Fast-food restaurants have always been known to steal the hearts of many foodies for several reasons. Besides the convenience, wide variety, and consistency, affordability is one of them. Unfortunately, it seems that major fast food chains are gradually yanking the price advantage off the list as customers are increasingly calling them out on their exorbitant prices.
First, McDonald’s $1, $2, $3 dollar menu was criticized for no longer including items that cost a dollar. Now, it’s Taco Bell’s turn to have a fair share of the lambasting.
A TikToker, Derrick (delta_whiskey89) took to the platform to register his disapproval of Taco Bell’s recent pricing system. In a video that has now gone viral, Derrick, a father of two, narrated how he paid almost the same amount for his family to have breakfast at an undisclosed upscale restaurant and enjoy dinner at Taco Bell.
“I try not to complain too much, but we just went to Taco Bell and got food for four of us, and it was $53. This morning we went to an upscale breakfast restaurant and got breakfast for all four of us, including an appetizer, and that was $66,” he began after displaying a receipt as evidence of his claims.
Derrick didn’t give anyone the opportunity to blame it all on economic factors like inflation. He went further to explain how well he understood that inflation could affect food prices. However, he believes that fast-food restaurants should increase their prices in proportion to the inflation rate.
Comparing the cost of food at Taco Bell to what it used to be, Derrick had this to say: “I mean we got three Cheesy Gordita Crunches and they were $14. So they’re like $4, $5 a piece now for a taco. At Taco Bell. A Beefy Five Layer Burrito is $3.89. I don’t understand how…this can’t be inflation. Taco Bell used to be like a dollar, you could get dollar… a Beefy Five Layer Burrito was like $2, I don’t know man. Make it make sense. This is insane to me. The price, this has to be price gouging.”
Quality of food and service are some of the reasons high-end restaurants are known to be significantly more expensive than regular fast food chains. Since Taco Bell offered the same quality of food as it has always served, it was reasonably baffling to him that their meals cost almost the same as the upscale breakfast restaurant. “Make it make sense. I don’t understand. I mean I understand inflation’s crazy but this has to be greed,” he said.
Many of the commenters on his post shared similar sentiments. “Man, you used to get food at Taco Bell for four people for like $10,” someone wrote. Another said, “I just went to Taco Bell yesterday and said the same.”
However, there were those who believed that Derrick could have saved a lot of money on his meals by simply downloading the Taco Bell mobile app. Someone of this school of thought said, “Y’all don’t use the apps for every fast food spot?! Crazy savings some days.”
Hopefully, these restaurants will reconsider the hike in prices so they do not cut off a significant share of their customer base.
