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McDonald's: Survey revealing pessimistic attitudes of franchisees is outdated

An internal annual survey of McDonald's franchisees taken in October revealed that only 14 percent of U.S. franchisees agreed or strongly agreed that the restaurant chain's turnaround agenda was working.

February 19, 2016

An internal annual survey of McDonald's franchisees taken in October revealed that 14 percent of U.S. franchisees agreed or strongly agreed that the restaurant chain's turnaround agenda was working, according to a CNBC.com report. Franchisees remained pessimistic about the company's turnaround efforts during its all-day breakfast rollout in October. Thirty-five percent said they felt confident about McDonald's long-term success, down from 46 percent the previous year, the report stated.

"These results are hardly surprising given the survey was conducted before McDonald's ended the year with momentum, reporting our strongest gains in almost four years," said Lisa McComb, McDonald's director of Media Relations. "By refreshing old favorites, like our Egg McMuffin, introducing All Day Breakfast and making other changes, we are beginning 2016 in a better place than where we were 12 months ago. We know that sustaining our growth means continuing to listen to both our customers and our franchisees and we are committed to doing exactly that."

Forty-eight percent said they had a clear understanding of the company's vision of becoming a "modern progressive burger and breakfast company." The percentage who said they were "proud to be a McDonald's Owner/Operator" fell to 77 percent, down from 84 percent the previous year, the report stated.

"Please note that this survey was literally conducted days before ADB [All-Day Brakfast] launched, approximately two days prior," McComb said. "That matters as it puts the comments in their proper context, like any poll, providing a snapshot in time."

McDonald's has faced a stale image and slowing sales due to changing eating preferences and stepped up competition. McDonald's is working to refresh its image and combat slumping sales, with the chain facing changing eating preferences and intense competition. All-day breakfast resulted in positive press for McDonald's, and CEO Steve Easterbrook has been trying to improve sales.

McDonald's U.S. sales increased 5.7 percent in the final three months of 2015, marking the best showing in four years, the report stated. However, it is unclear if that increase is due to more customers, higher prices or customers opting for menu items with a higher cost

Also according to the report, the chain ended last year with 14,259 locations in the U.S., down from 14,350 in 2014.