McDonald's Implementing Pocket PC-Based Drive Thru [Archive]

Janak Parekh

07-24-2003, 06:00 PM

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.thetowntalk.com/html/B8B200B3-7197-4597-8CA2-121AE9FEC1FE.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.thetowntalk.com/html/B8B...AE9FEC1FE.shtml</a><br /><br /></div>This is cool. Now we know why <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9932">McDonald's was setting up WiFi hotspots</a>. Who would have known that they'd be a technology leader? :lol:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20030724-McDonalds.jpg" /><br /><br />"...now you can get your Big Mac and french fries even more faster thanks to new technology being used by the McDonald's restaurant on Jackson Street Extension. Employees are coming face-to-face with drive-thru customers once again and taking orders using a Pocket PC. Glenda Stock, owner of five McDonald's franchises in the Alexandria area, said the pocket PC is 'experimental' at this point but is expected to be implemented on a permanent basis very soon."

droppedd

07-24-2003, 06:03 PM

Great! so now instead of dealing with staticy speakers asking you "mradfgeemadsfase" when they mean "Would you like fries with that?" you get "Hold on a second while i soft reset..." (or if they have ppc2003, "hold on 30 seconds..."). :lol:

fgarcia10

07-24-2003, 06:08 PM

JonnoB

07-24-2003, 06:13 PM

But now you can get your Big Mac and french fries even more faster...

Who writes these articles?

Steven Cedrone

07-24-2003, 06:16 PM

Who writes these articles?

Probably the guy that took the E-learning seminar: "More better writing skills in three easy lessons"... :wink:

Steve

droppedd

07-24-2003, 06:21 PM

But now you can get your Big Mac and french fries even more faster...

Who writes these articles?

If they had done better in English class in high school, would they be working at a mcdonald's drivethrough? :lol:

although i shouldn't say that... especially in today's job market, as i joke with my friends who are English majors: "Oh, you're majoring in liberal arts? Better start preparing for the workforce. Repeat after me... "Would you like fries with that?"

and several of my friends did spend their summers working the Burger King gig. In fact one of them couldn't even get a job in fast food this summer, the job market's so bad in Maine. But he's an art major, so being poor keeps him an authentically starving artist :)

GetAFix

07-24-2003, 06:27 PM

Yeah, as droppedd said, we won't have to deal with static on the speakers (when they are working well). :lol: It's good to see that McDee is using
their own hot spots as well. Hope to see this technology everywhere and
in other fast food chains as well.

- Getafix

felixdd

07-24-2003, 06:30 PM

This is awesome! Face to face is much better than talking to a pair of speakers. Does anyone remember that McDonald's drive through breakfast commercial? With the guy screaming his order while forgetting to roll down his windows? :lol:

Now if customers that have their OWN Wi-Fi enabled PPC can make their own orders (if the ordering system was web-based, for example)...the guy won't even need to scream or roll his windows down -- he can just tap while sitting in his car...and by the time he gets out of the car and into the store the order is there waiting for him. :D

Xyress

07-24-2003, 06:32 PM

I can't see this method being any faster than the regular drive through. Clicking on buttons with a stylus to input the order has to be pretty error-prone ... I haven't had a wrong order at a driver through in a pretty long time.

The hardest part is the accent of some of the workers, not the technology. You just have to anticipate what they're going to say (such as "Heretogo?" or "Likebiggisizeat?"). I can't imagine how non-native English speakers deal at fast food restaurants.

felixdd

07-24-2003, 06:32 PM

droppedd

07-24-2003, 06:40 PM

Now if customers that have their OWN Wi-Fi enabled PPC can make their own orders (if the ordering system was web-based, for example)...the guy won't even need to scream or roll his windows down -- he can just tap while sitting in his car...and by the time he gets out of the car and into the store the order is there waiting for him. :D

I can see it now... a line of fat mickeyd's fed people in cars each saying "Hold on while i soft-reset!" :D

iomatic

07-24-2003, 06:46 PM

Does the bucket of lard and EMTs running out to save your overweight behind come any faster too? :)

Sorry, had to throw that one in there!

kagayaki1

07-24-2003, 06:53 PM

I don't know about having your *own* device (not enough market for that right now), but I've long thought the idea of pre-ordering McD over the Net would be cool.

