12/20/03
10:26 a.m. - Four minutes before they cease serving breakfast at store
#1706 in Walnut Creek, CA, order number 905 goes in for their Big
Breakfast - a $3.50 total meal with free coffee. Tax is 29 cents.
A smile is thrown in.
This McDonald's store sits at the heart of an affluent neighborhood.
It's big parking area is filled with Mercedes, Jaguar, and BMW cars,
and, of course SUV's that dwarf all the others. Still, the clientele
is diverse, with national origins of all kinds, briefly standing in
line to place their orders. It's a "global" experience.
10:29 a.m. - Breakfast is served. The late arrival strategy has worked
- for with the shift-over to lunch, the cooks pile on the scrambled
eggs - clearing their griddles. Arriving at the last second almost
always ensures a "bigger" Big Breakfast.
While decor is not their strong suit - the place is "operating
room" clean and packed to the rafters. Everyone this Saturday has
opted for their late breakfast at MacDonald's - and tables are shared
among those dining in. Akin to a 60's theme - the walls are decked
with photos of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe - plus a few old cars of
the era. The music is from hits of that time - and just about right on
the volume.
It's all a slice of America, with a big "Stars &
Stripes" proudly flying at the masthead in a small tree-filled
outdoor dining area. The staff is crisp - in well-kept uniforms - and
at their work like the crew of a venerable passenger train of bygone
years. At precisely 10:30 a.m. - breakfast is over - the menus on the
wall - like rolling bus signs - are cranked over to reveal it is now
"lunch" at McDonald's. One can set a watch by the schedule.
Breakfast is good - albeit without the slightest hint of
"presentation." Hash browns in a crispy wafer-like format,
with a paper sleeve. A big styro-foam plate with integrated cover for
the biscuit, the sausage patty and scrambled eggs - garnished with
jelly, "butter," plastic utensils in a cellophane wrapper,
and ketchup - if you want from an automatic pumper. The coffee is good
- and not at the "volcanic" temperatures this company used
to be notorious for. The meal is hearty -tasty - hot - and filling.
Who could ask for anything more? At $3.50 - it is a small, enjoyable
American miracle.
The traffic thins - and there's a moment or two for the staff to take
a breath, anticipating the lunch herd galloping toward them. After
efficiently "policing" every shred of wayward trash, picking
up the newspapers left by diners and arranging them for use by others,
arranging all the chrome and red chairs - the duty bus boy heads to
the garden for his break and a smoke. There are no tips at McDonalds,
so this is his only reward for a job very well done.
We wrote not long ago about Michael's
restaurant in Las Vegas, so the bases are covered from this breakfast
spot to the most extraordinary of dining experiences. Albeit a company
with lots of snickers from those who aspire to higher planes of
culinary enjoyment - McDonald's is a place others could model - for it
is the prime example of doing things "McRight."
Note: After reaching heights of $45.00 per share in 2000, the
company's stock is on a 12-month rebound from its recent low of $14.00
in April of this year (2003). Now headed up, this might
be one to consider - in spite of the Mad Cow syndrome.
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