McDonald’s says drive-throughs are ideal for Level 3 lockdown

McDonald’s wants to open its drive-through service under Level 3 of the lockdown, arguing it complies well with social distancing and hygiene standards.

The fast-food giant said this would also allow more employees to return to work, and the business to secure their jobs.

Government at the moment is allowing restaurants to operate, but only for deliveries.

McDonald’s South Africa CEO Greg Solomon told eNCA: “We’re humble and we’re thankful for opening up delivery, but it’s just over 10% of our total business, it is almost like taking our eight million customers a month and saying go use delivery.

“The revenue has been reasonably pleasing, but it’s our smallest and least profitable channel.

“Drive-through on the other hand we believe is equal if not better from a social distancing standpoint and from a hygiene standpoint. We believe certainly that it will open up the market. We’ve got 300 restaurants, only 100 are operating on delivery. It’s OK to open delivery up for a while, with 10% of your business, it has huge ramifications on our supply chain.”

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