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View Full Version : Mickey D's Gets Makeover



edczxcvbnm
10-24-2006, 09:01 PM
I totally stole this whole post from some else on another forum.


http://abcnews.go.com/WNN/story?id=2592222&page=1


A Big Mac Will Soon Come With Plasma TVs and Internet Access
McDonald's Undergoes Face-Lift to Attract Young Adult Crowd
By ERIC HORNG

Oct. 21, 2006 — - McDonald's special sauce has always evoked nostalgia.

Ask anyone about their memories of their first trips to McDonald's, and you'll inevitably hear stories about first jobs, first friends and first bike rides.

No matter where you grew up, the McDonald's across the street looked a lot like the McDonald's across the country. That familiarity made the restaurant iconic.

But now, after 50 years and billions of customers, the fast-food giant is getting a face-lift.

Plasma-screen TVs, soft couches, coffee tables and wireless Internet access are just some of the new features customers will begin to see at their local McDonald's.

"It's a place where you can sit and see and be seen," said Sophia Galassi, vice president of restaurant development for Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's.

All 13,000 McDonald's restaurants in the United States will eventually get the McMakeover, half of them by the end of this year.

The iconic red or brown "double mansard" rooftops -- designed to catch the eye of passing motorists -- will be replaced by something more sleek and modern.

"I think it's a lot better than the way they used to look, I really do," said Tom McNamare, a customer at one of the new restaurants in suburban Chicago.

The traditionally kid-focused, kid-proof, interior is now decidedly grown up. There's mood lighting, trendy artwork and fireplaces.

The message: The dining area is no longer just for dining.

"We want to have you come in and relax and enjoy, be comfortable," said Galassi.

Comfort was not what McDonald's founder Ray Kroc had in mind when he installed hard, plastic, unmovable furniture in his restaurants decades ago. Kroc wanted customers, especially rowdy teenagers, in and out quickly.

"He figured he was in a high turnover business, and if people hung around, they were only going to be causing trouble," said Philip Langdon, who wrote about McDonald's' architectural history in his book, "Orange Roofs, Golden Arches."

"[Kroc] eliminated pay phones. He eliminated newspaper boxes," said Langdon. "He eliminated any reason for people to want to stick around, but of course, they did."

Today that vision has changed. The new relaxed interiors invite people to linger.

"Consumers are eating out a lot nowadays, and they are wanting an experience, not just the food," said Sanjay Dhar, a professor at the University of Chicago business school. "If a retailer can make you stay at their location longer, you will have more satisfaction, and you'll buy more."

Call it the Starbucks effect. It's a recipe that has helped the coffee giant attract young professionals, the very customers McDonald's needs.

"To continue the brand going forward, we want to win and need to win the hearts and minds of the young adults," said Galassi.

The restaurant redesign is part of a three-year-old campaign to trim the fat from McDonald's greasy image.

Along with burgers and fries, the menu now includes salads and fruit, as well as premium coffee, another shot at Starbucks.

Even Ronald McDonald was given a recent makeover. He now appears thinner and more athletic in advertising.

"We've evolved our menu. We've evolved our marketing, and it's time to evolve what McDonald's' environment is on the inside space," said Galassi.

But not everyone is sold on the new look of the restaurants.

"I get a lot of complaints from franchisees that don't want to move away from the traditional McDonald's look," said Richard Adams, a former McDonald's executive who now works as a consultant to franchise operators.

With most customers ordering at the drive-through, some say the new interiors are pointless, even out of place.

"I don't know whether it's going to translate," said Langdon. "It's hard to imagine putting a couch in a McDonald's. It just doesn't go."

Others objec! to the cost.

The franchisees are paying most of the bill, anywhere from $300,000 to a million dollars per restaurant, even though McDonald's owns the property.

"I think McDonald's should contribute more to the rebuilding and remodeling of the restaurant," said Adams. "They're behaving like a heavy-handed landlord."

Some things won't change, including the famous golden arches.

