McDonald's franchisees push back on new standards

The survey, conducted by investment advisory firm Kalinowski Equity, canvassed 20 randomly selected McDonald's franchisees from the approximately 2,000 owner/operators in the U.S. franchise system. According to a CNBC report, every respondent disagreed with recently introduced changes to the brand’s national franchising standards, the first time in more than 20 years that a single question in the survey has produced a 100 percent consensus. 

The changes, rolled out from January 1, include assessing restaurants on how effectively their pricing delivers customer value. While positioned as a move to strengthen competitiveness and drive traffic, some franchisees fear the new measures could restrict their freedom to set prices. Concerns have also been raised that failure to align with corporate pricing expectations could influence franchise renewal decisions at the end of long-term agreements.

This comes despite McDonald’s recently reporting better-than-expected quarterly revenue, driven in part by strong sales of extra-value meals. The results reinforce the corporation’s focus on affordability amid ongoing consumer sensitivity to price.

However, the situation highlights a broader issue familiar across mature franchise systems: the balance between brand control and franchisee autonomy.

Interestingly, the tensions echo themes explored many years ago in an interview with the late McDonald's NZ CEO Al Dunn, which examined how the global giant historically managed innovation and franchisee engagement. That article posed three enduring questions: How do you introduce significant changes without triggering resistance? How do you involve franchisees in the process of change? And how do you keep franchisees motivated over long agreements? 

Historically, McDonald’s has been viewed as a benchmark for franchise collaboration, building robust business cases for new initiatives and working closely with franchisees to secure buy-in. When change was clearly communicated and commercially justified, resistance tended to soften.

The current pushback suggests that the issue may not be change itself, but how it is implemented. Franchisees generally accept that evolution is necessary. But when decisions, particularly around pricing, are perceived to limit local discretion, tensions can quickly surface.

For New Zealand franchisors and franchisees, the developments serve as a timely reminder: even the world’s most established franchise systems must continually nurture trust, communication and partnership to sustain long-term success.