McDonald’s Expanding Test Of Customizable Burger Options

Among fast food chains, McDonald’s is probably the least open to custom-made orders. Anyone who has asked for “no onions” or “no special sauce” has probably seen more than their fair share of eye rolls from a McD’s employee. But the mega-chain is thinking about changing the company’s image with the expansion of a DIY burger concept.

McDonald’s has been testing the build-your-own concept at a single restaurant in California. There, customers select from various bun, patty, cheese and topping combinations by tapping away on a tablet at the counter.

The test has been successful, reports the AP, and so the chain is looking to try it out elsewhere.

A rep for McDonald’s wouldn’t say how many restaurants would be included in the expanded test, other than to tease that “It’ll be more than five, less than a hundred,” though he did say some locations would be in Southern California.

The idea is nothing new to fast food. There are any number of small and mid-size burger chains that not only let you customize your burger to order, but encourage it. The move toward made-to-order may help the nation’s largest burger chain earn some of those customers who have taken their business to these competitors.

The AP also reports that some McDonald’s have been getting larger kitchen prep tables recently. These tables could hold additional toppings and condiments that are not yet being made available on the regular McD’s menu. So this may be a sign to come that consumers could be getting more choices when they customize their burgers.