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Tag: McDonalds

  • McDonald’s Testing Automated Drive-Thru Technology

    McDonald’s Testing Automated Drive-Thru Technology

    McDonald’s is testing automated drive-thru ordering technology in 10 Chicago locations.

    Restaurants are increasingly looking for ways to revolutionize their processes and streamline operations. Drive-thru operations, in particular, are ripe for change, with many companies implementing mobile ordering.

    McDonald’s is taking it a step further, testing automated voice-ordering tech, according to CNBC. So far, the pilot program is seeing 85% order accuracy, with only a fifth of orders needing to be handled by a person.

    “Now there’s a big leap from going to 10 restaurants in Chicago to 14,000 restaurants across the U.S., with an infinite number of promo permutations, menu permutations, dialect permutations, weather — and on and on and on,” said CEO Chris Kempczinski.

    If McDonald’s is able to make a go of automated ordering, it would give the company a major competitive advantage over competing fast-food chains. Relying on automated ordering tech could help the company cut down on cost. It could also serve as a template for other companies looking to do the same.

  • McDonald’s Impacted by Data Breach

    McDonald’s Impacted by Data Breach

    McDonald’s now joins an ever-growing list of major companies impacted by data breaches.

    On the same day that VW announced it was impacted by a data breach, fast-food leader McDonald’s announced it too has suffered a breach. The company says private information was accessed for both employees and customers in South Korea and Taiwan.

    According to CNN Business, McDonald’s says it’s cybersecurity investments were to thank for helping the company identify the breach as fast as it did, preventing additional harm.

    “These tools allowed us to quickly identify and contain recent unauthorized activity on our network,” a spokesperson told CNN Business. “A thorough investigation was conducted, and we worked with experienced third parties to support this investigation.”

    It seems the damage could have been far worse had McDonald’s not contained the breach so fast. According to The Wall Street Journal, the hackers also gained access to some US employees’ business contact information, as well minor logistical information on some US restaurants, such as seating capacity. No sensitive or personal information was leaked for US employees or customers.

  • Oracle Gets Boost From Barron’s Coverage of Company’s Cloud Business

    Oracle Gets Boost From Barron’s Coverage of Company’s Cloud Business

    Oracle’s stock has seen its best day in nearly a year on positive coverage of its cloud business by Barron’s, although some critics are not impressed.

    Oracle is the dominant company in the database business, and provides a range of middleware applications. The company has been working to gain a bigger portion of the cloud computing market, with mixed results.

    Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, a former Oracle executive, famously called Oracle Cloud “a disgrace.” The company has also faced a lawsuit claiming executives hid issues with Oracle’s ability to compete in the cloud market.

    On the other hand, Oracle has scored some significant winsagainst its larger rivals, gaining business from Albertsons, Humana, McDonald’s and Xactly. The company also poached 8×8 from AWS and saw Zoom use Oracle’s Cloud for its latest expansion.

    Barron’s featured an articled entitled: “Oracle Is Turning Into a Cloud Giant. Why Its Stock Is a Buy.” The article made the case that Oracle could leverage its existing software and services to help grow its cloud business, potentially becoming the next major cloud player.

    As a result of the coverage, Oracle stock rose 5%, it’s biggest single-day gains in nearly a year. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen if Barron’s optimism is warranted. As of 2018, Oracle doesn’t break out its cloud earnings in its quarterly reports, making it hard to judge just how well the company’s cloud business is growing.

    CNBC points out that Oracle only reported a 1.9% growth in revenue in its latest report, far short of the estimated 37% growth rate of the cloud market in 2019. Again, without knowing what role Oracle’s cloud business played in its quarterly results, it’s hard to get an accurate read on well its business is doing. At the same time, however, 1.9% is not an encouraging growth rate.

  • Digital, Drive-Through, Delivery Powering McDonald’s

    Digital, Drive-Through, Delivery Powering McDonald’s

    “I know everyone wants to focus on the Travis Scott Meal and Spicy Chicken McNuggets which definitely contributed to the fantastic September that we had,” says McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger. “But the setup for this great quarter actually started much earlier in the year. Our drive-throughs have been getting faster at McDonald’s. We’ve made a lot of investments in digital and drive-through and delivery as well.”

    https://youtu.be/8K0lnarZ0oQ

    Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA, says that the Travis Scott Meal promotion is helping but their latest earnings results are actually powered by improvements in digital, drive-through, and delivery:

    Digital, Drive-Through and Delivery Powering McDonald’s

    I know everyone wants to focus on the Travis Scott Meal and Spicy Chicken McNuggets which definitely contributed to the fantastic September that we had. But the setup for this great quarter actually started much earlier in the year. Our drive-throughs have been getting faster at McDonald’s. We’ve made a lot of investments in digital and drive-through and delivery as well.

