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> Many fast food places now have tablet based ordering As an experience though, they could hardly have implemented it in a worse way. A big part of the reason

> Many fast food places now have tablet based ordering As an experience though, they could hardly have implemented it in a worse way. A big part of the reason I don't go to McDonald's any more is that the experience of using the ordering kiosks is so awful compared to just telling a human what I want.

diggan 1y ago
> A big part of the reason I don't go to McDonald's any more is that the experience of using the ordering kiosks is so awful compared to just telling a human what I want. Huh, for me is the polar opposite. Maybe it's because I mumble, is unclear or don't speak the native language as well as the natives where I live, but I always preferred the kiosks. I seem to always get what I order then, and it's a lot easier to customize things. Generally just feels faster, which I guess is the most important thing about fast-food, I want to be in-and-out of there as quick as possible, the less humans I have to deal with, the better.
- codazoda 1y ago
  I doubt it. I’m a perfectly capable communicator and I also prefer them.
- ecshafer 1y ago
  When I worked at McDonalds, a major thing I learned is that when 95% of people say they got an order wrong, the customer ordered it wrong without realizing it. Customer says "I want a cheeseburger, plain", Mcdonalds puts that in as "Cheesebuger, no ketchup, mustard, onion or pickle". Customers will take plain to mean a dozen different things.
  - diggan 1y ago
    > Customer says "I want a cheeseburger, plain", Mcdonalds puts that in as "Cheesebuger, no ketchup, mustard, onion or pickle". Customers will take plain to mean a dozen different things. Isn't it up to the person who is receiving the order to ask clarifying questions then? Since they know it's potentially unclear/ambiguous, why not try to resolve the ambiguity before making the order?
    - bryanlarsen 1y ago
      That'd just annoy the 99% of people that agree with McDonald's on what plain means. People at McDonald's are often in a hurry, and some would get really annoyed at stupid questions. Better to piss off the 1% than the 99%. If you're clarifying at this level, there are likely many other questions that you'd ask.
    - ecshafer 1y ago
      99% of orders are not made incorrectly, and you're being told to go faster and keep times low. Is this the 1 order of the hour that the person will come back and complain that its wrong? Is this person going to come back regardless and say it was wrong to get free food? Its unambiguous enough to not be worth the time.
      - diggan 1y ago
        Be a bit smooth about it: as you type in the order, verbally say out loud what you're entering with other words, then ask them to confirm. No lost time, potentially less people to deal with in the future, win-win.
        JohnFen 1y ago
        It's been several lifetimes since I worked in a fast food place (not McDonald's), but at least then, this was how we were trained to do it. Reading the order back like that was required.
  - SoftTalker 1y ago
    Rule #1 at McDonald's: Never customize. If you don't want pickles, take them off yourself. Otherwise they'll just get it wrong. Whenever I took my kids there I told them "if you don't want it the way they make it then don't order it."
    - diggan 1y ago
      I almost always (except if there is a big queue) customize something, because then it's guaranteed made at the spot, instead of the heated old stuff. And since I started using the kiosks, the orders are always right, and fresh.
      - SoftTalker 1y ago
        A custom order used to be a hack to be sure you got a freshly-made sandwich and not one that had been sitting in a warmer for 15 minutes, but they make everything to order now. And they still fuck them up, often.
        incone123 1y ago
        And many people are now getting delivery which means another 15 minutes in the delivery vehicle picnic bag.
        diggan 1y ago
        > but they make everything to order now. Hard to know for a fact without knowing where I live, I'm guessing :) FWIW, it's not true at McDonalds in Spain, they definitely have popular stuff sitting behind the counter for longer than the items you customize here.
    - gilbetron 1y ago
      I've customized our McD's orders for my entire life - they mess it up maybe 1/20 times, about the same ratio I'll have to park and wait. Otherwise it's always worked for me!
  - SkyPuncher 1y ago
    I also worked at McDonalds. You example is interesting because this specific issue came up often. Different people interpreted it to mean different things. The cashiers who'd been around the longest had learned to clarify exactly what the customer wants. Also, this is absolutely NOT a customer issue. It's a restaurant issue to clarify. Plain means different things at different restaurants, so the solution is to _always_ clarify exactly what the customer means.
    - jjmarr 1y ago
