31,000 dine-in restaurants globally – a tenth of its existing location
‘Globally, we’re taking 100 new steps to connect with our customers better, but we’re not stopping there. For example, in 2021, McDonald’s will be among the first restaurants in the world to offer fully autonomous ordering, letting our customers express their orders, choose their pick-up time and place them anywhere without a wait.’
Faster grab and go, service you choose, from anywhere. As part of this, the McDonald’s Experience of the Future at Cambridge will provide a secure platform for the home delivery of menus, from the three-dimensional printed, 4D Print mobile kiosk to the linked AI kiosk. It will offer computer vision from the biometric sensors, Wi-Fi access, Google Assistant integration, fingerprint access and a self-declaration function. For me it will be fascinating to watch our future smart technology develop.
But what’s in it for me? While I am in need of about £10,000 for my quick service McDonald’s, there are also paper cheques to pay for past orders and VAT. And while they pride themselves on fresh, quality ingredients, what about the chicken (which must be imported from outside the EU)? And the taste of meat tastes better cooked at home – would people be willing to pay more to be entertained for longer?
But while they brand themselves as a place to enjoy fast food with family, friends and – hopefully – the company is part of our family. My next order is free delivery!
James Goss, real estate advisor, Oxford
Tenacity and experience are good reasons to trust a firm
Merrill Lynch has announced that it is considering separating part of its UK banking business from its international operations. This would make sense for Merrill Lynch, in my view, given the considerable outflow of EU-based customers since the UK referendum. However, the proposal has attracted the backing of numerous voices, including charities, aid organisations and trade unions.
In many ways the proposal is a symptom of the maturity of charity finance – a changing market that is responding to the customers it services, making each new partnership more meaningful. However, it’s important to maintain trust in charities and trust is a key driver of charitable giving. In this case, members have a great opportunity to ensure that the (hopefully successful) splitting of the division is supported by an outpouring of support.
Simon de Brown, CEO, Shelter
Insight on our global mission
A minority of staff at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) are flying the flag for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) as they test a pilot pay program that sends bonuses directly to employees’ bank accounts.
There is greater recognition of the benefits of such measures across global business, but it was impressive to see how much JLR values the importance of equal pay and inclusion when it is working on shaping its own businesses. I think this is a strong statement for our economy and economy of the future.
Gavin Woodhead, inclusion and diversity manager, Bridgwater and West Somerset borough council
Only 3.3% of beneficiaries are from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published the UK’s first negative ethnic minority census. Almost half of the survey’s 2,112 respondents said that 10% or more of households in their area do not have a single person of colour living with them.
As well as reflecting what goes on in society, this must also be an indicator of the quality of services delivered in the UK, as we all pay for them. Every pound lost to inequality undermines our economy and our society as a whole. We can only hope that this will be a wake-up call for those behind these findings, and get them to act.
Professor Anna Bowes, deputy chief executive, OHR
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