    Then really we made a lot of changes to our business model as the pandemic set upon us including over 50 changes in operations. We limited our menu and we’ve made our restaurants easier to run. At the same time, we conserved some of our marketing funds. We began to unleash those marketing funds in the third quarter. That’s what set up this great result of 4.6% double-digit comps in September.

    Breakfast Is BACK At McDonalds

    When we entered the pandemic we had reversed what was a long-term trend of negative guest counts. It’s been lost in the results of what happened in the epidemic. But in January and February, we actually had positive comps at breakfast and positive guest counts. It goes without saying that we don’t sell the Spicy McNuggets or the Travis Scott orders at breakfast and we’ve obviously seen positive comps across all dayparts.

    So we are actually very optimistic about the daypart. We’re excited about the bakery launch that’ll take place later this month. We’ve got a real built-in advantage on this because of our drive-throughs and just because of our overall convenience factor. I like the characterization that yes, breakfast is back at McDonald’s.

    Mood Amongst Franchisees Is Strong

    Franchisees did come into this in a position of absolute strength. In fact, 2019 was the highest cash flow year ever for our franchisees. Some of the steps that we took through the pandemic both to support them in terms of their liquidity but also to make the operations of the restaurant easier (helped significantly). We actually improved margins at the restaurant level as well.

    They’re actually coming out of the worst of the pandemic in a very good position and in a very strong financial position. The mood amongst our franchisees is strong. I was in restaurants uh in Washington state a few weeks ago. Last week I was actually in Washington DC. There’s a lot of optimism confidence as we enter the fourth quarter.

    Digital, Drive-Through, Delivery Powering McDonald’s
  • Oracle Scores Big Cloud Wins

    Oracle Scores Big Cloud Wins

    Oracle has scored some big wins as it takes on larger cloud rivals.

    AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud dominate the US cloud computing market. Oracle, IBM and others continue to fight for market share, leveraging their existing software, services and systems to gain cloud customers.

    Oracle has been making significant headway using this strategy. According to Reuters, Oracle has scored contracts with McDonald’s, Albertsons and Humana to move at least some of their business to Oracle’s cloud platform. In addition, Xactly has decided to move the majority of its work to Oracle’s platform.

    These are major contracts for one of the underdogs of the industry and should go a long way toward helping Oracle gain ground.

  • McDonald’s Is Seriously Looking At Offering Vegan Burgers Worldwide

    McDonald’s Is Seriously Looking At Offering Vegan Burgers Worldwide

    “We’ve got a vegan burger going in Germany at the moment on a promotional basis,” says McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook. “When you look at the whole meat substitute type ideas what will be interesting for us will be to see who is particularly interested in that. Is it an existing customer who wants just an alternative option? Is it to bring a new customer in? We’re exploring that and trying to understand it better and also understand a customers acceptability of that particular type of product.”

    Steve Easterbrook, CEO of McDonald’s, discusses the possibility of  McDonald’s putting vegan Big Macs on the menu in an interview on CNBC:

    McDonald’s May Soon Sell Vegan Burgers Worldwide

    We’ve got a vegan burger going in Germany at the moment on a promotional basis. When you look at the whole meat substitute type ideas what will be interesting for us will be to see who is particularly interested in that. Is it an existing customer who wants just an alternative option? Is it to bring a new customer in? We’re exploring that and trying to understand it better and also understand a customers acceptability of that particular type of product. There’s a lot of buzz around it at the moment, but it’s clearly prepared in a different way to a traditional beef patty. We’re keeping a close eye on it and watching this space.

    It undoubtedly does bring complexity to the preparation. You’ve got to segregate the tools you use and the grills from beef products because some people are clearly not beef eaters. So we know there’s complexity. The question is will the demand make it worth absorbing the complexity because it’s will drive the business? We had a similar discussion, maybe four years ago, around all day breakfast. It certainly adds complexity to the operation but the demand was sufficient that we wanted to find a way to absorb that. It’s something we’re certainly taking a good look at.

    Review of McDonald’s Vegan Burger in Germany

    I Don’t Think Vegan Meat is Faddish

    I don’t think it’s faddish. Whether it maintains its same level of buzz I think is what’s interesting. Like any other restaurant business, you want throughput, you want to keep serving the items so you can keep them fresh and well-prepared. Our teams in the restaurants, the crew, and the managers are well trained in preparing them. You really want to have a certain volume of those just to keep the finished menu item hot and fresh for the customer. So we’re taking a little look at this one.

    The one thing about the job I have is McDonald’s attracts attention no matter what it is you’re doing. Clearly, anyone who has something they want to get scale to will often look to McDonald’s to be that partner to help them scale in any way, shape, or form. You’ve also got to look at just the sheer volumes that we require just because we serve around the world 70 million customers a day. If I just take the cage-free eggs example here in the US. When we made the announcement, that was going to be a five-year announcement to transition across. It takes that amount of time to make sure there’s that sufficient supply so you can meet the demand.

