Mac Snack Wrap Delights

The McChronicles was delighted when the McDonald's Corporation offered some free coupons for the Mac Snack Wrap. Of course, we used this opportunity to learn what people had to say about this new product.

Step 1: The McChronicles invited over a dozen people to experience the Mac Snack Wrap at the New Hartford, NY McDonald's. We had students, office staff, engineers, internet specialists, and more on hand. Ages ranged from early twenties to mid-fifties.
Step 2: Everyone arrived, ordered their sandwiches, and began eating.
Step 3: the feedback.

Okay, back to step 2. As we know, this sandwich is intended to be a snack. The assumption is that, if a person wanted a meal, they'd order a full Big Mac; if a person wanted a snack, they'd order the Mac Snack Wrap. The McChronicles wanted to be sure that everyone had a complete experience (and it was lunch time) so all volunteers enjoyed two Mac Snack Wraps.

The results: Unanimous pleasure with the sandwich!

The McChronicles was expecting some push back, for several small reasons. But we received none. The McChronicles feels that the bread gets a little excessive at the end of the sandwich, but no one commented on that at all.

Everyone enjoyed the special sauce - and the balance of ingredients.

Perhaps because it was lunch time (and no one was "snacking"), everyone wanted something else, in addition to one wrap. This sandwich truly is a snack or a very light meal.

The main praise went to the portability of the sandwich. Once the discussion began, everyone mentioned that eating a Big Mac in a car is a no-no. The sandwich is simply too unwieldy - and a mess is nearly guaranteed. Everyone felt that this sandwich could easily be eaten while on the move - with little risk of a disaster.

The verdict: McDonald's Mac Snack Wrap is a hit! Be sure to try one and to share your opinion with The McChronicles.

All Wrapped Up

It's no secret, The McChronicles LOVES McDonald's new Snack Wrap. So it was no wonder that we dropped in for a Snack Wrap lunch this afternoon.

It was raining cats & dogs and the drive thru was quite busy - as is usual when no one wants to get out of their car. We braved the rain, ran through the puddles, and entered the dining room ... only to find a long queue. We quickly discovered that there were 8 customers ahead of us, already waited on. It was a massive McShuffle. So, there we stood. And more customers were coming in.

It turned out that many people were buying the Snack Wrap - and that there was a problem. Finally a manager announced that the Snack Wrap is made with Chicken Select pieces, and that they had just had a run on these items. It seems that it would take a while to replenish the stocks.

We waited ten minutes to get served!

The McChronicles has made note of the fact that certain chicken items require special (long) preparation. This represents a bottleneck and a problem - for everyone on both sides of the counter. The crowd didn't seem to mind too much, but this issue could be a real problem for a popular new product.

Secondly, The McChronicles' sense of taste hints that the Snack Wrap may be a bit high on the calories. We reviewed the in-store nutritional info and found no data. Perhaps the info hasn't yet been updated. Next, we noticed that our tray liner was a full-page ad for the Snack Wrap - and on the flip side was a big nutritional info table. Figuring that, since they had had time to get the ad on side 1, they must have had time to get the nutritional info on side 2. Nope.

So, we went online and found nothing on the product - even after a product-specific search.

With all the hubbub over nutrition, McDonald's HAS to know the scoop on this product. We wish they'd let us know, too.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McDonald's website.

Snack Wrap: Awesome!

McDonald's new Snack Wrap is great.

First reaction: it is like a small, tightly-wrapped soft shell taco. Unlike a taco, the Snack Wrap is neat, tidy, and not dripping.

Taste: The McChronicles was a bit surprised (in this day and age of McDonald's strong emphasis on a healthy choice) to find the new wrap chock full of cheese, packed with fried chicken, and well-laden with a ranch dressing. It is noticeably rich and moist - making us feel that it may be a bit unhealthy (it could be very healthy - we did NOT check the dietary stats). It really tastes great and is easy to manage & eat.

