McDonald’s wants to make sure that customers are lovin’ its service—both in stores and from their cars.
The fast food giant is focusing on improving the drive-thru ordering process to be more personal and accurate, Bloomberg reports. The new method is called “ask, ask, tell,” and it gives three chances for a McDonald’s (MCD) employee to check that the customer order is in fact accurate.
Why is this so important? Bloomberg reports 70% of sales at McDonald’s are made at the drive-thru.
The fast-food purveyor is currently in the early stages of a turnaround led by CEO Steve Easterbrook, who often touts an increased focus on serving hot and fresh food with fast and friendly service. While that seems like a fairly simple formula, McDonald’s has faced persistent criticism that the chain’s restaurants were failing to consistently deliver on those promises.
But a focus on operations has begun to pay off: McDonald’s last month reported its first quarterly increase in U.S. same-restaurant sales in two years. Investors are also paying attention. McDonald’s shares have increased 22% so far this year—easily besting the performance of fast-casual powerhouses Panera (PNRA) and Chipotle (CMG).
The drive-thru is an important element of the “service” portion of McDonald’s turnaround strategy. Some other investments there have included the establishment of a digital platform. McDonald’s was the first in its industry to accept Apple Pay in the drive-thru. It is also enhancing drive-thru capacity at many of the new and re-imagined locations it has opened in the U.S.
