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Super-Style Me! 改变风格大作战！

 

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Inside the $2.4 billion plan to change the way you think about the most iconic restaurant on the planet 一探耗资二十四亿美元的计划，目的在于改变全球最具代表性的经典餐厅所带给人的印象

 

For lunch, Denis Weil chills out in the contemporary lounge he created. Weil spritzes a lime over his salad. “I love this salad, it’s so cravable,” he coos in a slight European accent.

在午餐时间，丹尼斯．威尔轻松自在地坐在他打造出的现代化交谊厅里。他把一片莱姆的汁液挤在自己的色拉上。「我很爱吃这道色拉，非常诱人，」他以略带欧洲腔调的口音轻声说道。

 

His contemporary lounge sits smack in the middle of a newly revamped McDonald’s. Weil, McDonald’s VP of concept and design, has spent the past five years educating a host of executives and franchisees throughout the $23 billion company that a McDonald’s restaurant doesn’t have to mean primary colors and fiberglass booths.

他设计的这座现代化交谊厅位于伊利诺伊州奥克布鲁克一家刚完成重新装修的麦当劳餐厅的正中央。没错，就是麦当劳。威尔是麦当劳的概念与设计副总裁，过去五年来，在这家价值两百三十亿美元的公司里，他把时间完全投注于教育高阶主管与加盟商，让他们明白麦当劳餐厅不一定都要有原色和玻璃纤维的餐座（译注：通常包括一张桌子与相连的几张椅子）。

 

“it’s a community center,” says Weil of the restaurant, meaning McDonald’s is one of the few places cheap and casual enough to be accessible to nearly everyone. The restaurant in Oak Brook has been divided into four “seating zones,” each designed for a different activity – chilling out, working, casual dining and group events.

「这里是个小区中心，」威尔针对这家餐厅说道，意思是指麦当劳是少数价钱便宜又轻松随性的地方，几乎所有人都可以来。奥克布鲁克的这家餐厅区隔出四个「座位区」，每一区都为不同的活动而设计──包括放松、工作、随性用餐以及团体活动。

 

Their strategy  策略

 

McDonald’s grown-up thinking about design is part of its “Plan to Win” growth strategy, initiated in 2003 when executives realized their core markets had gorged on expansion. From 1974 to 2003, the company supersized to more than 30,000 storefronts in 100-plus countries, each one basically a facsimile of the one before it.

麦当劳在设计方面的这种成熟思考模式，是该公司「必胜计划」成长策略的一部分。这项策略在二００三年开始推行，当时麦当劳的高阶主管意识到他们的核心市场已然过度扩张。在一九七四至二００三年间，该公司在一百多个国家巨幅扩增到三万家以上的店面，而且每家店面基本上都是前一家的翻版。

 

The strategy’s three pillars are menu innovation, store renovation and an upgrade of the ordering experience.

这项策略的三大支柱是菜单创新、店面翻新以及点餐体验升级。

 

The next phase, McDonald’s execs say, depends on design. “People eat with their eyes first,” says president and COO Don Thompson. “If you have a restaurant that is appealing, contemporary and relevant both from the street and interior, the food tastes better.”

麦当劳的高阶主管表示，下一个阶段仰赖于设计。「顾客用餐会先用眼睛看，」总裁暨营运长唐恩．汤普森说：「餐厅的外观和内部装潢如果看起来吸引人、现代化又合乎潮流，餐点吃起来就会比较美味。」

 

“As the younger generation starts to see McDonald’s as a place you go to eat instead of just picking up food, you could very well change their behavior for years to come,” says Darren Tristano of restaurant consultancy Technomic. “The next step,” he says, “is to draw people in for a dining experience.”

「随着年轻一代开始把麦当劳视为用餐地点，而不只是外带餐点的地方，你就有可能改变他们往后多年的行为，」餐厅顾问公司Technomic的达伦．崔斯坦诺表示。「下一步，」他说：「就是吸引顾客进来感受用餐体验。」

 

 

 

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lime [laɪm] n. 柠檬

cravable [ˋkreveb!] adj. 渴求的(引申为诱人的) having qualities that engender an intense desire for more

smack [smæk] adv. 直接地 directly

fiberglass [ˋfaɪbɚ͵glæs] n. 玻璃纤维

grown-up [ˋgron͵ʌp] adj. 理智的 suitable for or characteristic of an adult

gorge [gɔrdʒ] v. 塞饱 to fill or choke up

supersize [ˋsupɚsaɪz] v. 给... 加到超级份量 to sizably increase the amount or the extent of something

storefront [ˋstɔr͵frʌnt] n. 店面

pillar [ˋpɪlɚ] n.【喻】栋梁，台柱

appealing [əˋpilɪŋ] adj. 有吸引力的; 有趣的

 

 

 

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A modern design for a classic icon  为经典企业赋予现代化的设计

 

McDonald’s is a decentralized beast, a constituency divided by not only national borders and time zones but also by cultural expectations. The question, Weil says, is, “How do you increase service speed and efficiency and optimize the customer experience at the same time?”

