Two weeks ago, @jwswj and @dkeeghan brought me to McDonald's on Bourke St, Melbourne and introduced me to the 'new' in-store touch screen ordering system. Let me just say, I was thoroughly impressed - it's clean & simple, user-friendly, interactive, intuitive and fun.
In short, I had an awesome customer experience.
It's not new technology. But it's application is exciting and definitely game changing. Here's a quick video to wet the appetite.
What makes this so good?
- Order Accuracy What's the number one issue surrounding meal ordering? Order accuracy. How many times have you asked for a burger without pickles or mayo, only to have it returned with pickles or mayo or both? How many times have you ordered something extra, only to find out it's not in the bag? There's a disconnect between the customer's requirement, the clerk's interpretation and the chef's instructions.With this in-store kiosk, customers directly communicate their requirements (customised meals) to the kitchen. A customer who receives an accurately prepared order is a happy customer.
- Ordering Experience Customers interact with McDonald's products via imagery as opposed to text - large-sized images of each product are displayed on screen for users to select. There's tabbed navigation that organises the products into high-level categories - Favourites, Deserts, Drinks, etc. Smooth fading transitions and subtle animations are triggered whenever the customer interacts with the system, creating a seamless and somewhat perceived effortless experience. Simply, it makes you want to play more with the system (and hopefully order more?).
- Accessibility Firstly, the kiosks are physically accessible to short or wheel-chair bound individuals. Secondly, the User Interface (UI), predominantly consists of large icons, buttons and textual descriptions, ensuring technical accessibility.
- Less Queue Time Harry Balzer, VP for food market research firm NPD Group Inc stated: "It's about time and lines". Today we are looking for the easiest, quickest and most convenient ways of feeding ourselves. Why wait 5 minutes in a queue before placing your order when you can walk up to a kiosk, place an order and pick it up 2 minutes later? A customer who waits less is a happy customer.
So what's the McCustomer Experience?
For me, the McCustomer Experience is the harmonious operation of the 4 previously identified factors. I believe this is the case, because when you examine the 4 components through a collective lens (examining them as a group), they cover an end-to-end ordering process - from pre, during and post-order. The total McCustomer Experience is the sum of all of its working parts. As Christa Small, the McDonald's director who headed testing for this system, said:
"The customer perception is that it's a better experience. It's the perception that you have control over the process."
Now that you know of this new ordering system, go out and find one to play with.
Hit me back with a comment and let me know what your McCustomer Experience is like.