If you're worried that your McDonald's experience isn't sufficiently cheesy, saucy, or powered by
artificial intelligence, don't worry. This icon of fast food has some exciting news for you in 2024.
McDonald's has recently been plagued by reports of soggy,
moist, and even disintegrating buns. Some have blamed over-squishing by employees as the cause,
while others think there's too much juice soaking in while the buns sit for too long
in the kitchen. Whatever the explanation for this problem, it simply cannot be ignored.
Thankfully, it appears that McDonald's has heard these cries and responded accordingly. Customers
can expect some major upgrades to the bread so that it will sufficiently hold their beefy,
cheesy creations. Brioche buns with sesame seeds and a pleasant, light toast will be
implemented across all locations, thus creating a much more enjoyable and less squishy bite.
Since basically everyone knows how much of a difference a quality bun can make,
it's obvious that we can all expect an enhanced eating experience at McDonald's
in 2024. So if you've somehow never before indulged in one of the chain's
savory cheeseburgers or McDoubles, this will be the perfect year to start.
The Big Mac has always come with sauce, but apparently not enough for everyone.
Requests for extra sauce on the signature burger have been echoing through employees'
headsets for quite a while. And while some requests have been successful,
not everyone has been so lucky. As one customer complained on Reddit,
"When I order a Big Mac, I ask for extra/double sauce. I get refused
on the basis that there is no way for them to ring that up for me."
Thankfully, it seems that a light bulb has finally lit up at McDonald's HQ. If people want extra Big
Mac sauce with every order, why not just make more of it a standard recipe in the first place?
"I think you may have something here."
And so, in 2024, our culinary dreams will become a reality, as the celebrated Big Mac sauce will
be spread much more generously throughout the layers of the company's most famous burger.
This very special condiment is considered one of McDonald's best-kept secret recipes,
and the increased quantity will almost surely improve this world-famous burger.
McDonald's has a plentiful array of popular burgers on its menu,
but they're far from immune to criticism. In fact, there have been numerous occasions
in which the beef has come under fire. As one person sarcastically quipped on Reddit,
"If you take a little of the meat, let it cool and then eat it on its own,
the flavor is surprising. It tastes of absolutely nothing."
But we have some good news for that Reddit user and for similarly-minded beef lovers. In 2024,
McDonald's customers can expect the death of bland patties, as the chain will infuse
a much deeper flavor profile with the addition of some very special guests on the grill. Yes,
it's true, the Golden Arches will reportedly begin adding their signature diced onions to
the meat while it's still searing to infuse some tasty caramelization. We
bet your mouths are watering just thinking about that little extra burst of complexity
those onions will bring to some of the world's favorite cheeseburgers.
While McDonald's may be a burger joint at its core, red meat isn't the only thing frying up
in their kitchens. It goes without saying that some of the chain's poultry offerings are just
as beloved as their beefy colleagues. In fact, McDonald's itself reported in 2023
that its chicken menu has grown to become equal to its beef one.
The McCrispy sandwich in particular is one of the most popular chicken items.
McDonald's plans to capitalize on this by spreading its availability worldwide
until it's featured on nearly every menu at every location. There are also wraps
and chicken tenders currently being developed as eventual menu newcomers. Considering the
uproar over discontinuation of the chain's chicken-based snack wraps a few years back,
we anticipate that customers will be more than excited about these upcoming arrivals.
"I'm so frickin' excited."
Let's face it: a cheeseburger doesn't really feel like a cheeseburger if that slice on
top isn't sufficiently good and melted between the buns. Alas, it appears that McDonald's has
been falling behind in this area in recent years. As one customer bemoaned on Reddit,
"Why doesn't McDonald's melt the cheese on their burgers anymore? [...] I remember
back in late 90's [and] early 2000's that the cheese would be so warm it glued the burger
to the wrapper. Now it's cold cheese on a semi warm patty... What happened?
Thankfully, McDonald's is keenly aware of the issue, and they already have a plan in
place for fixing it. Reportedly, cheese that has already been brought to room temperature will be
used on all burger creations starting in 2024, as opposed to slices pulled straight from an icy
refrigerator or cooler. This way, the slices will be much more likely to melt completely during the
cooking process, making these burgers the gooey masterpieces that they were always meant to be.
No matter where you are on planet Earth, it often feels like there's
a McDonald's on every street corner. And this sensation is far from a hallucination,
as there are reportedly more than 40,000 McDonald's locations scattered across the
globe. The majority of them are in the United States, China, Germany, France, and Japan,
but those statistics may soon change. That's because the company has reportedly begun to
orchestrate an ambitious plan of adding even more golden arches to the rest of the world very soon.
So don't be surprised if a few more McDonald's locations spring up near
you in 2024. The franchise intends to erect approximately 10,000 additional
restaurants over the next few years in an attempt to reach its goal of 50,000
total stores worldwide. If that number sounds staggering, that's because it is.
By comparison, Starbucks reportedly has
35,711 stores, according to data from Statista. Currently, McDonald's is the leading restaurant
in the world by sheer number of locations. And if it manages to hit 50,000, it may
just become basically impossible for any other chain to catch up.
