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“When you go to restaurants today, you see a lot of customization, whether it’s customizing coffees or sandwiches,” said John Betts, chief executive of McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd., as the service debuted at an east Toronto restaurant on Wednesday. “The opportunity to personalize a premium burger is something there is a lot of interest in.”

Customers can still order regular menu items from the front counter, as well as customizable burgers. Like its premium Angus Burger, the customizable offer is on the higher end of the pricing scale for McDonalds, with a base price of $6.99. The customizable option includes a choice of two higher-end buns or a lettuce wrap, five cheeses, nine different sauces and 10 toppings: old standbys such as pickles and tomatoes and newer offerings like guacamole or caramelized onions. They are delivered to a pick-up counter or to customers’ tables because they take longer to make than standard menu items.

The kiosks are “not replacing jobs,” Betts said, noting McDonald’s Canada will hire extra staff, some 15,000 new restaurant employees, to help customers use the kiosks and to deliver orders to their tables.

“Customers are looking for hospitality. They are looking for a personal experience. It takes a skill to learn how to do that … and that’s the area we really want to raise,” he said.

“If you go to a good restaurant and you have got a good server they come by to say, ‘How is everything?’ That doesn’t happen as often as it used to even in a restaurant where you have a one on one relationship. We want to create that here with our guests.”