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Seniors discover digital convenience through McDonald's kiosks
Students at Suwon Jaeil Lifelong School learn to order food using a McDonald’s kiosk using a smartphone training app in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Courtesy of McDonald’s Korea
By Ko Dong-hwan
SUWON, Gyeonggi Province – McDonald’s Korea is assisting seniors who are unfamiliar with modern digital conveniences by introducing them to its restaurant kiosks and providing guidance on how to use them, according to the global fast food franchise company’s regional office, Tuesday.
McDonald’s has partnered with the National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) under the Ministry of Education to launch an offline program for seniors interested in using digital self-ordering services. NILE developed a guidebook for the program, and McDonald’s made its restaurants available for students to practice using the kiosks.
At Suwon Jaeil Lifelong School in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday, over 10 seniors attended a class to learn about kiosks and how to use the ones at McDonald’s restaurants. They used a specially designed smartphone app that simulated the interface of McDonald's kiosks. Unfamiliar with the machines, the seniors began with basic explanations, such as the differences between kiosks and vending machines, common terms used by kiosks in quick service restaurants (QSR) like “take-out,” “counter,” and “(accumulated) points,” and how to make payments.
After the class, the students traveled a short distance to the McDonald’s Suwon Hwaseong DT location to apply what they had just learned. There, they practiced using the kiosks to order their lunch meals.
“I was always afraid of using one of these,” one of the students said during the lesson. “I wanted to try but I couldn’t let people behind me wait forever. So I just gave up and left the queue feeling ashamed.”
Students from Suwon Jaeil Lifelong School order lunch at McDonald’s Suwon Hwaseong DT location in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan
Throughout the lesson, the seniors shared the difficulties they experienced while using the machines, growing increasingly elated. They said they now feel more confident and ready to use the kiosks on their own.
“Because I haven’t been able to use these kiosks, I often asked someone else to buy stuff for me,” another student said. “Now, I’m ready to take my grandchildren to McDonald’s and treat them without any help with using the kiosks.”
The day's lesson and field trip were part of the third week of a 10-week program. The program guidebook includes 10 chapters that introduce the key definitions, features, and important considerations for using kiosks. While the program focuses on McDonald's kiosks, it also aims to help seniors navigate a variety of service kiosks encountered in everyday life.
In April of last year, McDonald’s and NILE entered into a partnership to assist consumers facing difficulties using digital technology. This year, they expanded their efforts by selecting 434 local community centers that offer continuing education programs for seniors across 173 municipalities nationwide to promote the program. They distributed over 10,000 guidebooks and aim to complete the program for 6,000 students in the first half of the year and another 4,000 in the second half.
“We started upgrading our kiosks in 2022 to support customers with physical disabilities and digital illiteracy,” Yang Hyoung-keun, public affairs lead at McDonald’s Korea, said. “While the country has standardized conditions for ‘accessibility’ to QSR venues here, there have never been such standards for ‘usability’ of the same venues. That’s because usability depends on an individual’s knowledge and experience. So we agreed with NILE to come up with our own solutions to help people in needs of using QSR venues better.”