      Every fast food place I've been to, a "plain cheeseburger" includes cheese. However, at every high-end burger place I've been to, "plain" does NOT include cheese. So there is a somewhat standard meaning. I have this conversation enough that I now call out "plain no cheese" and ensure "no cheese" is written on the ticket.
      - mh- 1y ago
        That's a strange source of confusion. A plain cheeseburger without cheese has a different name: a plain hamburger. I can't imagine saying "cheeseburger", no matter what qualifying words around it, and being surprised it included cheese.
        dlivingston 1y ago
        I have a very funny childhood memory of being in a McDonalds with my Cub Scout chapter; one of the boys ordered a "cheeseburger with no cheese", which - of course - was delivered with cheese, and the boy's father escalated the 'situation' to management.
        SkyPuncher 1y ago
        Even more confusing when McDonalds calls them "burgers with cheese". Cheese seems to be a uniquely distinct event. Also "I'll take a number 3 meal plain" is void of an actual subject for the type of burger.
        1y ago
  - milesvp 1y ago
    Even better when the customer just plain orders the wrong thing. I have a vivid memory of my pregnant wife and I at breakfast one morning, and she ordered apple juice. When the waiter brought apple juice she said she’d ordered orange, and when the waitress looked confused, I had to remind my wife she’d ordered apple. Total brain fart on her part (pregnancy brain seems to be a very real thing). Waitress didn’t care, especially after we laughed it off, and brought orange. But I know I’ve undoubtedly done the same thing, so I’m patient with mixups.
- xenonite 1y ago
  Removing the seasoning from a McDonald’s burger is only possible with human contact afaik. So no, not any customization is possible.
  - mh- 1y ago
    You can order a hamburger with "no salt" now via the app (and probably the kiosk?). But I'm not sure if there are other seasonings you're referring to, though.
Ifkaluva 1y ago
Also the kiosks are frequently broken.
quotemstr 1y ago
I actually prefer the kiosk. No ambiguity.
blibble 1y ago
they are quite impressively bad in 2025 how is it so hard to make a user interface that doesn't lag like a bastard on every scroll/click/... it's almost as bad as their terrible, terrible, terrible app
- franktankbank 1y ago
  They have to upload video of your face to use for sentiment analysis at every click. /s ?
- ToucanLoucan 1y ago
  > in 2025 how is it so hard to make a user interface that doesn't lag like a bastard on every scroll/click/... Because everything is done in fucking React or Node or Blazor or whatever the newest flavor of this wRiTe oNcE rUn aNyWheRe bollocks is, because it always, always, always the exact same fucking thing: abstracting UI elements to fucking goddamn JavaScript and running it in a browser. And heaven knows McDonald's can't possibly pay for proper software development, they only made like 14 billion last year. They're barely scraping by.
  - sfn42 1y ago
    That's not the issue. All these technologies can be nice and snappy. The problem is that developers suck at making software nice and snappy. I've taken over several react apps over the years and one thing I always end up doing is remove a bunch of spinners because you don't need a spinner when the page loads instantly - as it should. Its very common for pages to take 10-60+ seconds to load, and when I look into it it's always obvious why they're so slow and easy to fix. The devs who made it just sucked.
    - joshstrange 1y ago
      > I always end up doing is remove a bunch of spinners because you don't need a spinner when the page loads instantly I always have to remind people to add spinners, just because it loads instantly on your developer machine with a fiber connection (if not talking to a local container even) doesn't mean it will in the real world. But spinners only show when actively fetching so if it's fast they only show for a split-second. It's the best of both worlds.
worldsayshi 1y ago
It started out pretty okay but every time I order on one of those tablets they seem to have added an extra step of trying to sell me something more.
- baggachipz 1y ago
  That's really the worst part. The upsells are insulting and get in the way of ordering what I want. Classic enshittification, starting with something which people like and slowly deteriorating it in order to make an extra buck. I'm sure the MBAs love it though.
  - bathtub365 1y ago
    “Do you want fries with that?” predates the MBA craze
    - baggachipz 1y ago
      True, but it's so much worse now. Several "special offers" you have to go through, with dark patterns to prevent skipping it.
JohnFen 1y ago
> the experience of using the ordering kiosks is so awful compared to just telling a human what I want. Those kiosks are horrific and greatly reduced the number of visits I made to McDonald's. The insane pricing since then further reduced those visits to zero.
scotty79 1y ago
I have exactly opposite experience. If tablets are out of order for some reason, I just go somewhere else rather than attempting to talk to a human. And the best way is just sit at the table, order with your phone and somebody brings the tray to you.

