McDonald’s Use Feng Shui for even more success!

The proponents who propagate organic food and health food may go blue in the face shouting against McDonald’s junk food, but the profit graph of the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants continues to shoot up. The onslaught of health activists and groups and even the clampdown on junk food advertising by governments in several countries has changed Ronald McDonald. The clown mascot has become sportier and has started promoting a more athletic and active lifestyle to kids. But McDonald’s hamburger still has the same 260 calories and 9 grams of fat, and is still the same size today as it was when introduced in 1955!Present in over 31,000 locations all over the world, McDonald’s earned over $4 billion last year and yet, the third generation owners (or is it the fourth?) of the world famous brand want more. And they are using Feng Shui for it!

Red color arouses hunger

Like I always say, Feng Shui is an attempt to get more out of life…and the Americans are not shy to openly admit it. This attitude is totally different from the Asian hypocrisy that is embarrassed about seeking riches. Of course, in India the gen-next is candid about wanting more from life and loves the Greedy Dragon of Ambition! Half of the people approaching me are in their late twenties or early thirties!

To return to McDonald’s, I can see the right Feng Shui – unintentional, though -  in the design of its first restaurant that opened in Illinois. The design included red and white tiles and every Feng Shui Master worth his salt knows that red arouses hunger! This is why you will always see red as a part of the décor in restaurants like Mainland China, China Gate, Legacy of China and even in the Chinese thela (roadside food carts). But Feng Shui is not limited only to the use of red color. There were major Feng Shui flaws in the décor of McDonald’s outlets, whether in the US or in India. This led to problems like lawsuits, which forced them to pay out $30.5 million dollars. There were problems with vegetarians in some localities in India, who protested, and in some cases, did not allow the outlets to function despite McDonald’s policy of catering to local tastes with products like Mcpatice (aloo tiki burger) in India, a fondue style burger in Paris and a pita-wrapped McArabia sandwich in the Middle East!

Seeing that Feng Shui has been successfully incorporated in business houses, shops, restaurants and hotels, banks and homes, Mark Brownstein, one of the three owners of McDonald’s, is introducing Feng Shui in their restaurants.

Feng Shui at McDonald's

The revised designs are aimed at creating a soothing ambiance that will encourage diners to linger and to come back for more. The harmony of the elements – earth, water, fire, metal and wood – creates an atmosphere where you feel comfortable, where you want to linger.  It is the same when you drop into a house or a shop for ‘five minutes’ and stay for an hour.
Such a house becomes the Mecca for socialites – like the home of Parmeshwar Godrej in Mumbai –  and a coffee shop can become a popular haunt for the young. The positive energy (chi’) of the premises attracts more and more people, more business and an ordinary restaurant can turn into a landmark!

What applies to a Chinese food thela or to McDonald’s also applies to the J W Marriot in Mumbai’s Juhu! The Feng Shui of this hotel is a masterstroke in business manipulation. I do not know who owns this hotel but they must be laughing all the way to the bank. As you enter, you have to drive / climb up an incline to reach the entrance. It is a well-known Feng Shui belief that this robs the clients of his positive energy and works in favour of the business premises. More interesting, though the hospitality industry is supposed to treat the client like a king, the Feng Shui in the Marriot works in favour of the hotel! Besides, the waterfall, located opposite the main entrance, is also placed strategically to attract more customers and in turn, more money. Its location is just perfect.

Though there are flaws, some unavoidable, which spoil the relationship between the hotel management and the authorities, the neighbourhood and the media, J W Marriot is able to get away with it. In fact, I have heard people say, “The food is lousy but I go because it is a happening place!”

Right elements in the right place

I have often given Feng Shui consultation to restaurants and hotels which have subsequently become unusually successful. The results, after some Feng Shui changes, are dramatic.  And all that because of the right elements being in the right place!
At the same time, the wrong elements in the wrong place often shut the shop, like it happened to Sankalp, a restaurant serving South Indian fare and belonging to the famous BJ group, at Oshiwara. The cuisine was great, the service was courteous and the ambience was clean and decent, but the Feng Shui was bad. Usually, the word of mouth publicity regarding good cuisine at reasonable rates works for a hotel catering to the middle class. In this case, even an advertising campaign did not work!  The Feng Shui problem was the location of the washrooms. The toilets (for ladies as well as gentlemen) were in the Wealth corner of the restaurant!  In contrast, Shreeji, another hotel serving South Indian food (which is not half as good as the cuisine served in Sankalp) is doing roaring business.

*****
A restaurant might be a happening place today, where youngsters hang out for long hours, ordering coffee or beer (depending on the hour) but may become passé within a year, for no rhyme or reason. But when a restaurant is a landmark, it has a long life.

Like Kayani restaurant at Mumbai’s Dhobi Talao where the loyalty of the customers has lasted for decades, whether they patronize the hotel for its broon maska chai in the morning or butter kharis that melt in your mouth. I remember eating the broon maska with chai at Kayani during the early 60s when I was a student of the Academy of Architecture functioning from Bharda High School at VT. The energy in the restaurant was positive and it was the mirrors in Kayani that did the trick. Mirrors are considered the aspirins of Feng Shui, which cure a lot of ills. Kayani doesn’t need Feng Shui corrections, unless, like McDonald’s it wants even more success!

And restaurants like that, even if they change hands, continue to prosper!