McDonald’s franchisees are once again upset with the fast food chain after the company announced plans to pass on additional costs to franchise owners that used to be covered at the corporate level. The additional costs are estimated to be $12,000 per store in 2021.
Tensions have been high between the company and its restaurant owners in recent years. A significant increase in national strategies coming from the corporate level even caused franchise owners to form the National Owners Association advocacy group in 2018. One such move that made waves was the requirement that franchisees renovate their restaurants and add in electronic kiosks. However, that battle ultimately passed as those changes have driven strong sales growth.
However, the changes which were announced for 2021 will not improve the customer experience at all and appear to be cost cutting measures at the corporate level. It will likely make the new fees a much tougher pill to swallow than past initiatives.
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