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This arrived in today's newspaper. Can't wait!





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

McDonald's STAR Manager Interview

The McChronicles was fortunate to stumble upon a real STAR recently. We briefly enjoyed the company of Yanna Deng, McDonald's Changan Branch STAR.

We don't know what "STAR" actually stands for, but it HAS to be good. Why? Because Yanna is. The Changan McDonald's (in Shenzhen, China's Futian district) is a true "neighborhood" restaurant. Nestled amongst small shops, and at the foot of housing blocks, the store serves students, families, and the neighborhood locals.

We managed to slow Yanna down for a few seconds to ask her about her job, and her role in this store. Here is what she had to say (the interview was translated between English and Mandarin. Any translational errors are purely the fault of The McChronicles):

The McChronicles: What is the role of a McDonald's STAR?
Ms. Deng: We organize social activities, events held at our restaurants. We especially focus on childrens activities.

The McChronicles: How long have you been here?
Ms. Deng: I have worked at this store for 2 years and have been with McDonald's for over 7 years. Many employees at this store have been with the company for a long time.

The McChronicles: Describe McDonald's MOM'S PROGRAM.
Ms. Deng: We have special "Happy Family Ambassadors" who emphasize a good experience for families while in our restaurant. The specially-selected employees must truly enjoy children and have a great sense of customer service.

The McChronicles: How is McDonald's keeping abreast of the huge changes occurring in China?
Ms. Deng: One big effort, and success, is keeping up with inflation. Even with this pressure, we have managed to keep our prices steady.

The McChronicles: What is exciting at this store?
Ms. Deng: Our new manager really emphasizes QSC (quality, service, cleanliness). Their focus has really improved our store tremendously.

The McChronicles: What is your favorite part of working at McDonald's?
Ms. Deng: I enjoy the collegial atmosphere, the happy environment, and the great team with which I work.

The McChronicles notes that this store was very clean and efficient. It was a pleasure to eat at this McDonald's. Thank you Yanna, and your entire team.

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

Temporary McDonald's

The McChronicles has experienced this before. Still, we marvel at it, and want to report on it again.

What is it? It is a temporary, pop-up McDonald's. A small McDonald's is set up in a special tent, wherever needed.

In this case, the restaurant served thousands of conventioners in Shenzhen, China. When bringing people together from all parts of the world, it is important to satisfy everyone's basic human needs (enjoying a satisfying meal is one of them). This exhibition offered a pop-up Pizza Hut, a pop-up Chinese food choice, and a McDonald's. The McDonald's clearly had the longest lines of all the options.

The menu is very limited (chicken sandwich, sausage sandwich, Big Mac) with canned soda. When faced with the option of these limitations versus NO McDonald's, we'll gladly take this option.

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

McDonald's Pineapple Pie

A cautious McChronicles tentatively bit into the piping hot dessert for a first taste of McDonald's Pineapple Pie.

The verdict? Awesome! Very sweet and flavorful. An excellent comfort food.

This great treat was found in Shenzhen, China.

The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McChronicles (pie is missing - we gobbled it up too soon).

What You See: What You Get

The McChronicles enjoyed the (much) larger than life glowing sidewalk billboard depicting the awesomeness of the McDonald's Big Mac while walking along a Shanghai street last week.

After being duly influenced by the huge advertisement we decided to drop into the closest McDonald's to see if the sandwich could live up to the hype. Depicted here is what we saw, and what we were served.

The sandwich was served up in sloppy fashion, with ingredients hanging out every which way. The pickle was barely along for the ride.

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

China Olympics Countdown in McDonald's

The McChronicles snapped this image a couple of days ago. It depicts a countdown (days to go) to the Summer Olympics in China.

The sign sits right at the entrance to a Shanghai McDonald's.


There is so much fervor building up in China for these games. The McChronicles wonders if the country will sustain the energy or if they will have an emotional melt down. We'll soon see.

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

Coca-Cola China Olympics Torch Promo: McDonald's Tray Liners

Olympics Fever is really heating up in China. The McChronicles wonders how the country will manage to keep a lid on the excitement for another year.

Coca-Cola is staging a very special event for the upcoming summer games. They are asking customers to vote for one of three favorite Chinese sports stars. The winner will carry the Olympic torch into the stadium and light the main torch.

The choices are:

Yao Ming (basketball) NBA fame


Liu Xiang (hurdles) hot off a big win in Osaka two days ago

Guo JingJing (diving) sexy sports star

You'll find this promotional piece on your tray should you dine at a Chinese McDonald's in the near future.

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

McDonald's Uniform: Pants

The McChronicles has noted that McDonald's workers seem to be required to wear corporate shirts and hats, along with some non-descript, non-corporate-issue pants.

The McChronicles has noted (reminded on a visit last week) that Chinese McDonald's staff wear corporate McDonald's pants.

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

Egg McMuffin: China Style

The McChronicles went on a breakfast jag last week and started consuming Egg McMuffins nearly every day.

The cool thing was that all the meals were consumed in China - Shanghai to be exact.

Disregarding the localized wrapping, the food looked and tasted exactly like that in any other McDonald's in which we've eaten.

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