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McDonalds to go Wireless?
crayongod writes "The AP, by way of AOL *yipe*, is reporting a pilot program by McDonalds to provide inhouse WiFi with the purchase of a combo meal. This sure will make roadtrips a lot easier." An hour of access per combo meal. Additional hours can be purchased for $3... or another zillion calorie combo meal. Mmmm. Healthy.
I think a wireless experience at a McDonalds is very different from a Starbucks or a Borders. At McDonalds, my goal is to eat and get out, where at a Starbucks or Borders they encourage you to stay and socialize much more than McD's does.
I can see where it would be nice to have WiFi for your PDA to check email, but lugging my notebook in and getting my greasy fingers from my french fries on my laptop keyboard doesn't seem right.
I understand McDonald's business is hurting, but getting the tech crowd in isn't going to solve their revenue shortfalls.
Sure, geeks will go on roadtrips a lot more often but what will happen to the geeks fat/calorie intake? If you get on hour of access for a combomeal you have to eat at least two (maybe alot more) meals. Slashdotting/eating/mailing do take time with sticky fingers on an IPAQ/.
Girls are strange. They don't come with a man page.
-- Michael Mattsson
A few things:
1) Anyone worried about greasy keypads? We all know how Micky Dees burgers are often dripping with grease. If some inept user were to eat with his laptop open, or even any user trying to type after a meal...
2) Some McDonald's don't want patrons staying for more than a half hour (case in point, McDonald's in the North Side of Pittsburgh). Would that policy be changed if you get an hour of access with an Extra Value Meal?
3) Would they have to change their slogan to "Over 1 Billion Geeks Served?"
And finally, 4) If a ton of geeks started patronizing the place at once, would that created a sort of inverted Slashdot effect?
I like the idea, personally. More power to them ^-^
Blog Prophyts - Right On, Man
I don't patronize McDonald's on principle even if the food is crap. Will all the ./'s be able to to use it after they finish their shifts? or will they be too tired from repeating "would you like fries with that?" all day?
Penguins are so sensitive to my needs - Lyle Lovett
I've got kids.
It sometimes snows in Chicago, or gets darn cold. Especially in the winter.
At which point I am quite happy that there is a McDonalds down the street with a playland. I can take the kids there and cut them loose for an hour or so to burn off their energy. It's a great thing.
McD has been very family orientated for quite some time now, giving us a place to let our brats romp about, while we eat a McCoronary and pass the time. Having the ability to hook up to the net while my kids are going down the static electricity slide is a great thing. I'll be able to do something that entertains me, if I can ignore the screaming of the kids.
Grimwell - old, cranky, mean, obsessive
I know what you mean...It seems like rolling out the technology is less of a "Let's do it for our customers" thing and more of a "Let's partner with the bigshots and put up a big advertisment" thing.
:)
All hype, no substance. When it does roll out, everyone will have forgotten about it, and it becomes nothing before it even has a chance. My opinion only, but it seems that in order for something to be popular, it has to hit a niche market, and grow from there (one example is Instant Messaging). I know a few places in Boston that tried to do sidewalk WiFi. I'm not sure how well it's working, but he's still in business
I'm sure they'll give you a watered down version of the internet via a mandatory web portal complete with coupons and advertisements
The article was light on detail, and I don't know enough about wireless, so I guess I'll ask the /. community: How will a cashier "give" you an hour of access? Will there be a code printed on your receipt? Is there an easy way for a user to configure his/her PC to gain access to an otherwise closed wireless LAN for a limited time? Or do I have to open my laptop at the counter and read off my MAC address (the people in line behind me would love that)?
What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
I just wonder what the billing mechanism will be for this service.
The article seems to suggest that the billing will be done on a per-burger basis i.e. you buy your burger, you get a little card with a pin# on it, and you then connect to the LAN.
This seems to suggest an anonymous means of surfing (all for the cost of a burger) - an approach that would land McD's in difficulties within hours of launching the service.
The other approach is a 'customer-registration' service, and I for one am not sure I need McD's to know where I (burger-swilling-geek that I am) live.
What about the pr0n issue? Do they want a bunch of people sitting in their restaurants looking at pr0n? No doubt they will be doing some content filtering.
OTOH, I can see McD's as the new hangout for Quakers. Instant catered LAN party, and the participants have to buy at least one burger an hour to keep playing.
will you get a password for the access point? cant you just sit in your car in the parking lot and utilize it without them knowing?
I don't see thousands of people flocking to McDonald's to use their WI-FI network. Why not just set up the Wi-Fi let people use it as a perk for just being there. Don't force them to buy something first, that just complicates things. More often than not, if a peroson is in McDonald's (or around it) they will buy something.
Later if internet trafic became a problem then they could impliment a pay or buy something first model.
WiFi in McDonalds is going to fail. There is a HUGE difference in the average customer that goes to McDonalds vs. the average customer that goes to Starbucks. Fast-food like McD's is targeted mainly towards the poor, and how many of these people have wireless devices that could utilize WiFi (digital divide anyone)??? Even ignoring that fact, when was the last time you were in a McD's and thought "cool place, I think I'll break out my laptop and work for a while"???
As someone said earlier, it is just a poorly conceived publicity gimmick!