As McDonald’s prepares to roll out a mobile order and payment system, executives are whispering a warning to their team: Don’t make Starbucks’ mistakes.
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The world’s largest burger chain wants to avoid the long lines and wait times that plagued the world’s largest coffee chain by using technology and alternatives like curbside pickup to better prepare for the expected demand its new system could generate. It plans to roll out mobile pay to all U.S. restaurants by fall. The timing means McDonald’s is far behind many of its biggest competitors, but CEO Steve Easterbrook said Wednesday he’d rather be late and get it right.
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I think they do want to be like Starbucks, but they want to be mindful of (potential problems) as it grows, Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy said. Starbucks said that long lines hurt sales, but those lines were the result of an unexpectedly high number of customers ordering through its new app.
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It’s a critical time for McDonald’s to get mobile pay right. Two years into Easterbrook’s tenure, there are fewer big changes to make to keep sales growing. And the chain’s main priority, executives said this week, is to get back the 500 million U.S. customers it has lost since 2012, when it phased out the Dollar Menu. Those customers were considered core or loyal visitors, Easterbrook said, and they’ve largely been lost to other fast-food competitors like Wendy’s and Burger King, as opposed to so-called better burger rivals like Shake Shack and Epic Burger.
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Getting it right means, in McDonald’s eyes, a whole lot of changes — many that customers won’t see. In order to allow customers to seamlessly order and pay with a few clicks on an app, McDonald’s is making adjustments in its kitchens, dining rooms and parking lots.
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In the kitchen, the flow is being tweaked to…