McDonalds tests mobile ordering In Salinas before National Rollout

McDonald’s customers in Salinas and Monterey now have the opportunity to experience mobile ordering and pay through the McDonald’s app in a beta pilot designed to elicit feedback.

Customers can place orders and pay within the app, in the lead up up to the national launch later this year.

Using geofencing technology for check-in, McDonald’s can determine that customers are nearby so their food is freshly prepared, allowing them to pick up their order at any participating McDonald’s location.

If customers choose the drive-thru, they will read the already placed order code to the crew and their mobile order will be ready for pickup at the window.

Williams, Salinas McDonald’s Manager Freida Aldaco said it made it a more convenient trip for their customers.

“Our customers can order on the app and we’ll start preparing their meal right away. Then they can just come in and pick up their food and not wait around for it to be cooked,” Aldaco said.

“We are proud to pilot mobile ordering and pay in the Monterey and Salinas area, and excited by the opportunity given to our local restaurant teams and customers,” said Northern California owner/operator Steve Peat.

“We look forward to learning from our customers in these markets as they order ahead, pay within the app and choose one of the various ways to pick up and enjoy their favorite McDonald’s foods,” said Julia Vander Ploeg, Vice President of U.S. Digital.

“From the app to our restaurant operations, we’ve taken a fully integrated approach to ensure a seamless customer experience that we think our customers will love.”

By Q4 2017, McDonald’s plans to have mobile ordering live in its 14,000 U.S. restaurants.