Riddle Me This: McDonald’s to Offer Free Wi-Fi in All Locations

By Molly Galler

December 16th, 2009

This morning while driving into work I was listening to the radio and the DJ announced in his morning news wrap up that McDonald’s will now be offering free Wi-Fi in all of its locations.

Normally when a popular destination announces a new, convenient service, I feel overjoyed. However, this announcement left me . . . puzzled.

If the typical McDonald’s customer is one who relishes in the low priced dollar menu, is this same customer likely to own and carry a laptop?

Doesn’t a significant amount of McDonald’s business come from the drive-through?

Aren’t most McDonald’s locations on the highway where people zip in and out with no desire to stop?

Would you ever consider conducting a business meeting at a McDonald’s?

This morning on Mashable.com, blogger Brenna Ehrlich explained, “So why the switch to free Wi-Fi? Well, McDonald’s is hoping to become a hang-out spot of the coffee shop variety — it also plans to start selling frappes and smoothies mid-2010. And given the fact that coffee chains like Starbucks charge customers to surf while they sip, the idea doesn’t seem all that pie-in-the-sky.”

While I applaud McDonald’s for joining the technological revolution and trying to bring further convenience to their customers, they seem to be offering a service to a demographic that is likely uninterested.

I don’t know about you, but free or not, I have zero intention of plugging in my laptop beneath the golden arches.

Entry Filed under: Internet,Marketing