    Berlin Vegan Burgers Compared to McDonalds Vegan Burger!

    These are all the factors you’ve got to take into account. Do you launch your test just in a particular city? Do you launch in just one particular regional or a smaller market elsewhere in the world? You want to test these things out when they’ve got the kind of volume that can meet the potential demands. So we’ll see, but we’re pretty familiar with trying new items and new products and how we can test and assess. Frankly, the customer won’t always be the decision maker on this one.

    McDonald’s Is Seriously Looking At Offering Vegan Burgers Worldwide
  • How McDonald’s Is Using Data, Machine Learning, and AI to Accelerate Growth

    How McDonald’s Is Using Data, Machine Learning, and AI to Accelerate Growth

    “Our acquisition of Dynamic Yield has brought us a lot of excitement,” says McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook. “Very simply put, in the online world when we’re shopping and we pick an item and put it into our shopping basket, any website will automatically suggest two or three things to go along with it. We’re the first business that we’re aware of that can bring that into the physical world. It’s really just taking data and machine learning and AI, all these sorts of technical capabilities.”

    Steve Easterbrook, CEO of McDonald’s, discusses how the company is using technology to elevate the customer experience and accelerate growth in an interview on CNBC:

    Continue To See How We Can Elevate the Customer Experience

    As we’ve executed the growth plan we’ve spent the first two years, three or four years ago, turning the business around. Now we’ve had a couple of years of growth. We’re confident now that we’re beginning to identify further opportunities to further accelerate growth. That takes a little bit of research and development cost. It means you’ve got to bring some expertise into the business to help us do that. We’re still managing to effectively run the business. G&A is staying the same and we’re putting a little bit more into innovation.

    We continue to see how can we help continue to elevate the experience for customers. With this pace of change in the world and with different technology and different innovations, whether it’s around food, technology, or design, we’re seeing opportunities that we think can either make the experience more fun and enjoyable or smoother for customers. If we can find that we’re going to go hard at it.

    We need to continue growing. If where we are investing that money is helping drive growth across 38,000 restaurants then I think the shareholders and investors would be satisfied. We want to bring our owner-operators along with us as well. They’re investing their hard-earned dollars so that always means we got a business case. The owner-operators will want to see a return on their investment just the same as a shareholder would. We’ve got a wonderful check and balance in the system to help us make sure we spend that innovative money in the right way.

    Using Data, Machine Learning, and AI to Accelerate Growth

    Our acquisition of Dynamic Yield has brought us a lot of excitement. It was our first acquisition for 20 years. It was an acquisition in a way that was different from the past. It wasn’t looking at different restaurant businesses to try and expand our footprint. It’s bringing a capability, an IP and some talent, into our business that can help us accelerate the growth model. We completed the deal mid-April and within two weeks we had that technical capability in 800 drive-throughs here in the U.S. It’s a very rapid execution and implementation.

    Very simply put, in the online world when we’re shopping and we pick an item and put it into our shopping basket, any website we’re on these days will automatically suggest two or three things to go along with it. People who buy that tend to like these things as well. We’re the first business that we’re aware of that can bring that into the physical world. As customers are at the menu board, maybe they’re ordering a coffee and we can suggest a dessert or they’re ordering a quarter pounder with cheese and we can suggest making that into a meal. It’s really just taking data and machine learning and AI, all these sorts of technical capabilities.

    Mining All of the Data Will Improve the Business

    The best benefit for customers is we’re more likely to suggest things they do want and less likely to suggest things they don’t. It’ll just be a nicer experience for the customer. But yes, for the restaurant itself, because we can put our drive-thru service lines in there, for example, the technical capability by mining all of the data will be to suggest items are easier to make at our busier times. That’ll help smooth the operation as well. The immediate result will be some ticket (increases). But frankly, if the overall experience is better customers come back more often. That’s ultimately where the success will be, driving repeat visits and getting people back more often.

    Across the entire sector, traffic is tight right now and people are eating out less. They have been progressively eating out less for a number of years. Whether it’s the advent of home delivery, for example, which is something we participate in, but at the moment it’s just a little bit tight out there. It’s a fight for market share. Anyone who is getting growth, typically it’s because they’re adding new units. People are finding it hard to (increase) guest count growth. It’s something that we have stated as an ambition of ours. We think that’s a measure of the true health of the business. Last quarter, we did grow traffic and we’ve grown traffic for the last couple of years, but only modestly. We want to be stronger than that.