The idea is simple. You submit your order (you can change it as many times as you need to), specify the nearest location, and it generates an order number. When you get there you give them an order number that was created and it automatically pulls it up for processing. Couple that with these new RF quick pay systems I've seen in the Seattle area, and you've got yourself one fast system. "Yes sir, you can completely bypass the order board and window #1, just go pick up your food." There's no question that the evolution of food creation in America the food is no longer what takes so long, it's ordering and paying.

Food for thought, eh? :wink: Couldn't resist.

kagayaki1

07-24-2003, 06:54 PM

Does the bucket of lard and EMTs running out to save your overweight behind come any faster too? :)

Sorry, had to throw that one in there!
You wasted your first post on that? :?

lurch

07-24-2003, 07:00 PM

But now you can get your Big Mac and french fries even more faster...

Who writes these articles?
Strong Bad! (http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html)

(dang, I can't find the one where Strong Bad is saying "more better") -- just watch 'em all, and you'll find it!

Andrew Griffin

07-24-2003, 07:18 PM

droppedd

07-24-2003, 07:28 PM

Thanks to a fellow in Spokane who called just awhile ago, I was made aware of this site and the fact that my front page story was posted here. In the dead tree edition of The Town Talk, it reads "more quickly." However, someone screwed up in their online editing and typed in "more faster," much to the chagrin of me and my features editor. In fact, she and I discussed this error and she's pretty "hot under the collar" about it, ya dig?

bah. editors. One at my university's paper "edited" a front page article written by a friend of mine so that the opening paragraph no longer had a verb. And that got printed and distributed to the whole school. You'd think they could at least run a grammar checker over their edits... even Word would point that one out.

Bob S

07-24-2003, 07:31 PM

I can't see this method being any faster than the regular drive through. Clicking on buttons with a stylus to input the order has to be pretty error-prone ...

Have you ever seen the cash registers they use now? They are not entering 3.95 and 4.75 they are pushing the button with the picture of cheeseburger on it and the other button with a picture of fries on it.

I could easily see a screen with big on screen icons of happy meals and a cup of soda.

David Prahl

07-24-2003, 07:50 PM

Now people are going to sue HP to make their PPC styli bigger to accomodate their fatter hands as a result of this...

Did anyone else read the picture caption? "Jackson Street McDonald's employee Jessica Tilley takes an order using a conpaq pocket personal computer during the lunch rush."

NOT conpaq. 8O

NOT compaq.

IT'S HP NOW!!!

David Prahl

07-24-2003, 07:52 PM

I wonder if they change SSIDs for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

Grease at 11 Mbits!

I wonder what happens if you write a program to send in thousands of burger requests...Denial of Grease Attack??

ricksfiona

07-24-2003, 07:56 PM

It's great that McDonalds is trying to be a forward-thinking business after SO many years of sitting on their duff.

Having a person take your order via a wireless device is not new. For us Californians, In-N-Out Burgers (http://www.in-n-out.com) has been doing this for a while. In-N-Out Burger does this for the sole reason of getting orders quicker to the kitchen, giving more time for preparation thus giving a better customer experience.

Another reason why McDonalds is doing this: growth. McDonalds has not had the growth it used to enjoy. Also, I KNOW they've been losing customers to places like In-N-Out, who has superior food (as far as fast food goes), and superior customer service. McDonalds needs to do something to keep or bring back their customers. And they are desparate to do so...

While I think having WiFi in McDonalds is nice, isn't this contradictory to the term 'Fast Food'? When it comes to burgers and such, don't we want to get in and out as fast as possible? Plus, you have to pay a fee to use the WiFi service. Since I believe most people go into McDonalds on a price basis, don't you think it would be difficult to have that customer pay for WiFi?

