Mcdonalds new ordering system

[craigjm]

mw88 said:

craigjm said:

One thing that has always puzzled me though is why people go to the drive though and then drive to a parking space to eat the food. Why would you do that if there is a warm and clean restaurant right there? you also are then taking up parking spaces for the restaurant.

Guilty! Usually because it's the warmest it will be, but mainly because the drive thru is a million times quicker than ordering in the restaurant where you'll be waiting 30 minutes for food while they prioritise drive thru orders.

And the restaurant is often full of other people/kids.

I have never had to wait anything like that inside and I would much rather not stink my car out with burger and chips to save a few minutes even if it was delivered slightly quicker. I don’t know each to their own I guess

[Big Stevie]

mw88 said:

And the restaurant is often full of other people/kids.

And sweaty delivery drivers

[petemurphy]

craigjm said:

I have never had to wait anything like that inside and I would much rather not stink my car out with burger and chips to save a few minutes even if it was delivered slightly quicker. I don’t know each to their own I guess

heated seats

[monkfish1]

Koyaanisqatsi said:

craigjm said:

Koyaanisqatsi said:

Purely from my eyes, there seems to be a huge increase in demand for 'customised' food, (e.g. fries with no salt, Big Mac no pickles, hamburger with added this and that), which displeases the makers greatly because it interrupts their speedy flow having to make a fresh customised burger, whereas previously there would just always be a few cheeseburgers and Big Macs and other popular items on the chutes ready to go. I'm guilty of it too ('double cheeseburger, no pickles, add mayo', is my go-to)

I have no doubt there has been a huge increase in customized orders because customers can now see what is available. Customisation is the enemy of speed if you just want a bog standard cheeseburger etc. The biggest issue for me is that they are trying to serve restaurant customers, drive through customers and delivery customers all in the same production line. Maybe it is time for them to start to have dark kitchens for delivery.

One thing that has always puzzled me though is why people go to the drive though and then drive to a parking space to eat the food. Why would you do that if there is a warm and clean restaurant right there? you also are then taking up parking spaces for the restaurant.

The problem with designing any process though is that as soon as you add people into it then you get chaos because humans are very strange creatures

Utter laziness, that's why. The litter will then be thrown at those enormous funnel bin things with the targets, the thrower will miss and simply drive off. again, laziness.

Edited by Koyaanisqatsi on Wednesday 1st February 14:13

Im niether lazy, nor throw my litter on the floor.

The reasons are simple. It quicker and the food hotter becuase drive thru is cleary prioritized most of the time.

Additonally, during the day, inside is populated by screaming out of control kids, and in the evening by low life ive no desire to interface with. And now, at all times, delivery drivers with no idea how to behave in a public place. In short "inside" is a hostile environment.

My car, a haven of peace and traquility. Plus the food might still be warm

[craigjm]

monkfish1 said:

Koyaanisqatsi said:

craigjm said:

Koyaanisqatsi said:

Purely from my eyes, there seems to be a huge increase in demand for 'customised' food, (e.g. fries with no salt, Big Mac no pickles, hamburger with added this and that), which displeases the makers greatly because it interrupts their speedy flow having to make a fresh customised burger, whereas previously there would just always be a few cheeseburgers and Big Macs and other popular items on the chutes ready to go. I'm guilty of it too ('double cheeseburger, no pickles, add mayo', is my go-to)

I have no doubt there has been a huge increase in customized orders because customers can now see what is available. Customisation is the enemy of speed if you just want a bog standard cheeseburger etc. The biggest issue for me is that they are trying to serve restaurant customers, drive through customers and delivery customers all in the same production line. Maybe it is time for them to start to have dark kitchens for delivery.

One thing that has always puzzled me though is why people go to the drive though and then drive to a parking space to eat the food. Why would you do that if there is a warm and clean restaurant right there? you also are then taking up parking spaces for the restaurant.

The problem with designing any process though is that as soon as you add people into it then you get chaos because humans are very strange creatures

Utter laziness, that's why. The litter will then be thrown at those enormous funnel bin things with the targets, the thrower will miss and simply drive off. again, laziness.

Edited by Koyaanisqatsi on Wednesday 1st February 14:13

Im niether lazy, nor throw my litter on the floor.

The reasons are simple. It quicker and the food hotter becuase drive thru is cleary prioritized most of the time.

Additonally, during the day, inside is populated by screaming out of control kids, and in the evening by low life ive no desire to interface with. And now, at all times, delivery drivers with no idea how to behave in a public place. In short "inside" is a hostile environment.

