Question 3 Compare and Contrast

I chose to compare McDonald’s to Wendy’s to see how their strategies might be different even though they are competing for the same markets. I chose to look at their layout design strategies. McDonald’s chooses to focus on space maximization in their stores while Wendy’s focuses on the efficient movement of people in the store including both customers and employees. What I found interesting is that neither focuses on comfort even though they are restaurants. Due to the nature of the market they are pursuing they both attempt to accommodate those who are more in a hurry. The people who eat at these restaurants don’t typically stay for long so comfort isn’t as important. Wendy’s wants to speed up the process so their space is designed to streamline that but McDonald’s chose the route of having more space for more people. They each act as a strategy to help busy shoppers but in different ways. Wendy’s wants to help you move quickly through the ordering process while McDonald’s wants to accommodate a large number of people. Both are very practical uses of the space. Having plenty of room helps McDonald’s in their business success because unlike other restaurants that are typically more sit down oriented and may have a wait time for a table, McDonald’s customers need to be able to sit down immediately to eat their food quickly. If customers often couldn’t find a table then McDonald’s would lose one of its advantages of convenience and potential customers may be turned away. Practical and space maximizing strategies are certainly beneficial to McDonald’s business model.