McDonalds in Warsaw, Poland figured out a creative way to make waiting for the train a little less agonizing for passengers and a little more profitable for their trainside location.

In cooperation with Polish State Railways, McDonalds capitalized on its proximity (a mere 50 meters away) from the main hub of Warsaw’s Central Train Station by creating a ‘Hamburger Timetable.’ The timetable displayed real-time schedule information–departure time, destination, track number, and train platform alongside wait/delay time in hamburger and french fry eating potential.

The ‘Enough Time To Eat’ measure used menu items to denote length of wait time- the more menu items on the schedule, the longer the wait for a particular train, with the menu options shrinking as departure time grew closer. When passengers checked the schedule and saw a hamburger, fries, soda, and ice cream symbol, they knew they had plenty of time to visit the McDonalds. But when they only saw a cup of coffee, they knew their train’s arrival was imminent.

Waiting passengers started to spend their time at McDonalds inside of whiling away the hours inside the station; McDonalds saw an increase of 4,500 customers in the first month of the campaign, and the train station became a more enjoyable place for waiting passengers.

Watch a video of the ‘Hamburger Timetable’ campaign below:

McDonalds