Quality Control

A key to McDonald’s value is the customers’ confidence in the ability to experience the same general quality and service at any McDonald’s restaurant. McDonald’s has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure quality control so that its product and service is consistent wherever the locations are. This control system is achieved in several ways. First is the 600 page operations and training manual that describes company procedures and standards in detail which may be very challenging for prospective franchises and less than one in ten reach the interview phase and less than one in a hundred are accepted for training. All prospective store franchisees must attend a two-week course at Hamburger University at their own expense. The coursework is rigorous and split between lab work in the restaurant and personnel management lectures. Graduates of Hamburger University learn to make sure McDonald’s food is of consistent quality and the store remains in good working order. This extensive time commitment creates high attrition rates, which enables McDonald’s to select only highly motivated and capable franchisees. Consistency is a major factor in the buildings. The architectural design of the interior and the exterior of the restaurant are carefully controlled to the point of exact measurements of virtually every item in the restaurant. Finally, all equipment must be purchased from McDonald’s approved suppliers. Once the store opens, the owner is held by the franchise agreement that details the obligations of both the owner and the corporation. Quality control is maintained by McDonald’s field consultants who periodically inspect restaurants on a 500-item checklist and a standardized 27-page inspection form. Poorly performing franchisees may find their license cancelled at any time that standards fail to be met. McDonalds takes their quality control very seriously and it is definitely shown through the amount of preparation that is needed to open a new location.

Service Process Design

The service process design for McDonalds would definitely start off Physical (service product bundle) because it is considered a restaurant and they are facilitating goods. A fast food restaurant such as McDonalds may be hard to decide whether they are considered a good or a service so they could be considered both, 50% goods 50% service.

With McDonalds, a major impact on their customers is there Face to Face interaction. Whether it be drive thru or dining inside, McDonalds has a huge customer base serving billions a day. Dealing with so many customers McDonalds has to be very flexible, and since no two customers are usually the same, McDonalds has to make sure to please everyone and they do this very efficiently and utilize customized service.

McDonald’s technology is probably the most important feature of the restaurants because it allows them to move so many customers in and out of their buildings every day. From the registers to their microwaves, to fryers and even in newer locations an automatic drink maker. Since McDonalds is a multibillion dollar company they have a huge advantage being able to update their technology constantly. If there’s already a device making your beverages then who knows how long they will have to keep the other employees around.