i mean, not for nothing, but taco bell apparently bumped up sales volume by 9% in the same period.

McDs, BK and the others all shot up their prices big time in the last 5 years. everything that was 99 cents became >$1.50. the various combos all went from maybe $10 to like $15+. all that popped off during COVID seems like, and seems like fast food started going up before prices on everything else went up.

at the exact same time, all those places gutted their staff and shuttered everything but the drive thrus. many places where i used to live clearly only had 1 or 2 people running the entire place, sometimes just 1! it was a profit bonanza. and as things began opening back up, those staffing levels never really recovered, the wages were dogshit, while the food prices kept climbing. i remember realizing that i could legit just go to some local joint with much better food for the same cost, or even cheaper. and that was it for me.... it was no longer the faster or cheaper option.

while i'm sure taco bell has bumped up some prices, they've always been the actual cheap fast food drive through option. there's always some bean burrito situation that's like 59 cents or some other menu hack where you can get a bunch of hot carbs+protein for $2-3. not to mention, a lot of them are open weirdly late.

just another case of demand destruction: the other guys raised their prices so high people started thinking critically about the value proposition and ended up making structural adjustments to their behavior. when the goal is to get something quick and not be hungry, why pay a premium price for garbage coming out of an understaffed operation?

you can tell they realized they were overplaying their hand by introducing those apps with the crazy deals and those weirder value meals that are not numbered/not part of the standard sandwich+fries+drink formula. instead it's like two small sandwiches, or substitute a side for a sandwich, the "buy one add one" or the "meal deals" where you gotta do some kind of algebra problem to figure out how to get the most while paying the least because if they can overwhelm you with choices, it overrides your executive function to figure out the best option... or realize it's a shit deal.

for someone who hasn't had fast food in like probably 10 months, i probably obsess about this shit way too much. but i do believe the cheapest, most convenient food option is a major factor in the material conditions of the working class, especially those in the margins minimal disposable income and tight schedules.