Carl's Jr. CEO Wants to Open a Robot Restaurant Free of Human Workers

Eater ^ | March 17, 2016 | Whitney Filloon

[C19fan]

As minimum wages across the country rise and restaurants face increased labor costs, one fast food CEO is thinking about replacing human workers with robots. Carl's Jr. head honcho Andy Puzder wants to open a new restaurant concept that's "employee-free," reports Business Insider.

Puzder was inspired by a visit to Eatsa, the futuristic San Francisco-born restaurant where patrons order via tablet and retrieve their food from automated cubbies. He believes the idea of a restaurant free of social interaction could be especially appealing to millennials, noting that young people seem particularly fond of ordering from kiosks over humans.

[JBW1949]

Only 2.6% of American workers make minimum wage... Those are mostly teenagers working while living at home and going to school...

[dfwgator]

Carl's Jr. Computer: Enjoy your EXTRA BIG ASS FRIES!

Woman at Carl's Jr.: You didn't give me no fries, I got an empty box.

Carl's Jr. Computer: Would you like another EXTRA BIG ASS FRIES?

Woman at Carl's Jr.: I said I didn't get any!

Carl's Jr. Computer: Thank you! Your account has been charged. Your balance is zero. Please come back when you can afford to make a purchase.

Woman at Carl's Jr.: What? Oh no, NO!

[She hits the machine. An alarm goes off, and a sign appears on the computer saying "WARNING! Carl's Jr. Frowns Upon Vandalism"]

Carl's Jr. Computer: I'm sorry you're having trouble. I'm sorry you're having trouble.

Woman at Carl's Jr.: Come on! My kids are starvin'!

Carl's Jr. Computer: [the woman kicks the computer, and it sprays a fast-acting tranquilizer in her face] This should help you calm down. Please come back when you can afford to make a purchase. Your kids are starving. Carl's Jr. believes no child should go hungry. You are an unfit mother. Your children will be placed in the custody of Carl's Jr. Carl's Jr... "F___ You, I'm Eating."

[Joe approaches the computer]

Carl's Jr. Computer: Welcome to Carl's Jr. Would you like to try our EXTRA BIG ASS TACO? Now with more MOLECULES!

[IYAS9YAS]

You watch, California will attempt to ban robots in these types of service sector jobs...

[Democrat_media]

We don’t need illegals or immigrant workers. No more immigrants.Robots are coming and robots don’t vote for socialism illegals and immigrants do vote for socialism which explains the growth of government in America.

Build the wall. Go Trump!

[Smokin' Joe]

Actually, while I understand what drives this, 'burger flipper' wasn't a career track, it was what you did when you couldn't find any other work. It was the starter job that introduced high school kids to the workforce.

That said, I have enough 'fun' dealing with robots, automated phone menus calling technical support, have spent hours with the phone on speaker spewing bad music poorly rendered waiting for the inevitable human because the issue I have isn't one which fits comfortably to a niche in the machine menu. Enough dealing with the d@mned machine, I want to deal with a human being. The machine won't care if flies get mashed into the ketchup before the bun is slapped on, but a human would (and if they don't they will.)

[NohSpinZone]

Really? Cleaning tables and mopping would seem to be much easier for robots to accomplish than cooking. Whatever the case, I’m all for this. The SEIU has turned these fry cookers and burger flippers into some sort of a glorified civil rights activists group. And I’m incensed about all the stories of these morons refusing to serve police officers because of their inane views on the world.

[PGR88]

Will it be programmed to spit in my food?

[Pelham]

“We don’t need illegals or immigrant workers.”

Carl’s didn’t use them when I moved to California. It was still America in the late ‘60s, before our global oriented politicians flooded California with the third world.

Carl’s counter help were high school girls. The cooks were adults paid well enough to make a career out of it. The company wasn’t spending its money on soft porn ads. It didn’t need to advertise, the food quality sold itself.

