McDonald’s customer makes surprising discovery when ordering meal from the app as fast food prices soar

A McDonald’s customer pointed out a frustrating flaw in the fast food giant’s app in a viral video on TikTok.

The man, Stephen, let his followers know that his steak egg cheese bagel was more expensive on the McDonald’s app than on the drive-through menu.

He only discovered this when the app didn’t work for him. He decided to drive to the restaurant and order the old-fashioned way via the speaker.

“Last Sunday I was like, ‘I’m going to get a nice steak egg and cheese bagel sandwich because those are delicious,'” he said in the video.

He then notes the price in a screenshot of the app on his phone. The sandwich itself cost $7.99, while the meal cost $12.19.

Here Stephen points out the prices of the sandwich he wanted to order on the drive-through menu board. The a la carte price on the app was $7.99, while the meal cost $12.19. The app was almost $2 more expensive

The restaurant’s menu listed $6.19 for a single dish and $10.69 for a meal, leaving Stephen completely upset at America’s most popular fast food chain.

“This is the menu,” he said, pointing out the nearly $2 price difference between the app and the drive-through. “It’s actually f***king cheaper,” he added.

“It’s your own app; it’s not DoorDash. It’s not GrubHub; it’s your own app,” he added. “Why are you charging me more? Why are you charging me more to order in the app?”

He also claimed that the prices for other dishes on the menu in the app were different than at his McDonald’s location.

There are several reasons why fast food giants, not just McDonald’s, promote their apps. These apps often include exclusive freebies and buy-two-get-two-free deals.

Apps allow chains to collect customer data and save on labor costs, which is why McDonald’s and other chains are willing to reward Americans to entice them.

Many chains, including McDonald’s, offered limited meal deals over the summer to appeal to cash-strapped customers, after many fast-food restaurants reported lower profits this year

Plus, they can send you push notifications as often as they want to make you order that Big Mac or that Whopper that you probably wouldn’t have bought if you hadn’t seen it pop up on your phone.

Viewers of the video were shocked and some spoke out about the price they paid.

‘A few weeks ago a McFlurry showed $7.19 (WTH?) on the app, and an hour or two later it was $5.99. Same city, same location. They must be doing surge pricing which should be illegal,’ one person wrote.

Others were fed up with high prices for cheap, mediocre, grab-and-go food.

“And $8 for a breakfast sandwich is CRAZY too! They used to be $2-$3,” wrote another.

Analysis by FinanceBuzz reveals how much popular fast food items have increased in price over the past decade

The US fast food industry has struggled with lower profits this year as consumers became aware of exorbitant prices, which have outpaced overall inflation.

In May 2024, fast food prices were 33 percent higher than in 2019. By comparison, grocery costs rose by only 26 percent, while the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 19 percent over the same period.

In the first quarter ended in April, McDonald’s reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit for the first time in two years.

Wendy’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC all had similar profit declines this year.

McDonald’s executives quickly realized why this was happening: Customers simply weren’t spending as much money on Big Macs and Whoppers in an economy plagued by inflation.

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski (pictured) said in an April earnings call: “The consumer is certainly very picky about how they spend their money.”

“Consumers are certainly very selective about how they spend their money,” McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said in an earnings call with investors at the time. “It may be more pronounced among lower-income consumers.”

These chains quickly came up with affordable meals that were also attractive to people on a budget.

McDonald’s introduced a limited-time $5 meal deal earlier this summer that includes a McChicken or McDouble, four pieces of chicken nuggets, fries and a drink.

This agreement expired in August.

Rival Burger King’s $5 Your Way Meal was very similar to McDonald’s. Customers could choose from one of three sandwiches – a Whopper Jr, a Bacon Cheeseburger or a Chicken Jr – plus four chicken nuggets, fries and a soft drink.

Wendy’s had a breakfast deal for $3 and also a four-course meal for $5, similar to those at McDonald’s and Burger King.