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| McDonald's Create Your Taste |
I once heard that McDonald's gears their marketing towards kids with the hopeful intention that when the little people grow up, their memories of happy meals and hamburgers will translate into visits to the restaurants as adults. I guess this means that my parents probably bought one too many Happy Meals for me as a kid; when all things are equal, if I'm presented with a Subway or a McDonald's I (sub)consciously gravitate towards the McDs. Hey Subway, give me a call when you throw an Angus patty on that whole wheat footlong.
So it was no surprise when the other day, A and I found ourselves at one of the handful of trial restaurants in Canada for the Create Your Taste concept. Not only is McDonald's trying to reinvent itself with hot drink offerings and (fake) fireplaces, it's trying to reinvent the experience of getting a fast food burger. It's almost like they are trying to tap the untapped market for high school dates and young couples married for 4+ years.
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| Ordering Kiosk |
Upon entering the store, we were greeted by a few giant touch screen terminals. Think 30" iPad. If you didn't stop to look at it for a second, it's easy enough to pass the terminals thinking they are just fancy advertising. While there was a lineup at the till, there were no waits to use the terminals. Via the touchscreen, patrons can order anything from the menu and easily customize their orders. Want a Junior Chicken with extra Big Mac sauce and 4 patties? Sure. Just amend your order via the screen and bypass the look of the 16 year old at the till. Your GI tract might have more comment afterwards--but we're living in the 'now.'
One option on the terminal was a Create Your Taste button. Once you're in the Create Your Taste submenu, you are given the choice to sequentially build your own hamburger.
1) Select your bun: Choose from a (regular) poppyseed bun, Ciabatta bun, or a lettuce wrap (gluten free anyone?)
2) Select your cheese: Choose from five cheeses ranging from a cheddar slice to swiss to blue cheese
3) Sauce it up: Ranging from ketchup, mustard, to more fancy offering such as Garlic Aioli and Sriracha with many more in between.
4) Toppings: A really cool selection that would rival the local Mr. Sub. There are the usual leaf lettuce and tomatoes and even carmelized onions, guacamole, jalapeños and long pickles.
5) Additional protein? The final screen gives customers the chance to add additional angus beef patties, or bacon.
Beyond the selections, customers are given the option to select whether they want "light" or "extra" for the sauces or toppings.
The customizations do come at a cost though. The base price for a burger was $6.99 CAD which was slightly more than the traditional offerings. And depending on how you dress your burger, it could easily be more. The machine charges an extra 50 cents-1 dollar for some of the fancier cheeses ("fancy" and "McDonald's" is a new thing) or for the more exotic sauces. I did some research and a burger could conceivably cost more than $50 bucks!
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| Longest McDonald's Receipt... ever. |
After confirming your customized burger and paying for your order at the terminal, customers pick up a flashing RFID beacon and head to their table. But wait, where's the burger?
Answer: Table service (*Boom, mind blown*)
After about 10 minutes, a shy looking McDonald's employee came out with our burgers on (fake) wooden planks. I had ordered a side of fries, and they arrived in a quaint little fry basket. On his face, I could see that he never thought he'd be a restaurant server and was weighing his potential at the White Spot across the street.
The burger looked great, and tasted even better. Definitely better than any burger I've eaten at McD's in the past and easily rivalled the offerings at sit down restaurants. I kinda wished they had put the burger into a bit of a sleeve or had a wider plate as the burger was of the messy variety.
Create Your Taste is an unabashed effort by McDonald's to remain relevant as more customers are gravitating towards personalized eating options. The result is a burger that is less McD's and more Kelsey's or White Spot--with an experience somewhere in between.
Pros:
+Loads of options to customize your burger
+Great presentation
+Table service
Cons:
-More expensive than other offerings on the menu
-A longer wait for your food
-Table service in the ambiance of a McDonald's
