MAGAZINE

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When walking through my town centre recently, I observed something I’d never seen before in the world of hospitality. 

I was walking to catch a train, which included passing everyone’s obligatory local McDonald’s restaurant – an ordinary thing. Millions, if not bilalions, of people pass their own Golden Arches landmark every single day. However, on this occasion, something out of the ordinary was happening. At least, out of the ordinary in my mind. 

Outside of this particular McDonald’s, an employee of the mega QSR brand was cleaning a kerbside bin. Not just brushing cigarette butts off the top – like, really giving it a polish. Spray, scrub, spray, scrub, lean, spray, scrub, check again, spray, scrub, stand back, inspect, one last scrub for good measure. The diligence of this chap and his dedication to such an unpleasant task were not only utterly captivating, but they allowed for a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes mantra of McDonald’s and the way it presents itself as a business. For, if you think about it, their sites are pretty much always spotless, are they not? I’d just never considered the lengths site operators might go to in order to enhance this perception. Bizarrely, this (one would assume daily) routine of bin cleaning did enhance the overall picture of this individual McDonald’s site. Everything was sparkling. 

I was still thinking of this guy by the time I made it into London that day and suddenly found myself inspecting the state of public bins that happen to be located outside of restaurants. Do any other operators take it upon themselves to scrub down aesthetic additions to their exteriors that technically have nothing to do with their operation? If they did, would more people be subconsciously attracted to their business? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way, I’ll stop talking rubbish now. Enjoy the issue.   

Tristan O’Hana
Editorial director