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These kiosks are already in tons of McDonald's locations from what I understand (I've only seen them in Canada but I'm told they're elsewhere) so I don't get th

These kiosks are already in tons of McDonald's locations from what I understand (I've only seen them in Canada but I'm told they're elsewhere) so I don't get the hesitation. They work well, especially if there's a long line or you're hungover and don't want to talk to anybody. What I'm wondering is when they're gonna figure out how to replace the cooks with machines (though that's a different task from kiosks, you need actual robotics) and staff the place with a single manager to deal with customer complaints.

tonylemesmer 9y ago
The kiosks have been in all the McDonald's in the UK I've been to in the past 3 years (probably only about 6 tbh). They're great because you can get exactly what you want, down to the pickle and mustard and it entertains the kids whilst you're in the restaurant. In busy restaurants the kiosks do allow a massive backlog of orders to build up. The kitchens cannot keep up. edit: added 2nd para.
- taoistextremist 9y ago
  >In busy restaurants the kiosks do allow a massive backlog of orders to build up. The kitchens cannot keep up This sounds like it could be understaffing, but if not, they should just put a pause on all orders. Of course, managers would never want that because they're averse to turning down business even if it worsens the quality for everyone.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
bluGill 9y ago
When I was at McDonalds (mid 1990s) they already has robotic french fry machines - I didn't see it but my understanding (and faulty memory) is frozen fries went in one end, cooked (not boxed) fries came out the others. I remember our managers discussing it and really wanting it for the safety, but they couldn't make the payments (the current fry vat was failing so they already had to pay for the labor and a fryer, but the additional cost of the robot was too high) Note that I said safety. They were not thinking about labor costs, they were thinking about how it would not splash hot oil on kids. I think it is fair to say that every fast food would accept a 1% loss of profit margin (that 4% to 3% profit margin) just to not have humans interact with burning hot machines.

tonylemesmer 9y ago

The kiosks have been in all the McDonald's in the UK I've been to in the past 3 years (probably only about 6 tbh). They're great because you can get exactly what you want, down to the pickle and mustard and it entertains the kids whilst you're in the restaurant. In busy restaurants the kiosks do allow a massive backlog of orders to build up. The kitchens cannot keep up. edit: added 2nd para.

taoistextremist 9y ago
>In busy restaurants the kiosks do allow a massive backlog of orders to build up. The kitchens cannot keep up This sounds like it could be understaffing, but if not, they should just put a pause on all orders. Of course, managers would never want that because they're averse to turning down business even if it worsens the quality for everyone.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

bluGill 9y ago

When I was at McDonalds (mid 1990s) they already has robotic french fry machines - I didn't see it but my understanding (and faulty memory) is frozen fries went in one end, cooked (not boxed) fries came out the others. I remember our managers discussing it and really wanting it for the safety, but they couldn't make the payments (the current fry vat was failing so they already had to pay for the labor and a fryer, but the additional cost of the robot was too high) Note that I said safety. They were not thinking about labor costs, they were thinking about how it would not splash hot oil on kids. I think it is fair to say that every fast food would accept a 1% loss of profit margin (that 4% to 3% profit margin) just to not have humans interact with burning hot machines.