Current Events > Why the hell did McDonald's make all their buildings look ugly?

(+) Yeah! (+)

They ruined my childhood McDonald's with that new redesign with ugly ass looking basic and generic building with the boring and plain lifeless color on the outside.

I blame Starbucks and hipsters.

Because they don't want you there.

They told you how many times that adults weren't allowed in the ball pit? They needed to make changes because of people like you TC, blame yourself.

They want to pretend to be fancier so they can justify the sky-high prices they're charging now.

ForsakenHermit posted...

I blame Starbucks and hipsters.

I guess Starbucks did kind of start that bland, stripped down look.

Because it's easier to resell buildings that don't have a unique design that you'd instantly recognize as a former McDonalds.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/34b7162e.jpg

This is the one in a German theme town in WA called Leavenworth

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cb14290d.jpg

cause the future is all darkness and nuclear hell

They had to, it's the modern look. If they kept their 90s appearance, they would have looked old compared to the competition. They need to adapt to today's standards.

I don't much care for either.

I like it.

furniture store lookin ass

I'll raise you this McDonald's in New Hyde Park, New York:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8dab22ea.jpg

All of the fast food companies have adopted that look, it's just the standard now

They wanted to pivot away from being seen as a kid restaurant, so they went with the coffee shop look. Also they started offering way more coffee options to go along with that. Also also, they really don't advertise happy meals or toys in general that heavily anymore.

It's weird when corporations seem to think people want them to be more boring and less fun. It's literally McDonald's. Nobody is expecting some upscale New York hipster coffee shop vibes.

Because it's been shown that warm-looking, inviting aesthetics like what they used to have make it more likely for people to sit down in the restaurant to eat their food there, which means you've already bought everything you intended to eat and are now taking up space that could be used to contain waiting customers who haven't yet paid (and who might just go somewhere else if there aren't any open parking spots or room for them to sit down while they wait). Conversely, a sterile and cold-looking environment makes it more likely that you'll buy your food and then get the hell out, which is more efficient for them as it leaves more room for customers to wait to take their orders and pay.

BB_mofo posted...

I'll raise you this McDonald's in New Hyde Park, New York:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8dab22ea.jpg

I love this one. Always makes me feel fancy. It has a drive thru but the Denton house is worth at least a takeout.

DipDipDiver posted...

They wanted to pivot away from being seen as a kid restaurant, so they went with the coffee shop look. Also they started offering way more coffee options to go along with that. Also also, they really don't advertise happy meals or toys in general that heavily anymore.

They can pry the Pokemon cards from my cold dead hands lmao.

No seriously, I go for them every year haha

I went to one recently for the first time in years and I think SpawnShadow is right. The place was clearly made deliberately uninviting. Most of the space is dedicated to standing and ordering on automated screens now. The only interaction with staff is when they yell your number out so you can get your slop and leave. They want you to eat and piss off or better yet, grab your paper bag and leave ASAP.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

The neutral look is more to align the brand with modern tastes. The public prefers buildings that blend in with the scenery over gaudiness. And repurposing the building for future use is more economical than having to replace a hut roof.

SpawnShadow posted...

Because it's been shown that warm-looking, inviting aesthetics like what they used to have make it more likely for people to sit down in the restaurant to eat their food there, which means you've already bought everything you intended to eat and are now taking up space that could be used to contain waiting customers who haven't yet paid (and who might just go somewhere else if there aren't any open parking spots or room for them to sit down while they wait). Conversely, a sterile and cold-looking environment makes it more likely that you'll buy your food and then get the hell out, which is more efficient for them as it leaves more room for customers to wait to take their orders and pay.

Makes sense to me. If walls could talk, the place feels like it's saying "get your shit and go". I find myself eating in the car more often than inside.

The McDonalds in the lost city of Atlantis was supposedly really nice.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/1ad0113e.jpg

This is my McDonald's in a Cleveland suburb
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/f4b2df6d.jpg

1337toothbrush posted...

They want to pretend to be fancier so they can justify the sky-high prices they're charging now.

It's working, because everyone I talk to actually says they love the new McDonald's design, and only one of those people I know is saying it to piss me off, the rest are being sincere and actually think this.

So all the so called normies like the design, that's the worst part

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cda20e3b.jpg

The one in Roswell NM looks like a UFO.

ZEROWOLF posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cda20e3b.jpg

The one in Roswell NM looks like a UFO.

I knew Grimace was from an alien planet.

Revisited posted...

It's working, because everyone I talk to actually says they love the new McDonald's design, and only one of those people I know is saying it to piss me off, the rest are being sincere and actually think this.

So all the so called normies like the design, that's the worst part

Eww

Most of the eccentric McDonald's designs are due to being located in historic neighborhoods or tourist spots. These areas usually have very strict architectural requirements so as not to disturb the layout of the area.

I remember an episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" from the 80s that featured a private college preparatory school for billionaires. The school buckled under pressure from their affluent student body and allowed a McDonalds on campus, but with the caveat that the location meet school expectations.

The McDonalds looked like a smoking room plucked from Hearst Castle. The seating was plush leather couches, the tables were imported Italian marble, meals were served on china and silverware. Million dollar works of art hung everywhere.

It's just late capitalism doing late capitalism things. No conspiracy theories about it, it's just that the fast-food market has trended towards takeaway/drive-thru/online ordering services so the restaurants are designed primarily for these methods of ordering. As a result less care is taken in making the actual restaurants look interesting because most of their customers aren't going to be inside for long if at all anyway.