Australian Franchise News – 10-10-14
Kicking off a bold plan to transform the Macca’s experience for Australians over the next three years, a purpose-built Customer Learning Lab restaurant opened in Castle Hill this week. The restaurant will give customers a glimpse into the future of McDonald’s in Australia.
The restaurant is the first to offer a new customisable gourmet burger menu called ‘Create Your Taste’. Using digital kiosks, customers can build their own burgers from scratch, choosing from 19 ingredients.
Customers are also treated to table service, allowing them to sit down and enjoy a drink while they wait for their creation to be made fresh off the grill and brought to their table.
The Create Your Taste gourmet burger and table service experience will be rolled out in all restaurants over the next six to nine months.
The Castle Hill restaurant is the first of many new initiatives that will be implemented around the country, with the aim of adapting the service and food experience McDonald’s offers its customers to suit the changing pace of their lives.
Through new technology, customer service approaches and menu options, decisions about how McDonald’s will serve Australians in the future is being placed fully in the hands of customers.
Whether they want the iconic Big Mac and fast convenience McDonald’s is famous for, or a gourmet burger in a more relaxed dining environment, customers will have more options than ever before.
The innovations McDonald’s plans to roll out to restaurants everywhere over the next three years include:
Create Your Taste – customisable gourmet burger menu
- Self-service digital kiosks
- Table service
- Mobile ordering app
- Digital menu boards
- Home delivery
- McCafé barista made coffee in drive-thru
Andrew Gregory, Chief Executive Officer, McDonald’s Australia says the change has been led by customers.
“McDonald’s is innovating and changing again to meet the needs of our customers. All of our innovations have been led by Australians. What we’re really doing here is just what our customers have asked us to do,” Gregory said.
“An important part of our new learning lab restaurants is that we take customers along the journey with us and get their feedback – we want to make sure Macca’s restaurants of the future are what Aussies ordered.”
Three more Customer Learning Labs will open this year, with a further ten planned in early 2015 before a full roll out.
About McDonald’s Australia
Australia’s first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Yagoona, Sydney, in 1971. Today there are over 920 McDonald’s restaurants across Australia, 80 per cent of which are franchised and run by local businessmen and women. The organisation employs more than 95,000 people in restaurants and corporate offices Australia-wide, and is the largest employer of youth in the country. McDonald’s creates more than 6,000 new jobs each year and spends over $40 million per annum on training and people development. McDonald’s suppliers export $175 million worth of Australian products annually and its restaurants spend more than $1.6 billion on food, packaging and other Australian goods and services each year. For more information visit www.mcdonalds.com.au
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