has theirs. We have ours, so it's completely separate.
Speaker 1:Like, it has nothing to do with that. So And
Speaker 2:as someone like, I didn't work fast food, but I worked, you know, I worked at a Red Robin as I've said before. And the reality is for most, like, not just fast food, but most American chain restaurants, the majority of what you get comes in frozen. And some of it is, like, you're you're getting from specifically the distribution network of the franchise you're a part of, but some of it is just like there's 2 or 3 major food distributors in the US. And if you order onion rings from them, it's gonna be the same at one restaurant as it is at the next, as is the next, as is the next. So, like, that's a big deal.
Speaker 2:And you can kinda tell, like, oh, we're having Cisco onion rings today, and we're having Cisco mozzarella sticks. And I I don't wanna say that's it's kind of a depressing thought, but it it does kinda, I don't know, ruin the magic, I guess, for some for some places.
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah. I mean, a lot of it is, standardized. So and I think and that was actually the biggest selling point of McDonald's, which is no matter where you go, at least within the US, it'll always be, like, the same experience. I do find McDonald's very interesting and very creative because it it adapts to the country. So you can go to, like, McDonald's and I think almost every country in the world except for, like, North Korea.
Speaker 1:So, like, there are McDonald's everywhere. And it's always different because they have to adapt to local tastes. I remember this rumor. I don't actually know if it's true or not, To be honest, I haven't really looked at it that hard, where people talk about how you could buy beer at McDonald's in Germany.
Speaker 2:I was gonna say that sounds super German.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I don't know if it's actually true. I don't think it's true. I've never actually tried to order beer from McDonald's, and I've never really looked at the menu that hard. It might be true, 1 or 2 McDonald's.
Speaker 1:But, the fact that that might even be remotely possible was super interesting to a lot of my friends. The fact that you could go to McDonald's and order beer.
Speaker 2:I think you owe us a field report.
Speaker 1:I'll have to go back and check.
Speaker 2:Well, and if you if you're ever out one that serves beer, your journalistic integrity says you have to try it and tell us how it is.
Speaker 1:But yeah. So, I think the nature of of fast food has also changed. If you I'm I'm pretty sure you remember how they used to look in the nineties, the like, the McDonald's.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. Like, I think it's very nostalgic to us because there's, like you know, growing up, you know, they don't remodel them every decade, but close. So, you know, those nineties color schemes stuck around for a while, and I I'm guessing we both have pretty strong memories of Yeah. Those loud nineties colors.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. I definitely remember that. And now they're all, like, brown and gray, pretty colorless, I would say. I I guess it really doesn't matter to a lot of people if they didn't really grow up with that, but it's like I said, for, I guess, for both of us, that was where the magic is going to, like, this wonderful place.
Speaker 1:You know, it was so playful, so full of color, so vibrant, and you just had, like, had a good time. I know that you could have, like, birthday parties at, like, the McDonald's. Like, you you know, you could arrange parties there. I'm sure you could still do that. I don't know why you would, though.
Speaker 2:Oh, and there's I I don't know about for you, but there's, like, a few famous location not, like, locally famous locations in my area. Like, Mhmm. The Burger King, like, on the south side of town here had, like, a huge playroom. Like, one of those play sets where you could go up, like, 2 or 3 levels. So it was like so when I was a kid in daycare, it was like, on special occasions, we got to go there.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. It was like, this this is like a big deal. Like, we're gonna have a we're gonna, you know, have Burger King, and then we're gonna we're gonna play, get Burger King, and go play some more. It's like an amazing day.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. I definitely remember that. I definitely know of a couple places where they still have that in in Missouri from from where, from where I'm from. So I definitely remember all that.
Speaker 1:But like I said, that's not really, like, the most important selling point for a lot of fast food, restaurants, I would say, anymore. I would say at the very beginning, it was really family oriented, and McDonald's was the biggest player in this. I know you had this, like Burger King's and, like, other places, but the the the idea is you could you had, like, 2 options. You could eat your food really quickly, or you could go there and have fun with the family. You know, those are, like, kinda, like, the 2 things you had.
Speaker 1:And I think the whole, like, family fun isn't really that important anymore. I think it's just getting your food and getting and getting out. You know?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And and, honestly, it's not that fast anymore.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. I mean
Speaker 2:Part part of it's due to staffing.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's true.
Speaker 2:Like, that's been an issue in the US for a while for, like, reasons we've talked about before, but I've sat, I've passed Taco Bell. Like, I remember one instance where I was driving home from, like, a movie or something, and I passed the Taco Bell. And I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna get something small, just a little snack. It just sounds good right now.
