為了買了一個漢堡，特蕾西·摩爾在達斯斯城中心的一家麥當勞餐廳的停車道上等了好半天，最后等得都有些不耐煩了。

麥當勞新推出的這款“足三兩”漢堡是用新鮮的牛肉做的，它比傳統的用凍肉餅做得漢堡更熱乎、更多汁，它也是麥當勞為了向消費者奉上更美味的快餐而研制的主打產品。

但是等了四分鐘之后，摩爾倒是急得成了熱鍋上的螞蟻。她和其他點了“足三兩”漢堡的消費者一樣，都被店方要求把車子停到停車場上去等，以免占用訂餐車道。

“早知道需要每次都得等這么長時間，我就不點這個漢堡了，我寧可去其他地方。”摩爾抱怨道。她是麥當勞的常客，幾乎每天早上都會在訂餐車道上點一杯可樂和一份早餐。

面對競爭對手對其市場份額的不斷蠶食，麥當勞正在想方設法在快餐的時間和口味上進行權衡。而用新鮮牛肉制作的“足三兩”漢堡正是麥當勞為提高快餐品質而做出的一次重要嘗試。今年三月，麥當勞已經在幾個地區試點推出了幾款新三明治，并打算在2018年年中之前，將這些新品推廣到全美市場。

不過麥當勞的此次嘗試能否成功，很大程度上要取決于像摩爾這樣的重要主顧是不是買賬。像摩爾這樣主要通過訂餐車道訂餐的高薪白領，大約為麥當勞的美國業務貢獻了高達七成的收入。

據餐廳經理和分析師們稱，雖然新鮮牛肉煎起來比凍肉還快，然而這種現場烹飪的“足三兩”漢堡的制作時間還是要比凍肉餅漢堡多出一分鐘。因為只有在顧客掏錢購買之后，工作人員才能開始煎牛肉。而傳統的凍肉餅漢堡都是提前批量煎好了的，所以能節省不少時間。

快餐是一項分秒必爭的生意。調查顯示，麥當勞的訂餐車道的訂餐速度已經落后于不少主要的競爭對手。雖然麥當勞并沒有公布過相關數據，但據該公司的代表年初接受路透社采訪時稱，麥當勞的服務時間的確是拉長了。

盡管如此，麥當勞的高層還是很看好“足三兩”鮮牛肉漢堡的前景。這款漢堡的銷量足足占了麥當勞全美漢堡銷量的四分之一。在上月的一次投資者會議上，麥當勞公司的CEO史蒂夫·伊斯特布魯克表示，此次“凍肉換鮮肉”帶來的不良反應要比預想的少得多，各個餐廳的運營商也都表示了歡迎。

然而，一些快餐行業的老將卻對麥當勞的這次創新持不同態度。行業顧問理查德·亞當斯曾經做過南加州的麥當勞特許經營商，他表示，對于麥當勞的主顧們來說，方便是最重要的因素，如果上餐速度下降了，他們可能寧可到別的地方吃飯。

“但凡是在顧客下單后才開始烹調的，服務速度就一定會下降。”亞當斯表示。

其實，在“鮮肉換凍肉”的計劃出臺以前，麥當勞的后廚已經倍感壓力山大了。

亞當斯指出，最近麥當勞的新菜譜已經讓各地餐廳的工作人員深感頭疼。這是由于麥當勞最近在全美范圍內推出了所謂的“簽名制作”三明治，顧客可以挑選他們自己喜歡的肉、面包和醬汁，讓工作人員為他們現場制作符合其口味的三明治。等到“簽名制作”漢堡推廣到全美各地時，它們也將用上鮮牛肉。

另外，隨著麥當勞開始積極采用自助下單和移動下單等技術，廚師們面臨的壓力只會更大。這些技術雖然縮短了顧客下單的時間，卻會在高峰時段讓廚房陷入忙不過來的境地——對于這一點，星巴克已經有了切身體會。

要新鮮還是要速度

“凍改鮮”的足三兩漢堡，只不過是伊斯特布魯克為了對這家擁有60年歷史的快餐連鎖企業進行改造，以扭轉連續四年客流量下滑的不利局面而做出的一系列嘗試之一。

另外，這也是為了迎擊Wendy’s Co、Whataburger和In-N-Out等快餐新銳的挑戰。這幾家快餐公司都以鮮肉漢堡為賣點。麥當勞稱，自2012年以來，他們至少從麥當勞的美國門店里吸走了5億美元的銷售額。

