- In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, McDonald’s simplified their menu and discarded a number of food items.
- As the country reopens, McDonald’s remains intent on providing customers with fewer options in the interest of quality, convenience, and service.
- McDonald’s will bring back seven previously discarded items next month, a list which includes two Quarter Pounder variations and the Bacon McDouble sandwich.
If you walk into a McDonald’s today, you’re liable to notice quite a few changes. Aside from the fact that many McDonald’s locations have cut back on cashiers in favor of standalone kiosks, you might also notice that some popular items are no longer on the menu. Hardly a new revelation, McDonald’s has been steadily tweaking its menu over the past few months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, with much of the country starting to reopen, McDonald’s isn’t exactly in a rush to bring back its traditional menu. According to The Wall Street Journal, McDonald’s executives noticed that the company’s limited menu has improved service and bolstered margins. One interesting data point reveals that the average time a customer was forced to wait in the drive-through line dropped by 25 seconds with the new menu. While that may not seem like a huge chunk of time by itself, it adds up quickly when you’re servicing hundreds of cars throughout the day.
During a call with reporters this week, McDonald’s President Joe Erlinger said that the company’s limited menu turned out to be a huge success and that the company remains intent on maintaining a simplified menu for customers going forward.
“A limited menu served a purpose for a period of time,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said last week, “but we have to be also attentive to what the customers are looking for when they come to a McDonald’s and I think it’s going to vary market by market.
“Whether it goes all the way back to where we were pre-COVID, I think that’s probably unlikely,” Kempczinski added. “But I think it’s equally unlikely that we’re going to stay with the current menu.”
That said, some recently discarded menu items will be making a return to McDonald’s sooner rather than later. After careful evaluation, company executives decided to bring back seven menu items. That last includes three dessert options (including the vanilla cone), two Quarter Pounder options, and the Bacon McDouble sandwich, and black hot tea. The aforementioned items will return to the menu at US-based locations sometime in July.
What’s particularly interesting is that McDonald’s popular breakfast options will be slow to come back. This, of course, makes sense given that demand for McDonald’s breakfast is likely down considerably given that many people are no longer commuting to work in the morning.
