The McDonald’s mobile app works pretty well and has many features unique to this mega-chain. In addition to the requisite specials and locator is the ability not only to order food but to track your arrival at the restaurant for car-side delivery (if your local store is so-equipped.) For more on our experience with the McDonald’s mobile app, read on.
Enrollment
Signing up for the McDonald’s app is required to use the app. You can sign up with an email address or by using your social media accounts. Either way, sign-up is relatively fast and painless. Once enrolled, you can store a credit card and set other basic preferences for ordering, etc.
Deals
After logging into the app, the home screen presents an occasional promo but the View All Deals button is readily available and my most-used feature. Scrolling through the list of 6-10 deals, there are often some decent values to be had. BOGO sandwiches were ever-present last year. However, recently McDonald’s has started to cheap out on the second item with deals like “Buy one sandwich, get another for $0.25” or the even more ridiculous “Buy one breakfast sandwich, get the second for $0.01.” Seriously? A penny? Not cool, McDonald’s, and I don’t need to be nickel’d and dime’d before I even get to the restaurant.
Ordering
Placing an order on the app is pretty straightforward. You can browse by the typical menu categories, and there are occasionally app-only deals which are better than what you’d pay just ordering at the drive-thru or counter. Customizations are permitted, including tweaks to the condiments which is appreciated. The app even tells you what plussing up your item will add in terms of calories. Nice.
You can save your favorite food items for easy locating next time.
General Usability
I have found that earlier versions of the app logged me out involuntarily. This was quite frustrating when I was in the car and wanted to place a quick order. Parking outside the store and wasting time logging in just to place my order left me wondering why I didn’t just skip the hassle and go inside. It’s much better now, so whatever was changed is appreciated.
Overall, the McDonald’s mobile app is one of my favorites and I sometimes check the deals when thinking about what to have for lunch. Kudos to the Golden Arches for getting in my head.
