Kiosk ordering at McDonald’s hits Trenton
Walked into my local McDonald’s last week for this exchange with a cashier.
“I can’t take your order. You have to order from the kiosk,” she said.
Her index finger pointed toward McDonald’s digital kiosk order board where customers can make their food choices and pay for their items without speaking to an employee.
We haggled and she relented. Apparently, all the cool kids are ordering this way and McDonald’s has started to phase kiosks into their franchises. Corporate honchos swear this new approach does not suggest any intention to reduce the fastfood store’s work force although fears of increased minimum wages, perhaps to as much as $15 per hour, could warrant this effort.
McDonald’s says kiosks will improve efficiency in terms of delivering correct orders. Plus, McDonald’s predicts kiosks will boost sales.
Goals were to establish kiosks in 2500 stores by the end of 2017 and another 3000 franchises in 2018.
Most cashiers will move to other areas of franchises, including being part of a table service initiative. Fantastic. Improving the fast food experience sounds wonderful although personal game plans rarely indulge in being seated for a burger and fries.
Fast food means time saved. So, a morning stop generally requests one medium cup of coffee with two creams and two Splendas on the side.
McDonald’s honchos and franchise owners should not expect patrons to spend time pressed against a kiosk board for one coffee.
An employee last week almost held my hand while she hustled me over to the kiosk. She pressed all the right areas but the machine acted up and we spent two minutes next to the big screen.
While possession of an Iphone offers incredible opportunities for information gathering and communication, life will not end if circumstances require it being turned off or left inside a glove compartment.
Monday delivered a death knell with McDonald’s as the young man adamantly denied my coffee order. He came from behind the counter and started the slow march to the Big Brother kiosk.
Exit McDonald’s stage right.