Day 123 - 09 May 95 - Page 33


     
     1        A.  I do not think that will ever happen, but we certainly
     2        would like to be the restaurant of choice because of the
     3        consistency of our quality, service and the cleanliness of
     4        our restaurants, we would like to think that as people
     5        consider a place away from home that they think of
     6        McDonald's.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just pause a moment.  That includes people
     9        who are eating, say, their mid-day meal while they are out
    10        at work?  If it is in an office canteen, that is obviously
    11        a meal out of home ---
    12        A.  Yes.
    13
    14   Q.   -- outside of home, as you put it?
    15        A.  Yes, that is correct.
    16
    17   Q.   Do you know any other countries which have got to one out
    18        of two, can you think of any ---
    19        A.  Well .....
    20
    21   Q.   -- in mind apart from the States?
    22        A.  I can say that the general trend is that more and more
    23        meals are being consumed out of the home as homes have --
    24        where homes have both spouses working, it is more
    25        convenient to eat out.  It just -----
    26
    27   Q.   Yes, but is there any particular -----
    28        A.  Japan, for instance, it has picked up.  I would say it
    29        has picked up here in England, France, Germany, Canada --
    30        just to name a few -- Hong Kong.  Generally speaking, you
    31        know, lifestyles have changed and we think that we
    32        complement that fact, that as society changes, as
    33        conditions change, we try to step up and provide an added
    34        convenience to families across the globe.
    35
    36   MR. MORRIS:  With the rise of your influence as an organisation,
    37        including other countries, McDonald's, it is fair to say,
    38        is it not, have been also a target of criticism in other
    39        countries as well as in the USA?
    40        A.  Yes, we have been.  I think we have been the target of
    41        uninformed criticism in some cases.
    42
    43   Q.   Do you monitor the criticism that you get in all different
    44        countries?  Is there some monitoring of that by the
    45        Corporation or is it your international department or
    46        whatever?
    47        A.  No.  I would not say that there is a monitoring
    48        programme.  There is too much happening.  We are located in
    49        79 countries, and it would be almost impossible to know
    50        what is going on at any given time in all of those 
    51        countries.  Certainly, within that country our organisation 
    52        would be conversant on what is going on and would be in a 
    53        position to respond to criticism that has occurred.
    54
    55        So, it very well may be that, for example, there might be
    56        some criticism lodged against us in New Zealand, and we
    57        would not know about it in the United States unless it
    58        reached a point where it was picked up on the news wires.
    59
    60        Our people in New Zealand would respond to that criticism,

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