December 11, 2014

CNBC Readers Vote On McMenu Changes

The press is obsessed with the idea of McDonald's cutting "eight" products. 
CNBC is taking a poll on what should be eliminated. So far with more than 
23,000 votes it doesn't look good for McWraps. To see results scroll to the 
bottom of the article.
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McDonald's to cut menu items in order to increase service speed

December 10, 2014

See, I Told You So ... Re: Build-A-Burger

In mid-September I posted:

"the four store McDonald's Build-A-Burger program in Southern California is not a test -
it's the preordained future of McDonald's."

On an investor call today Don Thompson said:


“Create Your Taste is not a test,” Thompson said. “It’s a rolling implementation now.”


McDonald's to cut eight menu items in January
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Where Does the Buck Stop at McDonald's?

Anonymous commenters often put all the blame on Don Thompson but the problem
could also be an antiquated board of directors. Fortune does a great job of looking at
board member's ages, tenures, and cross-connections.

Where does the buck stop at McDonald's? Look no further than the board.
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December 7, 2014

McDonald's Expands Build-A-Burger

The first sentence in this article says it all:

"The future of McDonald's fast food may be slowing it down."

These people who think that McDonald's customers, or potential customers, will
"be willing to wait longer if they know it's being made for them" are delusional.

The wait time for the food was seven minutes with the USA Today reporter watching? 

How long will it take in a real world situation?

And, if it's not a drive-thru product McDonald's is not going to attract millennials. As
I've written before, based on my experience with my two millennial children and their
friends, this is a drive-thru generation and is why the McDonald's drive-thru % has 
increased over the past decade. You're not going to get them to come inside the 
restaurant, even for a Build-A-Burger.

Unless you give the food away - which is why coupons are mentioned repeatedly in this
article. The sales numbers coming out of these test stores are going to be distorted or
falsified in the same way McCafe espresso test numbers were cooked.


McDonald's expands custom sandwich option - USA Today
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