Speaker 2:And I sat this has happened multiple times at this location. I sat there, like, 45 minutes, and there were only, like, 4 cars ahead of me.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I think the worst part about fast food is that the employees there have no, like, respect, basically. Like, they get no respect is what I mean. And it's really looked down upon in American society if you work in fast food. I know that it's kind of changing for the most part, but I would say the majority of Americans don't really see fast food as being something like, respectable employment.
Speaker 1:So, I mean, you know this, but they've been fighting for higher wages for God knows how long. And there's this whole, like, $15 movement, you know, that they want, like, 15, $20 per hour. And a lot of people are like, that's ludicrous. Like, all you all all you do is, like, flip burgers, you know, and serve fries. Like, why would we pay $15 for that?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's hard work.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's I mean, it but it's work at the end of the day, so that doesn't really matter whether it's hard or not. It's still work, and the company profits off that, so should the employees. But that's kinda, like, beside the So I I think that's one of the reasons why it's really hard to get fast food fast, so to speak, because no one wants to work there. I mean, I worked at the McDonald's when I was a when I was a teenager, and I hated every second of it. So but I think that's for for a lot of Americans, I think that's one of their first jobs is fast food.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And you know what? I I I respect them. Like, I respect the profession because, you know, again, I haven't worked strictly fast food, but I've cooked in I don't think it's strictly fast casual. But at Red Robin, they want you to crank out food as fast as possible because they want to flip those tables to make more money.
Speaker 2:It does, like, on a professional level, kind of, you know, offend me when I'm sitting in line for 45 minutes and there's 4 cars ahead of me? Less mostly because it's like, how are you taking this long? Like, as, like, as professionals, how like, Taco Bell food's not that expensive or it's not that complicated. Taco Bell's kinda infamous where there's a very small amount of ingredients, and all the menu items are just you know, you mix them slightly differently.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, Taco Bell I used to love going to Taco Bell. At Taco they don't have Taco Bell here in Germany. So if you really wanna go Taco Bell, you have to go across the border to to the Netherlands. I haven't done that yet.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Actually, it is. But, I mean, I don't really miss it all that much. We do have Subway. So, I mean, there's that.
Speaker 2:Subway's everywhere. I believe that. There's more subways in the US than there is McDonald's.
Speaker 1:Is there really? I didn't know that.
Speaker 2:It beats Starbucks and McDonald's.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, given the controversy, which we won't, you know, talk about here, but, you know, Google, you know, mascot controversy, and you'll find it. But, yeah, I mean, it is it is kind of infuriating when they take so long to get your food done. The same is I I guess could be said for here too. But at the end of the day, you know, they're understaffed and overworked, so I get why they're so slow, depending on the location.
Speaker 1:I just wish that, you know, they got the respect that they deserve because at the end of the day, it's just
Speaker 2:And they deserve it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Of course, they deserve it. I mean, they're doing a job, so they deserve respect to money as anyone else. But it's unfortunate within the the context of, like, American society that they don't really have that prestige or respect. It's a bit different over here.
Speaker 1:There isn't, like, the stigma of working in fast food, where, like, if you work in fast food, you're a failure. And I think there's still that stigma in the US. So if you're working at any fast food, it doesn't really matter where, then people kinda think like, oh, this person failed in life, which I wouldn't say that is true as, like, a blanket statement. It might be true for, like, an individual, but I wouldn't say it's true across the board. But the stigma doesn't exist over here, so it's a lot easier to, like, work in that kind of industry and feel okay with your job, I would say.
Speaker 1:I still wouldn't do it just because I hate working with food. I'm a terrible cook, and I burn everything. But, and I don't want
Speaker 2:to the cooking part that bothered me. It's all the the cleaning, which I don't have a problem with it. It's just, you know, it's annoying. It's dirty. You go home at the end of the day.
Speaker 2:You, you know, you smell like grease, and you're sore. And
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. I still remember that. I only worked at McDonald's for, like, I think, like, 2 or 3 months. But I still remember all of that.
Speaker 1:Burning myself, like, smelling, like, French fries. Oh, yeah. Just oh, it was terrible. And then I worked at a restaurant too at a Red Lobster. Same thing.
Speaker 2:So I I had a scar on my arm, which I thought was gonna be permanent, but it ended up going away after a few years. So I was working the station at Red Robin, which is responsible for fries. Mhmm. So I do I did a lot more. There's a lot more to that station than just fries, but, you know, the the whole gimmick at Red Robin is bottomless fries.
Speaker 2:So we make a lot of fries. Oh. And fries goes out with basically every meal on top of that. So when you're busy, like, you have to, like if you aren't, like, full bore cooking fries, like, you're messing up. And, I I can't remember how, but I I dipped fries in the fryer a certain way, and I got absolutely splashed with hot oil on my arm.
