McDonald's is bringing touchscreen ordering to the US

Engadget via MSN ^ | 12/9/14 | Daniel Cooper

[outofsalt]

It turns out that people aren't eating as many McHamburgers as they used to, which is a big problem if your business is all about slinging meat. So McDonald's is hoping the novelty of its "Create Your Taste" ordering kiosks will lure some customers back in. The machines will be installed in 2,000 of its US outlets by the end of 2015.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

And that kind of complicated ordering always seems to throw them into a tailspin. It’s beyond their intellectual capacity to figure out what to serve me.

When the bill comes to $5.10 and you give them a ten dollar bill and a dime, it's like you're from Mars.

[Tupelo]

Looks like another starter job is going away soon. By this time next year, McDonald’s counter worker can be added to Gas station attendant, Elevator operator, Car hop, Bellboy and a host of starter jobs, mostly for high school kids that are gone, gone, gone.

My first job while in high school was an island attendant at a Sohio Gas Station. Which is also history.

[lee martell]

If this new setup means the workers will walk over to my table and bring me the food I ordered, I hope they don’t now expect me to give them a tip, like a real restaurant. No Tips!

[longtermmemmory]

how do you think we ended up with free self-refills?

it is cheaper to have free self refills than charge per drink and pay the previous wage increases.

[Cobra64]

Fast food nation meets minimum wage protests

Bingo!

[deport]

McNugget Secret Ingredient: Molded Chicken Mush

snip
The background for the onslaught of forthcoming candor is the financial performance of McDonald's.
It reported href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/12/08/mcdonalds-same-store-sales-fried/20087793/" target="_blank">steeper-than-expected falls in same store sales, according to USA Today. Same store sales
is a retail measure of how popular a company remains with consumers. On Monday, the company noted
the biggest same store drops in a decade. That was even more than the biggest-in-a-decade drops reported in October,
as Daily Finance reported.

end snip

[Vince Ferrer]

I don’t eat there often, but when I do I go to the cashier and say: “I’ll have a #1 Combo, with a small coke, small fries.”

My conversations go something like this:

Me: "I'd like a Big Mac and a large fry to go."

Cashier: Do you want the meal deal? Its cheaper.

Me: "Ok, the number one."

Cashier: "What do you want to drink?"

Me: "Water"

Cashier: "You can get a drink with that."

Me: "I just want water."

Cashier: "OK."

Cashier: "For here or to go?"

Me: "To go."

[GraceG]

[ I like it. That touch screen is making sure that $15.00 per hour will never happen. Stupid community organizers ]

No, we will get 15 an hour McDonalds employee, but they will be highly technical managers that will do nothing but maintain machinery and deal with customer complaints, etc...

So instead of paying 6 employees 7 bucks per hour, ie 42 bucks (probably more per with fed withhold SS taxes on employers side)

They will pay 3 tech employees 15 bucks an hour = 45 bucks and save money on the back end on the withholding taxes etc...

So when you price out the low skilled workers, you end up replacing them with machinery, the libs won’t even learn a lesson from the industrial revolution.... MORONS all of them

[GraceG]

[ This is just another step of eliminating more workers all together. Thanks you minimum wage ]

Reminds me of this (warning language) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW-4LU79qbU

[Jonty30]

I eat hamburgers, just not Mcburgers. The Patties are too small and the bun too big.

[deport]

Messed up link in #26 should be:

steeper-than-expected falls

[outofsalt]

[usconservative]

I hope hand sanitizer is available after using one of those touch screens. You’ve no idea where other people’s fingers have been, and do you really want to handle your food after using a publicly available touch-screen?!

[outofsalt]

"No, we will get 15 an hour McDonalds employee, but they will be highly technical managers that will do nothing but maintain machinery and deal with customer complaints, etc..."

Hallo, My name is Najib, How may I halp you?

[Dilbert San Diego]

I rarely go there. I’m the opposite of the milleniels who supposedly would rather order with a kiosk. I prefer to deal with actual human beings when going into a service business. And if a place offers good service that makes it more pleasant to go there.

I have not yet been to Chick Fil A. I’ve heard their customer service is better than most fast food places.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

And when the robot chef takes over I won’t have to send my McMuffin back for being burnt anymore.

[Nuc 1.1]

Yes but can I order a Big Mac with quarter pounder meat and extra sauce?

[lee martell]

The drone may be an answer in some circumstances. I prefer seeing people, human people being put to work vs yet another gadget. Besides, that drone may be hacked, hijacked and made to deliver at the wrong address. Watch and see, these kids will figure it out in no time.

[tinyowl]

Will the touch screens be paid a living wage?

[tinyowl]

Darn it I should have read first. Of course that was everyone’s first thought.