Ray Kroc Is Probably Rolling In His Grave

Grave.

That’s right: Ray Kroc is probably rolling in his grave.

Because of this.

Keep reading.

Lunchtime In Cleveland Ohio

I know I shouldn’t be eating fast food. Really…I know.

But, sometimes, a man has to do what a man has to do. Anyway…

The image above was taken 1.5 hours ago. It’s the interior of a McDonald’s restaurant in Cleveland. In the suburbs.

During lunchtime.

Like, around noon.

What jumps out at you when you look at the picture I took with my Droid RAZR?

Hint: It’s not the shiny stainless steel cooler.

Try again.

It’s the emptiness. Not, not the emptiness of the restaurant. This local McDonald’s franchise had plenty of customers standing in line. And, there were at least 10-12 vehicles waiting in the double drive-thru lines.

Oh wait: There are no lines when you walk in. McDonald’s management screwed that up when they redesigned the interiors of their restaurants. For some bizarre reason, upper-management decided to get rid of the orderly way they took orders. Now, when you walk into a McDonald’s anywhere in the U.S. you’re stuck trying to figure out where to stand in line. Do you stand next to the people that look like they’re maybe waiting for their already-ordered food? Or, do you just walk right up to the counter, possibly pissing someone off who thought that they were in line? Unless of course there is nobody at the counter.

I mean really now. This stuff isn’t that hard. Think of Ray, people.

Free Franchise Advice To McDonald’s Management

I’m only giving you one tip here, but it’s going to save you a lot of customer grief and maybe even help your franchisees-the most important people in your company, to start making more money.

Here it is: Go back to the old design. You know, the one that had 5-6 registers open, along with 5-6 employees manning them. The design that made it easy for your customers to figure out where to freaking stand when they entered your restaurant to place an order!

If you do just that one thing, you’ll never have to look at a picture like the one I snapped above ever again.

The one showing no employees taking orders during primetime. Lunchtime.

Money-time for your franchisees.

I have some other tips. Just contact me. I worked in the food-service business for a long time.

And, stop by one of your restaurants during lunch once in awhile.

You know, to see what’s going on.

What’s really going on.

Your stockholders would probably appreciate a gesture like that.

I know I would.

So would Ray Kroc.

A guy who would not be very pleased with what’s been going on in your company as of late if he were alive now.

New Update:

Only one day after I wrote this McDonald’s-Ray Kroc op-ed, Businessweek reported the following:

“McDonald’s (MCD) is embarking on some serious soul searching. The chain is setting aside the next 18 months as a period not only to develop the normal lineup of new menu items but also to rebrand itself. McDonald’s needs to be an appealing place to eat, not just a cheap one.”

Read the entire story here.

I wonder of the CEO of McDonald’s will read my take on his company.

Maybe you could send this post his way?

So, the franchisees can start making money again-and start to pay their employees more…