Rochdale McDonald’s to be given digital makeover

McDonald's on Sandbrook Park will be closed until 24 January

Two of Rochdale’s McDonald’s restaurants are set to receive a major digital makeover to improve customers' experiences.

The restaurant at Sandbrook Park, owned by local franchisee Gerald Thompson, is currently closed for refurbishment and is set to re-open for business on 24 January.

To improve the speed and ease of ordering, customers will have the option to use one of the restaurant’s four self-order kiosks. These allow customers to browse the menu, look at nutritional information and personalise their meals, giving people more time to consider their food and drink choices. The future changes have been designed with changing customer needs in mind, and the dedicated dining room hosts will ensure the process is as quick and easy as possible. The restaurant will also boast a new play area, to further improve the customer experience for those with young children.

The restaurant at Rochdale Kingsway is also set to receive a digital transformation later this year, and will be closing on 27 February.

Both the restaurants’ transformations are set to create an additional 40 new jobs for the area, taking the amount of crew employed at the two restaurants to over 250.

Table service will also be introduced to take the stress out of finding somewhere to sit when carrying food, potentially with children, bags and buggies. In restaurants where table service has been introduced previously customer feedback has been positive; with families enjoying the ease of not having to leave children unattended while queuing, and many people feeling it means they have more time to chat with friends and family.

Franchisee Gerald Thompson, who owns and operates ten restaurants including the one in Sandbrook Park, said: “These changes are designed to make our customers’ experience as positive as possible - whether that’s providing people with a chance to get to grips with using a tablet in a relaxed environment, or providing parents with a quick and easy way of ordering their food.

"When ordering with the new kiosks, customers will have the option to make different food choices, for example swapping fries for a side salad or adding a fruit bag to their children’s Happy Meal.”