Wendy's to install self-ordering kiosks at 1000 locations

[CrackRabbit]

The local Jack in the Box and Carl's Jr. used to have similar kiosks. They both ended up pulling them out and putting more people back on the counters.
Towards the end the kiosks were broken more often than not. My guess is that the bill dispensing and recycling hardware was the culprit. Stuff is expensive to maintain and not something a counter worker could fix when it does malfunction.
Automation can be done, but you can't cut corners on it and expect an overworked, minimum wage employee to know how to fix it when it breaks either.

 

[fskimospy]

I think you're looking at the short term and selling the technological advances -- especially in machine learning -- short. The technology is evolving at an accelerating pace. If I told you 10 years ago that we'd have self driving vehicles on the road that didn't need any human interaction, you'd have said I was nuts. GPS and assisted navigation etc are "assistive in nature", and they are great tools for drivers. Now not only do we have that kind of thing going on in various places, but there's a very real vision that within the next 20 years you might see a 90% decrease in the number of truck drivers, taxi drivers, delivery drivers etc.

In time this will go far beyond tools to assist you and be more productive (like using excel instead of a paper ledger back in the day), and more towards replacement (where an AI process evaluates the data and comes to conclusions instead of a human).

Nope, an AI algorithm to comb through documents is a tool to assist in the legal work, but there will come a time when an AI type learning system will *do* the legal work rather than assisting. We've already even seen this happening in the medical field. No longer are these just tools to help doctors figure things out, they are actively working on and testing systems that actually do diagnosing, recommend treatment, monitor patient results etc.

And to think, it's all just in its infancy.........

I agree with this for the most part, it's easy to underestimate the speed at which software is becoming capable at human level intelligence tasks. If you asked me what the year was when an AI could replace lawyers for at least a good portion of low to mid level legal work I think that answer is in the next 10 years.

 

[fskimospy]

The local Jack in the Box and Carl's Jr. used to have similar kiosks. They both ended up pulling them out and putting more people back on the counters.
Towards the end the kiosks were broken more often than not. My guess is that the bill dispensing and recycling hardware was the culprit. Stuff is expensive to maintain and not something a counter worker could fix when it does malfunction.
Automation can be done, but you can't cut corners on it and expect an overworked, minimum wage employee to know how to fix it when it breaks either.

My local CVS has 3 checkout kiosks instead of people manning the counters. It works... sort of. They always have an employee standing by to help people who screw up the checkout process, and those screwups are constant. People don't know how to use them right, the prompts at the card reader and on the kiosk sometimes contradict each other, etc.

I'm not sure if the throughput of customers is faster than having 2 checkout people, meaning I think those 3 kiosks might at best provide 1 employee worth of value. (from my eyeball estimate) I think these things are the future, or at least a good part of the future, but at least this local implementation isn't so great.

 

[PokerGuy]

I agree with this for the most part, it's easy to underestimate the speed at which software is becoming capable at human level intelligence tasks. If you asked me what the year was when an AI could replace lawyers for at least a good portion of low to mid level legal work I think that answer is in the next 10 years.

Quite frankly the rate at which the learning and AI capabilities are increasing is both amazing and scary. It's great, but at the same time there's a very real chance it could bring drastic changes to society as we know it, and not necessarily good ones.

 

[Blackjack200]

I mean if you go to Japan, you just take pay for ticket with the dish you want at a vending machine and give it to the cook in many places. Or in UK, you just buy a sandwich at a corner news stand and go. But they haven't really taken root in the US.

Haha, that is Rube Goldberg as hell. It's funny how regional this stuff is though. When I visit my brother in NC you order at the counter and take a number to your table. The waiter/waitress searches the dining area for the number when the order is ready, and there are bussing stations. to bring your dishes to when you're done.

It works just fine, but I'd be confused as hell coming from an area that's all sit down service.

