McDonald’s and Jollibee
Show me a McDonald’s that’s more than a few hundred metres away from a Jollibee. I’d be very shocked if you can. These two fast-food chains, they are so ferociously in love with each other. And here in Manila their inseparability stands as the marriage between American-style junk food and the Philippine taste for the happy and the sweet. As in any marriage, it’s not without a tinge of jealousy and competition.
But there they are anyway, as close as close can get, always within walking distance from each other, and their store fronts always alive and bright and arresting our attention with the antidepressant colours of red, yellow, white, orange, and purple, turning sandwich stores into pop art and opening their doors to serve us on Jupiter Street and Makati Avenue in Makati, on Retiro in Quezon City, on Quezon Avenue, on Greenmeadows and C5 in Libis, on Tomas Morato Avenue, Banawe Street, Katipunan, Commonwealth Avenue (in front of PhilCoA), E. Rodriguez, Kamias Extension, at the basement of EDSA Shangri-La mall, or of every shopping mall in Manila for that matter, strategically in front of high schools, colleges, and universities, and along major highways both north and south of the city.
And they are firmly fixed, too, in our lingo of merienda. Or lunch break. Breakfast. Dinner. How many times have Filipinos been caught in this swirling debate of where to eat? McDonald’s or Jollibee? You’d think that, given their omnipresence, making a choice would be convenient. The slightest hunger pang is enough to set us off on another one of those eternal gastronomic dilemmas, bulleted by neon text on backlit menus. “I like the Cheeseburger Deluxe better than the Regular Yumburger with Cheese, so let’s go to McDo.” “I need my Chickenjoy fix, and besides I’ve got a Double Go Large coupon for the meal.” “The taste of pickles in the Quarterpounder is revolting.” “Why does the Amazing Aloha’s sauce remind me of Caladryl?” “No one beats Jollibee’s fries.” “No one beats McDo’s fries.” Ratata-tata we go, and sometimes over the generosity of staff members with sachets of ketchup.
I’m not even going to begin talking about the mascots and the TV commercials. Let’s leave the discussion of a lipsticked clown’s semiotics and the social cognitive powers of an egg-eyed bee to the scholars and gurus of consumer marketing. Me, when I fancy a Jolly Hotdog, I just go and look for a McDonald’s. And when I can’t find a McDonald’s, I just look for a Jollibee. One can’t go without the other, they are partners intertwined, they make love and war, our city is their battlefield, and in our tummies is where a honeymoon happens.
Hi Migs
I am surprised at Philippine people eating this type of food, all sorts of good wholesome alternatives come to mind, fresh soup, saute vegetables, even prepared caserole, come on now Migs eat healthy
Here in Mindanao I see many more JOLIBEE and they in terms of customer service are like an oasis amongst many retail outlets.
Hi Migs,
A great article as always. I have spent most of my time in Tagum city, in Miindanao (near Davao). They have a McDonald’s down town across from the city hall and the nearest Jollibee is at the mall, several miles (or Kilometers) away. I have eaten at both places and they were both great. I was surprised at the very courteous but armed guards at both places. It was most amusing to see the man at McDonald’s with an over sized uniform and a pistol stuck in the waist band opening the door for all the patrons. I am still not sure what part of the chicken they gave me at Jollibee, as it was square.
Hi Migs
I enjoy the customer service at Jollibee much better. I wish they had them in the states also. But soon I won’t have to worry about that!
McDonalds has one of the best success rates for any franchise for many reasons but one is their in depth site prospectus, they go in and study the proposed site for demagraphics, traffic, local economy ect in great detail…so much so that many lesser franchises such as Taco Bell, Wendys ect ..almost ride coat tail on McDocs developed sites. Thats why you will usually see a Mcdoc’s go up first…then a land grab for nearby vacant lots which thier competitors will purcahse and sit on to see how well McDoc does…if it does well they build..if not they sell the lots.
Boy migs you hit that one on the head ..When i was in cdo everybody wanted to go to jollybees. or McD…so i went to jollybees never been there before (surprise surprise )..wow what a surprise a chicken sandwich an a fries …I told my wife to me that wasn’t where i wanted to eat , so after that we went to little eatery;s in the back streets ..and they were good to go to ,too. I enjoyed it the food was good , home cooked and the people just stared at me …it was fun ..Phil R.
Hi Rick: I do eat healthy. I like calling on friends and enjoying home-cooked meals!
And I LOVE casserole. Only, I wish I could bring myself to like durian. Heehee.
Hi John G.: I think that Jollibee’s good training policies are paying off. Employees there work ever so hard!
Hi Richard D: A square chicken? Ha! That had me laughing. I like both McDs and Jollibee, but I must say I prefer the ones that are nearest my place. Junk food convenience!
Hi Dan: A nice blog you have! I hope that when you move in you would write your own experience about Jollibee.
Hi Brian: Thanks for sharing the insight - so McDs locations are chosen very strategically. That must be why it’s always packed!
Hi Phil R: I agree with you! It’s not like we’re limited to these two choices. There’s always the neighborhood-friendly, home-cooked-meal-serving carinderia (or eatery) to frequent. And they’re cheaper, too!
Cheers everyone! Thanks for your comments.
My favorite at Jollibee is their pancit palabok and the apple pie of MDc. The best french fries here in Sacramento is from IN and OUT- made from freshly slice potatoes.
I should not be talking about fast food, I am supposed to be on diet..Cheers!
Migs
Can you tell me the price of a Chicken Joy value meal now? I have heard it went up.
Dan
If you are ever in Vegas they have a Jolly Bee there. The food was almost the same as the Philippines. They just serve larger portions.
In Bogo City, Northern Cebu we are still too small for a McDonald’s and even the Jolibee closes at 7PM! They brown out our city one Sunday a month and we always spend the day at Jollibee’s.
