To save money, regular consumers of fast food have begun to hesitate in their continued purchases during a time when employees see fewer customers due to a rise in the price of items.
According to regular customer Isabella Martinez, “it feels like the prices have gone up since I became a parent.”
Martinez is a mother of two kids, a sophomore and a fifth grader. For many parents, fast food like McDonald’s or Wendy’s are a quick and easy option for picky kids.
“Things like chicken nuggets and juice are way easier to feed them,” Martinez said, “especially when they refuse to eat anything else.”
Despite fast food prices being notoriously low not too long ago, according to Pricelisto, a website that tracks U.S. fast food prices, costs at chains were reported to be 2% to as high as 35% from 2021-2022.
“I’ve definitely noticed some of our menu prices getting higher,” Taco Bell worker Jorge Ramos said.
Ramos said he’s seen “increases in price in real time” in the past couple of months he’s been working.
According to CBS, the reason for the inflation over the past few years has been the cost of groceries, transportation and labor.
In 2023, there was an 8% increase in meals in American fast food chains, more than restaurants with a waitstaff.
“Everything just used to be cheaper, I think,” Ramos said, “and companies just raised the prices to pay for the ingredients.”
McDonald’s employee Natalie Perkins has been seeing more “customers complaining” and overall becoming irritated over prices.
“It doesn’t really happen that often that someone [complains about prices],” Perkins said, “but it’s really apparent when they’re not thrilled about the prices.”
Despite the occasional rude customer that these fast food workers said they face, the people who purchase food know what they’re getting into when they purchase $10 to $15 meals.
“A lot of people don’t second guess the [prices of] the things they’re buying,” Starbucks employee Casey Williams said.
According to Williams, he can’t tell whether a person is well off just by looking at them, but that doesn’t mean he thinks they’re going to be quicker about spending money.
Williams isn’t focused on appearances at work, but some families he knows who are struggling financially “don’t seem to be buying as much” from fast food chains.
According to a Credit Karma study, families with incomes under $50,000 are struggling to buy groceries.
Home cooking has also become more popular since COVID-19, enabling more households to buy food at grocery stores.
Ramos admits he isn’t sure if the inflation is due to worldwide events or because corporations might “just want to make more money.”
“I almost just feel like it’s not worth it anymore,” Martinez said. “If I can make more meals out of shopping for groceries, the high prices of McDonald’s or Wendy’s don’t seem worth it.”