Comments on: McDonald's to outsource drive-thru orders

By: Michael Hampton

Michael Hampton — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 21:53:41 +0000

Several fast food places have started using video screens in their drive-thru lanes which show the customer’s order as it is placed, either in text or in pictures, though I’ve never seen one at a McDonald’s. And I wasn’t able to find any evidence from a couple of quick Google searches that they had begun doing so, even as a test.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 21:15:22 +0000

I am doing a paper at school about McDonalds drive thru accuracy. i am wondering if they have thought of using the MTO screens for better accuarcy.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 22:34:42 +0000

For a fascinating story about the ultimate end-game of this, read “Manna” by Marshall Brain (available free online at .

By: John

John — Sun, 20 Mar 2005 04:18:00 +0000

McDonalds has been doing this for quite a while, two or three months at least in Minnesota. I don’t think there’s been a huge jump in order accuracy or efficiency, as someone in the restaraunt generally still needs to listen in in case there are problems.

By: Brian Rose

Brian Rose — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 20:12:13 +0000

Each McDonalds serves different food based on location. For example, in some New England McDonalds you can get a â€œcrab cake sandwichâ€?, not available in Pennsylvania.

This is easily combatted by having ordering offices divided by region/state and having completely computerized menus. With a nice UI, I can see this working quite well.

Also, how do they know that a milk shake machine is broken or if theyâ€™re temporarilly out of something. Only the employees at that location know that. What if you order a milk shake only to get to the window to find out they canâ€™t serve you one. Doesnâ€™t sound like a bright idea to me.

Something tells me that these problems aren't hard to handle if McDonalds is already able to roll out technology that will forward calls to another state's office and allow those employees to take orders remotely. The store employees would simply call a number, give their store code, and let the regional/main office know they are having a problem.

By: Ryan Duff

Ryan Duff — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 19:57:18 +0000

Each McDonalds serves different food based on location. For example, in some New England McDonalds you can get a “crab cake sandwich”, not available in Pennsylvania.

Also, how do they know that a milk shake machine is broken or if they’re temporarilly out of something. Only the employees at that location know that. What if you order a milk shake only to get to the window to find out they can’t serve you one. Doesn’t sound like a bright idea to me.