麦当劳是一头分权化的巨兽，其成员不仅受到国界与时区的划分，也必须迎合不同的文化期望。威尔指出，问题就在于：「该怎么一方面提升服务的速度与效率，同时又能让顾客获得最佳的体验？」

 

The answer will soon pop up in a neighborhood near you. Weil has created what he calls ideas bubble up from McDonald’s global partners and are relentlessly filtered and tested by Weil and his team. “One of the strengths of my job is to conceptualize what happens in the marketplace and distill the principle out of it,” Weil explains.

不久之后，这个问题的答案就会出现在你家附近。威尔创造了一套他所谓的「活生生的网络」，由麦当劳的全球伙伴提出各种构想，再由威尔和他的团队毫不留情地筛选及测试。「我的职务的一大长处，就是构思市场上的各种状况，再从中萃取出原则，」威尔解释道。

 

Adapting to the culture  调适因应当地文化

 

A decade ago Pierre Woreczek, chief brand and strategy officer for McDonald’s Europe, realized that the giant clown and prefab furniture had to go if McDonald’s was to have a future on the continent. “Everything that was global was seen as not very quality, but efficient and profit-driven,” he says.

十年前，麦当劳欧洲分部品牌暨策略长皮埃．沃尔切克意识到，麦当劳如果想要在欧陆发展，就必须扬弃那个巨型小丑和组合桌椅。「只要是全球化的东西，给人的印象就是只追求效率和利润，却不重视质量，」他说。

 

“We are not competing with our direct competitors anymore,” Woreczek says. “We are competing with the streets,” noting that each region will need to seem more in tune with what is hip to attract customers.

「我们的竞争对象已经不再是我们的直接竞争对手了，」沃尔切克说：「我们竞争的对象是街头上的潮流。」他指出，每个区域都必须跟上当地的风潮，才能吸引顾客。

 

“If Martians came down to Earth and visited a McDonald’s, a post office, and a bank, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference,” Weil says while enjoying a late-morning snack of fries and Chicken McNuggets. “They would just see that everything starts with a line, has a counter that acts as a divider where the money exchanges and has something hidden going on way in the back.”

「火星人如果来到地球，走访一家麦当劳，一家邮局和一家银行，一定看不出三者有什么不同，」在这个近午时分，威尔一面享用着薯条与麦克鸡块的点心，一面说道：「他们只会看到这三种地方都必须先排队，金钱交易的地方都有个柜台区隔内外，而后面也都隐藏着其他的作业。」

 

“I’ve been on a quest to figure out how to merge design and business,” Weil says.

「我踏上了一场探寻之旅，企图找出结合设计与业务的方法，」威尔说。

 

 

 

单词发音

 

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constituency [kənˋstɪtʃʊənsɪ] n. 选区的全体选民

relentlessly [rɪˋlɛntlɪslɪ] adv. 无情地；残酷地

clown [klaʊn] n.（马戏团等的）小丑，丑角

prefab [ˋpriˋfæb] adj. 预制的；组合式的

quality [ˋkwɑlətɪ] adj. 优良的，优质的 having a high degree of excellence

in tune with【喻】协调; 融洽 having a good understanding of someone or something

hip [hɪp] adj. 赶时髦的 trendy (Brit. informal)

divider [dəˋvaɪdɚ] n.〔把某物分成几部分的〕分隔物 also called room divider a screen or piece of furniture placed so as to divide a room into separate areas

 

 

 

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“We don’t design in a vacuum here. If an idea doesn’t come alive in the restaurant, it doesn’t work,” Weil says.

「我们不是在真空进行设计。一项构想如果无法在餐厅里发挥效果，就没有用，」威尔说。

 

Weil’s scientific design method has led to some subtle but important changes in redesigned stores. He has restored some live entertainment value by positioning McCafe barista stands next to the registers and has redesigned menus with larger-than-life photos of the food – a 21st-century stab at telegraphing quality. Weil has [also] added an overhead screen that flashes order numbers for pickup to alleviate a clogged register area.

威尔的科学设计方法，在经过重新设计的店面带来了细微但重要的改变。他把麦克咖啡的咖啡冲调师安排站在收银台旁边，从而重拾了若干现场娱乐的价值；此外，他也重新设计了菜单，放上外观非常吸引人的餐点照片──这是二十一世纪传达质量印象的做法。威尔还加装了高架屏幕，显示点餐号码通知顾客取餐，藉此纾解柜台处的拥挤状况。

 

The European model  欧洲模式

 

“It’s a very contemporary and inviting restaurant,” say Paul Hendel, an owner-operator with 19 franchises in New York, of the European model. With its open glass-front entry, multicolored chairs and oasis-like second floor, his joint saw an immediate sales rush. That prompted him to invest in a new “wow” gadget: a handheld order taker that will allow roving wait staff to funnel orders from the back of the lines into the kitchen.