My car, a haven of peace and traquility. Plus the food might still be warm

I doubt the food is hotter. In the old days it would be the crap that would go out the drive through window that was at its time limit. They gambled that you would be away before you noticed and that’s why they hated people eatinb in their cars in the carpark

The drive through may be prioritised in terms of getting your food quicker but it’s no fresher or hotter than what’s going into the restaurant

The kids thing I concur with but I never go at weekends and don’t really see that in the week as long as where you go is nowhere near a school

[Big Stevie]

I just prefer too eat it in my car, it's more comfortable and I can listen to the radio. I have little desire to ever go inside to eat, so drive-thru then park up ad eat is what I usually do.

[48k]

craigjm said:

The drive through may be prioritised in terms of getting your food quicker but it’s no fresher or hotter than what’s going into the restaurant

I think you might have missed the point - the inference was that the food is hotter if you stop and eat it in the car park than after you've driven home to eat it. Not that drive through food is hotter food than what is served if you eat in.

Also in the case of the fries there is a chance they are still crispy because they go soggy the longer they stay in the bag.

[craigjm]

48k said:

craigjm said:

The drive through may be prioritised in terms of getting your food quicker but it’s no fresher or hotter than what’s going into the restaurant

I think you might have missed the point - the inference was that the food is hotter if you stop and eat it in the car park than after you've driven home to eat it. Not that drive through food is hotter food than what is served if you eat in.

Also in the case of the fries there is a chance they are still crispy because they go soggy the longer they stay in the bag.

Ahh yes of course makes sense.

Often the food in the restaurant is not that hot and the crispyness of the fries cannot be guaranteed. It amazes me how often the fries are soft and burgers not warm enough to melt the cheese. Still it’s more consistent generally than KFC

[48k]

craigjm said:

Often the food in the restaurant is not that hot and the crispyness of the fries cannot be guaranteed. It amazes me how often the fries are soft and burgers not warm enough to melt the cheese. Still it’s more consistent generally than KFC

Completely agree. McDonalds is generally very consistent. I actually had the most amazing KFC (not joking!) a couple of weeks ago. Such a one-off it really stood out. I was in there about 15 mins after the store opened (which probably explains why). Everything was piping hot, the chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside and the fries were crispy and just...well...amazing. I was staggered. Never had a KFC like it. Having watched a few documentaries on YT about KFC and how supposedly strict they are on restaurant performance, with regular inspections and so on, I'm perplexed as to how 99.9999% of of my KFC experiences have been of warm-ish food with soggy chips. They are by far the worst of the mainstream high street take aways in terms of consistency and quality. But still a dirty treat now and again.

[blingybongy]

48k said:

Completely agree. McDonalds is generally very consistent. I actually had the most amazing KFC (not joking!) a couple of weeks ago. Such a one-off it really stood out. I was in there about 15 mins after the store opened (which probably explains why). Everything was piping hot, the chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside and the fries were crispy and just...well...amazing. I was staggered. Never had a KFC like it. Having watched a few documentaries on YT about KFC and how supposedly strict they are on restaurant performance, with regular inspections and so on, I'm perplexed as to how 99.9999% of of my KFC experiences have been of warm-ish food with soggy chips. They are by far the worst of the mainstream high street take aways in terms of consistency and quality. But still a dirty treat now and again.

You missed the fact that the tables are always a mess and the bins overflowing.

I recently found myself in Alnwick over a weekend and used the Maccies for breakfast on the Saturday and it was so good I went back for a burger later and a brekkie the following day.
Immaculate premises, polite and friendly staff and best of all no delivery drivers, that I noticed on any occasion.
The food each time was hot, fresh and tasty.
The best I've ever been in.

[monkfish1]

blingybongy said:

48k said:

Completely agree. McDonalds is generally very consistent. I actually had the most amazing KFC (not joking!) a couple of weeks ago. Such a one-off it really stood out. I was in there about 15 mins after the store opened (which probably explains why). Everything was piping hot, the chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside and the fries were crispy and just...well...amazing. I was staggered. Never had a KFC like it. Having watched a few documentaries on YT about KFC and how supposedly strict they are on restaurant performance, with regular inspections and so on, I'm perplexed as to how 99.9999% of of my KFC experiences have been of warm-ish food with soggy chips. They are by far the worst of the mainstream high street take aways in terms of consistency and quality. But still a dirty treat now and again.

You missed the fact that the tables are always a mess and the bins overflowing.

