Samenvatting

Currently, in a fast-growing electronic age, digital presence is becoming a necessity in order to maintain pace with the current technological evolution. In addition, increasing labor costs due to governmental regulations is challenging McDonalds’ scheme of providing low priced meals.
Resorting to technology is becoming increasingly popular among the restaurant industry. Although, despite the advantages of technology deployment, McDonalds’ self-service kiosks are becoming the pivotal representative of the brand image. For instance, Dominos’ utilization of Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) for tracking customers’ orders, increased the global digital image of the brand (Ritzer, 2018). In the case of McDonalds, self-service kiosks are modifying customers’ perception of the brand due to the shift from traditional to digital approach. In particular, the
replacement of human labor in the ordering process increases the ability of McDonalds to gain control over its customer service through software optimizations. Thus, development of a consistent customer relation will be dependent on the fluidity of the self-service kiosks’ interaction experience.
Under those circumstances, customers’ satisfaction rate of the experience will be mirrored through the effectiveness of the self-service kiosk. In accordance to the Dual Mediation Hypothesis (1989), improving effectiveness of the self-service platform impacts users’ perception toward the brand, henceforth, intensifying their return intention rate. Furthermore, for this research to recommend pragmatic improvements to McDonalds’ self-service kiosks, both business and customer perspectives were taken into consideration. With this intention, dismantling effectiveness into functionality, usability and aesthetics has posed as the fundamental criteria for approaching improvements while constructing the theoretical framework. Consequently, data collected through
carrying out questionnaires were formed sustaining the main concept of the defining criteria. Prior theories on interface design granted this research measuring guidelines to assess possible improvements.
The research revealed major issues with the current operating self-service kiosk, inconsistency and asymmetry in the scrolling capability have caused difficulties among 79% of users to identify patterns, thus, resulting in a failure of product range recognition. As well as, anxiety build up in 38% of participants subsequent to the ordering process which required the use of short-term memory.
In addition, in order to improve the current user interface experience, this report recommends optimizations in order to increase responsiveness rate to meet current and future expectations of customers. Finally, this report has identified possible improvements and opportunities which Improving Effectiveness of McDonalds’ Self-Service Kiosk Jan Sael III require further research such as, integration of online and offline channels, as well as, the use of immersive human centered visualization design (emojis) in the dialogue sequence to boost positive stimuli for customers with a higher tendency for human interaction.