"That's too much, man!"
You might think that McDonald's would already have its hands full with the
construction of so many new locations in 2024. But they seem to have decided that
one New Year's resolution wasn't quite ambitious enough. And so,
the company has also announced that it will be opening up a brand new cafe-style restaurant
called CosMc's, and one of them may very well be coming to a location near you in 2024.
Ten CosMc's locations will open up on an experimental basis in select cities,
as they attempt to compete with large-scale coffee chains such as
Dunkin'. The ample menu is set to include unique coffee drinks like Churro Frappes,
refreshing fruity picks called "Galactic Boosts," and the chain's signature McFlurrys.
Snackable foods will also be available for order, like the classic Egg McMuffin or new picks such
as the Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich. Whether or not the likes of Starbucks will feel threatened
by this new kid on the block remains to be seen. However, all of McDonald's eggs are hardly in one
basket. If CosMc's ends up flopping, the chain will probably manage to emerge mostly unscathed.
"Can this fast food giant drive American coffee addicts to start saying, 'I'm lovin' it'?"
Artificial intelligence seems like it's everywhere nowadays. If you work in cybersecurity or
computer programming, it's probably already a normal part of your job. As it turns out,
the restaurant industry is also utilizing AI in its day-to-day operations. And McDonald's is
among the eateries laying some groundwork with this rapidly expanding technology.
The burger chain has reportedly partnered up with Google Cloud to create an artificial intelligence
system for McDonald's locations worldwide. The technology will be used to pinpoint problems for
general managers, thereby allowing them to react quicker and provide solutions
faster. Should everything go according to plan, this system will serve to decrease
the total amount of customer issues, order mishaps, and other disturbances.
This isn't the first time that McDonald's has tried to implement AI, and they're surely
hoping that it goes better this time around. In 2022, The Daily Dot published an article
about the chain's highly publicized attempt at creating AI drive-thru machines that didn't go
so well. One man ended up with bacon in his ice cream, while another customer reported
on Reddit that the machine attempted to order six Filet-O-Fishes instead of the intended request of
Tangy Barbeque Sauce. Hopefully, McDonald's AI has worked out the kinks since then.
Sometimes it's a cold day and you're a busy parent and you've got your kids all strapped
in to your cozy, warm van as you make your way to your favorite fast food joint. In this scenario,
you surely don't want to have to stop in the parking lot, unstrap each child, and then get
every one of them bundled back up just to walk inside for two minutes to grab some Happy Meals.
This is of course why the drive-thru is one of the most convenient innovations in the restaurant
industry. McDonald's is the leading drive-thru fast food franchise, and its consistently
well-run system has undoubtedly brought many smiles to legions of stressed customers.
In 2024, McDonald's will continue to draw in people from all walks of life with its
excellent drive-thru system, and it sounds like we can expect it to become even better very soon.
In the company's ongoing expansion project, they're re-dedicating themselves to investing
in their drive-thru. After all, an efficient drive-thru directly increases profits. Changes
such as widened areas and the addition of supplementary lanes can be expected this
year. So if you see an "Under Construction" sign at your local McDonald's, don't fret. Instead,
get excited! It could very well mean that a new and improved drive-thru is headed your way.
"Hi, sir. It's me, your number one with a Coke."
Mobile ordering is a great way to select food from the comfort of your home and skip the line,
but there can be a downside. If your order is prepared too soon, it may end up sitting in
a paper bag on the counter for too long, thus rendering your food just a little too cold for
your taste buds. As complaints of lukewarm food have been piling up, McDonald's has taken matters
into its own hands by developing a new system for phone orders called "Ready On Arrival."
After a trial run for this experimental system,
the results are in, and McDonald's will continue expanding "Ready On Arrival"
across more locations in 2024. An assistant manager offered this explanation on Reddit:
"Your order will pop up on the screen about three minutes before you arrive
there. You will only get charged once you get close enough to the restaurant."
The system reportedly works with the GPS location on your phone. Kitchen employees
will be alerted to your arrival with enough time for them to complete your order but not
so much time that they make it too soon. If your local store hasn't implemented this system yet,
you can probably expect that to change sometime in the coming year.
Loyalty programs are all the rage at so many places of business, including fast food chains.
And it's not hard to understand why. It keeps customers coming back on a consistent basis,
after all. With thousands, or millions, of these dependable members, you can almost certainly
count on your restaurant remaining afloat if you have an attractive loyalty program.
McDonald's reportedly has a whopping 150 million registered loyalty customers to its name,
and it has no plans to rest on its laurels. In 2024, the company will attempt to draw
in even more members to reach its ambitious goal of 250 million over the next few years.
Exactly how they plan on doing that remains to be seen, but we'd be willing to bet there's
never been a better time than 2024 to join up with McDonald's. Just look at all the innovations they
have on the agenda! If you join, you may very well end up with a full stack of points that you can
put toward one of those new and improved cheesy burgers or expanded chicken options very soon.