TheBuzz
TheBuzz
McDonald's of Waipahu owner/operator Miles Ichinose is about to become a McPioneer in the islands. Two arches, two lanes
for WaipahuOn Nov. 13 the state's first double-lane drive-through will open at the quick-service restaurant with its famous golden arches at Farrington Highway and Leoku Street. It is currently under construction by Allied Builders, using McDonald's-generated architectural plans.
Ichinose and some of his staff members recently traveled to Sacramento, Calif., to see other double-lane drive-through operations, "and it looked really good."
"I worked it," he said, as did the supervisors who traveled with him. Special equipment, including cameras and a coordination system helps the restaurant keep track of which order comes from which car in which lane, he said, even though the two lanes narrow to one for food pickups."It actually works out very well," he said.
"We do a lot of drive-through in this location," Ichinose said, which often results in long lines. There also tends to be a gap between placement of the order and when the customer pays because of stacked up cars. Time and motion studies were done to calculate whether expanding to the double-lane drive-through would be cost-effective, "and that's what we did. It makes sense -- decrease the time, faster ordering, no line," he said.
"Because of these (new lanes and systems) we'll be able to decrease the gap and speed it up," he said.
To expedite matters on the inside of the restaurant, Ichinose is hiring. Seven new employees from the Waipahu area are in place, with three positions remaining to be filled, he said.
Ichinose started with the company as a management trainee in 1971, and is now the owner-operator of six restaurants.
The decision to build the double-lane drive-through was made prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, which increased the needs of the needy in Waipahu. Hence, Ichinose said, the Dec. 8 grand-opening of the new double-lane drive through will benefit nonprofit organizations and projects in the area.
"This thing is going to be bigger than us," he said.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com