The chain’s stores will also be getting an update with the addition of self-service ordering kiosks and table service at 650 restaurants this year, bringing the total to nearly 2,500. Employees will now spend more time in the front of the restaurant, delivering food directly to the tables and offering traditional dining hospitality.
In addition, the company has updated its uniforms to be more stylish and contemporary.
“Not everything [McDonald’s] is trying will work, but some of it will,” Mark Kalinowski, a Nomura-Instinet analyst, told CNBC. “But that’s the point. You don’t want a McDonald’s that sits back and is complacent and happy with all the successes it’s achieved in the past. You want a McDonald’s that continues to evolve for the better and that’s what McDonald’s is doing under [CEO Steve Easterbrook’s] leadership.”
This isn’t the first time that the company has tried to add upscale offerings. In the ’90s, McDonald’s rolled out the Arch Deluxe to try to appeal to those with a more sophisticated palate, but it was a massive flop. McDonald’s was more successful with its Angus burger, which had a four-year run beginning in 2009. Ultimately, the pricey burger, which cost between $4 and $5, was removed from the menu as consumers shifted more toward its value-conscious Dollar Menu.
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