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I guess what I don't understand is why we don't have more human-free systems for food payment. All of 15 years ago, I went in a company cafeteria in Tsukuba, pa

I guess what I don't understand is why we don't have more human-free systems for food payment. All of 15 years ago, I went in a company cafeteria in Tsukuba, paid a vending machine, and took the ticket to the cook. If I had been able to speak any Japanese back then, I probably could have customized my order there. But here in the US we're still hiring fast food workers to take standardized orders.

mc32 9y ago
Because Japan's demographics made it imperative and conversely our importation of cheap labor subsidized or delayed the need to introduce automation to offset costs.
feniv 9y ago
Coin-operated vending machines for food was actually somewhat popular in the US in the early 1900ds before fast-food. Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat
kylec 9y ago
There's a burger chain here in the Bay Area called The Melt which has iPad-based kiosks where you can order your food, pay for it with a credit card, and pick up a buzzer (to let you know when it's ready) without having to talk to anyone. It's glorious. I wish all restaurants offered stuff like that.
icebraining 9y ago
They're starting to appear. McDonalds has now introduced it in multiple European countries, plus isolated restaurants here and there (e.g. Burgerlich in Hamburg, which has touchscreens embedded in the tables: https://goo.gl/oJAh9v https://goo.gl/oJAh9v)
- bane 9y ago
  Almost every McDonald's I've been to in Europe and Canada has a set of Kiosks where you can order what you want (in English) and pay. You then take a number from the kiosk and sit down and somebody brings your food out to you or screens display your pickup number when it's time. Most ones in the U.S. have stubbornly held on to the less efficient queue at the counter and talk to a bored human system.
- Jdjcnfjd 9y ago
  You can order McDs on a touchscreen at some locations in Cambridge (Massachusetts not England), it's already made it to America.
tixocloud 9y ago
Had the same thought when I was in Tokyo and seeing it more frequently in Scotland where there are more self-serve kiosks at McDonalds than there are regular tills.

mc32 9y ago

Because Japan's demographics made it imperative and conversely our importation of cheap labor subsidized or delayed the need to introduce automation to offset costs.

feniv 9y ago

Coin-operated vending machines for food was actually somewhat popular in the US in the early 1900ds before fast-food. Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat

kylec 9y ago

There's a burger chain here in the Bay Area called The Melt which has iPad-based kiosks where you can order your food, pay for it with a credit card, and pick up a buzzer (to let you know when it's ready) without having to talk to anyone. It's glorious. I wish all restaurants offered stuff like that.

icebraining 9y ago

They're starting to appear. McDonalds has now introduced it in multiple European countries, plus isolated restaurants here and there (e.g. Burgerlich in Hamburg, which has touchscreens embedded in the tables: https://goo.gl/oJAh9v https://goo.gl/oJAh9v)

bane 9y ago
Almost every McDonald's I've been to in Europe and Canada has a set of Kiosks where you can order what you want (in English) and pay. You then take a number from the kiosk and sit down and somebody brings your food out to you or screens display your pickup number when it's time. Most ones in the U.S. have stubbornly held on to the less efficient queue at the counter and talk to a bored human system.
Jdjcnfjd 9y ago
You can order McDs on a touchscreen at some locations in Cambridge (Massachusetts not England), it's already made it to America.

tixocloud 9y ago

Had the same thought when I was in Tokyo and seeing it more frequently in Scotland where there are more self-serve kiosks at McDonalds than there are regular tills.