2015年10月，伊斯特布魯克推出了大受歡迎的“全天早餐”計劃，的確刺激了不少銷量。從那時起到現在，麥當勞的股價已經上漲了25%。

據分析士人預計，隨著“凍改鮮”計劃的推出，加之麥當勞開始在炸雞塊等熱門產品中摒棄人造添加劑，以滿足消費者對更簡單、更“干凈”、更新鮮的食材的需求，麥當勞的銷量將有望進一步提高。

“凍改鮮”的足三兩漢堡已經獲得了不少分析師和麥當勞特許經銷商的支持。在俄克拉荷馬州和得克薩斯州，該產品已經在400家門店試驗了將近兩年，反響不錯。

據路透社報道，根據三位達拉斯地區的麥當勞經理估計，“凍改鮮”已經使足三兩漢堡的銷量從20%提高到了50%——盡管這其中也離不開廣告和優惠券的大力推動。

達拉斯北部某高檔小區的麥當勞餐廳經理埃德加·梅扎表示：“街上那家Whataburger的不少顧客已經跑到我們這來了。”而Whataburger公司的管理層則拒絕對此發表評論。

有也漢堡愛好者也注意到了“凍改鮮”帶來的變化。

“這些漢堡變得更多汁了。”鮑伯·雷利剛在達拉斯的一個小區的麥當勞餐廳吃完一個足三兩漢堡，這也是他這個星期里吃的第三頓麥當勞。

“我認為Wendy’s點醒了他們。”他說。

喬伊·賈斯珀曾在麥當勞公司擔任高管，他在達拉斯和沃斯堡等地經營著20家麥當勞餐廳，他也在大力推動“凍改鮮”。他表示，新的足三兩漢堡“是我們行業里最好的漢堡，更重要的是，它是以麥當勞的速度上餐的。”

問題是，“麥當勞”速度畢竟趕不上業內的很多競爭對手。

根據行業刊物《QSR》雜志發布的一項研究，去年麥當勞訂餐車道的平均服務時間是208.2秒，該數據來自亞特蘭大的一家名叫SeeLevel HX公司的統計。這個時間要遠遠長于行業領頭羊Wendy’s的169.1秒。漢堡王、唐恩都樂和肯德基的服務時間也比麥當勞短。

從2012年到2016年，麥當勞在一些門店增添了訂餐車道，取消了做起來比較耗費時間的卷餅三明治等一些產品，從而將與Wendy’s的差距縮小了三分之一。盡管如此，根據SeeLevel HX公司的數據，去年它的訂餐車道等待時間仍然比2012年慢了將近20秒。

克勞蒂亞·巴塞納斯是達拉斯中央高速公路旁的一家麥當勞餐廳的助理經理，她表示，在她的餐廳，前臺員工和訂餐車道的員工會告訴顧客，如果他們想點鮮牛肉做的足三兩漢堡，可能要多等上一點時間，尤其是如果他們點的是全熟的牛肉。

巴塞納斯表示：“我們必須向顧客解釋，鮮牛肉加工的時間要更長一些，可能需要一分鐘左右。”

麥當勞的顧客是否認為值得為了鮮牛肉多等些時間，還要看全國的試推廣情況怎樣。

午休時間，胡安·羅德里格斯在達拉斯的另一家麥當勞餐廳的訂餐車道上點了一份鮮牛肉做的足三兩漢堡。在三分鐘的等待時間里，這個20歲的年輕人顯然等得十分心焦。他說：“如果鮮牛肉漢堡的確更好吃，那么我不介意多等一會兒。如果吃起來沒什么分別，我就不會再買了。”（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

Tracy Moore grew impatient as she waited for a Quarter Pounder recently in the parking lot of a McDonald's restaurant in central Dallas.

The burger, made with fresh beef and billed as hotter and juicer than the original made from a frozen patty, is part of the company's effort to serve tastier food.

But after about four minutes, it was Moore who was steamed. Like other customers who'd ordered the new Quarter Pounder at the restaurant's drive-through, she was asked to pull into a parking space and wait.

"If it's going to be that long every time, I won't order it. I'd go" elsewhere, said Moore, who hits the drive-through every morning for a Coke and dines frequently at the chain.

The tradeoff between time and taste looms large for McDonald's as it works to win back business lost to rivals. The introduction of cooked-to-order, quarter-pound burgers made with fresh beef is part of the chain's attempt to improve food quality. Announced in March, the new sandwiches are already in selected test markets and are expected to be served in all U.S. stores by mid-2018.

But the success of the initiative may well hinge on satisfying important customers like Moore: speed-minded drive-through patrons who account for 70% of the firm's U.S. revenue.

An on-demand Quarter Pounder takes about a minute longer to land in a customer's hands than does the original sandwich, according to restaurant managers and analysts, even though fresh beef fries up faster than frozen patties. That's because grilling begins only after a patron orders. Traditional Quarter Pounders were often cooked up in batches ahead of time.

