Editor’s Note: Prior to publication of this story, The E-T visited the Indianola McDonald’s on multiple occasions, and each time the hosts/hostesses were pleasant and helpful, and the kiosks were not overly complicated.
The core of McDonald’s menu has gone virtually unchanged over the past couple of decades.
Sure, there have been some exceptions with hits and misses like the Arch Deluxe or the Big N’ Tasty – not to mention the on again, off again McRib sandwich.
One thing that has changed recently, however, is the customer experience for those dining in.
This fall, the local McDonald’s, as well as others in the region, underwent a makeover and reopened with touchscreen kiosks. Customers can now place their own order, as opposed to the traditional method of going to the counter and placing the order with a cashier.
Michael Retzer, president of Retzer Resources, who owns the Indianola store and over 70 McDonald’s across five states, said the kiosks offer a new experience, which allows the customer to better manage his/her order.
“Technology is ever-improving,” Retzer told The E-T. “McDonald’s launching of kiosks is a way of continuing to grow and provide our customers with more options in placing their order. The kiosk technology allows the customer to be more in control of their order with more customization opportunities than ever before.”
The concept is simple.
Just go to a kiosk, and hit the screen to begin the order. Once the order is complete, there are a number payment options, including Apple Pay, a card swipe machine or customers can go to a cash register to complete the order.
Take a number from the left or right side of the kiosk, and punch that into a keypad on the screen.
In short order, a McDonald’s host/hostess brings the order to the table.
This summer, the fast food chain announced a $6 billion investment in kiosk technology – as well as other cosmetic changes - that would impact hundreds of locations in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
Mississippi was not on the list of states at that time, but Retzer has since taken the plunge.
“The customer experience will continue to broaden,” Retzer said. “Customers that are behind the technology curve will have a chance to learn from our hospitality host/hostess and feel empowered upon leaving. The millennials will feel quite at home with quick menu ordering at their fingertips.”
Like most new technology, the kiosks are getting mixed reviews.
The customer experience at McDonald’s, and other restaurants, has been the same for decades, and while some will adapt quickly, it might take more time for others.
“Hate it,” Michealle Tyner wrote in response to a request by The E-T on Facebook for overall impressions of the kiosks. “I go out to be waited on, not to do it myself.”
Indianola resident Jason Whittington had an experience more akin to what Retzer and other McDonald’s owners envisioned.
“Quick and easy!” he wrote on the Facebook thread. “I was greeted when I walked in and was offered help right away.”
Customers will likely have to get used to the self-service model, not just in restaurants, but in also in other retail stores.
The minimum wage is rising in many states, and there is a push to bump the federal wage to $15 an hour, which is forcing many industries to take a harder look at technology like the kiosks to manage labor costs.
In the case of McDonald’s, however, Retzer said not to expect any immediate changes in the number of employees at his stores.
The typical Mississippi Delta McDonald’s currently has between 50 and 60 employees, he said.
“The new technology will actually require more attention and a hospitality team to make the new technology successful and relatable,” he said. “Our goal is not to push customers to use a self-service machine but to allow our team to communicate shoulder-to-shoulder with our customers instead of hiding behind a register.”
Retzer said McDonald’s, as a corporation, had already changed the roles of many of its employees prior to the move toward kiosks.
For instance, the cashier position was converted to a “customer hospitality host/hostess.”
“The new position is focused on more one-on-one communication and catering to the customer,” Retzer said. “The host/hostess greets the customer, introduces the kiosk option, and provides excellent table service and follow-up to our guests.”
Aside from the kiosks, Retzer said customers now have access to a new Mobile Order & Pay option, all part of an evolving industry trying to survive in the 21st Century.
