Ken Burgin

McDonalds is retraining our customers, and it’s a good thing…

Here’s the revamped McDonalds in Sydney’s inner suburb of Kingsford.

24 (twenty four) kiosks have replaced the queuing area, and the pickup counter is now just a small area on the side. The McCafe remains (on the right). You can order at the counter, but there are no visible registers or signage to indicate this. Cooking is now out of sight.

Trays are gone, and if you choose to dine in instead of takeaway, you grab a large table number and your food is brought to your table in a bag. A helpful concierge is circulating around the screens to help anyone hesitating – just like they do at Coles self-checkout or airline check-ins.

Presumably MyMacca’s app ordering is still being used, but the push here is to kiosks, not order-at-the table systems (like OrderUp, Me&U etc). This may change – the kiosk installation could be easily modified. Just as Maccas taught us new ordering behaviour years ago – order first, then sit (instead of the other way around), now they are schooling the generations on the ease of kiosks. They’ve also given more importance to two traditional concepts – the Maitre D’ (in this case the kiosk concierge), whose job is to float and be helpful. And table service is back, presumably because it’s actually faster and more productive – I’d love to see their productivity analysis.

Head to your latest updated McD, look around and do some productivity numbers for your own place – what’s possible?

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