McDonald's initiatives beginning outside Chicago

Chicago area residents won't immediately see the results ofMcDonald's Corp.'s plans to simplify its fast-food menu, improveworker training and sell cappuccino at a McCafe.

In the Tampa, Fla., market, a computer-based e-learning program at180 McDonald's restaurants helps employees train for tough scenarios.

At an analysts' meeting Monday, McDonald's showed an example of aworker being coached on how to placate a man who had been fuming ashe waited in line behind a bus load of children.

The training program will be rolled out worldwide and is expectedto cut training costs by 15 percent. No timetable or training expensewas available.

Self-order kiosks, which let customers order via a machine akin toa bank's ATM, are being tested in five McDonald's in the Denver area.

CEO Jim Cantalupo touted the efficiency of the kiosks, saying theyovercome language barriers, speed up service and, when usedcorrectly, ensure no mistakes in ordering.

The kiosks will be introduced in a new market by the end of theyear, but McDonald's wouldn't say where. Each restaurant will havefour to five kiosks, which would sit on the right side of the servicecounter.

The next trial will feature kiosks at McDonald's PlayPlace areas,so parents with small children can order without having to go to thecounter. An employee will bring the food to a table.

Separately, Chicago will not see a return this year of the OakBrook-based chain's coffee shop, called McCafe. The 10 McCafes slatedto open this year will be in the Northwest and in the Washington,D.C., area.

McDonald's opened its first McCafe in the United States at 115 N.Wabash Ave. in May 2001, but closed it seven months later to make wayfor a 57-story condo high-rise.

However, Chicago area residents will benefit from another ofMcDonald's efforts to boost its appeal to young people ages 18-29.Later this year, an undetermined number of Chicago area McDonald'srestaurants will be outfitted with wireless Internet access, calledWi-Fi.

McDonald's will offer one hour of free high-speed access to anyonewho buys a combination meal at select restaurants in New York,Chicago and an as-yet-unnamed city in California.

The company also will expand its advertising beyond TV, presumablyplacing a greater emphasis on the Web, and give Ronald McDonald morevisibility in its efforts to attract young adults.

In the Rockford area and in Ohio, McDonald's has introducedsimpler menus and cash registers designed to speed service. The menuitems have prices that end in zeros and fives so customers can easilyadd and subtract as they decide what to order.

Behind the counter, automatic beverage dispensers in the drive-through and automatic cooking-oil systems in the kitchen are beinginstalled to further cut service times and simplify operations.

Cantalupo and other executives described the company's "Plan toWin" at the analyst meeting Monday.

It was a case of good news preceding bad, one analyst cautioned.McDonald's will release its sales results for March on Thursday andits first-quarter 2003 earnings on April 28--results that likely willresult in negative investor reaction, said Citigroup Smith Barneyanalyst Mark Kalinowski.

Analysts questioned how much the new efforts will help McDonald's,which has suffered 12 months of sales declines.

Mitchell Speiser, analyst at Lehman Brothers, wrote in a note toclients that improving speed of service amid much change "will betough," especially as McDonald's rivals tout their own innovations.