[forgotten man]

You don’t have to worry about robots spitting in your food.

[The_Reader_David]

Futuristic or retro? Sounds like a Horn & Hardart Automat to me, just updated a little with electronic, rather than mechanical or electromechanical devices.

[HamiltonJay]

Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s is an oddball in the Fast Food industry...

Two separate companies that are now the same but retain separate identity even though their menus are virtually identical.

I Grew up in the south where Hardee’s existed, they were always kinds the 3rd or 4th tier, but they had one thing the others didn’t a killer hot ham and cheese.... sadly the original is gone off most menus and they have a big hot ham and cheese which is not nearly as good... bun, cheese, ham ratios are all out of whack. Still one of my favorite fast food items when I can find a restaurant that still has the original.

For a while they had Roy Rodgers Chicken as well...

Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr is now just the place known for rediculously over the top burgers and poorly produced commercials with girls in bikinis.

[lodi90]

Did a 15 month term in Cali.... Going anywhere low end service industry was nearly impossible to deal with.... between language issues, and 3rd world attitudes.

Would take 5 minutes or more usually to just place an order at a fast food joint more often than not.... let alone actually get your order, let alone it being right.

---

I grew up in Norcal and watched in my neck of the woods as the fast food workforce turned form black to Mexican over night. All it took was one Mexican manager because Mexicans hire their own. Blacks are SOL.

[gloryblaze]

I remember when self-serve gas first showed up. Everyone thought people would flood the ground because they couldn’t operate a pump, an folks would smoke and there would be fires ablaze everywhere... and all the engines would blow because no one would ever check the oil... and there would be accidents because no one would ever wash the windshield.

I like pop machines and if the food was good, I’d use a vending machine any day.

[MaggiesPitchfork]

Millennials afraid to interact with humans at a burger joint. That was the precious take-away I got.

[dfwgator]

We are going to have about 100 million low skill people who have no hope of employment.

Idle hands are the Devil's Workshop. I am not optimistic for the future.

[DBrow]

“Open the cash register and hand me all the cash! Or I will shoot you!”

I’m sorry, I cannot do that, Dave.

I hope the CEO of Carl’s knows of the Three Laws Of Robotics. Really four.

[Pelham]

“Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr is now just the place known for rediculously over the top burgers and poorly produced commercials with girls in bikinis.”

That’s what you do when you choose not to put your money in quality food and employees who know how to prepare it. You spend a fortune on ads aimed at teenage boys instead.

” but they had one thing the others didn’t a killer hot ham and cheese.... sadly the original is gone off most menus and they have a big hot ham and cheese which is not nearly as good.”

The crew of MBAs who seized control of the company did the same to the Carl’s Jr menu. What they were doing was getting rid of any product that didn’t produce maximum revenue. These are people who know the price of everything but the value of nothing.

Carl’s Jr food was as good as it gets when the Karchers were in control. They spent their money on selling a quality product. It’s a niche that their contemporary In-N-Out still occupies. In-N-Out does little advertising and they pay their employees very well. It’s worth noting that both Mr Karcher of Carl’s and the Snyders of In-N-Out were committed Christians. That guided their corporate policies.

[colorado tanker]

This has been done before, although the food was not cooked by robots.

[Black Agnes]

Did you think the elites were joking when they mentioned 95% reduction in the population?

Why do you think they are so heavily invested in robotics and AI?

[Hot Tabasco]

I see no solution.

I don't either.....having worked in a major automotive stamping plant for 35 years, I saw the direct result of robotic automation taking over the jobs of the hourly production workers.

On one hand, the engineering that went into the creation of all the automation in our plant was nothing short of remarkable but the jobs lost was unfortunate.

If I had kid graduating from high school today, I don't know where I would direct him in terms of continued education. I would probably urge him to pursue an apprenticeship in the electrical field as well as night time college courses in electronics.........But I would also warn him about who he serves his apprenticeship with.