Posted on 08/09/2014 6:33:37 PM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
McDonald’s employees who picketed for a better living wage (whatever that means) may come to regret that decision.... a McDonald’s in Illinois replaced their cashiers with machines. The machines appear to be the cousins of the ones found in grocery stores, big box stores, and CVS that allow customers to complete transactions...
This is all basic economics, really. As costs of labor increase the added cost must be offset. In order to satisfy operating costs, produce a product consumers want to purchase, and still turn a profit, it’s perfectly reasonable for a company like McDonald’s to look for cost-cutting alternatives....
Robot makers must be loving the recent NLRB ruling, as well, which held McDonald’s parent corporation liable for franchisee employment practices. Can a kiosk file an employment grievance?
(Excerpt) Read more at legalinsurrection.com ...
What’s the big deal about McDonald’s, Cack In The Box had these kiosks in some stores years ago, but nobody raised a stink about them.
The guy looks like a 3 way cross....Ronald McDonald, the Joker,
and Vince the Sham WOW! dude.
“The machine will be able to understand English and get my order correct.”
Not only that...they can add correctly.
Perfectly fine if they do. I’ll make sure my toaster oven votes GOP.
Panera uses iPads with attached card-swipes mounted on a counter top. Sleek and gorgeous. Ordering is a breeze. One restaurant near here has six of them.
Of course, Panera really needs them. For some reason, it takes Panera customers unduly long to give an order to a human, such that it's not worth going in (to a store without iPad ordering) if there's any kind of a line.
Yup , All Crap,,
you eat it,,,,
Probably because it's the same clientele that stands in front of the sugar and creme counter at Starbucks endlessly stirring their coffee and checking for proper sweetness while posing importantly as if they had just purchased a Bugatti Veyron.
Automated fast-food and coffee shops are inevitable given the many problematic issues with hiring and dealing with low-end, unmotivated and uneducated workers, including unfounded worker lawsuits, obamacare, unemployment and workers comp insurance abuse and fraud, ridiculous minimum wage mandates, fascist National Labor Relations Board, obamacare, OSHA meddling and much, much more.
It’s not that difficult to fully automate most fast food operations. The only real issue is at what point it is less expensive to install fully automated mini-food factories in these restaurants than continue production with hand labor.
I suspect in 10 yrs the typical fast food place will have 2 employees per shift, basically to do logistics and sanitation. Each wage increase, additional government regulation of employees, obamacare, sabotage, wildcat strike, “civil disobedience” lawsuit, etc. provides yet another incentive for automation. Pretty soon fast food joints won’t be much more than fully automated self-serve kiosks. There will be a need for an actual employee to load the raw ingredients into the input hoppers from the delivery trucks and someone to haul out the trash and swab the floors at the end of the day.
Coffee shops will probably be the first to go that route. 99.9% of coffee shops already have 100% automated espresso makers that require no more than punching in the number of shots and pushing the “START” button, not too much more difficult to operate than the self-serve soda-pop machines all fast food outfits already have.
My prediction is that in short order the espresso makers will be moved from behind the counter to the FRONT of the counter where customers make their own espresso drinks, completely eliminating the need for a “barista” to push the “START” button for you.
It’s only one more step for the espresso machine makers to add a credit-card swipe unit that auto-charges you for the espresso you make based on the number of shots you dial in.
At that point, the only need for an employee is to load the beans in the hoppers. Big enough hoppers, and that need be done only once a day. At that point, many of these shops can then just be converted into totally self-serve kiosks.
Once this equipment gets built, installed and self-serve shown to be successful, the rest of the country will quickly move in that same direction.
Six decades ago, before the proliferation of these fast food restaurants, we had far fewer disgustingly obese Americans. The grandparents and great-grandparents of these porkers had much better sense when it came to nutrition and the need for physical exercise.
Why would people eat the garbage that these fast food places produce? Is it just ignorance, or are they perhaps addicted?
It's sad.
5....4....3....2....1
The.Justice Department announced an investigation of McDonalds Corp...
Unfairly targets minority employees.
President said “ We cannot tolerate big corporations making end-runs around the law....question of fairness. Blahblah.
Obama Ortega.
I am an organic employee in sector 7G.... : )
You know what. I think their present cash registers are too!!
Biggest mistake they ever made. My wife buys those cups for me at Dollar Tree or some other dollar store. They are almost as good as the old McDonald's cups lid is a little different but when I go there with the grand kids, I take my own cup.
That was a big thing soon after WW II, kids would go to the movie and request a Zombie, I have no memory of why they called it a zombie.
Actually they do already, they are called voting machines.
We called it a “Suicide.”
Lot of people eat crap every day, and not because they particularly like it.
I am pretty sure they were always instant, never liked them, but they were/are edible if you are hungry.
Agreed—their breakfasts are more palatable than the rest of their food.
You are not alone, all meat tastes different to me, and potatoes can't be fried anymore.
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