diggan 1y ago

> A big part of the reason I don't go to McDonald's any more is that the experience of using the ordering kiosks is so awful compared to just telling a human what I want. Huh, for me is the polar opposite. Maybe it's because I mumble, is unclear or don't speak the native language as well as the natives where I live, but I always preferred the kiosks. I seem to always get what I order then, and it's a lot easier to customize things. Generally just feels faster, which I guess is the most important thing about fast-food, I want to be in-and-out of there as quick as possible, the less humans I have to deal with, the better.

codazoda 1y ago
I doubt it. I’m a perfectly capable communicator and I also prefer them.
ecshafer 1y ago
When I worked at McDonalds, a major thing I learned is that when 95% of people say they got an order wrong, the customer ordered it wrong without realizing it. Customer says "I want a cheeseburger, plain", Mcdonalds puts that in as "Cheesebuger, no ketchup, mustard, onion or pickle". Customers will take plain to mean a dozen different things.
- diggan 1y ago
  > Customer says "I want a cheeseburger, plain", Mcdonalds puts that in as "Cheesebuger, no ketchup, mustard, onion or pickle". Customers will take plain to mean a dozen different things. Isn't it up to the person who is receiving the order to ask clarifying questions then? Since they know it's potentially unclear/ambiguous, why not try to resolve the ambiguity before making the order?
  - bryanlarsen 1y ago
    That'd just annoy the 99% of people that agree with McDonald's on what plain means. People at McDonald's are often in a hurry, and some would get really annoyed at stupid questions. Better to piss off the 1% than the 99%. If you're clarifying at this level, there are likely many other questions that you'd ask.
  - ecshafer 1y ago
    99% of orders are not made incorrectly, and you're being told to go faster and keep times low. Is this the 1 order of the hour that the person will come back and complain that its wrong? Is this person going to come back regardless and say it was wrong to get free food? Its unambiguous enough to not be worth the time.
    - diggan 1y ago
      Be a bit smooth about it: as you type in the order, verbally say out loud what you're entering with other words, then ask them to confirm. No lost time, potentially less people to deal with in the future, win-win.
      - JohnFen 1y ago
        It's been several lifetimes since I worked in a fast food place (not McDonald's), but at least then, this was how we were trained to do it. Reading the order back like that was required.
- SoftTalker 1y ago
  Rule #1 at McDonald's: Never customize. If you don't want pickles, take them off yourself. Otherwise they'll just get it wrong. Whenever I took my kids there I told them "if you don't want it the way they make it then don't order it."
  - diggan 1y ago
    I almost always (except if there is a big queue) customize something, because then it's guaranteed made at the spot, instead of the heated old stuff. And since I started using the kiosks, the orders are always right, and fresh.
    - SoftTalker 1y ago
      A custom order used to be a hack to be sure you got a freshly-made sandwich and not one that had been sitting in a warmer for 15 minutes, but they make everything to order now. And they still fuck them up, often.
      - incone123 1y ago
        And many people are now getting delivery which means another 15 minutes in the delivery vehicle picnic bag.
      - diggan 1y ago
        > but they make everything to order now. Hard to know for a fact without knowing where I live, I'm guessing :) FWIW, it's not true at McDonalds in Spain, they definitely have popular stuff sitting behind the counter for longer than the items you customize here.
  - gilbetron 1y ago
    I've customized our McD's orders for my entire life - they mess it up maybe 1/20 times, about the same ratio I'll have to park and wait. Otherwise it's always worked for me!
- SkyPuncher 1y ago
  I also worked at McDonalds. You example is interesting because this specific issue came up often. Different people interpreted it to mean different things. The cashiers who'd been around the longest had learned to clarify exactly what the customer wants. Also, this is absolutely NOT a customer issue. It's a restaurant issue to clarify. Plain means different things at different restaurants, so the solution is to _always_ clarify exactly what the customer means.
  - jjmarr 1y ago
    Every fast food place I've been to, a "plain cheeseburger" includes cheese. However, at every high-end burger place I've been to, "plain" does NOT include cheese. So there is a somewhat standard meaning. I have this conversation enough that I now call out "plain no cheese" and ensure "no cheese" is written on the ticket.
    - mh- 1y ago
      That's a strange source of confusion. A plain cheeseburger without cheese has a different name: a plain hamburger. I can't imagine saying "cheeseburger", no matter what qualifying words around it, and being surprised it included cheese.
      - dlivingston 1y ago
        I have a very funny childhood memory of being in a McDonalds with my Cub Scout chapter; one of the boys ordered a "cheeseburger with no cheese", which - of course - was delivered with cheese, and the boy's father escalated the 'situation' to management.
      - SkyPuncher 1y ago
        Even more confusing when McDonalds calls them "burgers with cheese". Cheese seems to be a uniquely distinct event. Also "I'll take a number 3 meal plain" is void of an actual subject for the type of burger.
        1y ago
- milesvp 1y ago
  Even better when the customer just plain orders the wrong thing. I have a vivid memory of my pregnant wife and I at breakfast one morning, and she ordered apple juice. When the waiter brought apple juice she said she’d ordered orange, and when the waitress looked confused, I had to remind my wife she’d ordered apple. Total brain fart on her part (pregnancy brain seems to be a very real thing). Waitress didn’t care, especially after we laughed it off, and brought orange. But I know I’ve undoubtedly done the same thing, so I’m patient with mixups.
xenonite 1y ago
Removing the seasoning from a McDonald’s burger is only possible with human contact afaik. So no, not any customization is possible.
- mh- 1y ago
  You can order a hamburger with "no salt" now via the app (and probably the kiosk?). But I'm not sure if there are other seasonings you're referring to, though.

