McDonald’s will launch a customisable burger menu and table service this week at its new Balmoral restaurant.
The new store will serve as a purpose built Customer Learning Lab and is part of a plan to transform the McDonald’s experience for kiwis over the next five year.
NZ is the third country in the world to offer the Create Your Taste customisable gourmet burger menu. Using digital kiosks, customers can select from three suggested gourmet burgers – a Classic Cheeseburger, Homestyle, and Chipotle – or build their own burgers, choosing from 20 ingredients such as jalapenos, guacamole, and grilled mushrooms. A bunless burger is also available.
The base cost of the customised burgers is $10.90, but the final cost depends on chosen ingredients.
In an NZ first, table service will be available, allowing customers to sit down and access free wi-fi while they wait for their order. Meals brought to tables are presented on a wooden board with a wire basket of fries.
Patrick Wilson, MD of McDonald’s NZ, said the Balmoral restaurant will provide an insight into the future of McDonald’s.
“How the restaurant looks, how you order your food, how staff interact with customers, what you can order, and how it is made and presented – the whole customer experience takes a quantum shift at Balmoral,” Wilson said.
Through the ‘Our Food, Your Questions’ initiative, social media, research, and the My Macca’s Review app, McDonald’s is using customer insight and demand to guide innovations such as Create Your Taste.
“Just like we did launching McCafe 15 years ago, and then offering barista-made coffee at Drive-Thru last year, McDonald’s is innovating again in line with the changing needs and expectations of our customers. We’ve carried out considerable consumer research during the last year, and the initiatives we’re rolling out match what our customers have asked us to do,” Wilson said.
“We’re looking forward to hearing customer feedback about our new burger range and service offering. Our intention is to roll out Create Your Taste to selected restaurants nationally within the next 12 months.”
There are 164McDonald’s restaurants across NZ, 80 per cent of which are franchised.