「那是一家非常现代化也非常吸引人的餐厅，」在纽约拥有并经营十九家加盟店的保罗．亨德尔针对欧洲模式这么说道。他的餐厅采用开放玻璃正面入口、色彩多样的座椅，并且将二楼布置得像绿洲之后，餐厅业绩随即大幅上扬。这样的成果促使他投资另一项令人惊艳的新式仪器：手持点餐器，可让到处游走的服务人员从排队人龙的后方把点菜内容传送给厨房。

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same  世事愈变，愈见其不变

 

What happens when the novelty factor wears off?

一开始的新奇感一旦消退之后，会怎么样呢？

 

Tom Williams, the lead Australian designer, says that by reshuffling, reupholstering and switching out graphics, his first store design in Melbourne, built in 2000, has lasted a decade. “A lot of the planning principles we use have longevity to them,” he says. “Yes, let’s make them relevant,” Williams says, “but let’s also make them last.”

澳洲主导设计师汤姆．威廉斯表示，借着重组、重新装潢以及撤除图案，他在二０００年于墨尔本设计的第一家店面已经沿用了十年之久。「我们采用的许多规划原则都带有持久的特性，」他说。「没错，应该要合乎潮流，」威廉斯说：「但也应该要可长可久。」

 

After finishing his lunch in Oak Brook, Weil heads over to garbage can to demonstrate his latest innovation. Rather than the usual swinging gate in front of the trash bin, this one is open-faced with a slimmer, oval-shaped slot. He leans over and slides his trash off the tray and into the receptacle. “It always took two hands to operate. I wanted it to be quick and easy, to leave the customer with a good impression as they leave.”

威尔在奥克布鲁克用完午餐之后，接着走向一个垃圾桶，展示他最新之举。不同于一般垃圾桶前面的摆动门片，这个垃圾桶前面有个比较狭长的椭圆形开口。他俯身向前，把垃圾从托盘上滑入垃圾容器里。「以前丢垃圾总是要用上双手。我想要让丢垃圾变得又快又简单，让顾客离开的时候也能留下好印象。」

 

－by Ben Paynter

 

 

单词发音

 

Vocabulary Focus

chill out 完全放松﹐不紧张 to relax completely or not allow things to upset you (informal)

spritz [sprɪts] v. 喷〔液体〕to spray a mass of very small drops of liquid out of a container, usually by pressing a part of the container

coo [ku] v. 柔情地低声说话 to speak in a soft, gentle or loving way

revamp [riˋvæmp] v.【非正式】修改 ; 翻新 to change or arrange something again, in order to improve it

facsimile [fækˋsɪməlɪ] n. 摹本﹐精确的复制品 an exact copy, especially of a document

renovation [͵rɛnəˋveʃən] n. 更新；修理 the act of repairing and improving something, especially a building

decentralized [diˋsɛntrəl͵aɪzd] adj. 分散管理的；分散的 describes an organization or government that has moved control from a single place to several smaller ones

conceptualize [kənˋsɛptʃʊəl͵aɪz] v. 形成概念﹐使概念化 to form an idea or principle in your mind

distill [dɪsˋtɪl] v. 抽出……的精华；提炼 to reduce something that is said or written, but keep the most important part

alleviate [əˋlivɪ͵et] v. 减轻；缓和 to make something bad such as pain or problems less severe

rove [rov] v. 环顾 to move, travel or look around, especially a large area

 

 

 

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come alive 活跃起来 undergo a transformation or a change of position or action

subtle [ˋsʌt!] adj. 微妙的; 精巧的

barista [bə'ristə] n. 咖啡馆准备咖啡的员工

larger-than-life (为感人) 夸大的 very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale)

stab [stæb] n.【口】试图，尝试 an attempt; a try

telegraph [ˋtɛlə͵græf] v. 显示; 流露出 to send a message (by telegraph)

overhead [ˋovɚˋhɛd] adj. 在头顶上的；在上头的；高架的

pickup [ˋpɪk͵ʌp] n. 拾起 the act or process of picking up

clog [klɑg] v. 阻塞，堵塞

inviting [ɪnˋvaɪtɪŋ] adj. 吸引人的；诱人的 attractive; tempting

joint [dʒɔɪnt] n. (尤指价格低廉的) 饮食场所或餐厅 a cheap or disreputable gathering place

rush [rʌʃ] n. 激增 a sudden surge

wait staff 待者，服务员

funnel [ˋfʌn!] v.（使）通过小口子 to move through or as if through a funnel

wear off 逐渐消失; 消逝 to disappear or cause to disappear gradually through exposure, use, etc

reshuffle [riˋʃʌf!] v. 改革；改组 to arrange or organize anew

upholster [ʌpˋholstɚ] v. 用（挂毯、家具等）布置（房间）；装潢 to supply (furniture) with stuffing, springs, cushions, and covering fabric

relevant [ˋrɛləvənt] adj. 有关的; 有意义的 having practical value or applicability

slot [slɑt] n. 狭长孔；狭缝

tray [tre] n. 盘子，托盘

receptacle  [rɪˋsɛptɪk!] n. 贮藏器；贮藏所

 

 

McDonald’s Facelift

 

McCafé'Bring out the best'

 

 

Britspace Modular Construction - McDonalds Restaurant 24hrs

 

 

Design Matters | Worldwide 2010 Video