McDonald’s outlets open to little fuss as surge goes online
Fast-food chain's physical outlets open to little fuss, delivery orders see higher demand
Those expecting a frenzy at various McDonald's outlets yesterday after the fast good giants opened its doors for contactless McDelivery, drive-through and takeaway, would have been surprised at a mostly muted response.McDonald's had suspended all restaurant operations and services in Singapore from April 19, after seven of its employees tested positive for Covid-19.
When The New Paper visited the outlet near Khatib MRT during lunch hour, there were only three people in line.
One of them was Mr Adam Koh, a 28-year-old engineer, expected to see a queue when he went to buy his lunch of Filet-O-Fish burger and Chicken McNuggets but was relieved when there were not many customers.
He told TNP: "I would have just ordered online, but I live opposite and luckily the queue wasn't long."
At the Causeway Point branch, there were more delivery riders waiting to collect breakfast orders than customers at around 6.30am.
Mr Zhi Yue, 20, was the first to show up at 6.50am, 10 minutes before the outlet opened, and was surprised to see no customers around.
The part-time temperature screener said: "I woke up especially early because I knew I wanted to get my favourite McDonald's breakfast, Chicken Muffin with egg, before heading to work.
"I missed the McSpicy burger the most. I can't wait to have it later in the week."
Some outlets across the island were more crowded during peak hours, like those at Bedok Mall and Boon Keng, but not overly so.
Instead, the rush seemed to have moved online.
When customers tried to open the McDelivery app yesterday evening, a message said it was "experiencing high traffic volume" and the app was "unavailable".
DID NOT CRASH
However, McDonald's clarified that the app did not crash due to overwhelming orders.
Its spokesman said: "Due to the higher demand, customers were directed to order via the McDelivery website, which brings them to a virtual waiting room to join the online queue."
A McDelivery rider, who wanted to be known only as Mr Zulkifli, saw a surge in delivery orders during lunch .
The 44-year-old said: "I had back-to-back orders and by noon, I had already delivered around nine. Things quietened down at about 3pm."
The McDonald's spokesman added: "We are heartened by the support that we've received from our customers. Our topmost priority is to ensure safe distancing measures are practised with care in our restaurants. Based on yesterday's experience, we are thankful that most of our customers have been patient and also respectful of all the safety measures implemented."
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