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Gone are the heady days of cashiers asking if you want your order "supersized."
Not only has the infamous upgrade gone by the wayside, but cashiers at fast-food restaurants are becoming increasingly uncommon. McDonald's started rolling out ordering kiosks at its US locations in 2015, and the chain hasn't looked back since: by 2020, most of its 14,000 locations will have kiosks installed.
Panera Bread has also committed to digital ordering. Admittedly, when I first tried it in 2015, I found it had decidedly dystopian vibes. But it ended up being a fairly pleasant and painless experience.
A recent poll conducted by Business Insider's partner MSN suggests that diners aren't big fans of automated kiosks: 78% of customers said they would be less inclined to go to a restaurant that has automated ordering kiosks.
The popular narrative is that kiosks and mobile ordering are here to take jobs and hours away from underpaid cashiers, ultimately saving companies money in the face of rising labor costs — but the data suggests that isn't true. It may be true for some, but most chains are simply reallocating labor behind the scenes. And with such a tight labor market, many chains are struggling to hire and retain customer-facing employees.
Americans don't seem too threatened by automation in general. Nationally, only 21% of responders to MSN's poll believe their job may one day be done by machines. And restaurants like automated ordering for its increased accuracy and efficiency as more chains look towards cashless options.
But for now, a question remains: are kiosks, in fact, better for customers?
Source: Business Insider
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Snotnose on Saturday March 31 2018, @09:36PM (6 children)
Or lack of same. A year or so ago I had a 2 fer coupon and went to Mickey Dees, where I saw a kiosk. Tried to order what I wanted (you could specify bread, toppings, etc), but couldn't put anything into the cart. Kept trying, then went to the cashier. Made my order, she said "that doesn't come with that kind of bun".
Um, ok, if you say so. Never mind it was something I could select at the kiosk, but couldn't the kiosk have told me that?
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Saturday March 31 2018, @09:39PM (2 children)
Strong coupon game gonna get fucked up by unfeeling terminals.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Snotnose on Sunday April 01 2018, @12:53AM (1 child)
Do you really think I would eat at Mickey Dee's if 1) I didn't have a coupon; and 2) the coupon was for something I might want to eat?
CSB.
Back in the 70s I worked night shift getting off at midnight. 1 of my friends went to UCSB, another lived close to where I worked. Once a month I'd get off work at Midnight, Ken would meet me at work, and we'd drive up to Santa Barbara for the weekend. Driving up we always stopped at the Mickey Dees in San Clemente (you know, the one at the bottom of the hill) to buy chocolate milkshakes. Then on to SB, where we'd roll in about 3 AM and sleep on the floor. We then had fun weekends (although being a college student myself a couple years later I'm guessing Mike was being nice when he said "yeah, love to see you guys. Come on up and show up at my dorm door at 3AM".
/ Ken got married and moved out of state 15 years ago
// Mike died of Lou Gehrig's disease 4 years ago
/// my childhood is dying around me
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday April 01 2018, @12:21PM
I used to think: how can you F-up a shake? Until McD's handed me one full of machine lube instead of shake product.
I used to think: how often can something that F-ed up happen? Until the same McD's did it again the next time I tried a shake, a month later.
Literally hundreds of Frostys later, Wendys hasn't managed to serve a cup of flavorless thick, slightly gritty goo yet.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Saturday March 31 2018, @10:11PM
How dare you try to get two premium restaurant-tier signature [mcdonalds.com] flame-broiled burgers with sriracha-infused sauce on a brioche bun for the price of one shitty cheeseburger. You absolute madman.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 01 2018, @01:45AM
Mind you that's probably why you couldn't complete the order at the kiosk. The problem still stands that the kiosk should have been able to identify that and prevent you from either selecting it or warning you that it shouldn't be selected.
That being said, I went into a Mcdonalds just last Monday or so for the first time in years. And there was no kiosk at this store. At least none that I could see. Ordered via the cashier. I do know some places around here have kiosks - mainly the minor stores in malls or walmart and the like, I think. But I avoid places like Mcdonalds as much as possible these days regardless of how I feel about the whole push for unemployment by companies.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday April 01 2018, @12:17PM
Depends entirely upon the human it is replacing, and the kiosk software.
Kiosk software has the potential for continuous improvement with limited regressions, humans: not so much.
🌻🌻 [google.com]