Posted on 07/18/2018 1:38:23 AM PDT by Cronos
“Would you like fries with that?” may soon be a phrase of the past.
As minimum wage levels approach or surpass $15 nationwide, restaurant customers expecting to be greeted by a smiling face will instead be welcomed by a glowing LED screen.
As of 2020, self-service ordering kiosks will be implemented at all U.S. McDonald’s locations. Other chains, including fast-casual brands like Panera and casual-dining brands like Chili's, have already embraced this trend. Some restaurant concepts have even automated the food-preparation process; earlier this year, NBC News profiled "Flippy," a robot hamburger flipper. Other upcoming concepts include virtual restaurants which eliminate the need for full-service restaurants (and staff) by only offering home delivery
While some consumers may appreciate the novelty or added convenience, the conveniences come at the cost of entry-level jobs.
My concern about this is personal. Without my opportunity to start as a grill man, I would have never ended up running one of largest fast food chains in the world. I started working at McDonald’s making the minimum wage of 85 cents an hour. I worked hard and earned a promotion to restaurant manager within just one year, then went on to hold almost every position available throughout the company, eventually rising to CEO of McDonalds USA.
The kind of job that allowed me and many others to rise through the ranks is now being threatened by a rising minimum wage that’s pricing jobs out of the market. Without sacrificing food quality or taste, or abandoning the much-loved value menu, franchise owners must keep labor costs under control. One way to combat rising labor costs is by reducing the amount of employees needed.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
You can order through your McDonald’s app and just drive by and pick up your food. For certain it will get to the point where you will never need to speak with anyone.
I like ordering from the Kiosk. Takes a bit to get familiar with the process.
We have them in my area. Kiosks menus are very laborious to get through. Don’t expect any service from people behind counter. They completely ignore you and focus on getting the order. If you just order drinks, my experience is that the drink order gets lost in the shuffle and you end up having to ask them to get you a cup.
This is a YUGE mistake. As a charter customer of McDonald’s, I can tell you that at our local McDonald’s it is a disaster. (We actually have 2 McDonald’s).
The McDonald’s that I frequent, was very old and needed restoration. This past fall they tore it down. NOTHING remained. From the ground up they built the NEW McDonald’s. Every modern idea and changes were incorporated into the new building including kiosks.
Shortly after the grand opening we went (as everyone in town did) to see the NEW McDonald’s restaurant. (can it still be called a restaurant?).
An employee helped us use the new kiosk. Actually, she had to do it for us since we had no clue how to use it. Right then I said that I would NEVER set foot inside a McDonald’s again. I haven’t.
To be fair, I usually use the drive through. We now have 2 drive throughs and the modern speaker system that makes the ordertaker sound like they are in the car with you. We already had this new system at our other McDonald’s, but no kiosks. They just now are converting that newer McDonald’s to the kiosk system.
BUT, even using the drive through, you are often asked to “step aside” (park in a waiting area).
The last two times I was there I had to “drive aside” and wait for someone to walk my order to my parked vehicle.
In their defence (/s), this last time I had to “drive aside” I had placed an unusual order...... One Big Mac and two hamburgers!
“...who eats INSIDE a fast food place anyway?”
I do about once a week. Last night, the wife and I stopped at Burger King and ate inside. I saw what looked like a fair number of others eating their food in too.
But yeah, most go thru the drive-thru.
“The drive-through would be one of the first places to go. They’d put multiple slots where you reach out, order and then wait until your order is at the take-out window”
Uh, this 2018. You park in a numbered space, order on the app, and they bring your food out to you. This already exists.
Ahh HAAA! So YOU'RE THE ONE! You SOB! I pick up a newspaper at a fastfood place... Crossword puzzle? Done. I pull a magazine out of the pocket in an airliner. Crossword puzzle... Done. At the Barbershop... Crossword puzzle? Done. In the waiting room as my car is being worked on... Crossword puzzle? Done. WTF?... :-)
I don’t eat fast food much, and usually go through the drive through, but recently I did go inside and eat at McDonald’s. I got pissed to start with because they just didn’t seem to want to take my order. After I got my food and sat down I noticed there were kiosks at the front of the store. They apparently did not expect me to walk up and order at the counter.
I agree about McDonald’s.
Here in the Minneapolis-St Paul area, it’s hard to find one that looks really clean - even in the wealthier outer suburbs.
The tables aren’t wiped off. The condiment area is sloppy as is the soda dispensers. The bathrooms are not always clean looking.
Customers are, IMHO, willing to put up with a little slow service when they order but most don’t wanna eat at a place that’s dirty.
McDonald’s ought to assign just one employee to keep the dining room, bathrooms and outside areas of the store clean.
Honestly, given the general level of SERVICE at the counter at most McD’s these days, a Kiosk for ordering would be an improvement.
Germophobes will go first. Weaker immune systems. ;-)
I don’t like touching those screens. So many germs.
___________________
Why don't you stop insulting hardworking people?
Yes, I have a relative in management in one of the best McD franchises in the country and they have an associate who stands by the kiosk to help people navigate them. And that relative gets paid a lot more than 15 dollars and hour, and the associates who work there get paid 12 to 15 an hour AND THEY EARN EVERY DAMNED PENNY.
The people who eat at McD are not evil or stupid, they are hungry and sometimes they do not have other options, and sometimes they just plain like it. They do not deserve to be called names either.
I am so tired of people here insulting others who work hard, and earn little.
ALL WORK DESERVES HONOR AND RESPECT.
Soon they will be safe.
I often get iced offee at McDonalds———I go inside and refuse to use the kiosk.
I just say,”No thanks,I like people”.
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I agree with that...it is good to be careful, but I think we crossed that line a long time ago!
The big screen TV would make me turn around and leave——who on earth needs a television blaring in order to eat?
(In sports bars I get it,no place else.)
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The left is always killing us with the unintended consequences of their dim-witted policies. Idiots. Maroons.
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
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