McDonald's offers Ottawa "experience of the future"
By Joanne E. Laucius
First posted: Wednesday, March 02, 2016 04:57 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, March 02, 2016 07:33 PM EST
Next week, you’ll be able to bring a date to McDonald’s without looking like a cheapskate.
Ottawa will be the first market in Ontario to completely switch over to the fast food chain’s “experience of the future” concept.
Time-pressed customers will still be able to get a Big Mac and fries, but the new hamburger customization option allows customers to build their own burger at a kiosk with a touch screen that offers options including five types of cheese, 12 toppings from guacamole to mushrooms, specialty breads plus a lettuce wrap and nine sauces. Overwhelmed customers can choose from pre-selected combinations.
After ordering, customers sit down with a locator device and a server will bring their meal to them.
Some 25 restaurants in the Ottawa area — those large enough to support two kitchens, plus a bakery for making pastries —will be moving into the new model starting March 7. It will cost about $250,000 for each restaurant to make the switch.
It also means 300 new jobs for Ottawa. McDonald’s will be hiring for three positions it never had before: server; “guest experience leader” (essentially a host or hostess, but the job description says candidates must be outgoing people who will be responsible for “creating magic moments”) as well as chef, who will be the lead cook in the custom burger kitchen.
Edmonton moved 11 restaurants to the new model last fall — the process takes only a couple of days — and there are a handful of Toronto-area build-your-own McDonald’s franchises. The chain is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, and the new menus and table service will be available across Canada by the end of next year.
McDonald’s isn’t reinventing itself for fun. The move comes from financial pressures and changes in taste as consumers turn to “fast casual” chains like Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill that offer fresh, customized food and a slightly more upscale experience.
“In the past few years, the world moved faster outside the business then inside,” McDonald’s chief brand officer Steve Easterbrook said last May when outlining the company’s turnaround plan. “The business cannot ignore what customers are saying when the message is clear: We’re not on our game.”
jlaucius@postmedia.com
McDonald's offers Ottawa "experience of the future" | Money | Toronto Sun
By Joanne E. Laucius
First posted: Wednesday, March 02, 2016 04:57 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, March 02, 2016 07:33 PM EST
Next week, you’ll be able to bring a date to McDonald’s without looking like a cheapskate.
Ottawa will be the first market in Ontario to completely switch over to the fast food chain’s “experience of the future” concept.
Time-pressed customers will still be able to get a Big Mac and fries, but the new hamburger customization option allows customers to build their own burger at a kiosk with a touch screen that offers options including five types of cheese, 12 toppings from guacamole to mushrooms, specialty breads plus a lettuce wrap and nine sauces. Overwhelmed customers can choose from pre-selected combinations.
After ordering, customers sit down with a locator device and a server will bring their meal to them.
Some 25 restaurants in the Ottawa area — those large enough to support two kitchens, plus a bakery for making pastries —will be moving into the new model starting March 7. It will cost about $250,000 for each restaurant to make the switch.
It also means 300 new jobs for Ottawa. McDonald’s will be hiring for three positions it never had before: server; “guest experience leader” (essentially a host or hostess, but the job description says candidates must be outgoing people who will be responsible for “creating magic moments”) as well as chef, who will be the lead cook in the custom burger kitchen.
Edmonton moved 11 restaurants to the new model last fall — the process takes only a couple of days — and there are a handful of Toronto-area build-your-own McDonald’s franchises. The chain is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, and the new menus and table service will be available across Canada by the end of next year.
McDonald’s isn’t reinventing itself for fun. The move comes from financial pressures and changes in taste as consumers turn to “fast casual” chains like Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill that offer fresh, customized food and a slightly more upscale experience.
“In the past few years, the world moved faster outside the business then inside,” McDonald’s chief brand officer Steve Easterbrook said last May when outlining the company’s turnaround plan. “The business cannot ignore what customers are saying when the message is clear: We’re not on our game.”
jlaucius@postmedia.com
McDonald's offers Ottawa "experience of the future" | Money | Toronto Sun
