As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect daily life, restaurants nationwide have been forced to offer their food only via take-out or delivery, if at all. While that works fine for many of us, for truck drivers, it’s not so easy.
Delivery obviously doesn’t work when you’re on the road and large trucks simply cannot fit through most drive-thrus lanes. Due to safety reasons, walk-up orders are also out of the question. So, McDonald’s has come up a smart solution to help truckers stay fed: curbside pickup.
If you’re a trucker, McDonald’s is asking you to simply pull into the parking lot of one of its restaurants, use the McDonald’s Mobile Order & Pay app to place an order, then select “curbside pickup.” You will then need to walk to one of the designated curbside signs for truckers outside the restaurant, enter the number of the spot where you are waiting and an employee will bring your order to you.
Drivers can download the app on iPhones and Android smartphones. Along with the ability to place an order, the app also offers deals and allows you to save favorite orders for quick re-ordering to save time, which is always valuable in that profession.
“Thank you for everything you are doing to keep essential parts of our economy going,” Bill Garrett, senior vice president of operations for McDonald’s, said in a statement to truck drivers. “Know that we’re doing everything we can to be there for you as long as we can. We’re in this together.”
The new way of ordering has been in place since the end of March, when multiple rest stops and restaurants began shutting their doors, making it complicated for truck drivers to get food while on the road.
While it doesn’t appear that other fast-food chains like Burger King are offering the option of curbside pickup at this time, some other traditionally dine-in restaurants are. While there’s no guarantee semi trucks will fit in their parking lots, restaurants such as Applebee’s and Chili’s will bring your order to your vehicle.
We’ll join McDonald’s in saying thanks to all the people on the interstates who are keeping our shelves stocked during this crazy time!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
