I am writing this blog on Hallow’s Eve.
This is the night of spooks and scary freaks. I told a friend of mine that its always
a fun evening … but for those of us working with many business firms today…
there’s many of spooks and scary freaks we encounter every day on the job!
Boo.
Looking back across the last year, I quickly have to say
that in 2014, I’ve encountered a bunch.
Some attempting to wear the sign of “Advisory Services”…
others “Ad Agency”… others “Brand Strategy Group” … funny how so many attempt
to assist and guide businesses when, in reality, all they do is mix up
concoctions that bubble and release steam!
Enough about the alchemists.
My drive in writing an article that was posted in this
morning’s Wall Street Journal about McDonald’s.
Don’t know how many of the readers out there visit
McDonald’s regularly. I get
breakfast at McDonald’s at least 2-3 times a week. Hard to pass up a nice breakfast of two sausage McMuffins
and coffee for less than $2.50 for the full meal.
As much as the food is good and cheap, the process of giving
an order and getting the “fast food” fast is something that has bugged many
this year.
I remember going into a McDonald’s and seeing food prepared
sitting in bins that the person at the register could turn-around, place in a
bag and hand over to a customer in less than a minute.
McDonald’s pioneered fast food. But today, McDonald’s – and others that today wear the label
“quick service” are finding that they are in trouble.
The last couple of months, I got out from behind my desk and
actually went and talked to people on-the-streets about their thoughts and
perceptions about fast food restaurants.
What they shared is reinforced directly by the Wall Street
Journal article.
#1 – Fast Food is no longer fast. Whether it’s a process flow issue, a technical
communications issue, a mix of drive-through vs. text-in vs.
person-at-the-counter order coordination issue… the service is not only not
fast, its way too slow!
#2 – Corporate procedures and processes have created a
blockade between the restaurant and customers. There’s no local restaurant personality. Comments and questions are channeled to
corporate. People no longer talk
to people. People have been
replaced by corporate procedures, the Internet and mobile phones.
#3 – Product innovation at some of the fast food restaurants
– and McDonald’s can take center stage in this act – has stalled. Same-old-same-old is now just simply
old. Now I am the first to say
that too many Quick Service Restaurant brands take a simple menu and make it
complex as well as take a core focused deliverable and dilute it quickly… but lack
of innovation is very problematic.
#4 – The Millennials are no longer in their teens. As they have grown up and now coupling,
their tastes have changed. There
are few exceptions with brands ranging from McDonald’s to Burger Kings to Taco
Bell to Chic-fil-A that have arrived in the “here and now.”
The McDonald’s USA President, Mike Andres is quoted in the
Wall Street Journal article a number of times.
President Mike would get a “C” grade if his commentary was
actually an essay test. He’s right about one set of commentary and wrong about a second set of commentary.
He’s right that the McDonald’s current regional structure
needs some serious revamping.
He cites directly how currently, McDonald’s groups the South
with the Northeast as one region labeled the East.
While much of the population of Atlanta is now comprised by
folks not born in Atlanta, not sure if it’s the water that changes the taste
buds, but “sausage gravy biscuits” that score well in Atlanta really struggle
up in Rochester, Philly and Boston.
There’s a reason why Millennials champion “local indies” and
“farm-to-table” dining options, and run from the BIG corporate chains.
President Mike gets that one right.
However, Mike goes on to then talk about how McDonald’s
needs to become more sophisticated in its digital technology to allow customers
to order from their smart phone apps.
First, not sure that too many folks resist getting fast food
because they cannot go on their iPhone and place an order.
Panera made a big to do about how it was doing away with
some of its onsite people at the register and shifting over to mobile phone
ordering. The stores added a set
of what appear to be IKEA-link book-cubicles where individuals placing orders
through their smart phones can walk in and pick up their orders.
While I cannot lay claim to what I see as full market
research assessment, but when I visit Panera store sites around meal times, I
have yet to see the cubicles filled with much of anything.
President Mike want to check out how
many high-tech Millennials actually dine at McDonald’s... how
many folks actually want to spend the time placing an order on a smart phone
versus simply walking in and getting an order... how
much time is wasted in taking an order and coordinating the time of arrival and
just how hot is burger and fries ordered... for starters!
I remember back in my college days that the press featured a
Laundromat that was also serving beer on tap and how that idea was going to
forever change the way the 20-somethings would do laundry in the future.
Fast Food and smart phone apps might share the idea of
“fast” in common, but not too sure that combining the two together is that
smart of an idea.
If President Mike would send me an airline ticket plus some
nice warm clothes, I would be happy to fly up to greater Chicago-land and show
him how the Millennials are quickly moving out of the fun days of apps and into
the realistic days of working 24/7 to have a place they call their home.
In the annual Trendcasts that EXPERIENCE issues each year in
advance of January 1st, we’ve highlighted the impact of the
Millennials a bunch.
Fact is simple.
They are no longer news.
They are here.
Earlier today, I grabbed a bagel and coffee at an indie café
in Athens, Georgia.
While Atlanta lays claim to being the state capitol of
Georgia, Athens lays claim to being the capitol of the Socialist Republic of
Georgia. Many of the
twenty-something individuals that comprise Athens are not big fans of big
brands and BIG Business.
When I complimented the owner of the bagel shop on just how
good the bagel was, he quickly thanked me and then added, “we’re not in the
business of selling corporate crap.”
As I preach from the pulpit a lot and if President Mike
called me I would tell him… Get out from behind the desk, laptop and corporate
meeting calendar and get out and have some good conversation with the people
who you are attempting to build a bond.
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