McTongue

Here is a meal encountered by The McChronicles while on a recent tour of China's McDonald's. If it were to appear at a McDonald's (and it most certainly did NOT), it would be called "McTongue" (and it is definately MUCH bigger than a Quarter Pounder!!!). Let's hope it never happens!

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

Tempting

Is it any wonder why The McChronicles chose this hotel while in China?

The view from the room was exceptional, don't you think?

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

A "Ride To": Not Quite A Drive Thru

This "Ride To" McDonald's is located at Tian Lin, No 402 Gui Lin Rd in Shanghai, China. As you can see, hundreds of customers ride their bikes to this restaurant. The inside was equally jammin' when The McChronicles dropped by to see what was shaking.

The service was organized, very fast, and cordial. This is a recommended McDonald's for those in the area.

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

From Green To Blak

OK - the whole green Shamrock Shake has run its course. Now we have a new color to consider: blak.

Coca-Cola is launching a new beverage, called Coca-Cola Blak. We wonder if it will be available at McDonald's. Does anyone know?

And with all the hype over the Premium Blend products, The McChronicles wonders how all this coffee-mania will play out. Hmm?

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: Screen grab from Coca-Cola website.

Shamrock Shake: "Green Nectar Of The Gods"

At this time of the year we turn our thoughts to St. Patrick and all that he wrought. Especially the Shamrock Shake (via McDonald's). Interestingly, this product is not as easy to find as one might think.

A frustrated McChronicles fan had this to offer; a tribute to the sometimes elusive seasonal delight:

"I took the kids to McD tonite on the way home... I spent 3 miles convincing them that they'd love a nice green Shamrock Shake...being so close to St Patty's Day and all...I figured they just had to have them.....ummm no. .. (so I went to plan B...root beers.)

"Now...I imagine its been years since I had one myself and think that the only other shake variation I can remember even vaguely may have been some kinda banana concoction...but the Shamrock Shake ....the green nectar of the Gods.... now there was some powerful branding... So powerful in fact that I've been carrying around the subliminal seed of green milkshakes for decades waiting for the right time to pass it on to another generation.

"So I'm left wondering what happened to them? A mystery as great as what ever happened to the Grimmace's other set of arms......

"I found these links...maybe the "Smoking McChronicles" can investigate in depth:

• http://aaronhurley.org/
• http://www.tiktok.org/shamrock/index.htm
• http://www.tiktok.org/shamrock/response.htm

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

McDonald's Premium Roast Coffee: Kudos Abound

McChronicles field agent, Scott, filed this emotional report from his desk today.

"What do you notice about this pic? Its the absence of thousands of little creamer cups and ripped open packets of sugar.

McD mixed it for me to my spec.... a nice thing to not have to do myself when I'm driving in am traffic.

Premium roast....I'm lovin' it!
Scott"

Great job McDonald's. You've got cynical, hard-bitten, consumer-weary people shouting your praises.

The McChronicles particularly enjoys the very classy color scheme that you have selected. It feels dignified.

And the product ... this is just the right product to bring to market.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: Field reporter Scott.

Mood Indigo

As you know, The McChronicles features the Flickr image tool on the left-hand side of the site. Occasionally we observe an image that is quite notable. Sometimes it is notable for being, shall we say, curious. Other times an image can be captivating.

Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce one of the most captivating McDonald's images we have seen in quite some time. Please meet "Mood Indigo" by Kate Blood (copyright 2006 all rights reserved). More of her work can be found at Kate Blood's Flickr site. From what we gather this McDonald's restaurant is in or near San Jose, California.

Of further interest is the "neon/signs" photo group that this image was tagged to. The McChronicles set this up as a slide show and was captivated.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: "Mood Indigo" Kate Blood copyright 2006 all rights reserved.

Anaheim, California (near Disney)

From Atlanta we jetted over to Anaheim to look over a store that we had heard about. This McDonald's is noted for being just outside Disneyland.

This store, at 1500 harbor Drive, is big, clean, and pleasant. The McChronicles arrived quite late in the evening, and the store was nearly empty. We prefer the thriving hustle and bustle, but this store still had a warm feeling to it.

Once again we experienced ingredient branding as we saw Dippin' Dots featured n a poster.

The most interesting feature was the McDonald's gift shop. It is tiny, almost not worth mentioning, but still - we felt it was a cool idea.

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

Personality

The McChronicles heard rumor of a drive-thru crew member with awesome personality. We headed to Atlanta, Georgia - to the McDonald's #8005 on Ponce deLeon in midtown. Sure enough, there she was, the woman with the warm personality and happy face.