    How McDonald’s Is Using Data, Machine Learning, and AI to Accelerate Growth
  • McDonald’s Tests Marketing With Facebook Live Video

    McDonald’s Tests Marketing With Facebook Live Video

    McDonald’s, in celebration of National Hamburger Day this Saturday, tested the marketing potential of live video on Facebook. McDonald’s first promoted it’s Facebook Live video to its nearly 65 million Facebook followers with 2 separate posts starting Wednesday afternoon. Clearly, McDonald’s was going for humor, but the artist featured in the promo and live video is absolutely creepy in his attempt at channelling his inner Bob Ross. It is funny and worth watching!

    McDonald’s idea was to have it look like a Bob Ross style artist painted 3 hamburger related pictures in real-time on Facebook Live in celebration of National Hamburger Day. The person playing the Bob Ross character was actor/comedian “Bevin”.

    Here is how McDonald’s promoted it’s Facebook Live video:

    Here are the video’s that ran live on McDonald’s Facebook page. For some reason the live video was recorded as 2 separate clips:

    The opening 8 minute clip had close to 8,000 views, 683 likes, 281 shares and 408 comments as of this writing. This was followed by a 42 minute clip which had nearly 20,000 views, 1,500 likes, 160 shares and 2,118 comments. This is only mildly successful considering that McDonald’s has 65 million followers.

    A couple funny reactions to the Facebook Live video in the comments:

    I give credit for McDonald’s going out of box in testing Facebook Live for marketing its product and using humor was a good idea.

    However, Facebook needs to let brands reach more of their followers with their posts! People “like” brands because they want their posts to appear in their news feeds. Why Facebook, in the interest of decluttering people’s news feeds takes it upon themselves to only show a fraction of the posts from people and brands that people themselves chose to follow is beyond reason. With 65 million followers of McDonald’s on Facebook the Live videos should have been seen by millions.

    A better approach for Facebook, in my opinion, would be to give people options themselves to prioritizing people and brands as they see their posts. Let people choose and allow brands that have worked so hard and spent so much money on promoting their Facebook pages and growing their followers benefit from this.

  • “Pay With Lovin”: McDonald’s Gives Away Free Food To Customers Who Show Love

    “Pay With Lovin”: McDonald’s Gives Away Free Food To Customers Who Show Love

    As announced on their latest Super Bowl ad, McDonald’s is launching a new campaign called “Pay with Lovin’”. Beginning on Monday, February 2, from 6 a.m. to 6p.m., McDonald’s will be offering random customers a chance to pay with an act “lovin’” instead of cash. Such acts include a fistbump, a phonecall to a loved one, a kiss, etc.

    Deborah Wahl, chief marketing manager for McDonald’s USA, said, “We’re on a journey of transformation and a key part of that journey is how we engage with our customers. Pay with Lovin’ is a direct way for us to engage with our customers. We believe that a little more Lovin’ can change a lot.”

    It works like this: after the chosen customer places an order, a guest service manager called a “Lovin’ Lead” will inform said customer that he can pay with an act of “lovin’” instead of cash.  “There’s a lot that goes on in the world and if a brand like ours can really come across and provide those good moments, provide that delight, that treat and that excitement, that’s what we should be doing for our customers,” Deborah Wahl said.

    McDonald’s hopes that word of the campaign will be spread through word of mouth. Chosen customers are urged to post their pictures on their social media pages including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

    According to McDonald’s, they will be selecting 100 customers a day in the span of 12 days. They estimate that each meal will cost around $5.60, with the total of free food averaging around $560 per restaurant.

    A man named Dennis Cochran was among the first to be chosen to “Pay with Lovin’”. Cochran ordered a burger, fries and unsweetened tea, and was surprised when he was asked to dance instead of paying for his meal with cash. “I had knee replacement 10 days ago, but it was worth it,” Cochran said.

  • Man Assaults Pregnant Wife with McChicken Sandwich

    Man Assaults Pregnant Wife with McChicken Sandwich

    A Des Moines, Iowa man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly assaulting his pregnant wife with a McDonald’s McChicken sandwich.

    Police responded to a domestic disturbance at the couple’s residence, where Marvin Tramaine Hill II, 21, confessed to throwing the McChicken at his wife. He admitted he did it because “he doesn’t like them.”

    Hill added that his wife woke him up at about 1 p.m., and presented him with the sandwich. Hill then threw it at her, causing it to come apart. He then picked up a bun, and threw that as well.

    When police arrived, the woman’s face and shirt was covered in mayonnaise, and she claimed that Hill forcefully rubbed the McChicken onto her.

    Directly after the incident, the woman ran to the bathroom, and Hill began recording her with his cell phone. Police reviewed the video, which showed the woman attempting to knock it out of his hands. According to the police report, the woman’s nose was slightly swollen, and the video made it appear that Hill was trying to provoke his wife to strike him and look more aggressive.

    Hill was booked at Polk County Jail for domestic assault, and his weapons permit has been revoked.


