Although I've never been to a ski-lodge, I do feel it is a bit out of character to have leather couches and fire places in a fast food restaurant. Not to mention the granite table-tops, and flat-screen televisions everywhere... where the hell is the jacuzzi in this classy restaurant?
The change that is most recent to this Golden Arches chain, the change that is provoking this post is what is happening in the great UK. Have you heard? It's not hard to find, I found it on the homepage of Yahoo! Canada. McDonald's in the UK is eliminating the need of cashiers as all of their restaurants will be "self serve" as far as ordering and paying goes. Yep. Just walk on up to the touch-screen computers, place your order, pay, hope all goes well, get your food, eat.
I see only a few minor problems with this idea:
1. Job loss - Okay, being a McDicks employee can't be the greatest job in the world, but it is a job. I've been recently trying to find a job myself, it's not easy. I can't imagine what's going to happen to all the uneducated people when their best chance in life is giving out free smiles and even that gets taken away from them.
2. Credit/Debit Only - Good grief. How many times did you walk in to any store as a child and toss a bunch of nickels and dimes on the counter and ask for as many one-cent candy as you can get? Okay, well what about all of the homeless people who we give our change to? They can't go buy a Happy Meal with that now...
3. Touch-Screen Computers - How do they possibly expect the elderly to cope. Who doesn't know a sweet old grandmother who loves those greasy fries? Who doesn't know a sweet old grandmother that cowers in fear at a cell phone? I can't even imagine the frustration these touch-screen computers will bring to all. What if they need to be re-aligned? What if they get worn out? How do you place a special order? What happens when the order is still wrong? Most importantly, how can computers even replace humans? Oh, wait, even more important: are smiles still going to be free?
Right now this is only beginning in the UK, it's only a matter of time before it makes its way to the US, then to Canada. I don't like the way it's looking. I do use the self-check outs at Wal-Mart, but honestly, I think it's a different case altogether. When you're ordering food, even if the cashier doesn't get your order right, you can still tell them they're wrong. How is a computer going to react to criticism? Probably won't get you the manager.
Post a Comment