Communications across the Sales Channels

For this blog, I will discuss level of communication McDonald’s has with its franchises and if the same core values are being expressed. I realize not all McDonald’s locations are same, so I will only use the Charlotte, MI location as my benchmark.

According to www. aboutmcdonalds.com, their franchises worldwide should follow a strategy referred to as “the Plan to Win.” This philosophy focuses on high-quality customer experience based on the people, products, place, price, and promotion. Using these five items as my criteria, here is how the local franchisee fared:

People:

All in all, the people that work at this location are generally friendly. They handle requests without complications, recognize repeat customers and are courteous, whether it is dine-in or at the drive-thru.

Products:

Most of the time the meals seem fresh (as they can be for fast food. *Hint* - alter to sandwich slightly to protect against getting one that has been sitting around). Sometimes the fries are stale and sandwiches are carelessly made. However, I would not say these issues are isolated to this location and are areas where the Company goal is not met on a consistent basis.

Place:

This particular location is typically fairly clean and organized. They have a children’s play area that is isolated from the main lobby. This is helpful for parents with small children or multiple kids. It also helps to ensure the safety of the kids and the surrounding patrons.

Price:

The price at this location is competitive. Compared to the other fast-food restaurants in the area, McDonald’s has the some of the lowest prices…Rally’s is generally cheaper, but McDonald’s (in this area) food tastes better.  With that being said, McDonald’s offers affordable menu items.

Promotion:

This location does an excellent job with promoting new products and contests. Associates in the drive-thru and at the counter consistently mention new food items and attempt to sell additional menu items. This type of employee effort is consistent with the global strategy of the parent company.

If McDonald’s wanted to measure its relationships with this particular franchise it could gauge local perception by using an omnibus poll or by conducting telephone surveys. McDonald’s could also utilize Google Alert to obtain information about what is being said on a franchise level. To get a true perspective of the customer experience, McDonald’s could send undercover reps to patron the franchises. Although this option could be pricey, I think it worth the quality and instantaneous results.

Reference: http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mission_and_values.html.