    The McDonald’s McChicken was originally introduced in 1980, but poor sales caused it to be replaced by Chicken McNuggets. The McChicken was reintroduced in 1986, but then was replaced by the Crispy Chicken Deluxe in 1996. Due to an enormous amount of fan mail and petitions regarding the sandwich, the McChicken was brought back in 1998.

    The McChicken is now a part of the McDonald’s Dollar Menu, and has apparently become weaponized.

  • GMO Potato: McDonald’s Says No Way

    GMO Potato: McDonald’s Says No Way

    There’s a new GMO potato in town, but you won’t find it making French fries at McDonald’s.The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Co.’s new genetically modified potato. But McDonald’s, which is one of the company’s oldest business partners–hasn’t, and it says it won’t.

    “McDonald’s USA does not source GMO potatoes, nor do we have current plans to change our sourcing practices,” the company said in a statement regarding the new, approved GMO potato.

    Called the “Innate” potato, the USDA gave Boise-based Simplot permission to start the commercial planting of the GMO potato. The company has reportedly altered the potato’s DNA so it produces less acrylamide. That is what is suspected to be a human carcinogen. Potatoes naturally produce the chemical when they’re cooked at high temperatures.

    This new GMO potato is also engineered to resist bruising.

    Simplot is a major supplier of French fries, hash browns and other potato products for restaurant chains like McDonald’s, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll cash in big this time from the Golden Arches.This isn’t the first time the fast-food industry has resisted GMO potatoes. Just over 10 years ago, Monsanto brought its bug-resistant “New Leaf” line of genetically modified potatoes to market. Buyers, led by the fast-food industry, rejected that GMO potato, too, and it was pulled from production because of a lack of business.

    Potato grower Duane Grant said he’s been told by buyers in the dehydrated potato industry not to plant the GMO potatoes. He is holding out hope that he can line up willing buyers. That way he can plant the biotech potatoes and reap the higher yields that come with their reduced bruising. He says the key to selling the GMO potato is to convince the food industry to buy it. He says the food industry fears customer backlash, however.

    “Brand equity is extremely important to quick-serve restaurants,” Grant said. “They will avoid conflict whenever possible in order to protect equity of their brand name.”

    Would you want your family eating this new GMO potato?

    Kudos to McDonald’s and any other restaurants or fast food chains that are saying no to it.

  • Coffee: Man Claims to Have Found a Mouse in McDonald’s Coffee Cup. Is It a Scam?

    Coffee: Man Claims to Have Found a Mouse in McDonald’s Coffee Cup. Is It a Scam?

    A Canadian man is claiming he discovered a mouse at the bottom of his McDonald‘s coffee cup after consuming the beverage.

    OK. Yuck. But is his claim legit or a scam?

    Ron Morais says he picked up the coffee from McDonald’s on his way into work on Monday and found a dead mouse inside.

    “I always take the lid off to get my last sip of coffee. And when I took the lid off there was a little bit of a surprise in my coffee cup. It was a dead mouse,” Morais said.

    “Oh my God there’s a mouse in my coffee is what he says. I turn around and look at him, I had somebody on the phone,” said Jennifer LaHaye, a coworker.

    Morais’ co-workers couldn’t believe it.

    “Unless I had been there and seen Ron drink all that coffee down to the last drop, I would have been, like, ‘you’re lying.’ I would have just said, ‘you’re lying through your teeth, it’s just not possible.’ I left, I left work. I came out here, and I was almost puking,” said co-worker Brad Patterson.

    “The first few times I looked, I had to look, and I’m like, no it’s real, he’s not joking, is he ok? And then after that, I got a little green to the gills,” LaHave said.

    Morais also claims there were mouse droppings along with the rodent.

    He allegedly called the McDonald‘s customer service line, but they have yet to connect with him.

    Morais contends he’s not planning on suing the company. He says he just wants some answers and the assurance that this won’t happen to someone else.

    “I’d like to know how the mouse got in the cup of coffee. That’s basically what I’m looking for,” Morais said.

    However, a New Brunswick Department of Health Food Inspector examined the restaurant and cleared it, finding no evidence of violations or pests.

    McDonald‘s says it hired an independent pest control company to investigate and it didn’t find any pest issues either. McDonald’s says it wants to analyze the mouse, and it cautions against anyone jumping to conclusions.

    Morais said he took the finding in stride.

    “I mean, hey, you know. I’m here,” Morais said. “And I’m in better shape than the mouse!”

  • Mouse In Coffee Cup? Read This And Think Twice Before You Sip.

    Mouse In Coffee Cup? Read This And Think Twice Before You Sip.

    Imagine finding a mouse in YOUR coffee cup the next time you patronize a restaurant.

    This is allegedly what happened to a Canadian man when he visited the local McDonald’s.