Ifkaluva 1y ago

Also the kiosks are frequently broken.

quotemstr 1y ago

I actually prefer the kiosk. No ambiguity.

blibble 1y ago

they are quite impressively bad in 2025 how is it so hard to make a user interface that doesn't lag like a bastard on every scroll/click/... it's almost as bad as their terrible, terrible, terrible app

franktankbank 1y ago
They have to upload video of your face to use for sentiment analysis at every click. /s ?
ToucanLoucan 1y ago
> in 2025 how is it so hard to make a user interface that doesn't lag like a bastard on every scroll/click/... Because everything is done in fucking React or Node or Blazor or whatever the newest flavor of this wRiTe oNcE rUn aNyWheRe bollocks is, because it always, always, always the exact same fucking thing: abstracting UI elements to fucking goddamn JavaScript and running it in a browser. And heaven knows McDonald's can't possibly pay for proper software development, they only made like 14 billion last year. They're barely scraping by.
- sfn42 1y ago
  That's not the issue. All these technologies can be nice and snappy. The problem is that developers suck at making software nice and snappy. I've taken over several react apps over the years and one thing I always end up doing is remove a bunch of spinners because you don't need a spinner when the page loads instantly - as it should. Its very common for pages to take 10-60+ seconds to load, and when I look into it it's always obvious why they're so slow and easy to fix. The devs who made it just sucked.
  - joshstrange 1y ago
    > I always end up doing is remove a bunch of spinners because you don't need a spinner when the page loads instantly I always have to remind people to add spinners, just because it loads instantly on your developer machine with a fiber connection (if not talking to a local container even) doesn't mean it will in the real world. But spinners only show when actively fetching so if it's fast they only show for a split-second. It's the best of both worlds.

worldsayshi 1y ago

It started out pretty okay but every time I order on one of those tablets they seem to have added an extra step of trying to sell me something more.

baggachipz 1y ago
That's really the worst part. The upsells are insulting and get in the way of ordering what I want. Classic enshittification, starting with something which people like and slowly deteriorating it in order to make an extra buck. I'm sure the MBAs love it though.
- bathtub365 1y ago
  “Do you want fries with that?” predates the MBA craze
  - baggachipz 1y ago
    True, but it's so much worse now. Several "special offers" you have to go through, with dark patterns to prevent skipping it.

JohnFen 1y ago

> the experience of using the ordering kiosks is so awful compared to just telling a human what I want. Those kiosks are horrific and greatly reduced the number of visits I made to McDonald's. The insane pricing since then further reduced those visits to zero.

scotty79 1y ago

I have exactly opposite experience. If tablets are out of order for some reason, I just go somewhere else rather than attempting to talk to a human. And the best way is just sit at the table, order with your phone and somebody brings the tray to you.