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McDonald's beginning to replace cashiers with touch screens

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charrison said:
Because the machines are not free and do operate on a fixed cost(R&D, support and maintenance). I am not sure at what wage it hits the tipping point, but that point has obviously been exceeded.
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It's cheaper than it costs a human to live. If you want to undercut that, the human will have to be on substantial public assistance despite working full time. Minimum wage is there to prevent this from happening.
 
Anubis said:
if you have ever been to a Sheetz and gotten an MTO i cant see why you think this is a bad idea, sheetz has been doing it for well over a decade and it works flawlessly
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Exactly. The people who think you will scan a burger do not understand the process.
 
I can't wait to see what types of unknown organisms start breading on these things. The science value alone is worth it.
 
One of the mega marts in my town has self checkout lanes. I tried them a couple of times and the self checkout lanes took longer than the human cashiers. Now I would rather wait in a longer line for a human cashier.
 
Jack in the box in san diego have these and they are awesome. It's a normal store with a touchscreen ordering machine near the registers. Cuts down on standing in line to order by a lot and you don't have to speak to another human.
 
On one hand, a McDonald's cashier is a job.

But on the other hand, is the advancement of our economic future dependent on holding on to McDonald's cashier jobs?
 
scorp00 said:
Jack in the box in san diego have these and they are awesome. It's a normal store with a touchscreen ordering machine near the registers. Cuts down on standing in line to order by a lot and you don't have to speak to another human.
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I have seen them in a couple of Carl's Jr. as well.
Only way to make sure the teenage numbskull behind the counter doesn't put your order in wrong.
I have seen them break down a couple of times though, nothing is perfect.
 
Anything customers get to touch will break frequently. Chances are the store will have a couple spares onsite or just an overnight away when they break down. I, for one, would rather talk to someone than punch in my order like a drone. It's still left up to a person to MAKE the order correctly. IMEXP, it's entered correctly but the order is made wrong.
 
As technology increases, jobs for the minimally skilled worker will evaporate. With a rising lower class population, I don't see this as a good thing.
 
Marlin1975 said:
Hate to see how many people cause problems like "I wanted no mayo on this not extra I know I pressed the right button your machines are broken..." and you behind them waiting for your order.

i.e. you over estimate the intelligence of the average person.
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Yep. The self checkouts at Walmart are already ridiculous to use, and that's something as simple as scanning bar codes. Ordering food is a lot more complicated. Add this, subtract that, make this a combo, make this one just a burger.

I've worked in fast food and I swear to god some people can't even say what they want. Imagine them trying to type in what they want.
"i want the fish burger deluxe with.." (there's no such product anywhere on the menu, or it's the wrong time of day, or that was a promotional item)
 
WhipperSnapper said:
If all of their competitors utilized the same technology, eventually they would have to pass on a good portion of the cost-savings to the customers (unless they are a cartel or oligopoly).
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Highly unlikely. They will just make a pact to not adjust prices downward and all enjoy in more profit.
 
ShawnD1 said:
Yep. The self checkouts at Walmart are already ridiculous to use, and that's something as simple as scanning bar codes. Ordering food is a lot more complicated. Add this, subtract that, make this a combo, make this one just a burger.

I've worked in fast food and I swear to god some people can't even say what they want. Imagine them trying to type in what they want.
"i want the fish burger deluxe with.." (there's no such product anywhere on the menu, or it's the wrong time of day, or that was a promotional item)
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For me, it balances out with workers who can't speak English, and staff who don't even know what the hell is on their own menus.

Like last week, I was at Timmies. I asked for Breakfast combo #6. I specifically avoided naming the item because it was so similar to combo #3. Long story short, they gave me #3, I contested (very nicely asked WTF?) the charge thinking they gave me what I wanted...
 
My University already runs a burger joint where you select your order (down to the details of the toppings) by touch screen. If done right it works extremely well. No chance of miscommunication on the order, and things generally get done faster.
 
I would not mind the automated ordering system. This way, you are pretty sure of getting what you wanted and not being misunderstood. And in some areas, it can help the line of people move faster. They will still need people to make and pack the orders and to make change for people who pay by cash (unless the machines can do that as well).
 
This isn't different from the Sheetz ordering kiosks, except that you pay at the terminal. I've never had an issue with the Sheetz system and I've never had an order wrong. It removes 1 more person from the equation that can potentially mess up your order.
 
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Doppel said:
Adoption of those appears very slow, though. Lowes, home depot, walmart around me all have them but most people including me will go to a real person if one's available.
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I've never seen a self checkout at a Walmart, which makes me wonder if they concluded that they just aren't worth the trouble for some reason.
 
WhipperSnapper said:
I've never seen a self checkout at a Walmart, which makes me wonder if they concluded that they just aren't worth the trouble for some reason.
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I think it depends on how much business they do I guess. The one near me has them, and they suck. I swear at 50% of the stuff will not weigh right the 3 times I have used it.

Works fine at lowes, giant, etc... Bad thing is Wal-Mart is the one place I rather check myself out then wait in line.
 
MustISO said:
I can't wait to see what types of unknown organisms start breading on these things. The science value alone is worth it.
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They better have a stylus because I do want to touch a screen that other people have been touching without washing their hands. Maybe they'll clean the screen and stylus every couple of customers.
 
Marlin1975 said:
I think it depends on how much business they do I guess. The one near me has them, and they suck. I swear at 50% of the stuff will not weigh right the 3 times I have used it.

Works fine at lowes, giant, etc... Bad thing is Wal-Mart is the one place I rather check myself out then wait in line.
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I've noticed this also. The self-checkouts at Walmart seem to be down 50% of the time. The ones at Kroger work very well (at least the 2nd generation versions do - 1st generation versions did not work very well at all).
 
At least I won't have to deal with the stream of "¿Qué?s" from the non-English speakers at the local McD's.
 
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