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American Morning
Minding Your Business: Do I Want Fries With That?
Aired July 10, 2003 - 07:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: McDonald's thinks it may have come up with a way to make fast food even faster.
Gerri Willis is "Minding Your Business" this morning. Andy Serwer is minding the lobsters somewhere on the coast of Maine.
Good morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jack.
Well, if you're in Raleigh, North Carolina, or Denver, Colorado, you're able to order your own Big Mac using a kiosk and a touch-tone screen. You just push the button for the hamburger. They think this is going to make everything faster. McDonald's thinks it's going to be more convenient for consumers.
The question is: Will it really work? And is McDonald's actually doing this to save money perhaps?
CAFFERTY: Well, and the other thing is, it will lead to being able to avoid those sometimes awkward verbal exchanges with the folks behind the counter.
WILLIS: Just a few awkward verbal exchanges in your life.
CAFFERTY: Because, you know...
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIS: Yes. Well, the question is, too: Can it speed up the process? Experts are saying they think it will. And the question is clearly up in the air.
Federated is trying this as well. Burger King trying it as well. Not so much success at Starbucks. It's a big question whether people are really going to embrace it, if they're really going to like doing it or if they're going to feel like it's just yet another thing I have to do on my own, like, you know, my retirement funding and everything else.
CAFFERTY: Sure. Plus, if you want to order it your way, if it's not -- you know, maybe you don't want it well-done. Maybe you want it medium. Maybe you want mustard instead of ketchup. They're going to have trouble putting all of that on the kiosk.
WILLIS: That's right.
CAFFERTY: What about the big merger in the sneaker biz, Converse, and is it Nike?
WILLIS: Nike is buying Converse for $305 million. Now, you probably know about Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers, remember those?
CAFFERTY: I wore those when I was a kid, yes.
WILLIS: Yes, well, they will continue to be made just by Nike now. And a big change, a big shake up for the shoe industry, because, you know, these are two very different brands -- Nike a very, you know, expensive, fast-paced, cutting-edge brand, and this is the Chuck Taylor All Stars you're seeing right here.
CAFFERTY: Those high tops, right? That's the kind of stuff I used to wear when I was a kid. They've sold what? Close to a billion pairs I think.
WILLIS: Exactly, 95 years old. Do you know who they're named for?
CAFFERTY: Who?
WILLIS: Semi-pro basketball player Chuck Taylor out of Akron.
CAFFERTY: Well, it makes sense to me.
WILLIS: Yes.
CAFFERTY: What about the markets this morning? It doesn't look good, does it?
WILLIS: No, no, no. The futures are down. Yesterday was mixed. Yahoo! last night didn't satisfy investors. They reported earnings that were in line with consensus estimates, but people were expecting something a little better.
CAFFERTY: All right, we'll have more later. Thanks, Gerri.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired July 10, 2003 - 07:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: McDonald's thinks it may have come up with a way to make fast food even faster.
Gerri Willis is "Minding Your Business" this morning. Andy Serwer is minding the lobsters somewhere on the coast of Maine.
Good morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jack.
Well, if you're in Raleigh, North Carolina, or Denver, Colorado, you're able to order your own Big Mac using a kiosk and a touch-tone screen. You just push the button for the hamburger. They think this is going to make everything faster. McDonald's thinks it's going to be more convenient for consumers.
The question is: Will it really work? And is McDonald's actually doing this to save money perhaps?
CAFFERTY: Well, and the other thing is, it will lead to being able to avoid those sometimes awkward verbal exchanges with the folks behind the counter.
WILLIS: Just a few awkward verbal exchanges in your life.
CAFFERTY: Because, you know...
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIS: Yes. Well, the question is, too: Can it speed up the process? Experts are saying they think it will. And the question is clearly up in the air.
Federated is trying this as well. Burger King trying it as well. Not so much success at Starbucks. It's a big question whether people are really going to embrace it, if they're really going to like doing it or if they're going to feel like it's just yet another thing I have to do on my own, like, you know, my retirement funding and everything else.
CAFFERTY: Sure. Plus, if you want to order it your way, if it's not -- you know, maybe you don't want it well-done. Maybe you want it medium. Maybe you want mustard instead of ketchup. They're going to have trouble putting all of that on the kiosk.
WILLIS: That's right.
CAFFERTY: What about the big merger in the sneaker biz, Converse, and is it Nike?
WILLIS: Nike is buying Converse for $305 million. Now, you probably know about Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers, remember those?
CAFFERTY: I wore those when I was a kid, yes.
WILLIS: Yes, well, they will continue to be made just by Nike now. And a big change, a big shake up for the shoe industry, because, you know, these are two very different brands -- Nike a very, you know, expensive, fast-paced, cutting-edge brand, and this is the Chuck Taylor All Stars you're seeing right here.
CAFFERTY: Those high tops, right? That's the kind of stuff I used to wear when I was a kid. They've sold what? Close to a billion pairs I think.
WILLIS: Exactly, 95 years old. Do you know who they're named for?
CAFFERTY: Who?
WILLIS: Semi-pro basketball player Chuck Taylor out of Akron.
CAFFERTY: Well, it makes sense to me.
WILLIS: Yes.
CAFFERTY: What about the markets this morning? It doesn't look good, does it?
WILLIS: No, no, no. The futures are down. Yesterday was mixed. Yahoo! last night didn't satisfy investors. They reported earnings that were in line with consensus estimates, but people were expecting something a little better.
CAFFERTY: All right, we'll have more later. Thanks, Gerri.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
