McDonald’s all-day breakfast has been a disaster, franchisees complain

THEY’RE in no way “lovin’ it”. Customers are abandoning McDonald’s in droves over the new all-day breakfast menu.

**FILE**Herb Peterson, the creator of the Egg McMuffin, shows off his invention in this April 1997 file photo, at one of his McDonald's franchises in Santa Barbara, Calif. Peterson, 89, died in Santa Barbara on Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Hayes/file)

THEY’RE in no way “lovin’ it”.

McDonald’s franchisees say the launch of all-day breakfast has been a disaster — griping that it has slowed down service, lowered average bills and sparked chaos in the kitchens.

Mark Kalinowski, an analyst for the Japanese finance company Nomura, surveyed 29 operators overseeing 226 different locations in the US and found that many were pulling their hair out due to the new menu options, which rolled out last Tuesday to much praise from Egg McMuffin lovers.

“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.

“Customers are abandoning us in droves because we are either too slow, or sub-par quality,” another said.

One franchisee called the process “erratic, distorted, disorganised direction from McDonald’s,” while another barked: “All-day breakfast is a non-starter. We are trading customers down from regular menu to lower-priced breakfast items. Not generating new traffic.”

Owners also said the launch has forced them to hire more people, which has increased costs.

“Unfortunately, with the current labour pool in our area, we are struggling to have enough people to run the shift, much less add an extra person,” a franchisee explained.

But don’t expect to see all-day breakfast disappear anytime soon.

McDonald’s claims that “all-day breakfast is the number one request we hear from customers.”

In Australia, the all-day breakfast menu is up and running in participating outlets across Wollongong, South Australia and the Gold Coast.

McDonald’s Australia has not committed to a national rollout. “Trials so far are going well here and feedback has been positive,” a spokeswoman said.

It’s not all bad news, however. A recent poll by consumer research firm YouGov BrandIndex found that perception of the McDonald’s brand has hit its highest point in two years.

“The consideration scores, which are not easy to move, but we’ve seen that upward trend since the launch of the all-day breakfast, and that’s really encouraging news for McDonald’s,” YouGov BrandIndex CEO Ted Marzilli told CNBC.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was republished with permission.