Adventure Ausrama Blog

If you buy a meal from Kentucky Fried Chicken in Australia expect to pay more, because you will. KFC has redesigned its packaging. The fried chips, for example, are now in a brightly colored box. Turn the box upside down and you will see that the rectangular base is smaller. And get this - the chips are cut smaller as well! A few months ago something else happened. The action was a bit underhanded and unannounced. The cups that the mashed potato and coleslaw come in are now a bit smaller. This is a major downsizing. In other words it is a price rise done in disregard for the intelligence of customers. We are not stupid Mr KFC. The takeaway market place treats customers as cash cows. Australians are used to being told lies. McDonalds has the audacity to call its hamburger a Big Mac when the roll is not even an average size roll. It is a mini-roll by anyone's standards. Hungry Jack's (Burger King in the U.S.) offers small size meals at a cut price. Ho

McDonald's has to do something to compete. Last year many branches ran at a loss. Apart from offering so called "healthy meals" several years ago, little has changed. The healthy meals strategy was an absolute failure.  Their Angus Burger was a flop as well. They are going into an area that competitors have found difficult for years - the home delivery of take away meals. Instead of offering the whole menu, McDonald's is creating family packs. This is to increase income per delivery. It may work in Sydney in the short term, but people will ask for extras from the standard menu. Another problem is getting delivery drivers at the appallingly low rate of pay. Just about every other pizza shop has a permanent "Delivery Drivers Wanted" sign in the window. Many businesses are forced to buy their own deliver vehicles because people don't want the wear and tear on the own car. The main issue is portion size at McDonald's. They have the

Just what Australia wants - another fast food chain. The Japanese are invading Australia with a burger chain, MOS Burger, which is a copy of McDonalds. The fourth store has opened in Booval, Brisbane. For some reason the chain is targeting Queensland for its new outlets. The company claims, of course, that their offering is different than McDonalds. Project manager Vincent Cheng says they offer better service. This is difficult to justify considering service at McDonalds is second to none. When was the last time you waited for more than five minutes to order and another five minutes to get your food? What potential customers really want to hear is lower prices not better service. The market place shows that when customers have a choice between paying extra for service or a lower price for the product they overwhelmingly choose the cheaper price. With another 10 stores opening in Queensland this year and further developments in Sydney and Melbourne time will tell if their ma