Speaker 2:And my arm, like, bubbles and like, if you ever see bad burns where your arm, like,
Speaker 1:bubbles up Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like, your are like, your skin is going into, like, panic mode to protect yourself.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And we were I couldn't stop and treat it. Like, I I just, you know, took it, you know, went and just kept going, which, you know, in hindsight was stupid, but I was like, where we're going. You know? We're we're, like, we're in it. So I I don't I don't miss having to do that at all.
Speaker 2:It it's like everything is so dramatic, and then you're like, you know, after tonight, no nobody's gonna care about this.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, I I that's happened to me too. I mean, I've I have I have my fair share of of of burns and scars from working in, like, fast food. So I get all of that. I and I guess that's one of the reasons why I respect, you know, people who work in the food industry so much.
Speaker 1:This whole, like, lack of respect, though, I think that is true across the board for a lot of, like, food related industries. If it's not, like, high end, then there's really not, like, a lot of respect. You know? I think the
Speaker 2:Sorry. Go ahead.
Speaker 1:No. I was I was just gonna say, like, for example, like, you know, the biggest ones being, like, waiters and waitresses, you know, about them not getting tips and whatnot, trying to make ends meet.
Speaker 2:Oh, they do okay. They do a lot better than cooks.
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah. I mean, they do in terms of pay, probably, but in terms of respect, maybe not so much. But I guess kind of
Speaker 2:That's the trade off. They make, like, double what Cook's make, and that's
Speaker 1:the trade off.
Speaker 2:I I'm sorry. I I have a very hard time feel like, I will always be respectful to servers. I will always tip 20%. I will always stack up my plates, but I and I feel bad when people, like, are awful to them, but, like, that's why you get paid, like, double. Like, that's that's the trade off.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, that's and then then we can get into, like, the whole tipping culture, but that's a story for another day. Yeah. You can go on and on about that.
Speaker 2:But one thing I wanna say before we forget, it's it's interesting. So fast food working fast food is considered, like, bottom of the totem pole kind
Speaker 1:of Yeah. Pretty much.
Speaker 2:When you at least here, when you drive around, and this was bad, this is especially when the, when everyone was understaffed, when everyone was trying to get more more pay, you would see on all their signs, hiring at this, hiring at that, hiring at this. And some of them will even say, you know, we have benefits, blah blah blah. McDonald's has famously always had I don't know how good they are, but they've always famously had some kind of benefits. Mhmm. And I think Taco Bell's always had, like, a college fund for employees.
Speaker 2:Like, you get stuff for working at some of these places outside of your pay. Most restaurants, you get you get your pay, and that's it. You don't get any paid time off. You don't get any benefits. You don't you don't get anything.
Speaker 2:So there's, like, the more respectable, quote, unquote, positions of working at, like, normal restaurants, you benefit way less.
Speaker 1:And that that is true. And a lot of these fast food restaurants, you can't kind of work your way up. I mean, I've seen plenty of people who work who start off as, like, you know, like a like a cook, and they work up to, like, a manager. Now whether or not the the pay is there because I know sometimes they'll move you to, like, different positions to give you more responsibility and not necessarily more money, or if the the money they give you is not as comparable as, like, like, it could be, to, like, another position, for example. But I know there are plenty of people who work their way up, in, like, McDonald's, Wendy's, or whatever or what have you.
Speaker 1:But, I'm pretty sure
Speaker 2:At the end of the day, they're corporations. Like I mean, yeah. That's true. Can work your way up a corporation.
Speaker 1:I mean, you could work your way up to, like, own one of them. But, I mean, if you wanna actually own, like, a fast food restaurant, you're gonna pay a lot of money. I think McDonald's is, like, a1000000, like, starting off, basically, to, like, have their own franchise.
Speaker 2:There's a there's a local politician or he was a local politician here. His name is Denny Reeburg. He used to be he used to be our congressman. He owns a handful of fast food restaurants in Billings, and they were all considered the worst ones. Like, he had a Burger King, which no longer exists, which was, like, infamous for just being horrible.
Speaker 1:Horrible in terms of, like, not clean or, like,
Speaker 2:not clean? Just food quality.
Speaker 1:Oh, I mean, that I mean, that's actually another thing. I don't know why we didn't talk about this, but I don't know if the quality is always there, like, with fast food. I don't think people actually go to fast food restaurants because the food is good. I think they go there because it's convenient.
Speaker 2:It's convenient, and it's consistent.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That that's a actually, that's a very good point. That's very that's very poignant. It is convenient and is consistent. So that was, I think, one of the biggest selling points from McDonald's is no because as I said earlier, no matter where you go, it's always going to be the same, which is good.