    Ron Morais of Fredericton, New Brunswick told CBC News that he didn’t suspect anything was wrong.

    He sipped away contently until he got to the last few sips. As a habit, Morais always takes the lid off of his McDonald’s coffee to gulp down the last of it.

    This time the man said that when he did so he made a rather gruesome discovery.

    “when I took the lid off, there was a little bit of a surprise in my coffee cup. It was a dead mouse.”

    It’s gross enough that the man had supposedly been drinking coffee containing a deceased rodent.

    Unfortunately the horror doesn’t end there.

    According to Morias the mouse left behind some “going away presents” before he died.

    Jennifer LaHaye works with Ron Morais and was there when he made the claim that he’d discovered a dead mouse in his coffee cup.

    Said LaHaye, “The first time I looked [at the dead mouse], I actually looked and it’s really, he’s not joking.”

    Seeing the entire thing in person was more than enough to convince Morais’s co-worker that he is absolutely telling the truth.

    Needless to say, McDonald’s Canada was quick to respond to the horrific allegation. The company issued a statement almost immediately:

    “Food safety and quality are a top priority for McDonald’s Canada and all of our restaurants are held to high industry standards. [W]e take allegations involving cleanliness and sanitation very seriously.”

    The company said that it intended to launch a thorough investigation and it cautioned the public against “jumping to conclusions”.

    Regardless of whether or not this story turns out to be true, it’s yet another story that teaches us to look carefully at the food items we order before consumption.

    Do you think this mouse story is legitimate or a hoax? Comment below!

  • McDonald’s Free Coffee: Get Yours Now

    McDonald’s Free Coffee: Get Yours Now

    McDonald’s free coffee is the fast food chain’s current–and very popular–campaign to draw in morning people for a meal on the go. The offer started Tuesday, September 16th, and continues through the 29th. Patrons need only to visit their local McDonald’s between the hours of 7:00 AM and 10:30 AM (or whatever their local store’s hours are–these are typical hours) and ask for a small cup of coffee.

    The reason behind this marketing effort is to win the fast food breakfast war–something launched by Taco Bell in a new campaign earlier this year. Their franchise even enlisted the help of people from around the country named Ronald McDonald to gain some extra–and likely much-needed–attention.

    The McDonald’s Free Coffee campaign issued a press release about the latest giveaway.

    “This event builds on McDonald’s first-ever Free Coffee Event launched in March, when the company gave away millions of cups of free coffee during the two-week period,” the statement reads.

    The goal, of course, is to lure people in for that McDonald’s free coffee, and hope that while they’re there they’ll also indulge in a pancake breakfast, Egg McMuffin, or a few hash browns.

    Time magazine reports that the promotion comes on the heels of a terrible August for the franchise–with sales down a whopping 3.7 percent. History has proven that these giveaways enhance sales, so the big guys at McDonald’s have high hopes for the McDonald’s free coffee campaign.

    The L.A. Times says McDonald’s is in it to win the breakfast war, adding that not only has Taco Bell rolled out its own breakfast options, but Burger King announced last month it was buying coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Hortons in a clear play for the breakfast market. In California, McDonald’s faces competition from Dunkin’ Donuts, which has begun to push its way rather aggressively into the state.

    Have you picked up your cup of McDonald’s free coffee yet? Make sure you do so–every morning between now and September 29th.

  • McDonald’s Free Coffee Offer Starts This Week

    McDonald’s Free Coffee Offer Starts This Week

    McDonald’s has some good news for all you caffeine lovers out there: starting tomorrow, September 16, you can pull into any participating location and grab a free small cup of coffee. The offer lasts through the 29th.

    The hamburger giant has offered the hot deal before back in March, after Taco Bell introduced their breakfast menu and famously used the name “Ronald McDonald” in their ads, prompting the media to speculate on a feud between the companies. So far, the taco chain has yet to comment on their competitor’s promotion, but earlier this year released a statement about the free coffee offer, reportedly saying, “We just launched the next generation of breakfast. It’s not a two-week promotion.”

    According to a statement made by Greg Watson, senior vice president of Menu Innovation at McDonald’s, the company just wants to give something back to their customers this time around.

    “We know our guests are busy, especially during the morning, and a free cup of coffee goes a long way in helping get their days started. That’s why we want to treat customers once again so they can taste for themselves just how great their mornings can be with a cup of McCafé coffee and freshly made breakfast,” Watson told I4U.

    McDonald’s recently announced a collaboration with Kraft Foods Group which will see them selling their McCafe coffee in stores early next year. The company will be following in the footsteps of restaurants like Dunkin’ Donuts, who have been selling pre-packaged coffee in grocery stores for some time now.