But that wasn't all that was interesting. This store also features some unusual promo signage. Diners are encouraged to "Refresh Yourself" with Fruitopia and Powerade. This ingredient branding is rare in a McDonald's.

We were also treated to a large dose of CNN on the store's big flat panel television. But that's not all!!! The store also offers up a kiddies game area. Wow! Something for everyone. And it's all served up with a dose of personality that is so remarkable that we simply had to make the trip.

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

Help Wanted at McDonald's (II)

Okay - it must be a regional thing.

We just posted on the huge "Help Wanted" sign in the New Hartford, NY (store #825) McDonald's yesterday. And today we encountered the same type of sign in the Utica, NY Mohawk Street store (store #5340).

We'll repeat ourselves and encourage the management to hire great people. Remember, the customers are counting on you.

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

Sign of the Times: Help Wanted at McDonald's

In what has been semi-seriously referred to as "the world's largest 'HELP WANTED' sign", the Sangertown Square Mall (New Hartford, NY) restaurant (store #6079) is clearly seeking some new employees.

Based on this report The McChronicles jumped into action and paid the store a visit. Our food was great, and the service, though slowed a bit by the Presidents' Day no-school crowd, was fine. And, sure enough, we witnessed "the sign".

This store experiences widely-varying demand and usually handles it quite well. This reflects positively upon the store's team of managers. They seem to be great.

We sincerely hope that, though possibly desperate, these great managers only hire truly well-qualified crew. The front line and grill people ARE a huge part of our McDonald's experience.

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

Deconstructing McRib -- the story, the photographs...

The good people over at FastFoodFacts weblog have done the fast-food world a great service recently. They deconstructed the McDonald's McRib sandwich.

For those McChronicles fans who are also McRib lovers, this is "must see" blogging. We do feel compelled to warn you, though, that this is some pretty rough stuff. After all, it takes a set of pretty strong eyes to stare down a McRib that has been stripped of its dignity (and condiments) and bared for what it is. And, due to the fact that this controversial sandwich is now discontinued, true McRib fans may see this site as little more than a tease. Still others wonder why McDonald's would go through all the trouble of building a website for a discontinued product. The people at FastFoodFacts address all these details, and more.

For complete coverage, including a slew of revealing images, cross-sections, a complete description of the McRib, McRib trivia, McRib nutritional info, and a comments section, visit the FastFoodFacts website's McRib special section.

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

McDonald's Sasquatch Ad

OK - first there was the BK fiberglass-faced King ads (freaky, scary, frightening, all come to mind).

Then, McDonald's unleashed their equally peculiar "Hamster Ad" (see previous post on that) during the 2006 Super Bowl.

Now we've got the "Sasquatch Ad" (Bigfoot, Yetti, whatever). We just spied it while watching the Olympic Women's downhill events.

Both the Hamster Ad and the Sasquatch Ad follow the same format: a Ronald McDonald statue sits in repose (like the stoic King, ho hum) grinning mindlessly while the other character does their own unique thing.

Are these ads supposed to make us aspire to "join" the team? Are we expected to identify with these situations? Or are they supposed to be edgy and cool? Whatever they are supposed to be, we think they are a tremendous waste of money.

Too bad McDonald's didn't "Reebok" Burger King during the Super Bowl. And too bad McDonald's isn't featuring some cool, heart-warming stories about their Olympic Champion Crew at these games. Now those would have been cool ads.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Images: McDonald's TV ad screen grabs.

McDonald's Nutritional Information on Label

McDonald's Bob Langert, the man behind the company's "Corporate Responsibility Blog", just announced an interesting new initiative.

According to Bob's post:

"We are rolling out an iconic way of putting nutritional information on our packaging. Check out the graphic here, which shows the five key elements that will help customers more easily understand their choices at McDonald's."

The McChronicles really likes this effort. We know that there are tables in the restaurants, and online, regarding nutritional info. But we think that having the data in our hands while we are eating allows us to peruse the data (without fetching the table) and consider it while we are eating. It won't change our existing purchase, but it will guide our future actions.

This is a great step towards helping consumers make informed choices.

According to McDonald's website,

"McDonald's launched the official global rollout of nutrition information on our food product packaging in Torino, Italy, the 2006 Olympic Winter Games host city. Our two official Olympic venue restaurants and 24 other restaurants in the Torino area are the first McDonald's restaurants to have the updated packaging for customers. By the end of 2006, we plan to have the packaging in more than 20,000 of our restaurants worldwide. "

Look for this in a store near you soon. If you want to let Bob know your opinion of this effort, go here.

McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: McDonald's Corporate Responsibility Blog.

McDonald's Olympic Champion Crew Blog

McDonald's recently unveiled their Olympic Champion Crew Blog.

