Cross-posted from “Too Bad, So Sad, Too Late - McDonald’s tells U.S. restaurants it’s not a ‘political brand’ after Trump visit” by @JimmyBigSausage@lemm.ee in !news@beehaw.org
Excerpt:
Though President Donald Trump visited a Pennsylvania McDonald’s location on Sunday, the fast-food giant is trying to stay neutral in the presidential race.
“As we’ve seen, our brand has been a fixture of conversation in this election cycle. While we’ve not sought this, it’s a testament to how much McDonald’s resonates with so many Americans. McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President,” the company said in an internal message viewed by CNBC and confirmed by a source familiar with the matter.
I haven’t eaten at a McDonalds since before covid, and I don’t really miss it.
I mean this in the most polite way imaginable but: You don’t matter. You are an individual whose stated stance is far from the majority of their consumer base.
Also: I very much won’t go to a place that I know is drive-thru only. But the number of times where I needed a quick bite to eat after a flight and the lobby of the taco bell or whatever was locked and I just went through the drive thru instead? People will adapt pretty quick.
Which… is the entire point. If people know that getting a napkin or a ketchup packet involves talking to the one person at the counter then they will stop dining in at all. Which will make removing the dine-in even less disruptive.