 

[sandorski]

I wondered about that myself. A kiosk I guess is a good thing for someone that just wants to walk in and buy something (and doesn't want to install some data stealing app on their phone), but over time everyone is going to have a way to order something using their phone without the need for a kiosk.

I suppose a Kiosk might still be necessary for the occasional customer without a phone or the App.

 

[PokerGuy]

My local CVS has 3 checkout kiosks instead of people manning the counters. It works... sort of. They always have an employee standing by to help people who screw up the checkout process, and those screwups are constant. People don't know how to use them right, the prompts at the card reader and on the kiosk sometimes contradict each other, etc.

I'm not sure if the throughput of customers is faster than having 2 checkout people, meaning I think those 3 kiosks might at best provide 1 employee worth of value. (from my eyeball estimate) I think these things are the future, or at least a good part of the future, but at least this local implementation isn't so great.

I have the same observation of my local grocery where they have the self checkout lanes with 1 employee per 4 lanes to assist customers as needed.

You'd think though that at some point, there has to be a way to have the customer be able to shop without having to: 1) get the stuff into their basket/cart/bag/whatever, 2) take the stuff out of the cart/bag/basket and scan it or place it on the belt, and 3) put the good back into bags etc to take with them. I would have thought that by now there would be some sort of 3D scanning where you could just keep the stuff in a basket or cart and run it through a scanner and it would scan everything. I'm surprised nobody has come up with a viable way to do that.

 

[PokerGuy]

I suppose a Kiosk might still be necessary for the occasional customer without a phone or the App.

I don't mind using my phone to place an order, but there's no way I'm going to have a zillion stupid apps installed on my phone for every place where I might want to place an order, not to mention that those apps would inevitably start tracking your behavior/location/habits etc and stealing your info and monetizing it.

 

[fskimospy]

I have the same observation of my local grocery where they have the self checkout lanes with 1 employee per 4 lanes to assist customers as needed.

You'd think though that at some point, there has to be a way to have the customer be able to shop without having to: 1) get the stuff into their basket/cart/bag/whatever, 2) take the stuff out of the cart/bag/basket and scan it or place it on the belt, and 3) put the good back into bags etc to take with them. I would have thought that by now there would be some sort of 3D scanning where you could just keep the stuff in a basket or cart and run it through a scanner and it would scan everything. I'm surprised nobody has come up with a viable way to do that.

Ask and ye shall receive...again...sort of.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/...-promoting-a-grab-and-go-experience.html?_r=0

In the latest in its expanding set of experiments involving bricks-and-mortar retail stores, Amazon has created a small grocery store in Seattle that will allow customers to pluck drinks, prepared meals and other items off shelves and walk out without having to wait in a checkout line, the company said.

Amazon said on its website that a smartphone app and various other types of technology in the store had eliminated the usual bottleneck of cashiers and registers that typically stand between shoppers and the store exit.

 

[K1052]

I have the same observation of my local grocery where they have the self checkout lanes with 1 employee per 4 lanes to assist customers as needed.

You'd think though that at some point, there has to be a way to have the customer be able to shop without having to: 1) get the stuff into their basket/cart/bag/whatever, 2) take the stuff out of the cart/bag/basket and scan it or place it on the belt, and 3) put the good back into bags etc to take with them. I would have thought that by now there would be some sort of 3D scanning where you could just keep the stuff in a basket or cart and run it through a scanner and it would scan everything. I'm surprised nobody has come up with a viable way to do that.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/...ers-artificial-intelligence-sensors/94991612/

 

[Jaskalas]

In Sam's Club you use your own cell phone to scan items and checkout.
Show them a bar code on your screen as you walk out the door.

 

[sandorski]

I don't mind using my phone to place an order, but there's no way I'm going to have a zillion stupid apps installed on my phone for every place where I might want to place an order, not to mention that those apps would inevitably start tracking your behavior/location/habits etc and stealing your info and monetizing it.