    “We understand there is huge demand for at home options and we’ve built great success with our McCafé coffee in restaurants. So, it was a natural next step to provide customers with McCafé coffee to enjoy in their own home,” Watson said in a statement.

  • McDonald’s Plane Crash Leads To Broken Leg

    McDonald’s Plane Crash Leads To Broken Leg

    The pilot whose plane crashed outside of a McDonald’s in Monroe, La. was hospitalized for moderate injuries.

    Michael Ray Martin of Calhoun suffered a close call (and a broken leg) when his plane went down in the parking lot of the fast food restaurant.

    According to Louisiana law enforcement officials, the 41-year-old pilot was airlifted from the scene to a nearby hospital. It’s believed the incident occurred at just before 11:00 am on Tuesday.

    Witnesses to the plane crash say that Martin was flying east along Balboa Street when his plane clipped the top of a tree. The plane spun and then crashed in the McDonald’s parking lot.

    Martin himself stated that his plane troubles began before that. Apparently, the pilot was conducting a test flight following repairs for mechanical issues.

    Martin said that during the flight the engine suddenly cut off. Shortly afterwards the plane went down.

    Traffic was shut down for nearby roadways following the crash. It’s believed this was a precautionary measure since fuel was leaking from the plane.

    Highway 80 and Desiard Street both have been reopened to traffic as of Wednesday. Balboa Street remains closed off due to its immediate proximity to the site of the crash.

    The McDonald’s where the crash occurred also remains closed.

    FAA officials arrived on the scene Tuesday evening and their investigation is ongoing.

    Aside from injuries to the pilot there was no harm caused to anyone on the ground. One hapless car owner found that their vehicle was severely damaged as a result of the crash.

    Louisiana deputies were said to have monitored the situation all night and will continue to do so in order to prevent a disturbance of the plane wreckage.

    The small plane is registered to the WFO Flying Service out of Carmi, Illinois. It has been operated out of Monroe Regional Airport since November 2013.

    Image via YouTube

  • McDonalds Plane Crash Leaves Pilot Injured

    McDonalds Plane Crash Leaves Pilot Injured

    A 41-year-old man was injured on Tuesday when his plane crashed near a McDonalds restaurant in Louisiana. The pilot, Michael Ray Martin, had reported a problem with the plane’s fuel shortly before it crashed.

    The crash occurred at 10:40 a.m. and the plane landed in the 8000 block of Desiard Street in Monroe.

    Although the McDonalds restaurant where the plane crashed is usually busy, nobody else was injured in the plane crash. Martin was alone in the plane.

    Martin was airlifted to Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport with “serious injuries” and is currently recovering from injuries that include a broken leg.

    The plane was a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza and was registered to WFO Flying Service in Carmi, Illinois. The NTSB has been notified and will investigate the exact cause of the crash.

    The police have not had a chance to question Martin and are not sure where he came from or where he was going. The Monroe Regional Airport is less than two miles from the crash site. The police have been calling nearby airports in hopes of finding where the plane took off.

    Officials say that the plane is not a risk to the public, even though fuel was seen leaking from the plane. Crews poured sand at the scene to help prevent the plane and leaking fuel from catching fire.

    The crews will remain at the scene until Wednesday morning, when they will try to remove the plane from the crash site and clean up the scene.

    Residents of Monroe are shocked but amazed by the plane crash and have been arriving to the crash site in droves and taking photos of the plane.

    Investigators hope to learn more about the crash after they speak with the pilot.

    Image via YouTube

  • McDonald’s Plane Crash Sends Pilot To The Hospital

    McDonald’s Plane Crash Sends Pilot To The Hospital

    It was a very close call for one Northern Louisiana McDonald’s restaurant on Tuesday.

    According to airport officials, a small plane that was preparing to land at the Monroe Regional Airport, crashed into the McDonald’s parking lot on Desiard Street in Monroe, barely missing the building, and sending the pilot to the hospital.

    Ron Phillips, the airport’s director, explained that the Beechcraft Bonanza plane was making its way to the landing site when it clipped a tree and started to spin, causing the crash.

    The Monroe McDonald’s is particularly busy, with the Department of Transportation official’s offices across the street. “It could have been a lot worse,” Phillips said.

    The Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office released a statement following the crash. “OPSO is on scene of a small airplane crash in the 8000 block of Desiard St. Initial information obtained is that a v-tail single engine bonanza aircraft with one person on board crash landed into a parking lot at that location,” the statement read. “The pilot (the lone occupant) was removed and airlifted for medical treatment. NTSB has been notified and will investigate the case of the crash.”

    “Hwy 80 from its intersection with hwy 139 to Sandal St. will be closed during this investigation. Updates will follow as information becomes available and as roads re-open,” the statement continued. “The pilot has been airlifted to University Health in Shreveport to be treated for his injuries. There’s no update on his condition.”

