[Interview] Take the lead to stop McDonald's at the night market: No plans to cut staff and continue to open stores this year against the market

Thematic interviews

Written by: Yue Yueting

2020-03-26 07:00

The outbreak of new-type coronary pneumonia (also known as Wuhan pneumonia) continued. McDonald's (March 24) took the lead to announce the suspension of evening food service for two weeks, and switched to providing only takeaway and wheat and wheat delivery services.

In an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01", Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong McDonald's Li Weishi admitted that the epidemic had impacted the local catering industry and that McDonald's business was inevitably affected. A series of measures, such as city dining, "mainly want to provide a safe environment for employees and guests." The company has no layoff plans for the time being and will open about 8 new stores this year.

McDonald's will suspend dinner in the evening market from March 25th to April 7th, during which time Maimai will deliver free evening food. (Profile picture)

The epidemic hit Hong Kong, and the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong dropped sharply. Citizens reduced their outings and social gatherings. The catering industry was the first to suffer. McDonald's also had to change the epidemic market. Chief Executive Officer Li Weishi revealed that the epidemic and tourists have reduced the impact on business in individual areas, but the self-service ordering machine and mobile app (apps) are the company's "trump cards" to deal with the epidemic, both of which will help the company in "zero contact" And continue to serve guests. At present, McDonald's has 245 restaurants in Hong Kong, and nearly 90% of the restaurants have added self-service order machines. The McDonald's mobile app has been launched for nearly two years, and has been downloaded by more than 2 million people, with about 160,000 active users.

Under the influence of the epidemic, most of the citizens switched to take-away ordering. Li Weishi said that the number of delivery orders for take-out Mai Mai increased by double digits, and the average unit price was about 100 yuan. In view of this trend, and in order to further protect the safety of employees and diners, McDonald's decided to suspend night market dining from March 25 to April 7. The measure is to reduce social contact. If guests plan to take out the restaurant at night for self-collection, more Orders and buffets can be ordered using the buffet order machine.

If you want to buy a meal, you can place an order with a mobile app or a self-service ordering machine, and then pick up the meal buffet to achieve "zero touch". (Photo provided by the company)

Delivery boxes are disinfected before and after delivery

She went on to point out that McDonald's attaches great importance to cleanliness and hygiene standards, and has strengthened disinfection and cleaning work, including: cleaning the self-service ordering machine, dining area, door handles and tables and chairs every 1 hour; employees will disinfect before and after each delivery Delivery boxes to protect the safety of diners.

The business was affected by the epidemic, and the night catering service was stopped. Will McDonald's, which employs nearly 15,000 employees, lay off staff and reduce expenses? Li Weishi pointed out that the company had adjusted the business hours of 16 branches slightly in response to customer flow, passenger flow and safety considerations. The working hours of a small number of part-time employees may be adjusted, but the company has no plan to streamline manpower and reduce wages. This year only The salary will be frozen, hoping to reduce the impact on the team while taking into account the operation of the restaurant.

After being launched in late November last year, Mai Fried Chicken has received overwhelming response and has sold 8 million pieces so far. (Profile picture)

Catering to market demand

McDonald's has always been committed to innovation and change, and its products must be updated. Lai Wei Shi said that the company will pay attention to the dietary trends of Hong Kong people and launch more new products. For example, McDonald's launched the salted egg yolk and malt chicken sauce, cheese milk cap series and wheat fried chicken series last year. Regarding McDonald's launch of the "Mai Fried Chicken" series, is it "picking the machine" to fast food restaurants such as KFC and Jollibee? Li Weishi said that McDonald's has not made changes to the menu design in response to a certain brand for many years, but only closely follows the market and customer needs. In fact, McDonald's fried chicken is also very popular with customers. It was launched in late November last year and has been sold since then. 8 million pieces.

She went on to point out that, as an international brand, the company not only provides giants, fish fillets and fries that are sold worldwide, but also hopes to infiltrate local elements to match the tastes of Hong Kong people and bring unique menus to guests. In terms of vegetarian food, the company currently supplies grain corn cups, barley and egg mushrooms, mushroom corn and cheese toast, etc. In the future, it will pay close attention to the dietary trends of the public and launch more products that meet customers' needs.

Heating for medical staff and grassroots families

Li Weishi pointed out that many Hong Kong people still have to go out to work and fail to work from home, and children who are not at home may feel dull, so they will launch a series of concessions to cheer the public. For example, the Double series will be launched from March 30th, the Happy Paradise meal will be purchased from April 4th (Children's Day), and a mysterious gift will be given, and the designated value morning package will be purchased on weekdays from April 14th to 27th, You will receive a hand sanitizing lotion, and will continue to bring the benefits you need in the future.

On the other hand, McDonald's also provided warmth to frontline and back-office staff and grassroots families. On Monday (March 23), through the Hospital Authority, it donated 90,000 Big Thanks cards worth 9 million yuan to all. Members of the Hospital Authority, cheering for them, Li Weishi said that McDonald's new measures this week are precisely to reduce social contact and fight the epidemic with medical staff and the general public. The company will send happy paradise toys and cash coupons to approximately 3,000 grassroots families through non-profit making organizations in March and April, hoping to give them a little warmth. Lai Weishi said, "McDonald's has been in Hong Kong for 45 years. With the growth of Hong Kong people, we hope to bring positive energy to customers." Mai Mai "is behind every Hong Kong person."

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