McDonald's is introducing table service to 400 restaurants in the UK to give its image a facelift and compete with rivals in the fast food industry who are going upmarket.
The table service will be rolled out before the end of 2016, following a successful trial in 14 trial locations last year. The fast food chain will also double the number of sites selling premium burgers, part of what is known as the signature collection, from 30 to 60.
McDonalds have said digital kiosks, which allow customers to order from their tables and have food delivered, "proved to be so successful" that they will be implemented in refurbished restaurants from February.
Paul Pomroy, chief executive of McDonald's said: "We opened 26 new restaurants last year and the rollout of our reimaging programme is transforming the way we serve customers, and has been a key growth driver.
"To date, over 300 restaurants have been refurbished and we expect a further 350 to be completed and reopened for customers by the end of the year – an average of one every day."
Although the company has slowed down in the rest of the world, particularly in the US, the improvement plans follow McDonald’s busiest ever UK quarter at the end of 2015. Traditionally, the UK market has been one of McDonald’s best-performing businesses, delivering almost 10 years of repeated sales growth.
Last year Steve Easterbrook took over as McDonald’s CEO with plans to revive the business. He cited that the Big Mac maker wasn’t “on game” and needed to give attention to high-quality food with improved service.
Pomroy said he was pleased with the performance of its restaurants in Britain.
“Together with our franchisees we have delivered another strong year of growth, fuelled by a relentless focus on our customers’ evolving expectations and tastes.” he commented.
“Investing in our customer experience is paramount. It’s important that we continue to listen to the 3.7m people who visit us every day and respond with even more reasons for them to come to our restaurants.
“In 2016 we will continue to focus on providing great value and variety, as well as invest in our restaurants, our people and our menu, to ensure customers enjoy a great experience every time they visit us.”