    The pilot was identified as Michael Ray Martin, 41, of Calhoun, Louisiana.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Gartner Releases Supply Chain Top 25, Apple Leads For 7th Consecutive Year

    Gartner Releases Supply Chain Top 25, Apple Leads For 7th Consecutive Year

    Gartner has released its 10th annual Supply Chain Top 25, and Apple is at the top of the list for the seventh year in a row. McDonald’s came in second for the second consecutive year.

    A couple of new companies entered the list this time: Seagate and Kimberly-Clark.

    The composite score is calculated using the following equation: (Peer Opinion*25%) + (Gartner Research Opinion*25%) + (ROA*25%) + (Inventory Turns*15%) + (Revenue Growth*10%).

    “2014 marks the 10th year of our annual Supply Chain Top 25 ranking,” said Stan Aronow, research vice president at Gartner. “As we reach this milestone, we have several longtime leaders with new lessons to share and a number of more recent entrants from the high-tech, consumer product and industrial sectors in the Top 25.”

    Gartner points out three trends for supply chain leaders including: understanding and supporting the fully contextualized customer; a convergence of digital and physical supply chain delivering total customer solutions; and supply chain as trusted and integrated partner. Gartner elaborates on each of these in a press release.

    Image via BusinesWire

  • McScary: Are Adults Overreacting?

    McScary: Are Adults Overreacting?

    All we’ve heard for the past few days is how “creepy” the new McDonald’s mascot is. The mascot “Happy” was instead dubbed “McScary”.

    Anxious adults across the country have declared in conversations, news stories, and on social media that, “It’s a terrible idea!” and “It’s going to terrify children!”

    Except…we don’t know that. Pretty much all the pearl-clutching happening at this point is courtesy of American adults.

    It’s important to remember that children don’t see the world in the same way we do. Heck the things we think of as harmless or funny may in turn terrify them. At the same time, a goofy looking box with a too-big human grin might make them laugh.

    It’s premature to say what this new mascot will or won’t do to your kids.

    As noted by McDonald’s spokeswoman Lisa McComb, the mascot has already launched in other countries. Since 2009, the mascot has been “loved and well-received by children and families in Latin America and Europe.”

    What that means is that millions of children all over the world are already familiar with the “McScary” mascot. Did you hear public outcry all over the internet? Did you see videos of children bawling and hiding under the table when the commercial aired?

    If anything, all this public outcry is doing is making us look like a nation of whiny cowards.

    Rather than talk to our children like mature adults about how they feel about an image, we make the presumption based on our own feelings of fear and discomfort that they’re inevitably going to be represented in our kids.

    Even worse, any fear that kids feel might not be their own, but a reaction learned from watching their parents freak out. After all, if a character is “scary” to mom and dad, maybe it is something to be terrified of.

    I think until we actually have a nation of petrified children, it’s best to get off of social media and stop making ourselves look like babies in front of the millions of other people in the world who are already familiar with the same mascot we’re so scared of.

    And on Friday when the mascot launches and it doesn’t result in the meltdown we were anticipating, we can pretend that all the declarations about “McScary” never happened.

    Image via YouTube

  • ‘McScary’: Twitter Users Not Happy About New McDonald’s Mascot

    ‘McScary’: Twitter Users Not Happy About New McDonald’s Mascot

    McDonald’s will be introducing their new Happy Meal ambassador on Friday. The new mascot is said to bring “fun and excitement” to children, but comments on social media say otherwise. Users on Twitter said that the new mascot is scary and is bound to make children have nightmares.

    The new mascot is in the shape of a red happy meal box, with a large mouth and two big eyes. Soon after images of the mascot were released, #McScary was born.

    One user said, “’Happy’ looks more McCreepy/McPervey than McScary.” Another user said, “It’s the meal that eats you.”

    In a statement from McDonald’s, they said that the new mascot “will encourage kids to enjoy fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and wholesome beverages such as water or juice.”

    Happy will be formally introduced nationwide on Friday. Lisa McComb, the spokeswoman for McDonald’s, responded to comments on Twitter by saying that Happy has been “loved and well-received by children and families in Latin America and Europe” since 2009.

    She also said that users are free to express their opinions on social media, but their opinions do not represent “the broader view.”

    The McDonald’s annual shareholders meeting will be held on Thursday. The fast food chain has been criticized for providing high-calorie food, which many see as bad for the health. For the past years, the U.S. food industry has been facing pressure from the government to think about the food choices they offer, and come up with a solution to address the growing obesity epidemic.

    McDonald’s has been doing their part by adding healthier food choices on their Mighty Kids Meal and Happy Meal. In 2012, they began offering a kid-size fry and apple slices for kiddie meals. In July, they will also be introducing Go-GURT to children’s meals, which is a low-fat strawberry yogurt.

    Image via YouTube