The family is the business

Restaurant chain McDonald’s has taken a multi-pronged approach to strengthen its efforts at being pro-family.

It is an open secret that McDonald’s is an icon of excitement for toddlers around the world. The cleanliness of the restaurants and its reasonably priced menu have also made it popular with teenagers and adults. All this makes it an ideal place for families.

Shortening waiting time

Whenever there are long queues, McDonald’s service assistants use PDAs to take the orders of customers who are not yet at the service counter. Orders are then wirelessly transmitted to the kitchen, and acted upon by the service staff. This shortens waiting time for customers.

McDonald’s has taken its pro-family policy to the extent of hiring specially trained service assistants to shorten the waiting time of guests who have special needs – such as mothers with children, pregnant ladies, senior citizens and the disabled. The staff use the PDAs to take customer orders at where they are seated, and these customers are served at the table.

The staff serve these customers in many other ways, too. For example, they open doors for customers and also give out balloons to young children.

Happy, healthy menu

As part of McDonald’s commitment towards promoting balanced, active lifestyles to children, it has revamped its Happy Meal menu to offer more variety than in the past. The new Happy Meal Choices concept allows children to choose from a wider variety of entrées, healthy drinks and wholesome side items, at no extra charge. McDonald’s also introduced two new sides Corp Cup (a cup full of crunchy corn kernels rich in Vitamin C) and Apple Dippers (fresh apple slices served with a low-fat caramel dip rich in Vitamins A, C and E) to encourage children to eat their fruits and vegetables. With the new sides, parents have found it easier to design a balanced and healthy Happy Meal for their kids.

Customers can also choose to customize their order with McDonald’s. For instance, they can ask for fries to be served without salt and the inclusion of more vegetables as well as withhold the use of sauce for a sandwich order. These help meet the needs of customers with special dietary requirements.

More facilities, wider choice

McDonald’s also focuses on creating relevant and modern dining experiences for parents and children to enjoy. It provides special rooms for children’s parties in many of its restaurants; it also provides baby chairs and flexible arrangement of tables and chairs to cater to bigger families. Additionally, a few restaurants even provide mini indoor playgrounds.

Catering to slightly more sophisticated tastes

The launch of McDonald’s-owned barista chain McCafé enables families to enjoy the McDonald’s dining experience at a different level. It provides them wider meal choices. Now, for example, mothers are able to enjoy a grilled gourmet-style sandwich with specialty coffee, while her kids are happily tucking into their Happy Meals.

For more information on McDonald’s in Singapore, click on www.mcdonalds.com.sg

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