When one of the world’s biggest brands puts a customer service training program at the center of its growth plan, it’s worth paying attention. On September 23, 2026, McDonald’s announced an $8.5 billion franchisee support commitment through 2036. The plan includes modernized restaurants, simpler operations, and new technology. It also includes something that has nothing to do with buildings or software: a multiyear training initiative called “Make It Golden,” launching on Founder’s Day, October 5.
Fox Business reported that the program aims to improve customer service so patrons get a more consistent experience and come back more often. That’s the takeaway for every business, whether you run one location or one thousand. Even with all that money going to technology and remodels, McDonald’s is betting that people are what turn a first visit into a habit. Here’s what the company announced, why it matters, and how you can apply the same thinking to your own team.
What McDonald’s Announced, and Why Training Is Part of It
McDonald’s describes Make It Golden as “a multi-year, Systemwide commitment to elevate the customer experience through great food and great hospitality that are uniquely McDonald’s.”
The scale is huge. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the effort will train more than 2 million workers worldwide. Tiffanie Boyd, McDonald’s global chief people officer, called it “the largest upskilling effort in the company’s history.” NRN also reported that the company is easing some inspections in the short term as the focus shifts toward quality and hospitality. That last detail stands out. McDonald’s isn’t just adding training on top of everything else. It’s making room for it.
Why a Customer Service Training Program Belongs in a Growth Strategy
A lot of companies treat training as a cost to keep small. McDonald’s is treating it as a growth lever, next to capital spending and technology. The reasoning makes sense. Technology can speed up an order, and a remodel can make a space more inviting. Neither one decides whether the person at the counter makes a customer feel welcome. That moment is shaped by skills, habits, and standards, and those come from training and coaching.
The business case is also tied to people. NRN reported that McDonald’s leaders pointed to restaurants in the top tier for employee engagement and retention, which Boyd said “deliver 10% greater guest counts, 15% more cash, 15% greater sales, 20% more cash flow.” Those are McDonald’s internal figures about its own restaurants, not a universal rule. Still, they show how a large operator connects how it supports its people to the results customers create. For any organization, the lesson is the same: a customer service training program isn’t separate from growth. It’s one of the ways growth happens.
5 Lessons from Make It Golden for Your Customer Service Training Program
You don’t need 2 million employees or a billion-dollar budget to use these ideas. Here are five principles from McDonald’s approach that work at any size.
- Train Everyone, Not Just New Hires
Make It Golden is systemwide. It isn’t limited to onboarding or one department. When only new hires get training, your service standard depends on who happens to be working that day. Training your whole team, including managers and long-tenured staff, gives everyone a shared language and a shared definition of great service. ServiceSkills’ Customer Service Training for Client-Facing Employees and Teams explores how to bring every customer-facing role into the same standard. - Make Room for Training
McDonald’s is easing some inspections in the short term so teams can focus on quality and hospitality. That’s a smart admission: people can’t take in new skills when every minute is already spoken for. If you want training to stick, clear some space for it. Short formats help a lot here. The Customer Service & Phone Skills Microlessons are built as bite-sized modules that fit between shifts, calls, or appointments, so learning doesn’t compete with the work. - Define What “Great” Looks Like
Consistency is the heart of the McDonald’s announcement. Customers come back when they know what to expect. Consistency doesn’t happen by accident, though. It happens when everyone works from the same clear picture of a great interaction. Effective customer experience training spells that picture out: how to greet someone, how to handle a mistake, how to close a conversation so the customer leaves feeling good. The Telephone Doctor Customer Service Collection gives teams practical, repeatable techniques for exactly these moments. - Commit for Years, Not Weeks
McDonald’s calls Make It Golden a multi-year commitment, and that matters. One workshop rarely changes behavior for good. Skills fade without reinforcement, and new team members join all the time. The strongest programs build in ongoing practice, refreshers, and coaching. If you’ve seen past efforts lose steam, Why Customer Service Training Programs Fail (And What to Do About It) covers the most common reasons and how to avoid them. - Tie Training to Business Outcomes
McDonald’s openly links employee engagement to guest counts and sales. Your organization can take the same approach on its own scale. Decide what success looks like before you start: repeat customers, customer satisfaction scores, fewer escalations, or better reviews. Then track it. How to Measure Customer Service Training Effectiveness walks through practical ways to connect training to the results leadership cares about.
Building Consistency at Any Scale
McDonald’s has an advantage most businesses don’t: a famously standardized system. Your business has an advantage McDonald’s doesn’t: you can move faster. A smaller team can roll out new service standards in weeks, see results quickly, and adjust as it goes. A large organization can lean on structure and repetition to make those standards hold across many locations.
Either way, a few building blocks apply:
- Shared standards. Write down what great service sounds and looks like in your business.
Frontline employee training that fits the workday. Short, focused lessons are easier to finish and easier to remember. - Manager coaching. Frontline leaders turn training into daily habits. Frontline Leadership Training Is Missing the Two Skills Frontline Managers Need Most explains where to focus.
- Courtesy as a habit. Small, consistent courtesies build loyalty over time. Manners Matter reinforces the professional etiquette that keeps customers coming back.
Turning Hospitality Training into Repeat Customers
McDonald’s framed Make It Golden around “great hospitality,” and that word is useful for any industry. Hospitality training isn’t just for restaurants and hotels. It’s for anyone who answers a phone, sends an email, visits a customer’s home, or greets someone at a front desk. Repeat customers come from a simple pattern: a good experience, then another good experience, then another. Each one builds trust. Employee upskilling makes that pattern reliable instead of hit or miss.
A strong customer service training program gives your team three things:
- Confidence, so they know what to say and do in common and difficult situations.
- Consistency, so customers get the same great experience no matter who helps them.
- Connection, so customers feel valued and want to come back.
Skills like empathy and reading a customer’s mood can be taught, too. Emotional Intelligence at Work uses real-world scenarios to help teams respond with care, even under pressure.
Start Your Own “Make It Golden” Moment
McDonald’s is putting serious resources behind one idea: service built on people is a competitive advantage. You can act on the same idea without the same budget. Start by naming the experience you want every customer to have. Then give your team the training, practice time, and coaching to deliver it every time. A well-built customer service training program turns good intentions into consistent results, and consistent results bring customers back.
Ready to raise the standard for your team? Explore ServiceSkills courses or view pricing to find the right fit for your organization.