Verdict: McDonald's Snack Wrap is a real winner. Everyone that was interviewed by The McChronicles likes it.

Recommendations:

1) reduce the last one-inch section that contains 6 layers of tortilla (too much bread). Don't ask us how - it all seems necessary to keep things tidy. We're stumped and willing to accept it "as is".

2) create a new "Snack Wrap Value Meal" giving us two wraps, fries, and a drink. The McChronicles would gobble them up!

Good job McDonald's.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.

Images: The McChronicles.

Snack Wrap Update

The McChronicles loves the McDonald's Snack Wrap. In fact we posted on it not once, but twice. Now here's an update.

According to a report on this week's QSR Magazine Online:

McDonald's today introduced a new snacking options for customer (sic), the new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap. In addition to the new flavor, McDonald's portable wraps are now available in both grilled and crispy choices.

The new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap, made with either grilled or crispy, chicken breast meat, cheddar jack cheese, crisp lettuce and a sweet and tangy Honey Mustard sauce, wrapped inside a soft flour tortilla, will be offered for a promotional period at $1.29 at participating McDonald's restaurants nationwide.

That makes for several options. Sounds good!

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McChronicles

Snack Wrap MAC

According to QSR Magazine:

Canadians can enjoy ... for a limited time only ... the launch of the Mac Snack Wrap. The latest menu item from McDonald's combines all of the delicious toppings of a Big Mac sandwich in a handy, snack-sized tortilla.

The Mac Snack Wrap will be available at participating McDonald's restaurants in Canada, from March 17 to May 18. This new menu item combines McDonald's delicious 100 percent pure beef, Big Mac special sauce, lettuce, Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, pickles, and onions on a warm flour tortilla for $1.89 plus applicable taxes.

Interesting.

This sandwich was apparently tested in Wisconsin last year.

Does this sound tasty to you?

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.

Image: The FastFood Maven

McDonald's Personalized Word of Mouth Project

According to information The McChronicles recently received from the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association:

McDonald's is currently working with Oddcast to create an avatar-based viral email campaign. At www.MySnackTime.com, users enter basic information about a friend or co-worker who they want to tell about the Chipotle BBQ snack wrap.

This generates an email, which leads recipients to a personalized,
snack-wrap-evangelizing avatar that knows just a little too much about them.
According to Oddcast, people who receive emails from friends are 60-65% more
likely to open them and are 30-35% more likely to pass the email along to yet
another person, making this effort one that is full of viral potential.Learn
more:http://www.womma.org/womnibus/010133.php

Sounds like fun. The McChronicles just fired off a customized message to a buddy in Singapore. Can't wait for the reaction. We plan to try it out on a few other unsuspecting friends and see what happens. Let us know about your experience with this.



The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: McDonald's Oddcast website.

Custom Crew Creations

Interesting comments on a recent McDonald's Snack Wrap posting got The McChronicles wondering... Since McDonald's crew have access to all the ingredients, have training on how to make everything, and get to see the cool customer creations that are ordered, what are some of the custom CREW creations?

Hey crew! Since you are the most knowledgeable, and have the opportunities, share some of your favorite custom recipes with The McChronicles.


The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McChronicles.

McDonald's Bottle Deposit

The McChronicles was perusing a McDonald's receipt while enjoying the new Mac Snack Wrap this week. In the process, we noticed we had paid a 5-cent deposit on our water bottle.

OK - that had slipped by us. We wondered WHEN it was instituted, how we had missed it, etc.

Then, when we were leaving, we wondered what to do with the bottle.

Habit had us simply dropping it into the trash. But, we knew that was the wrong maneuver (sidenote: our community has a very strong recycling program that sorts the stream in a recycling center). We didn't want to be throwing away money.

So, where to put the bottle? A quick scan revealed that there was no redemption center in the McDonald's. So, the only option was to bring the bottle home and put it in our redemption bin (to be brought to a redemption center at a later date).