I recently found myself in Alnwick over a weekend and used the Maccies for breakfast on the Saturday and it was so good I went back for a burger later and a brekkie the following day.
Immaculate premises, polite and friendly staff and best of all no delivery drivers, that I noticed on any occasion.
The food each time was hot, fresh and tasty.
The best I've ever been in.

Macdonalds "USED" to be consistent. Many are now filthy st tips.

The one in kidderminster in the wharf being especially bad. Plus the one on the A5 between MK and dunstable.

For whatever rerason, the ones at motorway services seem better.

KFC are even worse. Wont go to them now. If they are inspected, either they know beforehand or the inspector is related to Stevie Wonder. The one at Stacey bushes, MK is a bio hazard.

[AlexC1981]

Something's gone wrong with my local Taco Bell. You used to wait a while for the food, but it was always good. Now it comes out almost instantly, but doesn't taste fresh.

[48k]

monkfish1 said:

KFC are even worse. Wont go to them now. If they are inspected, either they know beforehand or the inspector is related to Stevie Wonder. The one at Stacey bushes, MK is a bio hazard.

Believe it or not, the amazing KFC I was talking about in my previous post was from Stacy Bushes.
Because its usually so crap there I was amazed how good it was.
"Biohazard" is another reason I never eat in.

[craigjm]

AlexC1981 said:

Something's gone wrong with my local Taco Bell. You used to wait a while for the food, but it was always good. Now it comes out almost instantly, but doesn't taste fresh.

Taco Bell? Good? I have never had a decent one in the states and tried one here when they opened and yep not good

[hungry_hog]

The branch in Bond St London doesn't seem to have the electronic ordering system which is crazy as it's prime territory for shoppers and commuters

I must confess most of the time I order McD is when I am three sheets to the wind, so only a few times a week then

[David87]

I tried the Uber Eats delivery for the first and last time on Thursday. I was out for the evening and my wife had taken the kids swimming - I ordered it so it would arrive just after they got home. Except it never did. Still, at least the refund process was easy and they had a healthier - if later than planned - dinner.

[anonymous-user]

David87 said:

I tried the Uber Eats delivery for the first and last time on Thursday. I was out for the evening and my wife had taken the kids swimming - I ordered it so it would arrive just after they got home. Except it never did. Still, at least the refund process was easy and they had a healthier - if later than planned - dinner.

We have discussed the whole McDonalds delivery thing on here before and the overwhelming consensus is that it is absolutely pointless. McD’s is only tasty if it is fresh and hot, and it only manages to remain hot for a mere few minutes after being made. There is no way a McD’s could be anything but stone cold and soggy by the time it has sat in a delivery pickup area for several minutes, and then been scrunched up and shoved in the bag on the back of a bicycle for another 15 minutes.

I think you very much dodged a bullet!

monkfish1 said:

Macdonalds "USED" to be consistent. Many are now filthy st tips.

The one in kidderminster in the wharf being especially bad. Plus the one on the A5 between MK and dunstable.

For whatever rerason, the ones at motorway services seem better.

KFC are even worse. Wont go to them now. If they are inspected, either they know beforehand or the inspector is related to Stevie Wonder. The one at Stacey bushes, MK is a bio hazard.

I agree. There is huge inconsistency in different ‘restaurants’. Some are always spotless and efficient, and others are just disgusting and disorganised.

On that topic, the McD’s I went in for my Big Tasty a couple of weeks ago was the Oxford Street one, and what a bloody mess it was. I get that it’s a busy location, but I’ve never seen anything like the toilets. Both cubicles had the doors open but yellow warning tape blocking them off, and the excrement in the toilets was literally piled high like some sort of giant walnut whip made of turd and toilet roll high above the rim of the bowl. There was piss and toilet roll all over the floors by the urinals and it smelled like nothing on earth.

The rest of the restaurant was filthy as well. Awful.

[theplayingmantis]

Lord Marylebone said:

the excrement in the toilets was literally piled high like some sort of giant walnut whip made of turd and toilet roll high above the rim of the bowl. There was piss and toilet roll all over the floors by the urinals and it smelled like nothing on earth.

I feel for the poor bstad who had to use it after you!

[theplayingmantis]

btw big tasty ending on wednesday, some lazy big mac variant inbound...the one with an extra slice of cheese, or extra pickle, so much effort and imagination in the UK mcd's LTO's...sigh

[ThunderSpook]

I thought I’d try a Big Tasty the other day seeing as I was on expenses and you lot keep going on about how good they are.

Dry and manky tasting, that sauce is disgusting. McD do small burgers really well, but the big ones just aren’t nice.