Slashdot Mirror
Hong Kong McDonald's To Offer Wedding Packages
McDonald's in Hong Kong would love to super size your nuptials. Starting January 1st, couples can spend few thousand Hong Kong dollars and have a McWedding. From the article: "The package has all the details to attract a wedding banquet cynic or a Golden Arches obsessive: a baked apple pie wedding cake, dress made out of party balloons, kiddie party favors for guests, and of course, catering by McDonald's. Alcohol is banned to make sure there won't be drunk party guests acting inappropriately at the family venue, so newlyweds will have to toast their union with soft drinks instead."
This may sound weird for those outside of Hong Kong but McDonalds is a big deal there.
In the US, we consider McDonalds as near the bottom rung for fast food. When I had a friend from
HK visit me, the first thing she wanted to do is go to a McDonalds!
I was eating at an In & Out burger in Fullerton CA and a wedding couple came in, with full-on dress and everything, and a photographer with a couple of assistants. They took a lot of pictures. Pretty silly but I suppose it means something to the couple - maybe that's where they proposed.
That said McDonald's in Asia is weird. In Thailand I've only seen them from the outside (I don't eat there in the US either) but it was mostly tourists, as one might expect. They put them in the places where tourists congregate (often next to a Starbucks, also no surprise). But the thing is that there are only two types of tourists who seem to go in - western tourists with young kids, where the kids presumably forced the parents to go there, and Asian tourists not from Thailand. For some reason, middle and upper-middle class Asians seem to really like it. You do also see school kids who are interested because it's foreign (or whatever reason) - fast food places like this are actually cool among high school and middle school kids. I don't think this is anywhere near true anymore in the US.
Anyway, I can sort of understand McDonald's in the US - the food isn't very good but it's pretty cheap and you always know what to expect. in Asia, though, I can't comment on the quality but the prices are no longer cheap. It's one of the most expensive options! I suppose it is faster than most places, which counts for something I guess. But there are generally a lot of other options, all kinds of different foods, and most of which are cheaper. Doesn't make sense to me, but I suppose it'll wear off there eventually, like it did to some extent in the US.
Eating American junk food is considered cool by the young folk in China, and is not looked down upon yet as it is in much of the western world. Same goes for smoking cigarettes and so on...
If McDonald's in Hong Kong is anything like I've seen elsewhere in Asia it's simply a place to hang out. People aren't necessarily eating there on a regular basis but then the place also doesn't have the stigma McDonald's holds in the US. People are thinking about how unhealthy the food is or necessarily consider it a lowly place to work.
In Taiwan several years ago McDonald's started opening cafes within their restaurants in order to compete directly with Starbucks. And honestly, it wasn't half bad. But then there's an important distinction: McDonald's in Asia are extremely clean, the employees courteous and the quality of the food very consistent. But then the same applies to a lot of restaurants there. Friday's is marketed as somewhat higher end than it is in the States. Starting with the identity, which is different than what's featured here, to the interior design, to the cuisine it's all has a more contemporary and higher quality feel. Friday's in the US come off like some rundown sports bar, with dishes no better than bad fast food. When I was there you could find a Starbucks almost literally at every major street corner (it was a big thing for them to take corner retail space where possible). And despite the market saturation every single one was clean and the employees friendly and helpful.
Ultimately, my point is that it's a very different situation to what we see in the States. Management is more closely involved, even store managers who actually ensure employees are doing their jobs. And overall there's a far superior work ethic out there where employees do what need to get done and are friendly with customers. As opposed to the jerks in the States who generally only mope around and only do the bare minimum to remain employed. And management relies on marketing to convince consumers that their franchises are nicer than they actually are.
That said, offering wedding packages at McDonald's seems lame. I'm guessing they're offering packages that feature things that appeal to people but at cheaper prices than might be found elsewhere. And perhaps there are some to whom the novelty might be appealing.
Most American "fast food" are considered novelty food in Asia, and thus commands a higher price. Locals don't (or can't afford to) eat in those establishments regularly. A friend commented that Pizza Hut is considered a "respectable" restaurant in Shanghai. The same could be said about some of the things in the menu of Asian restaurants in the states; some of the things being served (and frankly charged a premium for) are very cheap food in Asia, that no one in their right mind in Asia would pay the sort of price being charged in the states for.
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?