Upon walking in, one finds a relatively small restaurant, albeit a stylish one.
The McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 off Millstream Road in north Langford may well be a modest-sized eatery in terms of seating. But when it comes to doing business, especially via the drive-thru, this hidden gem hits a home run among its 16 peers spread around Greater Victoria.
B次元官网网址淥n average we have about a thousand cars a day coming through,B次元官网网址� says Rhonda Glowasky, general manager of this location and the one inside the Langford Walmart store.
As if that statistic isnB次元官网网址檛 enough to raise the visitorB次元官网网址檚 eyebrows, she proudly tosses out an equally impressive one: B次元官网网址淥ur average service time from order to driving away is 128 seconds.B次元官网网址�
With its drive-thru accounting for roughly 75 per cent of its sales volume, this outlet ranks number 1 on the Island for McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 in that category, and maybe even tops in B.C., says Aaron Chisholm, operations supervisor for five area McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 stores owned by franchisee Ken Taylor.
B次元官网网址淚n this day and age you have to be able to deliver a quick and fresh product,B次元官网网址� Chisholm says.
As a way to upgrade its service and address the continuing trend toward drive-thru over walk-in traffic, the Langford restaurant installed a new dual order point drive-thru in May. It allows more vehicles to move through the process, and while they merge into one lane, the overall amount of time spent in line is reduced, Chisholm says.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e aware of the anti-idling (concerns), but we find thereB次元官网网址檚 far less stop-and-go traffic this way.B次元官网网址� he says.
The new system has increased its Island-leading numbers by about 100 cars a day, Glowasky says. B次元官网网址淨uality and speed and their top two motivators,B次元官网网址� she says of drive-thru customers. B次元官网网址淭hey choose us because they know weB次元官网网址檙e fast.B次元官网网址�
The Colwood McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 on Island Highway more recently installed the dual system and has lowered its average service time to 145 seconds. The hope is to increase its usage as well, Chisholm says, but that outlet has a different dynamic than Langford, with a higher percentage of people going inside for service B次元官网网址� the PlayPlace is an attraction for families, he says.
For the Langford location, opened in 2001 before Millstream Village was constructed, the expanded drive-thru area was part of a complete update of the facilities. They hosted a grand reopening July 25 and 26 and unveiled new, comfortable seating, tasteful wood and granite accents and special touch-play screens for the kids, among other features. The weekend events saw the store record its biggest single-day sales to date, says Chisholm, a 20-year McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 veteran who helped open this restaurant.
For Glowasky, who has been with McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 21 years and worked at 10 different restaurants, including eight in Greater Victoria, the renovations were the fourth sheB次元官网网址檚 gone through as a manager.
B次元官网网址淚 remember the banks of plastic flowers that were put up at Pandora (Avenue McDonaldB次元官网网址檚),B次元官网网址� she says, sitting at a large booth. B次元官网网址淣ow we have rock and glass and tile, weB次元官网网址檝e got WiFi, with plug-ins. ItB次元官网网址檚 almost an Internet cafe type of thing.B次元官网网址�
She points out that the relatively quiet Thursday morning crowd this day is rather different than the more hectic weekend atmosphere, when customers zip in, often between activities.
Then again, the majority of those people are in their cars.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
