The quick-service chain is rolling out table service to its 14,000 restaurants in the United States. Currently, table service is available at more than 500 US locations in California, New York and Florida.
McDonald’s also is offering diners more ways to pay. Visitors have the option to pay at the register or at new self-order kiosks. In 2017, the company will begin implementing mobile pay options like Apple or Android Pay. Tests with Alphabet Inc.’s Google Hands Free currently are underway in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The introduction of new payment platforms has prompted a refresh of restaurant interiors. Customers at McDonald’s will see more contemporary décor with modern colors, bold graphics and digital menu boards.
In addition to enhancing convenience of placing orders and paying for meals, McDonald’s again touted its moves to improve the quality and freshness of its food. Improvements noted by the company include switching to butter from margarine used in the Egg McMuffin and premium offerings such as the Signature Crafted line of burgers and chicken sandwiches.
McDonald’s is testing digital menu boards in restaurant drive-thru lanes; double-lane drive thrus also are in the works.
The company said approximately 2,600 restaurants around the world have undergone this transformation and have seen positive results:
- In Canada, positive net sales increased several months;
- Modernizing the restaurant experience in France produced an overall improvement in customer satisfaction to 88 percent from 70 percent; and
- In 18 months, kiosk usage in restaurants in the United Kingdome increased in-restaurant orders to 25 percent from 18 percent.
And the seventh way McDonald’s is elevating the customer experience? The company summed up its efforts. “New ways to order, modern technology, new ways to pay, table service, and a new focus on hospitality for our guests,” the company said on its website. “That’s a whole new level of service at McDonald’s, just for you.”
