‘I eat a Big Mac every day’ says Brighton McDonald's boss

Ismet Turen is responsible for looking after six McDonald’s restaurants in the Brighton area and says he always has his lunch at the fast food chain.

The 58-year-old also revealed he prefers to stick to the traditional Big Mac, rather than the company’s current offer of a Grand Big Mac with bacon.

Mr Turen said many things have changed at McDonald’s since he started at the company 38 years ago.

He said: “McDonald’s is a journey, it’s constantly changing. There’s more technology in our business now with the new kiosks and the kitchens are more open, but the focus is always on our customers.

Vegan

“Obviously, people’s eating habits have changed too, most recently with vegetarianism. Our vegetarian range launched in January and is proving really popular.”

Mr Turen said the franchise may release a vegan menu in the future.

He showed The Argus around the venue in Churchill Square shopping centre, Brighton, and explained how the touch screen ordering stations were selected to promote healthier choices among its customers.

Despite all the changes, he said one thing had stayed the same.

Mr Turen said: “One thing has not changed, our investment in people. I still go to courses now, we never cut our training.

“Now, we are more invested in making a trip to the restaurant more of an experience for our customers.”

Most recently, McDonald’s has started using online ordering.

Food can be ordered on its app, which uses technology called “geofencing” to determine when the customer is close to the restaurant using their phone location, so staff know when to start preparing the food.

It has also begun to introduce McDelivery, a takeaway service that brings the meal to your door, in more areas and Mr Turen said this had been very successful. He said: “This restaurant joined McDelivery very recently and receives about 30 to 40 orders a week.

“It’s most popular from our London Road store, which sees up to 450 orders a day.”

During his time at the company, Mr Turen has seen quite a few famous faces dropping in.

He said: “Chris Eubank used to come in with his son when he was younger.

“They loved the breakfast menu and would order £25 worth between them.

“One time he even applied for a job.

“I didn’t know whether or not to take it seriously, so I rang him up but was directed to his secretary.”

Mr Turen joined the company in the last year of his degree after being set up with a job by one of his lecturers, and became a franchisee in 1993.

He said: “I’m a managing partner and part of the brand.

“It’s not a small commitment though, you commit yourself to 20 years.”

On its website, McDonald’s said a franchisee should “live and breathe the brand” and that they should “take its “global personality and make it relevant to your community”.

Mr Turen introduced The Argus to Lin Lin Mo, an employee since 2001.

The 35-year-old “first assistant” said: “There is a lot to do and you meet a lot of people each day.

“This builds up experience in your life and now in any scenario I won’t panic, I will find a way to deal

with it.

“I would recommend it to anyone.”

She said she would encourage her nine-year-old daughter to look for a job at McDonald’s when she was old enough, and said that her daughter had already told her schoolteachers she wanted to work there.