All businesses have a lifecycle and theirs is on the downhill side. They need to re-invent a new business linked with the best of the past and the future. In other words, return to the Ray Kroc menu, use his good quality ingredients, and get some robotics to recreate those food items from the past. Get rid of the crappy food (provide good simple meals) and get rid of under paid immigrants speaking in foreign tongues among themselves and the customers (provide better communication). And get rid of those damn drive-inn speakers.
Robots can take orders and converse with multilingual customers in their language of choice while other machines recreate those Kroc menu items to perfection. Cost accountants may find a way to lower the price of menu items (robots and machines may be cheaper - no benefits or strikes/walkouts, just ingredient replenishment and maintenance) and be more competitive while increasing profits.
Just an idea. At least I hope the robots will not spit in my food or call me whitey in some foreign tongue. Maybe a double cheeseburger will taste like the old cheeseburger again. And even if the customer wants a McChittlin or something special like one of the current crappy items, they can be programmed to whip it up on special occasions.
The problem with those ideas is that it would require massive investment in new equipment, remodeling of most if not all stores (14,000 US, 35,000 worldwide), and a complete disruption and reorganization of their supply chain. Plus there’s the complication of franchisee-owned stores vs corporate owned and who is going to pay.
Drive through represents 60% of their business.
Simplifying their menus would go a long way towards helping in that area.