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Daily Record
Daily Record
Lifestyle
Sophie Law

We visited McDonald's as they finally reopened for dine-ins - and here's what happened

McDonald's is letting customers dine in to eat their meal today for the first time during lockdown, so we sent our reporter Sophie Law to one of the first reopened restaurants to take a look.

The fast food chain was forced to shut every branch in Scotland as coronavirus swept the nation - and only brought back drive-thru and delivery last month.

Eager customers can finally take a seat in restaurants to eat their burger and fries, but things are a little bit different from the McDonald's everyone knows so well.

We visited a Glasgow branch to see exactly what changes diners can expect, from table service to hand sanitiser.

It's now back serving up fries and burgers to eager customers inside branches (Daily Record)

Despite expecting to see a long queue snaking outside the entrance - especially after drivers caused traffic chaos by flocking to restaurants last month - the restaurant was relatively quiet and many people ordered their food to go.

Inside, McDonald's employees were on hand to ensure not too many people were in the restaurant at one time to maintain social distancing.

A friendly staff member advised customers to use the hand sanitiser dispenser at the entrance before taking their order.

It took less than five minutes for the meal to get a large Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal and a coffee (Daily Record)

There were signs on the door with safety instructions and floor markers showing a one-way system around the restaurant.

Staff, who all wore masks, helped our reporter to order a meal at the self-service machine before advising them to keep hold of their receipt number.

If you are really prepared, you can order your food through the McDonald's app to speed up the process.

So, where do you eat your food? Gone are the days of choosing a random seat or booth.

There were signs on the door with safety and social distancing instructions and a one-way system around the restaurant (Daily Record)

Table service is just one of the new features of the dine-in experience, with staff leading you to your seat which has an allocated number before you are told to wait for your food.

It took less than five minutes for the large Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal and a coffee to arrive.

Despite a notice on the door advising customers they would be asked for their 'name and contact details when eating in', our reporter thought the process should have been more clear.

It can can be done by using smart phones to either scan a QR code or visiting a webpage directly with URL details provided on each table.

Table service is just one of the new features of the dine in experience (REUTERS)

Reporter Sophie said: "It was a surreal experience being back in a McDonald's for the first time in four months.

"Staff were well prepared and knew exactly what they were doing and even helped me order my food so I got a cheaper deal.

"The table service was a rare but pleasant experience and a staff member even went to get me some sugar for my coffee.

"It felt safe and clean and wasn't crowded at all.

"I was very confused as to how staff were going to take my contact details and thought they would ask me when I arrived. I later found out you have to scan a code on your table.

"The food was hot, tasty and cheap - it was McDonald's, the same as it ever was."

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