漢堡王送餐服務開辟快餐行業新戰線？

????很難想象，快餐還能如何變得比現在的樣子更簡單。但是，漢堡王（Burger King）正在尋求實現這樣一種場景，消費者只需要撥打一個電話、或者點擊一下鼠標就能買到華堡（Whopper）。

????漢堡王最近推出了送貨上門服務，這是這個快餐連鎖店一項巨大努力的組成部分，即努力從掉隊的人變成行業的領跑者。3月份傳出消息，根據市場研究公司Technomic對美國各快餐連鎖店2011年銷售情況的分析，溫蒂漢堡（Wendy's）已經取代漢堡王成為快餐漢堡市場的第二大連鎖店【到目前為止，麥當勞（McDonald's）仍然是行業領導者】。

????漢堡連鎖市場競爭激烈，成功的國內送貨上門業務將開辟另一條戰線——在美國之外，快餐漢堡送貨服務十分普遍。送貨服務是一個未得充分利用、但可能有利可圖的機會。據派杰公司（Piper Jaffray）分析師尼科爾·米勒·雷根稱，在整個餐飲行業，送貨上門食品的收費比店內用餐的同類食品平均要高出20%。

????漢堡王在這里發現了消費者的利益：公司數據顯示，在其華盛頓特區門店的送貨上門測試中，90%的消費者表示喜歡漢堡王的這項服務，并會再次預訂。今年10月，漢堡王在佛羅里達州南部試點送貨上門服務，并在11月推廣到了休斯頓和紐約，使提供這項服務的門店數量增加到71家。

????從快餐店訂餐的方式有很多——店內用餐、“得來速”以及外賣——所以一些連鎖店不提供送貨上門服務幾乎稱得上令人驚訝。餐飲行業分析師指出，送貨上門服務如今已經成為消費者的一種預期，而不是什么額外的好處。

????然而，漢堡連鎖店要提供這種服務無法像一般比薩餅店那樣容易，主要有兩個原因：操作的復雜性，還有就是濕軟的薯條。?經營一家快餐連鎖店已經是一項復雜的事業了，店內用餐和“得來速”是兩種獨立的業務，如果再加上第三種送貨上門，很可能會拖累服務的速度。如果快餐連鎖店的服務速度變慢了，招待的消費者就會變少，相應的利潤也就變得更稀薄了。

????更重要的是，漢堡連鎖店提供送貨上門服務的意愿通常跟薯條不適于運送這一事實是沖突的?！八腥酥饕P心的都是，‘薯條該怎樣保存呢？’”亞歷克斯·馬塞多說。他是漢堡王的高級副總裁兼美國特許經營業務的總經理。

????It's hard to imagine fast food getting much simpler than it is today. But?Burger King is looking to put some of its customers just a call or click away from a?Whopper.

????The burger chain's recent push into home delivery is part of a larger effort to move from fast-food straggler to industry frontrunner. In March,?Wendy's snagged second place from Burger King?(BKW) in the fast food hamburger market, according to research group Technomic's analysis of the chains' 2011 U.S. sales (McDonald's is, by far, the industry leader.).

????A successful domestic home delivery business -- fast food hamburger delivery is common outside the U.S. -- would open yet another battlefront among the highly competitive burger chains. Delivery is an underutilized but potentially lucrative opportunity. Across the entire restaurant industry, delivery checks are on average 20% greater then their dine- in counterparts, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Nicole Miller Regan.

????Burger King has found that the consumer interest is there: Company data show that in the restaurant's original Washington D.C home delivery test, 90% of customers said that they liked BK delivery and would order again. The burger chain launched a home delivery pilot in south Florida in October, and in November, they moved into Houston and New York, bringing the tally of delivery locations to 71.

????There are so many methods of ordering from a fast-food restaurant -- dine in, drive-thru, and take out -- that it's almost surprising that some chains don't do delivery. Restaurant analysts note delivery is now an expectation among customers, not a bonus.

????Delivery, however, doesn't come as easily to burger chains as it does to your average pizzeria, for two primary reasons: operational complexity and soggy French fries.?Running a fast food chain is already a complex enterprise. Dine-in and drive-thru are two separate businesses, and adding a third -- delivery – could easily slow down service.?Slower fast food chains serve fewer customers and see smaller profits.

????More importantly, fast-food burger delivery aspirations often collide with the fact that?French fries simply don't travel well. "Everyone's main concern is, 'How do the French fries hold?'" says Alex Macedo, senior vice president and general manager of U.S. franchise business for Burger King.