I always find it funny when I see people in a McDonalds Fast Food Outlet studying the menu with as much attention and seriousness as though they were dining at a multiple Michelin Star Restaurant.
It is also amusing to see those using the Drive-Thru just pulling up in the car park through which they have just driven to eat their purchases. Surely that defeats the whole idea of "food on the go", or so you would think.
The Golden Arches are now a familiar sight in our Town Centres, motorway services and just about everywhere else. We like them not necessarily because the food is good but because there is a certain reassurance in that whatever and wherever we buy will be of the same uniform quality.
There has been some recent and subtle re-modelling of the many, many outlets in the UK with a discernible move towards relieving young adults and trendy oldies of their hard earned cash perhaps pushing out small children who, lets face it, can make a Happy Meal last for ages making it a poor unit performer in the balance sheets of the company.
The interior of the Maccy D's in my working catchment ,( I use singular for interior as they are all the same across the district) is now quite pleasant with armchairs, high chair and bar seating, snug booths and large communal tables. I often make my way to one of my three or four favourite locations for an early morning coffee and porridge. If coinciding with a quiet period of business I can quite easily do a bit of paperwork without being bothered by noise, interruptions or small children making their Happy Meal last for ages.
The "in your face" service standards, so American in their brashness and indifference which were quite intrusive in the 1980's McDonalds have been relaxed more in line with the natural reserve of the British public. All in all it can be a pleasant and relaxing place to have a quick break. There is no nonsense and you get what is shown on the glossy display boards, exactly that, no more, no less.
We take McDonalds very much for granted now in our consumer led society but what about those nations and regimes being introduced to the brand for the first time whose cultures and beliefs represent the far end of the spectrum from western style capitalism?
This was the case in 1990 when McDonalds opened their first restaurant in the old Soviet Union, in Pushkin Square, Moscow.
The Canadian Business Division had been in tentative negotiations with the Communist Authorities since the late 1970's with a view to coinciding with the hosting of the Olympic Games in the USSR in 1980. A deal seemed promising and possible with the right noises being made by officials but after a concluding meeting it took a further seventeen days of waiting for the decision which was a negative one. It appears that the Politburo vetoed the proposals even though some felt that a global brand prominent at the Games would be progressive. The deciding votes were against on the basis that a foreign company selling food would imply that home grown concerns were somehow inferior.
The ascension to power of the Reformist Mikhail Gorbachov in 1985 made for a better political landscape and in 1988 it was agreed that McDonalds would establish a Moscow Restaurant some twenty plus years on from the first tentative approaches.
The challenges to be overcome in a completely new market were tremendous especially given the need to found a supply chain in a country where food shortages and transport delays were an everyday problem. The revolutionary answer was to build a huge factory complex on the outskirts of the capital city with bakery, meat line and full inventory to run a high profile operation.
Reliability of electrical power was also problematic. Faced with difficulties of linking into an at best sporadic national grid the intervention of the influential Soviet Ambassador to the United States resulted in the secondment of the military to excavate trenches and lay cables to bring the plant on line.
On the morning of the opening of the Pushkin Square outlet the approach to the distinctive trademark building was devoid of potential customers.
A large police presence and barricades had been arranged and the Canadian promoters were extremely disappointed with the apparent failure of the slick marketing campaign to attract interest.
As though unsure of what to expect the still excited Muscovites were waiting patiently just around the corner and when the barriers were opened they filed through, some 34,000 being served within a few hours.
The prospect of sampling the lifestyle and hype associated with a very western experience had been a massive draw on the population and media soundbites at the time showed that the majority had enjoyed it.
The Restaurant seated 700 indoors and 200 outside (central Russian climate permitting) and the 630 uniformed staff (securing those jobs from 27,000 applicants) put on quite a performance.
Polite and happy service was not common in the Soviet retail sector of the time and was a revelation in itself.
The four words of "Have a nice day" went down well and the business thrived to pioneer the way for over 300 McDonalds throughout modern Russia.
Most telling was the fact that a burger and fries was a luxury to the average Russian in 1990 , the cost representing half a days wages.
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