The McDonald’s at 1982 Westchester Avenue is stepping into the future with new self-serve kiosks.
The kiosks, which will begin debuting throughout the country this year, provide a different sort of experience to fast food patrons.
Customers have access to all of McDonald’s menu items at the tip of their fingers.
The kiosks feature a three-foot screen with a credit card scanner, a receipt printer and buzzers which let you know when your food is ready.
Consumers begin the experience by choosing to eat in or out. They can then order traditional McDonald’s menu items or customize their own sandwich and meal.
Next, customers can choose to pay with their credit card or pay with cash at the register.
Then the customer takes a buzzer and waits to be alerted.
Finally, the customer either takes the food to go, or – in typical restaurant fashion – they are served by a McDonald’s associate who is there to assist them if they need additional help.
Tony Rodriguez, a McDonald’s franchisee who owns the Westchester Avenue location, did not see any risk in being one of the first restaurants in the Bronx to feature the Kiosks.
“McDonald’s does their homework and their research before they start anything,” said Rodriguez, who owns 17 McDonald’s restaurants.
He also pointed out that the kiosks are already up and running in Europe.
In addition, according to a spokesperson for McDonald’s, the fast food giant has been testing out the new technology in the New York Metro area for approximately one year.
“This is the way of the future,” added Rodriguez, “so why not expose it to our customers in the Bronx.”
The owner said before presenting the kiosks to customers his staff tried them out.
Also, the restaurant held a family night at the store where family members of the staff also tested them.
While patrons order, there is an associate who is there to help the customer through the kiosk experience.
Rodriguez acknowledged some customers struggle to use the kiosks because they are not tech savvy.
However, he added that “the customers like [the kiosks].”
“We’re getting very positive feedback especially from the table service part of it,” said Rodriguez. “They love it.”
According to Mwaffak Kanjee, vice president at McDonald’s New York Metro Region, McDonald’s has already rolled out kiosks at 70 locations this year throughout the New York Metro region – which includes Long Island, parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, Westchester and some counties in upstate New York.
He said they plan to add kiosks in 30 more locations by year’s end and 100 to 150 in 2017.
Kanjee said the kiosks are not about the technology or the accompanying table service, but more about the customer.
“This is really about how we can engage the customer on a whole new level,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