HotSpots makes so much sense at Starbucks & Borders Book Stores. People hang-out at those places for hours to read, socialize and to do school/job work. WiFi is a good investment for these organizations. Who hangs out at McDonalds for more than 15 minutes? I personally wouldn't take my PDA or laptop into a fast food place. A Smartphone is a different issue since you wouldn't use WiFi to access the Internet.

GoldKey

07-24-2003, 07:59 PM

This is awesome! Face to face is much better than talking to a pair of speakers.

Actually, I feel the opposite. Fast food nirvanna for me would be a kiosk where I could enter my own order (or use my PPC) and pay. Spit out an order number and go pick it up. Better yet, have it slide out a little door like the replicators on the original Star Trek. Very tired of rude fast food employees.

peterg

07-24-2003, 08:05 PM

But now you can get your Big Mac and french fries even more faster...

Who writes these articles?

Probably the same guy who wrote the text for the caption on thetowntalk.com web site, "conpaq pocket personal computer".

Mojo Jojo

07-24-2003, 08:19 PM

Now I am not going to point out the errors everyone else has pointed out but instead bring up a question that is now on my mind.

Did they repaint the parking space lines at these McDonalds?

I ask simply because most parking spaces are so tight there is just enough room to open the door and get out, let alone have someone come to you, bend down to window level and have a comfortable conversation with you (without being in the car and in your face!)

fyiguy

07-24-2003, 08:21 PM

The implementation of PocketPC's in restaurants works really well like at Wagamama (http://www.wagamama.com/) in Europe and Australia, (mmm great noodles) or that Burgermaster of Bellevue place in Seattle (It used to be right next door to the old Microsoft offices). I am just surprised they haven't been implemented at more places especially chains.

The TabletPC works well for wine lists at the 5 star restaurant Aureole (http://www.ewinetower.com/) in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino,which sports 4,000 individual wines from around the world, with a total inventory of over 50,000 bottles and they have a cool "wine tower" that is something like 4 stories high and is temperature and humidity-controlled and houses about 10,000 bottles. If you are into 'Mission Impossible' the wines are retrieved from the wine tower by “wine angels,” and you can watch them retrieve your bottle of wine via video. If you are heading out to Las Vegas for a convention like PocketPC Summit be sure to check it out... There is one in NYC, the food is good, but expensive and there is no cool wine tower...if your in Las Vegas I think Charlie Palmer has a Great Steakhouse at the 4 Seasons there as well...

Ok now you got me hungry...

David Prahl

07-24-2003, 08:44 PM

Even though wi-fi may attract a few thousand geeks, it's my opinion that better food would garner more orders for burgers.

Has anyone noticed how Hardee's is trying to polish their image? Charbroiled Angus beef, chili fries & burgers, and hand-scooped *real* ice cream.

I hate McDonald's food. It's flat, small, greasy, poorly prepared, and over priced. If they just focused on their food, which is the reason we go there anyway, I'm sure they'd get plenty of customers.

Default

07-24-2003, 09:30 PM

See, I'm fine with it, I mean if it does "make me get my big mac and fries faster" thats great, but then you gotta teach all these people, and then if they have a error and you know whats wrong... i would be like "yea you do this" ha.. and that better not slow me down because when i get to mcdonalds I WANT FOOD and not to be a tech support person.. Can't want untill wi-fi in AZ starts coming.

TawnerX

07-24-2003, 09:35 PM

How come nobody takes this idea to its logical conclusion yet.

Why bother with an employee punching up the order on HIS PDA?
what's wrong with my own h2210 and bluetooth? So now all Mcdonald has to do is have little download for h2210, or any wireless PDA and let customer order his own stuff.

