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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: 5, Funny) by Justin Case on Saturday March 31 2018, @09:51PM (13 children)
OK I get the complaints about inscrutable menus, useless error messages... and ain't no way I'm using my phone to pay for anything.
But.
The average food service human is slow and error prone because they Just Don't Care, or have the IQ of a turnip. I'd rather enter my order myself and get it right the first time.
Some restaurant chains (Chili's...) let you order dessert from a table-top kiosk. Much better than waiting 10 minutes for the waitress to wander by and work very hard at ignoring you. Now you just have to wait for them to bring it out. Order before you need it and you're golden.
Same with grocery stores. I can ring up and bag my own and make sure the 2 liter soda bottle isn't dropped on top of the eggs and bread. Plus the last thing I want is some fake-cheerful drone asking me if I have plans. None of your business, don't pretend you care because you don't.
And then there's the ones that pass judgment on my purchases. "Wow that's a lot of ___! Are you..."
Or "you could have saved 31 cents". Yeah, and I also just spared your life. Now pipe down.
Just shut up and take my money. Or go away and let me pay a machine that at least when it is rude, is predictably so, at least until the next software "upgrade".
(Score: 5, Touché) by frojack on Saturday March 31 2018, @10:23PM (5 children)
You make two unwarranted assumptions.
1) properly entered orders are executed flawlessly in the kitchen
2) you are less error prone than the person that does it daily.
Unless you have the personality of a porcupine, you can assure better service by varying your attitude and demeanor rather than walking in with the assumption that they don't care and are stupid. I imagine you are a joy to serve. Bad enough they have to take an entry level job in the first place but then having to deal with you must really be the highlight of their day.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by tftp on Saturday March 31 2018, @10:38PM (1 child)
The cashier has nothing to do with the kitchen. If you are not getting what you ordered, call the cook and complain. It's not like they are in another galaxy.
Yes, I am most certain that I am less error prone when I choose my lunch. And why not? Adding another human into the chain will not help in this respect, it can only add noise. The cashier is tired, I am not. The cashier does not care, does not know what I like, but I do. If I use a smartphone, I can save meals and recall them later without any chance for an error. But, seriously, a man who cannot order a sandwich for himself is probably too stupid to leave the institution - he would not know how to make a part of the wall with a shiny metal thing to go away.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Dr Spin on Sunday April 01 2018, @11:28AM
It's not like they are in another galaxy
All the evidence suggests they probably are from another galaxy.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Justin Case on Saturday March 31 2018, @11:16PM (1 child)
frojack, as usual, you fail with just about every sentence.
I made no such assumption. Kitchen failures will, or will not, occur completely independent of the person pushing cartoon covered buttons at the counter.
That's because I care about my order and they don't. And no, it isn't like it takes 2 years of study to master the cartoon covered buttons. The person who does it daily is no better at it than I am.
I reserve the right to not be charming some days. A machine won't be offended.
Yes, I live to entertain the minimum wage serfs of the world. (Not.)
Aaaaand we come full circle. They won't have to deal with me if I can enter my order myself.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 01 2018, @05:58AM
> They won't have to deal with me if I can enter my order myself.
Truly, this is the best argument for kiosks so far :)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bobthecimmerian on Sunday April 01 2018, @01:32PM
I'll add that if anyone is to blame for idiocy at a fast food restaurant, it's typically the owner. If there are buffoons working in important roles, it simply means they're not offering enough pay and benefits to attract competent staff.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Saturday March 31 2018, @10:27PM (1 child)
I would agree with that assessment. There is simply no need for a special person who pushes the same buttons that I could have pushed. Furthermore, with a simple app I can preconfigure my sandwich and order it with a single button when I am near the place. The food will be ready just in time. I feel no need to interact with the cashier. At lunch time there are always lines to order. Four or five terminals (as little as Android tablets glued to the wall) will do the job for those who do not carry smartphones.
On the subject of employment of cashiers, they can always learn to assemble sandwiches or do something else that only a human can do. Pushing buttons is not it, that's a job of a robot.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday April 01 2018, @02:06AM
So you've made the case for an app.
But tfs is not about an app. It's about a kiosk for taking orders and accepting payment.
I prefer the app, nut there's only so much room on my phone for this kind of crap.
So we are stuck with kiosks.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 31 2018, @11:59PM
They aren't pretending to care. They are part of our Deep State surveillance network. Not only are they attempting to elicit information from you, but they are squeezing your produce so we can get a better understanding of your psyche.
Once again, that isn't for you. If you'll notice, the cashier says it louder than normal. That's so the microphones pick it up clearly and our transcribers can get a jump on any volume purchases you are making.
No worries - we've already updated this in your preferences file.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 01 2018, @02:27AM
The best way to prevent errors would be just to make your own Hamburgers at home. Failing that, just disguise Fast Food as your own cooking and no one will know the difference.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by vux984 on Sunday April 01 2018, @06:56AM
"The average food service human is slow and error prone because they Just Don't Care, or have the IQ of a turnip"
Depends. The guy in front of me the other day took forever, accidently cancelled repeatedly, had to start over 4 times, couldn't figure out how to navigate, and finally timed out when trying to pay... and then needed to change their order because they forgot something...
The last time I went into McDs half of the kiosks were out of order.
"Same with grocery stores. I can ring up and bag my own and make sure the 2 liter soda bottle isn't dropped on top of the eggs and bread."
A decent cashier / bagger team is 10x faster than the self checkout. Self checkout may be faster if there are 12 self checkouts, and one trainee cashier with a queue of everyone in the store over 50, but its not that self checkouts are actually better. They've just sabotaged the cashier operations to the point that the self checkouts look good by comparison.
"Just shut up and take my money. Or go away and let me pay a machine"
Yeah, until you see some mold on something in your cart that you missed, or a jug of milk springs a leak, and then its a whole fiasco, as you look around helplessly for a human to help you because the self checkout doesn't a have button for that. Meanwhile the human checkout just calls for a cleanup and a stockperson to fetch a replacement without missing a beat.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by FatPhil on Sunday April 01 2018, @09:41AM
It's spelled t-r-u-m-p
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 01 2018, @12:08PM
You sound like someone who'd be a lots of fun at a party.