Dr. Glenn Mollette
Most likely you are becoming familiar with Digital Ordering Kiosks. They are called lots of things like Self-Serve Kiosks or Order Kiosks or Power Menu Boards and probably various other terms. You may love them, but I don’t care for them at all.
Taco Bell, McDonald’s and various other eateries have them stationed in many of their stores. On more than one occasion I have tried to place an order the old fashioned way and have been totally ignored. A couple of times I just got back in my car and ordered in the drive through.
Everything was the same there, no worries. I just simply said “Give me a chicken burrito supreme.” I pulled up to the window, paid for my food, received my burrito and drove on my merry way. There have been occasions when some nice soul would come to the counter and take my order. I also make a big deal about thanking the person for taking my order.
Often there are one or two people waiting to use the kiosk. They peck and poke around adding and subtracting the cheese, the sauces, the lettuce, adding something additional and often I start wondering if they are playing some type of Las Vegas game. I am not real impatient but my patience is a bit thin if I’m starving and I am traveling.
There is no perfect world and I like the good old days when you walked into McDonalds and there were three or four nice people standing to take my order.
They took my order for a cheeseburger, fries and a coke, handed me a tray with food on the tray for a very reasonable price and it was simply fun. Today, it’s not fun at many fast-food eateries. It’s poke and peck on a screen. They wear me out.
Recently I saw some guy walking out of the men’s restroom in front of me. He didn’t wash his hands and went straight to the kiosk to make an order. How many times every day does this happen? How could these contraptions even come into existence after the days of Covid?
People touch a lot of things. Credit card readers, door handles and the list is endless. Just add the menu ordering kiosks to the list.
I suppose the owners love the kiosks? Are they really making them more money or saving them employee expenses? Are they really working? Have they made their business easier? The fact that I don’t care for them is not likely impacting anything.
However, the Hardee’s and the Burger King around the corner from where I live still take my order at the counter. That’s where I find myself navigating when in need of that kind of food. Time will tell if my choices will make any difference.
The Kiosk ordering board may or may not work for you. In a recent survey over 90% of those polled disliked or detested the kiosk ordering boards. Some said they simply chose the drive through or chose restaurants that did not insist customers use a kiosk to order their food.