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Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 2nd, 2022, 4:25 pm
by Alpha8472
It has two drive thru lanes. One is an automated drive thru for online pickup that uses a conveyor or elevator. The other is a standard drive thru window with a person. The new design is digital forward emphasizing ordering on the app for pickup and also optimized for delivery drivers. There is also a a pickup shelf for online orders. There are no tables or chairs for indoor dining.
https://www.yahoo.com/now/could-mcdonal ... 19979.html
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 2nd, 2022, 5:27 pm
by jamcool
Like the original McDonald’s…no indoor seating
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 5th, 2022, 11:19 am
by BillyGr
jamcool wrote: ↑December 2nd, 2022, 5:27 pm
Like the original McDonald’s…no indoor seating
True, but unlike the original in that that one didn't have drive-thru lanes and did have windows to walk up to (which I can't tell if this one still offers a way for people to order in person without a car).
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 5th, 2022, 3:42 pm
by Brian Lutz
One of the photos in the article shows an inside pick up window for mobile orders, and they could presumably install order kiosks as well.
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 5th, 2022, 5:15 pm
by babs
Having a drive up window devoted exclusively to mobile orders is necessary to get more people to use it. Nothing is more frustrating than ordering online and getting struck behind people ordering and paying at the window. If you go through the effort to order online, you should be rewarded with faster service when you arrive to pick up your order.
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 5th, 2022, 6:58 pm
by Brian Lutz
In theory having curbside spots for mobile orders should take care of this, but in practice this varies wildly from store to store. The app is set up in a way where they don't start preparing the order until you check in (which requires specifying a parking spot if you are ordering curbside or a table if you are dining in) and in most cases your order is going into the queue with the rest of the drive thru orders. You might save a little time by not needing to wait to order, but it's rarely faster than just going through the drive thru in the first place, and can often be even slower if the restaurant is short staffed and employees are too busy to run the order out. Unless they can get enough people to mobile order that they can justify a dedicated line I don't el expect that this will improve much soon.
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 5th, 2022, 10:51 pm
by babs
Brian Lutz wrote: ↑December 5th, 2022, 6:58 pm
In theory having curbside spots for mobile orders should take care of this, but in practice this varies wildly from store to store. The app is set up in a way where they don't start preparing the order until you check in (which requires specifying a parking spot if you are ordering curbside or a table if you are dining in) and in most cases your order is going into the queue with the rest of the drive thru orders. You might save a little time by not needing to wait to order, but it's rarely faster than just going through the drive thru in the first place, and can often be even slower if the restaurant is short staffed and employees are too busy to run the order out. Unless they can get enough people to mobile order that they can justify a dedicated line I don't el expect that this will improve much soon.
I've yet to find any place where the curbside pickup option for mobile orders is fast and efficient. It always seems to be an afterthought. It's an opportunity for someone to do it better.
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 5th, 2022, 11:16 pm
by storewanderer
babs wrote: ↑December 5th, 2022, 5:15 pm
Having a drive up window devoted exclusively to mobile orders is necessary to get more people to use it. Nothing is more frustrating than ordering online and getting struck behind people ordering and paying at the window. If you go through the effort to order online, you should be rewarded with faster service when you arrive to pick up your order.
Let's see how well this window gets staffed...
I have no confidence in this set up.
The best set up for mobile orders is a self serve pick up shelf. It appears this new McDonalds may have this self serve pick up shelf inside. Panera has been using it for years. Chipotle has it in newer locations. KFC has added it and this is about the only positive thing about KFC. Wendys is adding it but not using it much in my area.
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 6th, 2022, 8:47 am
by babs
storewanderer wrote: ↑December 5th, 2022, 11:16 pm
babs wrote: ↑December 5th, 2022, 5:15 pm
Having a drive up window devoted exclusively to mobile orders is necessary to get more people to use it. Nothing is more frustrating than ordering online and getting struck behind people ordering and paying at the window. If you go through the effort to order online, you should be rewarded with faster service when you arrive to pick up your order.
Let's see how well this window gets staffed...
I have no confidence in this set up.
The best set up for mobile orders is a self serve pick up shelf. It appears this new McDonalds may have this self serve pick up shelf inside. Panera has been using it for years. Chipotle has it in newer locations. KFC has added it and this is about the only positive thing about KFC. Wendys is adding it but not using it much in my area.
I completely disagree. You shouldn't have to go inside or wait behind others in a drive thru line to get your order. Someone who figures this out could do very well as more people get a positive experience from mobile ordering. The demand may not be there today but it will be there over time as the experience improves.
Re: Mcdonald's Drive Thru Of The Future
Posted: December 6th, 2022, 1:44 pm
by Brian Lutz
I'm guessing that's exactly what the people who are putting pick up shelves in are expecting to happen, but in reality I suspect the individual franchises are just going to continue to deprioritize everything but the drive thru line until they start getting enough dine in traffic that they can't get away with it anymore. The end result is that everyone ends up waiting in the drive thru line even if they ordered at the counter or in the app. Even now I've seen a number of McDonald's that don't staff the front counter and only allow dine in orders through the rather inefficient kiosks, and even then seem to act like they would be much better off if they could just close the dining room entirely and make everyone use the drive thru.