Connecting With Customers

McDonald's held their Q2 2006 Earnings Conference Call last week - read a transcript. In this open discussion with the investment world, James A. Skinner, Vice Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's said (among many, many other interesting things):

"We are connecting with customers on their terms, whether it is through
internet blogs, text-messaging, or conventional advertising."

The McChronicles is aware of several consumer-written blogs about the company (and we guess that there are a ton more that we don't know about), but we are aware of only two corporate McDonald's blogs. They are:

• Open For Discussion: McDonald's Corporate Responsibility Blog, written by Bob Langert, Vice President for Corporate Citizenship and Issues Management at McDonald's.
• The McDonald's You Don't Know, written by Steve Wilson, Senior Director of Web Communications at McDonald's (a guy we think we'd enjoy meeting).

Bob's work is a bit dry, sparse, and defensive, while Steve's site seems more relaxed, fun, varied, interesting, etc. This makes total sense when the goal/purpose of each blog is understood. Both are well-written & passionate, and each has a clear, specific point. Neither is updated too frequently.

Anyway, if you know of a corporate McDonald's blog that we're missing, please do COMMENT and bring it to our attention (we LOVE this stuff).

Thanks!

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.

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“The Most Illest, Futuristic Sandwich Ever”

CasimirN and the people from DallasPenn.com have delivered up an interesting video on the Big Mac - ahem - "The Ghetto Big Mac", aka "The most futuristic, illest sandwich ever". View the Ghetto Big Mac video.

Lest anyone take this thing too seriously, allow us to quote CasimirN:

...it's not meant to convert anyone. It's mostly intended to be funny and
celebrate the very human - borderline impractical - innovating enacted one night
by one hungry dude.

The video instructs us on how to score a Big Mac ($3.39 according to this piece) for $1.00. It takes a little work, a little time, a little manipulation, and a little bit of getting over the mess, but it seems to work.

Hey, the point is to have fun, not to save a buck, so check it out and enjoy the attitude.

Thanks to pylbug (self-proclaimed "Brand mechanic, trend bucker, agent of change ") for the tip.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: CasimirN's YouTube video - screen grab.

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All Wrapped Up

It's no secret, The McChronicles LOVES McDonald's new Snack Wrap. So it was no wonder that we dropped in for a Snack Wrap lunch this afternoon.

It was raining cats & dogs and the drive thru was quite busy - as is usual when no one wants to get out of their car. We braved the rain, ran through the puddles, and entered the dining room ... only to find a long queue. We quickly discovered that there were 8 customers ahead of us, already waited on. It was a massive McShuffle. So, there we stood. And more customers were coming in.

It turned out that many people were buying the Snack Wrap - and that there was a problem. Finally a manager announced that the Snack Wrap is made with Chicken Select pieces, and that they had just had a run on these items. It seems that it would take a while to replenish the stocks.

We waited ten minutes to get served!

The McChronicles has made note of the fact that certain chicken items require special (long) preparation. This represents a bottleneck and a problem - for everyone on both sides of the counter. The crowd didn't seem to mind too much, but this issue could be a real problem for a popular new product.

Secondly, The McChronicles' sense of taste hints that the Snack Wrap may be a bit high on the calories. We reviewed the in-store nutritional info and found no data. Perhaps the info hasn't yet been updated. Next, we noticed that our tray liner was a full-page ad for the Snack Wrap - and on the flip side was a big nutritional info table. Figuring that, since they had had time to get the ad on side 1, they must have had time to get the nutritional info on side 2. Nope.

So, we went online and found nothing on the product - even after a product-specific search.

With all the hubbub over nutrition, McDonald's HAS to know the scoop on this product. We wish they'd let us know, too.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McDonald's website.

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"This Is THE BEST McDonald's I've Ever Been In"

...those were the words that were ringing in The McChronicles' ears as we toured the Cortland, NY McDonald's (store #5365).

As we approached the store the exterior seemed almost nondescript. Yes, the store has a nice outdoor "al fresco" dining area, and yes, it is tidy.

But, when we walked through the doors it was obvious that something very special happens here. First off, the place is very clean and tidy. No litter, no brooms, no mop pails, no dust pans laying around. Secondly, this place is more like a boutique ice cream shoppe than a McDonald's. As you enter, you walk right toward an ice cream/coffee station that is simply enthralling - complete with a quaint blackboard full of specials and a counter person brimming with personality.

Then, as we looked around, we noted an almost Victorian musical instrument theme. This McDonald's features numerous musical instruments hanging on the walls ... and a BABY GRAND player piano in the extremely-well appointed dining room (this place has several beautiful floral displays throughout).

Slightly confusing, but equally as elegant and impressive, is the second dining area's "original McDonald's" theme. This section features photos of behind-the-scenes shots of '60s-era McDonald's crew frying burgers, customers lining up outdoors, etc. Very interesting.

Even the rest room was beautiful!

The McChronicles interviewed a manager who shared that this store is privately-owned by a person with a strong vision and a ton of pride. We were told that the owner petitioned to corporate, got permission to execute on a vision, and created this masterpiece. Thank goodness they did.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Images: The McChronicles.

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Would You Like FLIES With That?

Yuk!

What has happened to the Clinton, NY McDonald's?

The McChronicles dropped in for lunch to discover that the place was full of flies. That's extremely unappetizing and unhealthy.

In addition, the place seems to be falling into disrepair. We noted that the bathroom doorknob was missing. Good thing we didn't need to get in there!

This store is known for its neatness and friendliness. Looks like it is time to spruce up a bit.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McChronicles.

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Snack Wrap: Awesome!

McDonald's new Snack Wrap is great.

First reaction: it is like a small, tightly-wrapped soft shell taco. Unlike a taco, the Snack Wrap is neat, tidy, and not dripping.

Taste: The McChronicles was a bit surprised (in this day and age of McDonald's strong emphasis on a healthy choice) to find the new wrap chock full of cheese, packed with fried chicken, and well-laden with a ranch dressing. It is noticeably rich and moist - making us feel that it may be a bit unhealthy (it could be very healthy - we did NOT check the dietary stats). It really tastes great and is easy to manage & eat.

Verdict: McDonald's Snack Wrap is a real winner. Everyone that was interviewed by The McChronicles likes it.

Recommendations:

1) reduce the last one-inch section that contains 6 layers of tortilla (too much bread). Don't ask us how - it all seems necessary to keep things tidy. We're stumped and willing to accept it "as is".

2) create a new "Snack Wrap Value Meal" giving us two wraps, fries, and a drink. The McChronicles would gobble them up!

Good job McDonald's.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.

Images: The McChronicles.

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A Great Ice Cream Stop

Several friends were gathered for some hot summer fun. It was getting late and we all were preparing to go home. The suggestion arose that we stop for ice cream before heading our separate ways. It was unanimous, we would drop by a McDonald's.

After thinking this over for a minute it became clear why everyone was in agreement:

• McDonald's represents LITTLE RISK. Everyone knows what to expect. This is especially important when a person is in a strange location, or, in this case, when kids are present.
• McDonald's is convenient - and on main roads.
• McDonald's offers good (not awesome, not bad) food.
• McDonald's has fair to very good prices and value for the money.

McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.

Image: jacksonlocal.com

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