According to their inaugural posting:

"For the first time ever, McDonald's is offering an inside look at the Olympic
Champion Crew program by bringing you a series of blogs written by the crew members and managers present at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. You will have the opportunity to read blogs from McDonald's Olympic Champion Crew members from all around the world, each with a unique story and perspective, through which they will tell you about their experiences in Torino, Italy."

What a great scrapbook of comments, observations, and experiences from McDonald's elite Olympic Champion Crew.

The site's security is expectedly tight (who wants crackpots contributing weird stuff, or spam?) and comments don't seem enabled for each posting. Still, this particular blog seems to be working.

We will enjoy checking it our periodically to see what the crew has to say.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: Screen grab from McDonald's Olympic Champion Crew Blog.
Topic: Submitted by Jan-Willem (thanks friend!)

McDonald's Corporate Responsibility Blog

The McChronicles has posted about the new McDonald's Corporate Responsibility Blog and commented to it a couple of times.

We are really positive about the effort because: 1) we believe in McDonald's and 2) so the author, Bob Langert, doesn't get discouraged.

Once the mainstream blogosphere latches on we fear they will flame him for everything from trash to nutrition to the rainforest to animal rights to "Americanization" to ... you name it. He knows it. Quoting from one of his recent posts, "McDonald's is in the middle of many issues that people care about. They are complex. They deserve a lot of space and discussion." For sure! When the s*%! hits the fan he will probably want to quit (who wouldn't?!?!?). It's going to get ugly before it gets better. We think Bob will hang in there.

He reviews every comment before he puts it up (one of ours is in the incubator now). We guess that is the hand of his legal department at work. This makes the experience slow, cumbersome, and unbloglike. He'll really get it for that.

Bob needs a little confidence, a little rope from his legal guys, and some starch let out of his shirt (loosen up, Bob). We think he'll accomplish all three - but he'll still get kicked silly by haters.

It's nice to see Shel Israel coaching Bob (and to see Bob appreciatively taking the support).

Wish him well.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: Screen grab from McDonald's blog.

SMS Report From Dissatisfied McChronicles Field Reporter

"Beep-Beep-Beep!". Field reports fly in from around the world here at The McChronicles. This SMS had an ugly tone.

We will quote directly from the report so the true feelings can come through:

"Waiting time was 20 seconds without anyone in line in front of us. Order taker didn't know about the meal we ordered. Had to seek assistance from a colleague. Didn't know how to remove receipt from the machine. Delivered food "to go" when we asked to eat in. Fries were cold. No paper towels in the rest room."

The McChronicles believes that any one of these minor nuisances is usually overlooked. It's when they begin adding up that customers start to take notice. It's sort of like we give the crew just one strike. In this case, the overall experience was quite poor.

Attention McDonald's crews! During our brief transaction/experience with you, please remember that we're typically in a good mood and ready to overlook a little trouble. But when it begins to accumulate, it ruins our McDonald's experience.

And this isn't just about the crew at the counter. We are touched directly by the maintenance staff, the trainers, the cooks, the managers, the owner/operator, etc. Every one of you is there for a specific customer-related reason. You all touch us in some way. Thanks for typically making it a great experience. And please be vigilant about all these details. It really matters to us.

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

New Hartford McDonald's: Impressive Drive-Thru Service

A McChronicles field reporter has reported some consistently tremendous service at the New Hartford, NY McDonald's drive-thru.

The quote we grabbed is: "They must have put some really good people at the drive-thru recently because the feeling I get there has been great for several weeks."

Its no secret that customers like their fast food served competently, with a smile. This store gets it. Great job New Hartford.

The McChronicles: A blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: File photo from The McChronicles.

A McDonald's Wedding (almost)

Friends of The McChronicles, Beth and Greg, recently celebrated their wedding. It was pretty much your typical protocol up until the junior bridesmaid announced that she was hungry.

You guessed it! On their way from the ceremony to the reception, the entire wedding party swooped into the North Utica, NY McDonald's for a little nutrition.

This store features a rockin' '50s theme, complete with neon lights and a juke box. What a cool place for a post-nuptial pit stop.

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

Images: The groom.

Taipei McDonald's Cleans Up (side down)

Chinese New Year is a time for renewal. People clean their homes and businesses in preparation of a fresh start. The Taipei, Taiwan McDonald's is no exception.

Flickr member Katong posted this image of upside down arches recently. He explains on his posting:

"Two days before Chinese New Year in Taipei, Taiwan. Part of the New Year ritual is a spring cleaning before the first day of New Year. Everything gets cleaned, including signboards! The crew cleaning this McDonald's sign
was on a break."

Great image, Katong, and very interesting. Thanks.

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

Image: Katong on Flickr