A Michigan man who spent his entire adult life working for McDonald’s — and who, until recently, had been a McD’s franchisee since 1980 — says the company he’d grown up with had lost sight of its core business.
“The people were different, the company was different,” he says. “It became very frustrating.”
Al Jarvis who worked for McDonald’s for nearly 50 years, told Bloomberg Businessweek that complicated new menu items like espresso drinks and the McWrap caused chaos in his kitchens, dragged down food quality, and led to excessively long lines at the drive thrus — which is a death sentence in the fast-food industry.
He said he loved his job with McDonald’s, but as he neared his 50th anniversary with the company that he had worked for his entire life, he realized he couldn’t go on.
“I wanted to get the hell out,” he told the publication.
His disenchantment and frustration came after years of corporate's mixed signals and burdensome bloating of the menu through additions.
He tells Bloomberg that, rather than focusing on making good food quickly, McDonald’s has made a habit of introducing new menu items that cost franchisees money and take more time to prepare.
Jarvis sold his stores and left McDonald’s in November 2014.
“I don’t think they know what they want to do,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘Let’s go back to basics,’ then they’re doing these customized burgers, and they’re talking about all-day breakfast.”
“I feel sorry for the managers and the crew. That’s not our niche. We make burgers and fries.”
Jarvis’ complaints are similar to those voiced anonymously by dozens of current McDonald’s franchisees in surveys by former Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski.
But as for the imminent launch of all-day breakfast and the extra work and equipment it will entail, Jarvis says, “I’m not going to miss that at all.”
