Discussion Questions:
1. After returning from the training session at Hamburger University, a McDonald’s store owner selected a random sample of 362 drive-thru customers and carefully measured the time it took from when a customer entered the McDonald’s property until the customer received the order at the drive-thru window. These data are in the file called McDonald’s Drive-Thru Waiting Times . Note, the owner selected some customers during the breakfast period, others during lunch, and others during dinner. Construct any appropriate graphs and charts that will effectively display these drive-thru data. Prepare a short discussion indicating the conclusions that this store owner might reach after reviewing the graphs and charts you have prepared.
2. Referring to question 1, suppose the manager comes away with the conclusion that his store is not meeting the 90-second customer service goal. As a result, he plans to dig deeper into the problem by collecting more data from the drive-thru process. Discuss what other measures you would suggest the manager collect. Discuss how these data could be of potential value in helping the store owner understand his problem.
3. Visit a local McDonald’s that has a drive-thru facility. Randomly sample 20 drive-thru customers and collect the following data:
a. the total time from arrival on the property to departure from the drive-thru window
b. the time from when customers place the order until they receive their order and exit the drive-thru process
c. the number of cars in the line when the sampled vehicle enters the drive-thru process
d. Using the data that you have collected, construct appropriate graphs and charts to describe these data. Write a short report discussing the data
When you’re on the go and looking for a quick meal, where do you go? If you’re like millions of people every day, you make a stop at McDonald’s. Known as “quick service restaurants” in the industry (not “fast food”), companies such as McDonald’s invest heavily to determine the most efficient and effective ways to provide fast, high-quality service in all phases of their business.