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McDonald’s will stop testing AI to take drive-thru orders, for now
(www.theverge.com)
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this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2024
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I think those kiosks with the big touch screen and the mobile apps work pretty well already, I always rather use them and see a picture what I can order instead of talking to the person.
tbh I'd rather not see the picture when it comes to mcdonald's, as it can only lead to a disappointment
To be fair, you'll be disappointed either way. At least with the menu, they can feel like they're selling decent food (their pictures do look decent) and you can make sure your order is correct.
I don't see how one can make sure their order is correct with a fake picture, but whatever floats your boat
Well, if you push the same fake picture you did last time, you should get a similar, disappointing result. If you get a different, disappointing result, you know your order is wrong.
I've stopped waiting in drive thrus because it's faster and more convenient to order it ahead of time and pick it up inside.
I used the Mcdonalds app a few times and the drivethru was always faster, lmao.
They require location services and don't start cooking until you're inside their geofence, but IME they seem to still prioritize drivethru customers.
I have disabled location settings because it tracks the drive from my home. I enable it to use any deals and close the app after ordering and taking a photo of the order number. They start cooking after you let them know the code in the drive-thru. No need to open the app. They do prioritize drive-thru’s because their performance is tracked based off that. That’s why they sometimes ask you to pull ahead from the window. I never worked there, I just noticed the timing screen in the kitchen when I used to do DoorDash, which tracked when a car got in and out of the line. They used to act as though I was invisible and only served drive-thru.
I don't eat at McDonald's, so I haven't had that experience. But I love being able to order Sheetz food for the next morning when I'm going on a trip, or schedule it for when I'm going to need a pit stop and just have it ready. Wendy's is also pretty good about this, too.
I fucking hate them.
They're designed for people who are about 5'0". They take so much longer than speaking the order to a person, especially if you have any customizations to add/remove.
0/10, avoid at all costs.
For me it's the exact opposite, most of them have the possibility to change the language to English, even though it's only partially translated I still can see the pictures of what I'm trying to order. If I need to look at the Korean menu and then speak Korean to the person to order, then I would just go away, especially if they don't have pictures on the menu.
For me it's use 10/10 (even the crappy ones)
I can understand the language barrier win there.
I like customizations on the touchscreen. I've had several experiences where I tell the cashier what I want including customizations only to get my order and realize that the order wasn't entered in properly. The touchscreen ensures that the order is at least entered properly.
Can I get a McCrapwich? That's it, no drink. . It's like 10 seconds.
Oh, did you want to remove the tomato?
That'll be an extra 3 minutes.
What parent item are the salads under again?
They blow.
They're designed for people of average (male) height, like everything else from default seatbelt position to doorways. Sounds like yet another tall person complaint to add to the pile.
In any case, I find them comfortable (probably because I'm average height lmao) and I like to take my time ordering to combine the best deals possible without having a cashier staring waiting on me so they can go take care of all the other things that McDs overworks their employees with.
IME (I've worked FF before) you "Fuck these machines" people generally trend towards annoying karen-type and take FOREVER ordering.
Doorways? Lol. Think about the alternative, if they were designed for the average height for females. Most men would need to duck or crawl under doorways.
Ok yea doorways was probably a bad example since those actually get an additional allowance for furniture and crap
And to clarify, I don't actually agree with the method of using the male average for everything (Ever wonder why they set the Office thermostat to 72? That's right male average of comfort lol), but it's what the world around us is built around.
You just sound like you're on a witch-hunt and hate men lol.
I use them but they are definitely made to be annoying.
I prefer just saying “can I get a medium #2 combo, please.” And being done with it.
That may be fine for regular customers, but what about the rest of us who don't have the menu memorized?
The menu is 6 foot across, above the counter where you order, glowing, with pictures of each item and number next to it. Even someone who couldn’t read could order food using the normal system.
I’ve literally ordered by signing a number with my fingers to indicate the item I wanted in a country where I don’t speak the language at a fast food franchise I’d never been to before.
And changing pages while you're trying to parse the cacophony of choices and options.
Most menus are fixed paper with back lighting not changing displays, most of the places that have the new displays added them at the same time as the touch screen stations.
Then there's more 'uhm' and 'aah' involved.
Fuck all, I hate those things. Just pay a teenager to take my order with a judgemental expression. I hate self checkouts, I hate self order kiosks, no I do not want to use a phone app to place my order, I just want a double cheeseburger with no pickles GODAMMIT
I can't use the mobile app because my kid wants a cheeseburger happy meal and it's impossible to order on the app. Try it! It won't let you at all.
Technically, cheeseburger happy meals are no longer on the menu because they've decided it has too many calories. If you go there and ask for one, of course, they will add a slice of cheese to a hamburger happy meal. But using the app to order one is a bridge too far, I guess.
When it comes down to it, though, we shouldn't eat that crap anyway.
I checked, just for you. You can pick the hamburger happy meal and add cheese.
Where are you located? I am in the US. I downloaded and logged into the App again (just in case something changed) and I see no option to add cheese to a hamburger happy meal. I can pick a hamburger meal and "customize", and add everything else -- even a second hamburger patty if I wanted -- but no cheese.
Maybe it's just with my local McD?
Massachusetts. Adding cheese is there for the two McD's near me.
https://lemm.ee/pictrs/image/c7323c38-f5d0-47e0-b96d-9264755fb952.png
https://lemm.ee/pictrs/image/81a3ab83-85cd-4f5f-8332-3c997c43a5a2.png
Weird. I don't see that "American Cheese" line at all. Maybe it's a NY thing.
I see cheese in Buffalo and Rochester, but not in Albany. It's more localized than NY.
Interesting. I will have to do some more experiments later to see where they will let me order that. Thanks for confirming it's not just me, though. I wa suspicious that there was some sort of cheesy conspiracy going on.
Checking in from Iowa and I have the option here too when I hit the customize button. I do have to scroll down a bit?
You might try uninstalling and reinstalling. If on android, clear your settings before the uninstall. The mcdee app does tend to be kind of unpredictable.
If that doesn't work, send an email to them. I actually did email on some problem I had and they responded pretty quick with a temp workaround and fixed it later.
Those kiosks aren't in the drive-throughs.