But by serving Big Macs with a side of style, McDonald's hopes to give customers a new reason to linger, and to come back.


http://www.attentionscan.com/uploaded_images/admiral-after-8-789830.jpg
http://www.attentionscan.com/uploaded_images/50-meadow-park-after-6-768780.jpg

I actually really like the sound of this. That's probably sad, but I don't care.

Then the first post followed.


They should concentrate on not making food that tastes like garbage.

Discuss the makeover.

McDonalds has never been my idea of a 'dinning experience' and never will. I get their food because I AM in a rush. This is totally opposite the view of many. Maybe this is the first step towards improving food quality also?

Flying Mullet
10-24-2006, 09:08 PM
I have no care to sit on a soda and grease-stained couch trying to look "hip" while I drink my coffee.

Jowy
10-24-2006, 09:14 PM
At least I can be comfortable when sponging off their Nintendo Wi-Fi.

Strider
10-24-2006, 09:34 PM
That transformation has already been going on for a while. They remade the McD's right down the street from my work with a side area featuring a flat-screen TV and some couches. I guess you can't fault 'em for trying something new... after all, no other burger joint has done this yet.

Drift
10-24-2006, 10:50 PM
trying to be like starbucks is my belief

Miriel
10-24-2006, 11:08 PM
Is this for real?

mooglebunni608
10-24-2006, 11:09 PM
I have no care to sit on a soda and grease-stained couch trying to look "hip" while I drink my coffee.

Ditto.

Sylvie
10-24-2006, 11:10 PM
What a bunch of dipsh*ts.

Alive-Cat
10-24-2006, 11:13 PM
Actually, seeing as me and my friends regularly go into McDonalds (never buying anything, as with all places) and sit down, it would be nice to have some neat chairs.

Iceglow
10-25-2006, 12:16 AM
hmm the one on paddington station has nice chairs and stuff but they did seem really nicely looked after maybe thats because it was leather not material.

Cz
10-25-2006, 12:16 AM
My local McDonalds already looks like this. It's nicer, I guess, but if I'm spending under five pounds on a meal I'm not really looking for a dining experience as much as I'm looking for a quick bite to eat. The new decor in McDonalds is welcome, but it hasn't made me any more likely to eat there.

Sephex
10-25-2006, 01:14 AM
That makes about much as sense as this:

http://windowscares.ytmnd.com/

Zeromus_X
10-25-2006, 01:27 AM
Unless their food suddenly undergoes a healthy and delicious metamorphosis, I can't say this'll benefit me in any way other than being comfortable when I get the Onion Swordsman Job.

Dreddz
10-25-2006, 01:28 AM
Mcdonalds wont be cool to be seen in either way.

Rostum
10-25-2006, 01:37 AM
I think they need to improve their food first, rather than this crap. ;o

I'd rather go sit in a nice small cafe, get some decently good food and coffee, and be cool there.

Psychotic
10-25-2006, 01:43 AM
Forget the decor or the food, what McDonald's really needs to do is lose their stupid i'm lovin it slogan.

Dreddz
10-25-2006, 01:45 AM
I think they need to improve their food first, rather than this crap. ;o

I'd rather go sit in a nice small cafe, get some decently good food and coffee, and be cool there.

Mcdonalds food is fine, its just they shouldnt think they can turn fast food places into hip places for young people. They need to know who they are and release bigger burgers for the slobs that go their.

Ouch!
10-25-2006, 01:48 AM
Yeh, I'm in suburban Chicago, and we got a taste of this a couple years ago. They made the Barrington McDonalds a little "classier." Cheap stuff that looks expensive, mostly. They even added a fireplace smack dab in the middle of the eating area too.

The place is still McDonalds; the food still stucks and they get most of their business from the drivethru.

It's moronic is what it is.

Rye
10-25-2006, 01:48 AM
McDonalds =! Starbucks.

Shlup
10-25-2006, 03:50 AM
McDonalds =! Starbucks.

Because...?

Markus. D
10-25-2006, 03:52 AM
sorta looks like the McCafes (Caef n_n) we have in australia.

edit: without the cakes... and coffee.. and pie.... and quality.