Ya, too many Apps would be annoying. I imagine that one day a temporary App might be pushed to your phone as you enter a store. So you wouldn't need to install anything. Then as you leave it deletes itself.

 

[blankslate]

Quite frankly the rate at which the learning and AI capabilities are increasing is both amazing and scary. It's great, but at the same time there's a very real chance it could bring drastic changes to society as we know it, and not necessarily good ones.

It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear! And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are unemployed....

to paraphrase a film classic.


____________

 

[uallas5]

My local supermarket just pulled out 4 self checkout registers and replaced them with one full size express checkout lane. I'm pissed, I used the self checkouts all the time. I very rarely had a problem and it was always a lot faster for a few items than the express lane ever is. To me, it seems like a step backward in efficiency with no benefits to employment.

 

[desura]

For fast food yeah I would prefer a kiosk actually. They have them at the local Sheetz and it is a lot better than having to talk to some min wage guy. And as someone who has worked fast food in his life, manning the register sucks and is exhausting.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Sheetz? Legit food place?

 

[ch33zw1z]

My local supermarket just pulled out 4 self checkout registers and replaced them with one full size express checkout lane. I'm pissed, I used the self checkouts all the time. I very rarely had a problem and it was always a lot faster for a few items than the express lane ever is. To me, it seems like a step backward in efficiency with no benefits to employment.

SCO's have their own issues. Quite a few single points of failure, store database integration, theft, etc...

 

[desura]

Sheetz? Legit food place?

Yeah, Sheetz food is about the same as Wendy's food. There are even some Sheetz locations without the gas part, just offering the convenience store and fried food parts.

 

[momeNt]

Here is what I know.

Sum of all wages in the USA is 15.5 Trillion

Total USA workforce is 155 million

That is basically 100,000 per person.

Why do we not have flat income in America?

Who is with me, 100,000 paycheck for everybody, PERIOD. March on Washington.

 

[fskimospy]

Yeah, Sheetz food is about the same as Wendy's food. There are even some Sheetz locations without the gas part, just offering the convenience store and fried food parts.

Sheetz is the worse version of Wawa, which is by all objective measures the greatest convenience store mankind has ever devised.

 

[realibrad]

Yea, works for Apple products, not.

What?

 

[nakedfrog]

Sheetz is the worse version of Wawa, which is by all objective measures the greatest convenience store mankind has ever devised.

Shame about the name, though.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Yeah, Sheetz food is about the same as Wendy's food. There are even some Sheetz locations without the gas part, just offering the convenience store and fried food parts.

I dunno if I could eat somewhere that sounds like shits.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Here is what I know.

Sum of all wages in the USA is 15.5 Trillion

Total USA workforce is 155 million

That is basically 100,000 per person.

Why do we not have flat income in America?

Who is with me, 100,000 paycheck for everybody, PERIOD. March on Washington.

The ruling class will use the militarized police force to crush your rebellion.

 

[Puffnstuff]

You know these kiosks are just an extension of convenience to customers. Online ordering accomplishes the very same thing eliminating the need for an order taker from the mix of things. Efficiency will continue to play a role in how jobs are automated and this is yet another example of why you should be motivated to get a degree if you don't already have one. Don't say that its impossible or that you don't have time because you're just making excuses for yourself that will not help you rise above the reality that we live in.

Old school stick in the mud group think will not help your situation any if you continue to resist change. If you are wise enough to recognize that these changes are the new normal you will also recognize the need for self efficacy to address the gap between where you currently are and where you need to be in order to have a decent job. I worked in manufacturing for 16 years and could see what globalization was doing to it first hand which is why I recycled myself before it was too late. The sad truth is that our economy is growing, just not in the old ways and now that it is mostly a service based economy you must possess the right skillsets in order to prosper in it. Manufacturing will continue to exist but it will not provide the percentage of jobs that it once did and the sooner you recognize that unless you have an education you will not be able to rise above these low paying service jobs the sooner you can get away from them.