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McGeniuses
 

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MIND MAGAZINE | Who has never been to a McDonald’s at least once in their life? Whenever you’re hungry and you have no time to cook, going to one of their many restaurants is always an option; no matter where you are or how much money you have on you. The good side about fast foods is that you can walk into any of their 30,000 locations and expect good food quickly and in a clean place to stay. The bad side is, the food you’re getting served might not be the healthiest around, but don’t feel guilty every time you’re ordering a cheeseburger, because you are not the only one. Indeed, Maurice and Richard McDonald idea of “speedy service” started from basically nothing in 1937; now it is at the chore of 110 billion dollar business… in the United-States only. The world of McDonald’s and fast food is quite fascinating, and it teaches a lot about how the simplest ideas can go a long way.

In 1937, the McDonald brothers opened a drive-in restaurant in Pasadena, California, and after a mixed success, they opened another location in San Bernardino, California. Business was good, but the brothers were tired of always dealing with the same problems over and over again. Waitresses and bus boys took a long time to train and they would often quit very rapidly. The dishes took an awful lot of time to clean and cooking the food was also very long and unproductive. And then, the brothers came up with an idea that would change the face of business and of the food culture: they decided to close their restaurant for a month to undergo a few changes. The kitchen was redesigned to use employees for only very limited tasks. Also, they reduced the menu to only fries, cheeseburger, sodas and milk shakes. They equipped the restaurant with more tables and they decorated the front of the place with a big, yellow “M”. The McDonald’s recipe for success did marvels, and soon after the reopening, the restaurant attracted people from miles away.
 

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Among the numerous new clients at the steadily expanding chain, was a traveling salesman named Ray Kroc – who would later transform it into a multinational empire. Kroc couldn’t believe how simple and easy it was for this restaurant to make a ton of money. In 1954, the McDonalds were getting tired of running their business, so they accepted Kroc’s offer to buy the rights to open franchises in exchange of royalties. The later success of McDonald’s wasn’t just based on the brothers’ original idea of speedy service; the contribution of Ray Kroc was essential. He had a good vision about his new enterprise; we would always choose to ensure the long-term success rather than being tempted to make a quick buck.

So Kroc aimed at promoting quality of work to his franchisees, in exchange they all got considerable profits. The result was that McDonald’s franchises offered good revenues while being one the cheapest ways to start a business. Again, the McDonald’s recipe was a total success. The chain was growing as kids and adults all around the United-States and in the rest of the world were getting part of their ever-growing clientele. Only fourteen years later, in 1968, Kroc managed to open 1000 restaurants, making the Golden Arches a symbol of commercial success.

In the 1970’s, the corporation based in Oak Brook, Illinois, started to open franchises all around the world. The food content, the promotion and the image of McDonald’s was always adapted to the geographical location. For example, restaurants in Asia are offering sandwiches made of rice. You can order hot dogs in a couple of cities in the United-States. In Québec, Canada, you can order a “Poutine”, which is to fast food, what champagne is to wine. Moreover, the opening of a McDonald’s in Moscow was an historical event during the cold war. But, in general, you can expect basically the same kind of food, service and atmosphere whether you are walking in one of their restaurants in Florida or in China.

Yet, the last couple of years were hard for McDonald’s. The company’s expansion plan (a growth of about 2,000 locations every year) was seriously undermined since the company recorded yearly losses for the first time ever. Operations in a few East European countries were shut down and hundreds of other franchises worldwide had to close as well. The competition is getting more and more diversified and McDonald’s “what you see is what you get” formula is hurting them badly. Yet, plans are in motion to revive the company’s future by also attempting to expand their choices to customers.

Whatever challenges McDonald’s will have to face, the brothers’ idea will live on to ensure a long existence to the company. The idea of fast producing food was a revolution in the thirties and the formula has influence the business world in all domains, making it a McGenius idea!


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