Windows Phone Thoughts: More PDA Use At McDonald's

I've seen some stories lately about some McDonald's restaraunts toying with the idea of providing WiFi access for their patrons. However, here's an article about how McDonald's employees will soon be using PDAs to help streamline serving customers.



"McDonald's is hoping to speed up fast food by equipping staff at its 1,250 UK restaurants with queue-busting handheld devices. Staff will take customer orders as they wait, making for a happier Happy Meal...The devices will be in place at all restaurants by the end of the year. This will cut queues so, by the time [they've] taken the order and the customer gets to the till, the food should be waiting and they just have to pay."

I've seen a few U.S. fast-food restaraunts try something like this, and it seems to benefit both the customer and the business because wait time is cut by 30-40%. Customers get through the queues more quickly, and the restaraunt can serve more customers per hour by using PDAs to expedite the process.

I think it's a great idea, but I'd probably be so interested in the tools and applications being used that I'd forget what I wanted to order!