Better yet, It will have electronic coupon, and the darned thing is hooked up to Pocket Informant, and ewallet. So all I have to do is show up the the that burger join, wave my h2210 and voila...... food serve. (just hope it has no onion option. )

don dre

07-24-2003, 09:59 PM

I'm with supernerd. this is all fine and dandy but people aren't eating as many mcdonald's "burgers" as they used to b/c the food quality is hardly a step up from hotn'now. I stopped eating at Mickey D's a few years ago b/c i got sick three times in six months. their food is terrible..the meat flavor is manufactured in north jersey, perhaps next to another hazardous chemicals plant, and the burgers are flat and squashed most of the time. aside from the fact that there is something inherently wrong about food that only tastes good piping hot and shoveled down before you even realize what you're eating, what real efect wil this have on their business? do people really want to linger in mickey d's to surf the internet? will it really be more efficient? this has more of a place in a slow food establishment, especially ones with big kitchens and wine cellars, than a fast food joint. to make more money they have to innovate with their food, that is what their business is. making things worse they now compete with saladworks, coffeeshops like cosi, and whatever ho-hum chains you have in your area (schleppzkies deli). I'll take my wifi with a side of hooters at fries thank you. :soapbox:

yodacai

07-24-2003, 10:04 PM

Who writes these articles?

Probably the guy that took the E-learning seminar: "More better writing skills in three easy lessons"... :wink:

Steve

"Huked on fonix werkd for me!" :lol:
Sorry... couldn't resist! :D

Andrew Griffin

07-24-2003, 11:02 PM

I wrote the story. The caption and words were changed by the person who posts it on our website. It's unfortunate because my byline is on the story.
over.
and out.
andrew.

yodacai

07-24-2003, 11:16 PM

I wrote the story. The caption and words were changed by the person who posts it on our website. It's unfortunate because my byline is on the story.
over.
and out.
andrew.

Andrew,
Just a friendly poke in the ribs... no offense was meant! :D

Andrew Griffin

07-24-2003, 11:19 PM

No offense taken. Speaking of ribs, suppertime is coming up ...

yodacai

07-24-2003, 11:25 PM

No offense taken. Speaking of ribs, suppertime is coming up ...

WHAT... no MacDonalds PDA drive through...! :wink:

MoelBrain

07-25-2003, 12:46 AM

What happens when 1337 ha><ors hack the system and start prank ordering massive amounts of food?

TawnerX

07-25-2003, 02:49 AM

They'll probably have to wait a little longer on that 1000 order of six pieces mc nugget.

TopDog

07-25-2003, 07:09 AM

I was at a small outdoors fish restaurant in a small town the UK last week, and they actually also took orders on a HP Jornada 568 with WiFi...

I was so fazinated, that I almost forgot to eat and kept stearing at the waitresses running around with theire qute little PPC's the hole visit... they most have thought that I was some kind of pervert :oops:

isilver

07-25-2003, 07:24 AM

I can't wait until someone hacks in and figures out how to get unlimited big mac's. My dream has come true. :lol:

Abba Zabba

07-25-2003, 07:39 AM

It would be a pretty good idea if you could order your food over the net. Not jus using their Wi-Fi service but using some PPC friendly/ regular web site. Hey if Papa Johns can let you order pizza and the like online and have it delivered to your house, then why can't ohers. I myself have used this and found it to be Alot faster than ordering over the phone.

ricksfiona

07-25-2003, 07:39 AM

Amen to that!

I believe McDonalds advertising is fraudulent. You see these big juicy looking burgers and in real life, they fit into a kid's hands. I love the taste of BigMacs, but I need 2 - 3 of these things to REALLY satisfy my hunger. But 2 - 3 BigMacs brings me really close to my daily caloric intake FOR THE DAY and shoots me clear over my allotted fat-grams intake for the day.

Sorry for the social message, but is there any question why obesity is such a problem in our country? I'll eat McDonalds if I know I won't get anything else to eat for the next 6 hours or so... Yeah, it's a decision of starving or McDonalds.

If you haven't noticed, I am very health conscious. A hamburger and fries is okay once in a while. Just don't give me this pre-processed junk and pan it off as the real thing.

WiFi McDonalds? Give me a break!

Even though wi-fi may attract a few thousand geeks, it's my opinion that better food would garner more orders for burgers.

Has anyone noticed how Hardee's is trying to polish their image? Charbroiled Angus beef, chili fries & burgers, and hand-scooped *real* ice cream.

I hate McDonald's food. It's flat, small, greasy, poorly prepared, and over priced. If they just focused on their food, which is the reason we go there anyway, I'm sure they'd get plenty of customers.