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Ask HN: Why does the McDonalds' app require so many steps to order a Diet Coke?

3 points by amichail ↗ HN
Ordering a single item like this (even if discounted for a limited time) should be fast.

Why do users tolerate this?

11 comments

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fuckcensorship
Are the steps different for regular Coke?
amichail
The point is that ordering a single item like this should be fast.
jfengel
But is that really the main use case? Do people often go to McDonald's to order just one item?

If I wanted a Diet Coke, I'm more likely to go to a convenience store. The operation would be simpler: I pick up exactly the item I want from the shelf, pay for it, and leave. I don't need to wait on anybody to bring me anything. Especially for something as generic as a Diet Coke.

If I am at McDonald's, I'm expecting to order McDonald's food. As a designer, I wouldn't optimize for the case of somebody ordering just one item that they could get elsewhere.

That doesn't excuse arbitrary up-selling and obfuscated interfaces, but it doesn't surprise me that ordering a single item (especially a non-food item) isn't as fast as it could be.

db48x
I would be willing to wager that greater than 99% of people have never used the McDonald’s app to order anything. Perhaps you could elaborate?
amichail
It seems like it is a dark pattern to encourage you to order more items. It is extremely irritating when you just want to order one item.
db48x
That’s a conclusion, not an elaboration. Perhaps you can start at the beginning, and describe what steps must be taken to complete an order for a diet coke?
mPReDiToR
If you are interested enough to read someone else's experience, might I suggest downloading the free program yourself and investigating?

It doesn't work well for me because of payment issues, but putting together an order seems to work.

omgjustletme
Why are you ordering a diet Coke from McDonalds anyways? This is highly overpriced and a watered down version of what you could get at a gas station.

Can of soda $1 Fountain soda from McDonalds $3

Am I missing something?

midnightdiesel
Irrelevant, and fountain drinks are only $1 at McDonald’s anyway.
dtagames
Not correct. McDonald's is well known among Coke aficionados for using a different syrup mix ratio and very precise water and syrup temperatures to produce the ideal product. It is not the same as what you get at a gas station.