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How economical is your local Taco Bell?

taconomical.com

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Re: How economical is your local Taco Bell?

#171
post #128

They are missing the Seattle Lower Queen Anne Taco Bell/KFC combo store that is known to be the most expensive Taco Bell in the nation. https://locations.tacobell.com/wa/seattle/210-w--mercer-st-.... Anyways, you hear horror pricing stories about this one store.

I wonder if there are any airport located Taco Bells. Those kind of captive locations are notorious for crazy prices.

They’re not crazy in terms of the cost structure, it’s like the $20 hot dogs in a billion dollar stadium that is half funded by taxes and half funded by loans/bonds.

Someone has to pay back the loans and/or bonds plus interest… or a lot of someones chipping in with their hot dogs, tickets, drinks, etc...

Re: How economical is your local Taco Bell?

#172
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Healthiest? I haven’t eaten there in a while but I don’t recall thinking it was healthy at all, quite the opposite.

They've gotten better. I only order it rarely and was surprised last time by how much they were pushing chicken and black bean options that appeared... healthier. No doubt to save them money, but hey, two birds, one stone.

Yeah, I went there for the first time in a decade last week and was impressed that they had a global “Veggie mode” button on their digital menu kiosk that limits the menu to only meatless items.

Made it really easy to buy a bean crunchwrap with sour cream and cheese swapped for guacamole and potato.

I went there so my Mexican girlfriend could try it. She was disappointed that the Dorito shell tacos are just unflavored orange tostadas, not actually a big Dorito like their ads / marketing suggests.

How do yall let them get away with that? :/

Re: How economical is your local Taco Bell?

#173
post #128

They are missing the Seattle Lower Queen Anne Taco Bell/KFC combo store that is known to be the most expensive Taco Bell in the nation. https://locations.tacobell.com/wa/seattle/210-w--mercer-st-.... Anyways, you hear horror pricing stories about this one store.

I wonder if there are any airport located Taco Bells. Those kind of captive locations are notorious for crazy prices.

IIUC, virtually all of the crazy airport prices come from management companies like HMS Host, Sodexo, etc - which manage most of the restaurants and stores in airports.

Their business model is - they big up the price of all the available spots such that no one can make money unless they charge exorbitant prices. After they capture the majority of the market, they're free to charge a ton of money.

How they haven't been charged for collusion and price fixing is beyond me.

Anyway, typically, if you find a huge brand like Starbucks or McDonald's - or a brand that owns all its locations (not franchised) like Chipotle, the prices will not be extreme.

Re: How economical is your local Taco Bell?

#176
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of that justifies an app, vs an in-store kiosk or a website.

The app makes it so your food is ready soon after you arrive. You can spend all the time browsing the menu and ordering before arriving at the physical location and then the food is already prepared or is made upon your arrival. Apps are used rather than PWA websites because most users find it difficult to save a mobile website to their homepage and mobile web push notifications etc add extra friction compared to nat…

Apps are used for data collection and marketing via notifications. That's the real value, not saving time for the user. The user is rewarded with the ability to avoid lines and targeted discounts.

Re: How economical is your local Taco Bell?

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not giving them junk food doesn't equate to ignoring food sensitivities. If someone is tolerating chicken nuggets, there's a whole host of healthier food with similar textures, tastes and smells.

You have to battle the psychological aspect which says that they are different even if they smell, taste, feel the same. It really isn't that easy, if it was, parents of autistic kids would be doing it. There is also a reason why McDonald's nuggets are the go to for autistic kids the world over. They have been engineered over many decades to be the most acceptable taste and texture for children.

The psychological aspect is the part that is collogially referred to as being picky.

Re: How economical is your local Taco Bell?

#178

Incidentally, I was delighted to see a Taco Bell in Amersfoort, Netherlands, recently. Ten tacos for 14 euro isn't QUITE the 59, 79, 99 cent menu of my youth, but it isn't bad. I still bitterly miss the Chili Cheese burrito, Taco Bell's crowning achievement. RIP chilicheese.org :-( https://web.archive.org/web/20190313160757/http://chilichees...

Out of curiosity, what were you doing in Amersfoort? I've not seen it mentioned much (my grand parents are from there)

Re: How economical is your local Taco Bell?

#179
post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if there are any airport located Taco Bells. Those kind of captive locations are notorious for crazy prices.

IIUC, virtually all of the crazy airport prices come from management companies like HMS Host, Sodexo, etc - which manage most of the restaurants and stores in airports. Their business model is - they big up the price of all the available spots such that no one can make money unless they charge exorbitant prices. After they capture the majority of the market, they're free to charge a ton of money. How they haven't bee…

I was pleasantly shocked to find a 7-11 in an airport that charged their normal price for coffee.

Re: How economical is your local Taco Bell?

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For customers to feel like they're saving time (versus having a cashier take their order) the kiosk isn't it: you can't on average discover and select on a screen faster than you can speak. The time savings of the app/website is from building the order on the way there, reducing the in-store interaction to speaking your name or order number (which is mostly constant across all methods of ordering). As for app vs webs…

I don’t know anyone who likes having to order through the apps for fast food places, or regards them as a time-saving convenience—rather, they’re an inconvenience the places make you suffer to get what should be normal menu prices under the broader inflation rate, rather than the 300% markup above that all these places have applied to their menu prices.

I do.

Saves having to wait on a line at the drive thru. Or on a line inside the store. Nope, can't do that: they don't take orders at the cashier, so you have to use the kiosks which take even longer.

So I use the app to order while at home, drive to the restaurant and grab my food and leave.

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