McDonald’s CEO said combo meals at one of the world’s biggest fast food chains were too expensive earlier this year, prompting the launch of cheaper deals for cash customers. But online, consumers aren’t biting.
Earlier this month, McDonald’s promoted a limited-time 10-piece chicken McNugget value meal for November.
But under the company of November 14 X after the marketing of the agreement, many promised not to eat in the chain due to reasons ranging from price inflation and perceived lower quality to long drive-through waiting times.
“Since when is $8 a good price for 10 small nuggets, a hand full of fries and a drink?” one commenter said.
The company responded to a number of these complaints in the post’s thread, asking users to send their contact information in a direct message to resolve their complaints, but the post garnered hundreds of unhappy reviews.
McDonald’s could not provide an immediate response to Fortunerequest for comment due to the holiday weekend.
The reaction comes as the company tries to revive its image of affordability as price increases hit its menu.
Last year, the company was criticized for the inflation of its prices since 2019, even drawing a rebuke from House Republicans in a post X that claimed, under the President of the time Joe Biden, the prices for medium fries increased by 167.6% and 103.5% for a Big Mac meal.
McDonald’s has denied claims that its prices have doubled, saying the average price of the company’s menu items has increased by about 40% in the time period, attributing most of it to “increased costs to run restaurants, which have increased.” These costs include salary hikes for restaurant workers up to 40% and an increase in food and paper costs, according to the company.
Over the past few years, McDonald’s has been criticized online by value-conscious customers for its prices. An X post showing an $18 Big Mac combo meal went viral in 2023, spurring debate that the chain had become too expensive. This post also prompted a response from the president of McDonald’s USA, Joe Erlinger, who claimed that the meal was “an exception” and that the chain’s prices did not exceed inflation.
Even CEO Chris Kempczinski acknowledged that combo meals priced over $10 were “negatively shaping perceptions of value.”
During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, he told investors that the “single biggest driver” of what shapes the overall consumer perception of McDonald’s value is the menu board.
“We have to fix this,” he said.
In May, Kempczinski said the company’s first-quarter US traffic this year from low-income consumers fell by “almost double digits,” and middle-income consumer traffic fell by nearly the same amount.
He said that these consumers “in particular, are being weighed down by the cumulative impact of inflation and increased anxiety about the economic outlook.”
Despite the backlash, the company’s global comparable sales rose 3.6% in the third quarter—and U.S. sales rose 2.4%.
“We’re building momentum by delivering everyday value and affordability, menu innovation, and compelling marketing that continue to bring customers through our doors,” Kempczinski said in McDonald’s third-quarter earnings release.
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com