Day 257 - 06 Jun 96 - Page 60


     
     1        of the way the customer sees our service.  The purpose of
     2        this stage of research is not for us to question it.  It is
     3        for us then to say, "OK, this is what the customer thinks.
     4        Is this good?  Is this bad?  How do we act upon it?"
     5        I would not question these results because they are
     6        commissioned by myself for the precise purpose of doing
     7        what I have just described.
     8
     9   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I was wondering whether to ask you that.  I
    10        mean, I am not quite sure what the status of these reports
    11        is going to be said to be at the end of the day.  So, if
    12        there is something you think is helpful to you, you might
    13        as well ask if Mr. Fairgrieve accepts it and then it is
    14        part of his evidence.
    15
    16   MS. STEEL:   Right.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If he does accept it, that is.  If he does
    19        not, then, of course, it is not.  (To the witness):  You
    20        did accept these findings though, did you?
    21        A.  Accepted and acted upon, yes.
    22
    23   MS. STEEL:   On the next page on page 6 under "Product Imagery",
    24        talking about McDonald's food, it says in the second
    25        paragraph, "It is thought to be high in calories and is not
    26        rated well as being healthy or made with natural
    27        ingredients, nor does it cater for vegetarians (a
    28        particular issue in the south)".  Did that come as news to
    29        you?
    30        A.  No, but we would have taken it in the context of the
    31        first two lines because, again, part of the appeal of
    32        McDonald's for people is that -- is in the top two lines --
    33        "tasty, filling and good value".
    34
    35   Q.   That is mostly where your concern is focused then?
    36        A.  Neither really.  We would take that paragraph
    37        together.  This is intended to be a summary of the
    38        customer's view of McDonald's product.  That paragraph in
    39        its totality would be my out-take on what the customer is
    40        now thinking about our product in its totality, because it
    41        is an interpretation by an external third party of our
    42        customers' views about ourselves.  So, I either accept the
    43        research or I do not accept it.  You cannot be selective
    44        with it.
    45
    46   Q.   But it did not surprise you that that came back as a
    47        customer's view?
    48        A.  No.
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Would you expect things to be much the same 
    51        in 1990 as they were in 1992? 
    52        A.  I know that they are broadly more positive than the 
    53        findings in 1992, and significantly more positive, in fact.
    54
    55   Q.   What do you mean by that?
    56        A.  Not line by line, but in terms of our overall brand
    57        image and the imagery section that we come on to talk about
    58        later.  Our image in 1991/92 an American arrogant, brash
    59        company has shifted completely in the mind-set of our
    60        customers.

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