McDonald's All-Day Breakfast Getting Mixed Reviews

Ordering an afternoon Egg McMuffin is finally a reality, but some franchisees aren't too happy about the decision.

SPONSORED 1:13PM • 10/19/15

After months of anticipation and a lifetime of trying to buy Egg McMuffins at 10:31a.m., all-day breakfast at McDonald’s is finally here. It’s a strategy McDonald’s is hoping will introduce a much needed spark into dwindling domestic sales, but many of its franchisees have mixed feelings about the decision.

According to Business Insider, Mark Kalinowski, an analyst for the Japanese finance company Nomura, surveyed 29 operators overseeing 226 different McDonald’s locations throughout the U.S., and found that many were already frustrated with the new menu options. Franchisees reported that the all-day breakfast roll-out slows down service, lowers average bills, and triggers unwanted chaos in the kitchen.

“In small stores, the problems are vast with people falling over each other and equipment jammed in everywhere,” one franchisee wrote in response to Kalinowski’s survey. Another franchisee called the process an “erratic, distorted, disorganized direction from McDonald’s.”

Other franchisees claim that the decision, which aimed to boost sales for the slumping fast food giant, isn’t generating new traffic. “All-day breakfast is a non-starter. We are trading customers down from regular menu to lower-priced breakfast items.”

Kalinowski’s survey also revealed that the launch of all-day breakfast puts an added pressure on restaurants to hire extra labor, creating higher costs for franchisees that are already strapped for cash due to lower sales and expensive kitchen upgrades.

But not everyone has negative feelings about the change. In a letter to franchisees, obtained by Bloomberg, McDonald’s U.S. President Mike Andres said that the “successful launch of all-day breakfast proves that when we listen to and respond to our customers and align around a great execution plan, we will grow our business and take share.”

All-day breakfast officially launched on Oct. 6 in 14,300 locations across the country. The true measure of the initiative’s success will be revealed in McDonald’s long-term sales. The company is expected to announce its quarterly earnings on Oct. 22.