McDonald's doubled the price of a popular promotion and many customers are devastated

McDonald's just raised the price of its popular McPick 2 promotion from $2 to $5, and some customers are upset.

Starting Monday, customers will be able to select two of the following for $5: a Big Mac, 10-piece chicken McNuggets, a Filet-O-Fish sandwich, and a Quarter Pounder with cheese.

The new promotion replaces the original McPick 2 menu, which was launched in January and cost $2.

The original McPick 2 let customers select two of the following items: a McDouble, a McChicken, small fries, and mozzarella sticks.

The promotion was popular and now many customers are saying they're devastated that it's ending, Consumerist reports.

McDonald's says they aren't receiving any negative feedback from customers about the change, however."The McPick 2 for $2 offerings were always intended to be a limited time offer, however owner/operators are free to offer the menu items they feel their customers will enjoy most at the price they choose," McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa McComb told Business Insider.

The price increase will likely please franchisees, who have complained that aggressive discounting has been squeezing their profits.

"I am very alarmed about the discounting push," one franchisee wrote in response to a recent survey by Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski. "I have never seen the corporation be so aggressive with discounts. The regional marketing teams are adding numerous other discounts to the McPick 2, primarily breakfast items. They are encouraging, quite literally, everything being on sale. This is a very hard cultural adjustment for me."

Another wrote: "McPick 2 for $2 must die."

McDonald's promised last year to realign the company around what it calls a "value platform," which essentially means offering more promotions.

The burger chain upset many customers two years ago when it reformulated the Dollar Menu by axing the $1 price ceiling and turning it into the "Dollar Menu and More" with items that cost up to $5.

"Some of the challenges we've had in the US have been somewhat self-inflicted," McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook said during a conference call in July. "We moved away from the Dollar Menu and didn't replace it with significant-enough value in the eyes of consumers."

Burger King, Wendy's, and KFC have all been offering rival promotions that bundle several items on the menu for between $3 and $5.

Burger King is offering a "5 for $4" deal that includes a bacon cheeseburger, small french fries, four-piece chicken nuggets, a small drink, and a chocolate chip cookie.

Wendy's has been offering a "4 for $4" meal that includes a junior bacon cheeseburger, four chicken nuggets, small fries, and a drink and KFC has a similar offering called the "$5 Fill Up" meal.

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