Arby’s had a commercial a while back for their sliders. The pitch was that they’re just like the full-size sandwiches, but smaller, hence the lower price. Mister Voiceover (Ving Gorram Rhames goes on to say that if you can find a full-size sandwich for a buck somewhere else, you shouldn’t be there because there’s something wrong with it. Brilliant sales pitch.
Which brings me to the McDonald’s Dollar Menu.
A regular Sausage McMuffin with Egg is $2.00 at the moment (formerly $2.99 to $3.29). English muffin, fried egg, sausage patty, cheese. A Sausage McMuffin (as above, but no egg) is a buck. ‘Round these parts, a dozen eggs are about a buck.
A Big Mac is $2.50 right now (they were about four bucks before the special they’ve been running lately). Sesame seed bun with middle piece of bread, 2 patties, lettuce, onions, pickles, special sauce, cheese. My doctored McDouble (regular bun without middle piece of bread, 2 patties, lettuce, onions, pickles, special sauce, cheese) is anywhere from $1.19 to $1.79 depending on what store you go to and who rings you up.
With the McMuffin, you’re paying an extra buck for an egg. With the Big Mac, you’re paying anywhere from seventy cents to a buck and change for a little piece of bread and some sesame seeds. You still get the meat and cheese. Those should be the expensive parts. Yet somehow leaving off a cheap ingredient (and maybe some garnish) saves you around a buck.
What kind of meat are they serving on these sandwiches? What the Hell IS that?
Look, I get that it’s (probably) a business decision rather than anything sinister. The Sausage McMuffin with Egg probably costs them fifty cents given the bulk they work with. Same with the Big Mac. The difference between the full-feature version and the cheaper one is maybe a dime. So they’re deciding to make a lesser profit (but still a profit) on a cheaper, less good sandwich instead of none, while counting on enough people choosing the better sandwich and paying the extra buck. I know I go for the better McMuffin on the rare occasion I go there for breakfast. The Big Mac, not so much, but most people aren’t willing to shamelessly order my doctored version. Besides, I go there maybe once a month these days. Maybe. They aren’t losing any appreciable profit from me.
But in the back of your head, especially with the valid point raised by Arby’s…