Speaker 2:That's key for any any national chain or anything like that. That's that's priority number 1. So the idea is, like, you want people to say, McDonald's sounds good. Not like, a burger sounds good. You specifically want the McDonald's flavor.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. So it needs to taste the same in Portland, Maine as it does in Portland, Oregon, as it does in Miami, as it does in Anchorage, Alaska. Like, that's really important. And that was something, again, they hammered to us at Red Robin. They have a special seasoning blend they put on, like, 95% of their food that I'm convinced is part of that reason.
Speaker 2:So whether you know it or not, you're like, oh, Red Robin sounds good. I wonder why that is when in reality, they just have a really good seasoning blend that, again, they put on everything. Burgers, fries, like, chicken patties on salad. Like, it goes on everything.
Speaker 1:I I'm not gonna lie. I don't know if I've ever been to a Red Robin.
Speaker 2:It's fine.
Speaker 1:I don't know if there are a lot of them where I'm from. What what I didn't know is that, like, some rest some, like, fast food restaurants are just, like, regional. So I'll talk to other people from, like, different states and, like, yeah. I went to this fast food restaurant, and they're just kind of taken aback to realize that I've never heard of it and come to find it's only in, like, I don't know, like, the East Coast or only on the West Coast or only in the North. It's a
Speaker 2:big deal too.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like, people love, like, In N Out, so we don't have In N Out here. Oh, okay. And, apparently, something that obviously, In N Out, it's not a franchise. They own every restaurant. And part of their gimmick is they don't have freezers, so they have to control their distribution.
Speaker 2:Everything has to come in fresh. That's really difficult.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:So part of that limits their expansion. So it was actually a pretty I saw a story on my timeline the other day that Washington is getting their fur Washington state is getting their first in and out, and that's a big deal because, normally, they kinda stay around, like, a certain radius around Southern California. Mhmm. Like, the closest one to me is in Salt Lake City.
Speaker 1:I didn't know that. I'm open
Speaker 2:with If I'm ever in Salt Lake, if I'm ever in Vegas, I'm getting in and out. It's happening. I have to because it's that good, and I can't have it any other time.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I don't think we have that here, though. But, I mean, there are so many fast food chains. I mean, we could probably go on for, like we could just do a whole podcast about fast food and never be done with it.
Speaker 2:Oh, we could. And there's, like what's fun is there's, like, we were passing through Wyoming on the way back from Salt Lake once, and I can't even remember what it was called, like, Arctic Circle, I think, maybe.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But there was this little fast food restaurant, and I guess there's, like, there's a very there's there it is a chain. There's a handful of them, but they're, like, only in, like, Utah and Wyoming and areas like that. And I was like, that's so weird.
Speaker 1:I always thought it was really weird to have fast food chains local. I assume that once you have a fast food chain, it's available throughout the whole of the US, which is not true. So you only think of, like, the big players that we've mentioned today, and all the other ones are just kind of, like, local chains. But yeah. So we're coming to a close.
Speaker 1:There are so many other things I wish we would have talked about, but I think that's enough for one episode. I don't know if you have anything else you wanna touch on before we get here.
Speaker 2:Just real quick, I wanna circle back to that dynamic pricing thing we were talking about.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:1, I would implore everyone listening to if someplace does that, please don't support it because I'm just imagining a nightmare of one company adopts it. It they profit from it, so everybody follows. And then there's, like, a fast food rate stock market. And then every day when you go out, you have to be like, oh, I need to check the rates today. Who's who's who's got the prices down today?
Speaker 2:Oh, Taco Bell is projected to be 5% cheaper at lunch today, so I guess that's what I'm having. Oh my god. I so don't want that to be reality. Please don't let that happen.
Speaker 1:No. I don't want that either. Yeah. We don't have that here, but, you know, maybe in in our listeners countries. Maybe that's, already think.
Speaker 1:Who knows? Hopefully not. Anyhoo, thanks so much everyone for listening. It was super interesting episode. Unfortunately, we couldn't, you know, pack everything in.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I feel like I could keep going.
Speaker 1:I we could keep going forever and ever. But, you know, all good things must come to an end. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll catch you all the next one.
Speaker 2:Have a good week everyone. Bye.
Speaker 1:Alright. Take care. Bye. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our podcast. We hope that it was informative and that we were able to expand your worldview even if only just a little.
Speaker 2:Welcome feedback, comments, and constructive criticism. If you'd like to provide us with any, please reach out to us at our Discord or email address, both of which will be listed in the description.
Speaker 1:Thanks again for listening, and until next time.