Every second counts in the fast-food business. McDonald's drive-through speeds already lag those of some major competitors, according to one widely watched survey. McDonald's does not share such data, but company representatives told Reuters earlier this year that service times have slowed.

Still, company executives are bullish on prospects for the popular Quarter Pounder, which accounts for about one-fourth of McDonald's U.S. burger sales. At an investor conference last month, Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook said the changeover has created fewer complications than expected and that restaurant operators are on board.

Some industry veterans, however, are skeptical. Richard Adams, a former Southern California McDonald's franchisee-turned-consultant, says convenience is paramount for the chain's patrons, who may go elsewhere if speed deteriorates.

"Any time the cooking process begins after the customer orders, the service time will be slower," Adams said.

The fresh-beef initiative comes as pressure builds on McDonald's kitchens.

Adams says restaurant crews already are juggling trickier menu items thanks to the recent national launch of McDonald's new "Signature Crafted" sandwich line, which allows customers to pick their own meat, buns and toppings. "Signature Crafted" quarter-pound burgers also will use fresh beef as it becomes available nationwide.

McDonald's cooks could be further strained by the chain's embrace of self-service kiosks and mobile ordering. The technology shaves ordering times, but can create new bottlenecks by swamping kitchens at peak hours, as companies such as Starbucks have learned.

Fresh vs. Fast

The revamped Quarter Pounder is the latest move by Easterbrook to modernize the 60-year-old chain and reverse four straight years of traffic declines.

It's also a direct shot at Wendy's Co, Whataburger and In-N-Out. Those fresh-burger chains are among the fast-food rivals that McDonald's says have siphoned 500 million U.S. transactions from its stores since 2012.

Easterbrook's introduction of all-day breakfast in October 2015 was a big hit and has helped lift sales. The company's stock price is up more than 25 percent so far this year.

Analysts expect the fresh-beef push, along with moves to ditch artificial ingredients in popular items such as chicken nuggets, to bolster sales by addressing consumer demand for simpler, "cleaner" and fresher ingredients.

The Quarter Pounder makeover has won early support from analysts and McDonald's franchisees in the heart of cattle country, where the product has been tested for almost two years in about 400 stores in Oklahoma and Texas.

Three Dallas-area McDonald's managers who spoke with Reuters estimated the switch has improved their Quarter Pounder sales from 20% to 50%, albeit aided by advertising and coupons.

"We've been stealing customers from a Whataburger down the street," said Edgar Meza, a manager at a McDonald's restaurant in an upscale neighborhood in north Dallas. Officials at Texas-based Whataburger, a regional chain, declined to comment.

Some burger lovers are taking notice too.

"They're a little juicier," said Bob Riley, who was polishing off a Quarter Pounder at an outlet near Dallas' Deep Ellum neighborhood, his third McDonald's meal of the week.

"I think Wendy's (WEN, -2.36%)woke them up," he said.

Joe Jasper, a former McDonald's executive who owns 20 restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has been deeply involved in the effort. He described the new Quarter Pounder as "the best burger in our industry, but more importantly, (one delivered) at the speed of McDonald's."

Trouble is, the "speed of McDonald's" isn't as fast as that of many of its competitors.

The average service time at a McDonald's drive-through last year was 208.2 seconds, according to a study published by QSR magazine, an industry publication, using data from SeeLevel HX, an Atlanta-based business intelligence firm. That's well behind industry leader Wendy's at 169.1 seconds, according to the survey. Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts and KFC all beat McDonald's too.

McDonald's narrowed the gap with Wendy's by one-third from 2012 to 2016 by adding more drive-through lanes at some stores and by scrapping products such as "snack wraps," tortilla-wrapped sandwiches that proved time-consuming to prepare. Still, its average drive-through service time last year was almost 20 seconds slower than it was in 2012, according to SeeLevel HX data.

Claudia Barcenas, assistant manager at a McDonald's off Dallas' Central Expressway, says her counter and drive-through staff inform patrons that fresh-beef Quarter Pounders can be delayed, particularly if the sandwiches are ordered well-done.

"We have to explain that it takes a bit longer. Perhaps a minute," Barcenas said.

Whether that's worth it for McDonald's customers remains to be seen as the experiment goes nationwide.

Juan Rodriguez waited on his lunch break for a fresh-beef Quarter Pounder at the drive-through of another Dallas McDonald's outlet about nine miles from Barcenas' store. At the three-minute mark, the 20-year-old was getting restless."If it's better, I don't mind waiting," Rodriguez said. "But if it tastes the same, then no."