Fire_Emblem776
10-25-2006, 04:08 AM
Only if i am starving, will i even go to one.

nik0tine
10-25-2006, 04:08 AM
Hahaha this is the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard.

Moon Rabbits
10-25-2006, 04:12 AM
Actually, seeing as me and my friends regularly go into McDonalds (never buying anything, as with all places) and sit down, it would be nice to have some neat chairs.

Indeed.

Further, Tim Hortons is a better lounging area than McDonalds will ever be.

Jowy
10-25-2006, 04:13 AM
Tim Hortons has subpar coffee though.

Xaven
10-25-2006, 04:17 AM
That's disgusting. In-N-Out >>> McDonalds, even with this new hip-hop-n'-happening decor.

All the couches and stuff look and I'm guessing would feel extremely out of place in a McDonald's. Eww.

nik0tine
10-25-2006, 04:18 AM
All the couches and stuff look and I'm guessing would feel extremely out of place in a McDonald's. Eww.No way would I ever sit on one of those.

Zeromus_X
10-25-2006, 05:29 AM
In-N-Out >>> McDonalds, even with this new hip-hop-n'-happening decor.

:cat:?

Markus. D
10-25-2006, 05:47 AM
maybe they will have new wraps/clams to make it look hip..perer <_>?

Xaven
10-25-2006, 06:00 AM
In-N-Out >>> McDonalds, even with this new hip-hop-n'-happening decor.

:cat:?
Don't make me repeat myself. >:[

Christmas
10-25-2006, 06:34 AM
As long as I can see my favourite Ronald Mcdonald. :bigsmile:

Rostum
10-25-2006, 06:47 AM
I think they need to improve their food first, rather than this crap. ;o

I'd rather go sit in a nice small cafe, get some decently good food and coffee, and be cool there.

Mcdonalds food is fine.

Highly disagree, it's poor quality and tastes like crap.

Rainecloud
10-25-2006, 06:48 AM
Looks good, but I don't think I'd bother with the television or internet.

When I go to McDonalds, I buy my food, eat my food, then leave. :p

Behold the Void
10-25-2006, 07:02 AM
I can't eat at McDonalds anymore, it makes me literally sick to my stomache. Thus, I'm indifferent to the changes as I see their food to be inedible.

Sylvie
10-25-2006, 11:38 AM
Forget the decor or the food, what McDonald's really needs to do is lose their stupid i'm lovin it slogan.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v461/OdinDragoon/mcdonalds.jpg
I'm not lovin' it. :(

NorthernChaosGod
10-28-2006, 08:54 AM
trying to be like starbucks is my belief


What a bunch of dipsh*ts.
Pretty much sums up the idea.


And Starbucks sucks too.

Reine
10-28-2006, 02:05 PM
This is already happening here in New Zealand too. About 10 minutes away from my house is this big two stoy one on the edge of the city, and man, does it look different from the typical ones. Also, the food quality is far higher than your average Mcdonalds, and actually tasted good.

I agree about the TV, its useless, its volume is basically on zero, and as its a plasma screen, the visibility and picture quality is /xxx.gif/xxx.gif/xxx.gif/xxx.gif.

When we go there, we generally just eat our food and leave, although we end up lingering a lot longer than we do at any other place. Its also a lot quiter and has a much better feel to it.

If they do have wireless internet, I will take my PSP there next timeand enable that god damn WMA playback, I havent been able to find a connection spot anywhere.

Also, FF3's WiFi thing, I will be using that there most likely

Quindiana Jones
10-28-2006, 02:12 PM
It's a bit like having to reserve a seat in Pizza Hut.

-Red XIII-
10-28-2006, 02:49 PM
Good, lord, havn't they seen the Boondox? when they made the restaruant with sofas and stuff, people were fallin asleep, never leavin, and soon it turned the whole street ghetto. this is the end of the world: mcdonalds changes the way they look.

Rusty
10-28-2006, 03:45 PM
Macca's have been making themselves over for awhile now. I like the idea of this. It's nicer environment to eat in - whether you're in a rush or not. I'd rather this than their old look.