Local McDonald's make use of competitor coupons
With three McDonald’s in Mount Pleasant, it’s no secret that it’s the place to go for a quick bite to eat.
Not only do they offer a dollar menu, they also accept competitor coupons.
Venus Ceja, general manager of the McDonald's located on 1804 S. Mission St., said accepting these coupons is on a case-by-case basis, but all three of the Mount Pleasant McDonald’s accept them.
“We do it to make sure the customer is happy,” Ceja said. “We’re all about customer service and accommodating the customer.”
If a customer brings in a coupon from another restaurant, such as KFC or Burger King, McDonald’s will honor it with what they think is equivalent to what the coupon is for.
“We get all sorts of burger competitors, chicken competitors,” Ceja said. “We just try to improvise. If someone brings in a buy one, get one burger coupon for Burger King, we will give them two burgers for the same special.”
Although this policy began six months ago, not every McDonald’s is required to accept the coupons. The policy is levied to only the corporate owned franchises.
“Operators have the distinction of owning the business of whether or not they want to accept the competitors," Ceja said. "They don’t have to follow everything because they own part of it if they’re an operator. But, they’re all corporate in Mount Pleasant so they should be accepting the coupons.”
The Mount Pleasant McDonald's locations include 904 E. Pickard St., 1804 S. Mission St. and 5600 E. Pickard St.
According to Ceja, about 20 coupons from competitors are used at McDonald’s per month at each store in the area.
Midland junior Andrew Oliver said he does not eat fast food often but would take advantage of the competing coupons policy when needed.
“It makes sense from a marketing standpoint, but I was not aware,” Oliver said. “It’s kind of a cool idea.”
Oliver said it would make it easier to find coupons to use.
“I can just use any now," Oliver said. "It makes me much more likely to utilize a coupon, period."
Taco Bell, 1143 S. Mission St., does not accept competitor coupons, but said they do not have many competitors in the area. Burger King also doesn’t honor this policy, but officials said they offer coupons frequently in weekly ads.
