McDonald’s has been trying to shake off its reputation for pricey combo meals by rolling out new value offers. But if online reaction is any indication, many customers still think the Golden Arches has lost its shine on affordability.
Earlier this month, the fast-food giant promoted a limited-time $8 10-piece Chicken McNuggets value meal for November.
Under a Nov. 14 X post announcing the deal, however, hundreds of users chimed in to say they’re staying away from McDonald’s, citing everything from higher prices and perceived drops in quality to long drive-through waits.
“Since when is $8 a good price for 10 little nuggets, a hand full of fries and a drink?” one commenter wrote.
McDonald’s replied to multiple users in the thread, asking them to send their contact information via direct message so the company could follow up. Still, the post attracted a wave of negative feedback.
The company declined to comment to Fortune, but CEO Chris Kempczinski said on McDonald’s third-quarter earnings call that leadership had heard customers’ concerns about affordability “loud and clear” this year.
“In September we reintroduced Extra Value Meals, or EVMs, with a nationally advertised $5 Sausage McMuffin with Egg meal, and an $8 Big Mac meal. And for the month of November, we’re back with a $5 Sausage, Egg and Cheese McGriddles meal, and an $8 10-piece Chicken McNuggets meal,” Kempczinski told investors.
According to the company, the revamped EVMs allow customers to save about 15% compared with buying its top eight best-sellers a la carte, including the Big Mac Meal, the 10-piece McNuggets Meal, and the Egg McMuffin Meal.
Even so, many diners say the 10-piece deal doesn’t feel like a bargain. The criticism comes as McDonald’s works to reclaim its long-standing image as a low-cost option after several years of price increases.
Last year, the chain drew heat over how much its menu prices had climbed since 2019, even prompting House Republicans to criticize the company in an X post that claimed prices for medium fries had jumped 167.6% and a Big Mac meal 103.5% during then-President Joe Biden’s term.
McDonald’s pushed back, saying its prices had risen about 40% over that span—largely because “the increase of costs to run restaurants, which have gone up.” The company cited higher wages for restaurant workers—up to 40%—and increased costs for food and paper.
In recent years, value-focused customers have frequently taken to social media to complain about McDonald’s prices. A viral X post in 2023 showing an $18 Big Mac combo triggered a heated debate over whether the brand had become too expensive. That post prompted a response from McDonald’s USA president Joe Erlinger, who said the $18 meal was an “exception” and argued the chain’s prices had not outpaced inflation.
Earlier this year, Kempczinski himself conceded that combo meals priced above $10 were “negatively shaping value perceptions.”
On the company’s second-quarter earnings call, he told investors that the “single biggest driver” of how customers view McDonald’s value is the menu board.
“We’ve got to get that fixed,” he said.
In May, Kempczinski also revealed that U.S. first-quarter traffic from low-income customers fell by “nearly double digits,” with visits from middle-income customers dropping by almost the same amount.
He said those groups “in particular, are being weighted down by the cumulative impact of inflation and heightened anxiety about the economic outlook.”
Despite the online backlash, McDonald’s business is still growing. Global comparable sales rose 3.6% in the third quarter, and U.S. comparable sales were up 2.4%.
“We’re fueling momentum by delivering everyday value and affordability, menu innovation, and compelling marketing that continue to bring customers through our doors,” Kempczinski said in the company’s third-quarter earnings release.