But you’re right, with the few McDonald’s I’ve seen there is a Jolibee not far away. Last time I was there, it was complete with the human sized Bee dancing with his girlfriend.
The advertisements remind me of McDonald’s too. But the people working there seem to be much happier about their jobs there than the people in the US are about there’s.
And the Jolibee French Fries still have flavor, not yet hit by the people that are trying to make fast food in American good for you. Give me a break, if I wanted good for me, I’d eat fish at home. Sometimes I want some good tasting junk in my junk food.
Hi David: I love the pancit palabok of Jollibee as well! That reminds me of Sunday mornings with my mother, when we used to emerge from the Church and head out to Jollibee and gobble those vile-looking but delicious noodles.
Hi Larry: I’m not sure; I usually order a burger meal. But the Chickenjoy (1 piece) will cost about P80, I believe.
Hi Rusty: Human-sized bees are not uncommon. But a Jollibee that closes at 7 pm? That is more than mildly surprising! Maybe we ought to have our junk food delivered instead.
Cheers, everyone!
Hi Migs
I prefer Jollibee to McDo’s anyday !!!!!!!!!
Hi Migs (and Steve): I prefer MacDo to Jollibee - but not any day… Good, that not everybody has the same taste… -
When I first had the thought of visiting the Philippines I thought it best to learn as much as possible about what it would be like to go there. Prior to that I had never heard of lodging accomodations that did not have hot water for the shower and a lot of other things. Second to lodging accomodation, I thought what if the food does not agree with me ? I felt I had to find some kind of near ” fail safe ” place for eating that I could survive on for 2 weeks. When I found out about Jolibee first in pictures, I researched Jollibee Foods Corp via their website and other web references. I found that the originator of Jollibee studied the fast food business in the USA and then returned to The Philippines where he started Jollibee.
In studying the variety on the menu via the Jollibee website, and understanding the history, background and reputation the company had gained in its multidecade existance I now felt I had a near failsafe source of food, if nothing else was satisfactory. Yes, I knew there were McDonalds but there was none in the place I wanted to visit ( Iligan City ) at that time. and there were two Jollibees there. It finally got to the point that Jollibee was becomming as much an attraction to me as anything else was on my first visit to The Philippines. I was really getting Hyped to go to Jollibee ! In fact, almost immediately after checking into a Hotel in Iligan City after meeting my friends there, I just about ran down the street, my friends being right behind me, moments later I was in the Tibanga Jollibee !
Some people laughd at me saying ” Jollibee is a kids place ” . I replied, some people after reaching a ” certain ” age, will pay a lot of money to feel young again. If I can create that feeling in buying a few burgers and some fries at Jollibee all the better for me ! In my many years of being associated with the bar and restaurant business, although somewhat indirectly, I knew what to look for and to this day I am still very impressed with the many Jollibee locations I have visited ( including Greenwich Pizza, Red Ribbon Bakeries, and Chow King locations also owned by Jollibee Foods Corp ) in Iligan City and Cagayan De Oro .
It is my opinion that Jollibee has not only met the competition, but has beat the competition. I have consistantly recieved excellence in customer service, Great tasting food that has never once given me even the slightest digestion problem ( despite health advisories for travelers to the Philippines from such agencies as W. H. O. , the USA FDA and other such agencies ) about eating certain things like dairy products in The Philippines. I was amazed to discover Jollibee even delivers if I did not feel like leaving my hotel !
I have found consistency in such things as cleanliness, customer service, quality, convienience, and in some areas probably the best, fully equipped and fully functional ” CR ” around.
When I first became interested in going to The Philippines, I learned that people there appreciate it when a foriegner tries to learn at least some of their language. Although Bisaya is the most commonly used language in the areas I enjoy in Mindanao, I found that English and Tagalog are known as the national language. For someone only fluent in American English ( and a bit of British English from my travels in the UK ) , for me, learning any kind of foriegn language is not easy. When I found a ” jollibee Song ” on youtube, the melody and lyrics caught my attention. Downloading the song, and replaying it many many times I learned to mimmick the words. A little at a time I was able to learn the definition of the key words and sayings to know what I was singing about. I had found a fun way to learn something that I could repeat and pronounce in Tagalog that made some kind of sense. My Filipino friends became quite impressed when I was able to sing the song to them.
My very best Jollibee experience happened about one week ago on my second visit to The Philippines. I was eating at Greenwich Pizza at the SM Mall in Cagayan De Oro. Just as I was about to enjoy my lunch the Jollibee Mascott appeared ” Live ” and In Person in front of the busy Jollibee right near Greenwich Pizza in that mall. I went out there in the main thouroughfare of the mall and got a chance to say hello to Jollibee. I told Jollibee how I had learned Tagalog from him and he motioned for me to speak. With that, right in front of who knows how many kids and their parents I start singing ” Halena’t magsaya si best friend Jollibee narito na ……………………………and as I stood there singing, Jollibee danced to my singing the Jollibee Song ! . Can you just picture that ? An American visitor in CDO in a very busy shopping Mall singing in Tagalog to the Jollibee Mascot dancing to my singing ( I am not really a singer either LOL ).
For me, this was without a doubt, my Ultimate Jollibee Experience and a highlight of my recent visit. Something that will give me the happiest of memories for many years !
Hi Steve and Klaus: I prefer neither. Take me to a Burger King any day!
Hi Bob NY: What a fantastic comment. I remember watching a photo montage of your trip to Iligan - the one that’s uploaded here in LiP - and seeing a lot of pictures taken at Jollibee. I am glad you like the food, you probably like it even better than I do, as I haven’t memorized the Jollibee theme song!
And I do agree with you. All people grow old enough to be able to visit kids’ places again. Jollibee is a happy, happy place.