McDonald's India re-opens 13 outlets, of over 160 that closed on May 9, in North and East India. The company announced on May 19 that outlets in the region, facing temporary closure since May 9, have started re-opening. While customers in Delhi can now visit the 13 re-opened outlets, core McDonald's services like the Happy Meal and McDelivery continue to remain on pause. Meanwhile, regular customers of McDonald's outlets in the rest of North and East India will have to wait a little longer for the McDonald's experience.
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Rebooting McDonald's
"Thirteen restaurants in Delhi, from 11 am on May 19, are the first to re-open following the ownership transfer," states a press release from McDonald's India Private Limited. At these newly re-opened McDonald's outlets in Delhi, customers can expect "an enhanced service experience with more customised hospitality, refreshed menu boards, merchandising and packaging, and of course, taste authentic McDonald's menu items," informs the press release.
"We are thrilled to have started the re-opening process and look forward to serving our customers a more authentic McDonald's experience at these first 13 locations now open for business in Delhi," said Rob Hunghanfoo, head, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Limited (CPRL), which oversees operations of McDonald's outlets in the North and East regions of India.
Work in Progress
Referring to the 10-day interim during which the outlets had shuttered operations, Hunghanfoo says, "Our CPRL teams have fully focused on the work needed to prepare the restaurants over the past week." Elaborating on the refurbishment that the temporarily closed outlets underwent and the rest in the region are undergoing, the press release states, "The work in the restaurants has been focused on restaurant and equipment maintenance, technology audits, menu and marketing updates and employee training."
Consistent McD Experience
For some years now, McDonald's customers in North and East India haven't been receiving the same experience as their counterparts in the West and South; this is one of the first aspects that the relaunch seeks to rectify.
"Our customers at these re-opened locations are receiving a McDonald's experience more consistent with our brand in markets around the world," states the press release. "Our top priority is always to deliver the highest quality restaurant experience to our customers," added Hunghanfoo.
Inconvenience Regretted
However, customers visiting the 13 re-opened outlets will have to wait a little longer for McDonald's services like the Happy Meal and McDelivery. "It will take more time to bring a number of core services, like birthday parties and Happy Meals, to customers. We are also not able to offer Delivery until we have more restaurants up and running to ensure we can service our usual delivery area," informs the press release.
"We will continue to work around the clock and plan to gradually re-open more restaurants in the coming days and weeks. We sincerely regret any inconvenience the continued temporary restaurant closures may cause," says Hunghanfoo.
The 13 re-opened McDonald's India outlets in Delhi region include those at T3 International Airport, HR Manesar, V3S Mall, Janpath, CBD Cross River Mall, Nehru Place, D-Mall Rohini, HR Gurgaon Huda City Center, HR Gurgaon DLF Cyber Hub, Ansal Plaza, HR Gurgaon Sohna Road and Eros Jungpura.
In addition to the National Capital Region of Delhi, other regions in North and East India which have been affected by the temporary closure of McDonald's India restaurants include Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and West Bengal.
(Featured Image: Max Pixel; McDonald's at Delhi Airport: Flickr)