May 06, 2006

• oh yeah, they're sticking the franchises, many of whom do not want the redesign) with the $300-400K bill.
• I actually kind of look foward to this, I find it will be interesting.
• The new sofas and lounge chairs are mcvomit-proof.
• They've been doing this in the form of McCafes here in NZ and in a few other countries for a few years now. Admittedly those are smaller sections of a larger McDonalds but I wonder if they've been a test-run of sorts.
• Yeah, I was in Sydney, Aus on Good Friday - everything was shut excpet the McCafe in McDonalds - the coffee was surprisingly good. Still had a bazillion ill behaved snot nosed kids running around, which meant I got my coffe-to-go... I welcome the change, but it probably wont affect my patronage - its a barely tolerated last resort.
• Well, if the redesign includes new staff such as that woman in japanese ads, I might come back after many years of not eating there (usually just for the fries. Mmmmh.) Of course, with similarly ambienced starbucks in every street corner, another franchise that looks the same will be a visual nightmare. Think iPod: clean lines, simplicity Well, then why don't they go for the AppleStore look? Ah, of course... all those greasy fingerprints on the glass panes...
• Having been a fast food manager in a previous life I can tell you that this is a baaaaad idea. The profit margin in fast food is pennies. How you make your money is by getting them in and getting them out fast. The more you serve in an hour the more you make. The problem with this idea is it encourages people to hang around taking up space that could be used by another customer.
• I have not entered, nor eaten the food of, a McDonalds for nearly 7 years. I am, however, still fat, oleaginous & monstrously stupid.
• Will they serve Starbucks coffee, or something as well brewed? Otherwise, there doesn't seem to be much point in hanging out there.
• Burger King is better.
• One of the McDonald's in my town has been like this for about a year now probably. It creeps me out to go in there. Another is even worse... it's the product of a failed venture they called McDonald's Diner, where they installed phones at all the tables and you called in your order, which they brought out to you. It was supposed to be more upscale, and I believe there were also menu changes. Naturally, this didn't work, so they made it into this strange conglomeration of the cafe and... something else. I've been in there once, but now they have the cafe-like black leather chairs, the cafe-like bookshelves with fake hollow wooden "books," but also in the front corner some sort of free video games things (such as Bejeweled) on a touchscreen system.
• May this be the opening salvo to the crashing, burning, and total destruction(ing?) of all things Mc. Fair wages for fieldworkers!
• Ahhh... no worries... I'm sure it will go over just fine
• Well, McDonalds does own a large percentage of Pret a Manger, perhaps they are acting off of that business model?
• S I guess this means that they're hurting. Good!
• Neither McD or Pret currently have 'linger zones', what model are you referring to sugarmilktea?
• Jack In the Box test marketed something similar in a city near where I live - seating was couches and padded chairs around low tables and they even had a fireplace to "lounge" by. I think the food was more expensive than the drive-through menu. They closed them after a year. The one McDonalds we went to in Spain was pretty different from the US verion. Spacious seating area where tables weren't packed together, landscaping in the parking lot instead of a kids' play ground, and I don't think they had a drive-through. All we had there was coffee, but it was very good cafe con leche. The menu included more salads and less burgers than here. It was a pleasant place.
• oooh, i just noticed today is my second anniversary of monkeyhood. woo hoo! must celebrate... with cappuccino? or big mac? hmmm...
• Beef fat fries all around! ... as opposed to bee fat fries. Sniffle.
• Please Linger.
• Why Queso, a DoubleCheese-caramel machiatto shake, of course. And don't forget to sprinkle some fries on the blender.
• Monkeyfilter: still fat, oleaginous & monstrously stupid.
• You ROCK, TUM! Oh, wait, gotta play it cool, I mean: nice tagline. No McCrapFood shall every pass these lips!! I don't give a damn if they paint their place in zigzags and offer to give out $50.00 bills.
• I had to eat something from there a few months ago as I was in a large group and it was the only place that we were going to go for breakfast. I would never eat anything from there by choice, they can't even serve you warm food! If I wanted a cold muffin, I could go to the supermarket and get a packet of six for the price of one!
• Neither McD or Pret currently have 'linger zones', what model are you referring to sugarmilktea? The so-called "linger zone" did not make up the entirety of the linked article. I mentioned Pret because they have a distinct look/feel/menu that tries to distance itself from "fast food." Just mere observation on my part - - something I've noted out of curiosity prior to having read this article.
• For what it's worth, I do actually find that I feel less embarrassed sitting in one of these new posh McDonaldino's cramming a nummy-num-num burger into my drooling maw, than I do sitting in a traditional plasticky McDonald's cramming a nummy-num-num burger into my drooling maw. So it works for me, I guess.
• McMonkeyFilter: Cramming a nummy-num-num burger into your drooling maw.