Again, that's not true. People go to those places because they're quick and cheap - not because they're good. A small independent place which uses all fresh ingredients is better. There's no question.
This reminds me of a discussion we were having in a Total Quality Management class...
Question posed: Would you consider McDonalds high quality?
Some would say, nope, food is vile, it makes them sick, etc,
Others would say, its consistent, its cheap, its delivered at a fast pace, it fills the void, it meets exactly your customer requirements.
From a business management point of view, McDonalds is a great operating model- they've got consistent suppliers, they can easily train associates,they've got relatively cheap labour, stores can be set up in one particular way and metrics can be consistent across stores, they are easily set up to do test markets, they move so much food they can easily see what isn't selling and they can stop that immediately, they can add in special food (i.e. American burgers or the McRib) and make a killing for a while. A good business model indeed. They know their market segement and they're fantastic at it.
However, there are plenty of us who dislike fast food and chains. We're not their market segement. They don't need us. Would they like us to join? Yeap! But will they do okay without us? Yeap....
There are plenty of people out there who don't like real food...afraid of vegetables, dislike spicy things, don't like anything they didn't grow up with! There are plenty of people who won't eat anything more than fish and chips or bacon butties and crisps everyday. Or cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets.
I still think that most chains are abysmmal- usually because instead of sourcing locally produced beef and chicken and veg, they ship it all over the world because it gets supplied cheap and they can control their suppliers and its always consistent and plastic- plastic tomatoes and wilted lettuce... and that's how they can keep it cheap...
And they ruin any kind of individualistic culture...