We wondered how many people actually know they have paid a deposit, and how many people will overcome their habit of tossing the bottle into the trash, and how many people will eventually get the bottle where it belongs.

We mused that it would be very convenient if the McDonald's had an automated redemption machine (like the machines found at WalMart and other places) where we could deposit the bottle and collect a receipt for our 5 cents.

Of course, that creates headaches for the store - they don't exactly have tons of extra space available, nor were they designed for this.

Ultimately, we wonder if bottled water should even be offered. The McChronicles gets it when it comes to bottled water (we "get it" that it's not a clear and simple issue). Bottled water is convenient, trustworthy, portable, and safe (minimized spillage). We also know that tap water is a perfectly good alternative, assuming it is handled cleanly. But we wonder if a cup is any better than a bottle when it comes to recyclability, trash, sustainability, etc. There are pluses and minuses for both positions. We "get it" that there is no simple answer.

At a recent McDonald's "McGreen" event, "Water coolers were available as an alternative to bottled water, reducing bottled water consumption by 25 percent," according to a report by Nancy Mann Jackson. Maybe a water cooler-type of service is the answer?

It is extremely clear that McDonald's is one of the world's leading companies with regard to corporate responsibility and sustainability. As a customer, The McChronicles hopes that McDonald's can show us the way to a better place on this important and confusing issue.

World's Longest McDonald's Drive-Thru Experience

OK - we're sure you have an even longer story to describe to us, but did you capture it on video?


The McChronicles was in a hurry - heading home when we got a call. Someone needed a couple McDonald's chicken sandwiches pronto. We wheeled into the local store expecting a two-minute detour. When we saw only two cars in line in front of us, we knew we were golden. Alas, it wasn't to be.

The culprit? Chicken!


McDonald's has been having trouble keeping ready-to-go chicken in inventory. That's one reason why they developed the Snack Wrap - to add to the demand - to keep the inventory in action. It's not working well enough.

Here's why (prepare to be bored silly, as we were while enduring this loooong, painful wait).



PS: This excerpted quote is from this week's QSR (quick service restaurant) Magazine.com:

"Two weeks ago you read about service horror stories. Many of you emailed more instances as well (see below). However, to truly create a service culture, you need to create the service legends within your company. You too can be the "Nordstrom's" of quick-service or fast casual. Here are a few great stories of customer service excellence:

• Customer gets parked in the drive-thru as the chicken tenders are "being fried up fresh" (not "we ran out"). Employee brings the order to the car and lets the customer know they brought them a larger-sized drink and fries for the inconvenience. Now that's service!"

As you saw from the video, there were no legends created on this day.

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Video: The McChronicles

McDonald's International Media Days 2008 (Day 2, Part 3)

Day 2 of McDonald's International Media Days was FULL of interesting information and insights. In the afternoon The McChronicles was able to meet with Chef Dan Coudreaut, Corporate Chef, USA, in his test kitchen.

Dan was accompanied by several vendor partners who (along with several other vendors) share in the development, testing, and inventiveness. Chef Dan stressed that creating new McDonald's menu items is a team effort. Some of the vendors were from Cargill (oils) and Sargento (cheeses). Chef Dan also made it clear that he enjoys "the discovery process" and that he is comfortable when he, occasionally, "doesn't know what he doesn't know".

Chef Dan says he often begins with input or direction from his teammates in Marketing. After all, it is they who usually know what customers want, or which ingredients and product families contribute to profitability, sales, or optimal inventory utilization.

Chef Dan took the opportunity to demonstrate a product development process, based on the Snack Wrap platform (check out the brief video clips of Chef Dan in action). He shared a basic design system, then introduced a huge table of potential ingredients. Wow! What choices.

The McChronicles asked Chef Dan if he had any "failures" that surprised him. He said he really thought the taco + quesadilla (tacodilla) concept would resonate with people in the USA. According to Chef Dan, "I loved it, but it tanked."

That's OK, Chef Dan. You've created plenty of winners.

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.

Images & Videos: The McChronicles.