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McDonald's Hits All-Time High As Wall Street Cheers Replacement of Cashiers With Kiosks (cnbc.com)
McDonald's is expected to increase its sales via new digital ordering kiosks that will replace cashiers in 2,500 restaurants. As a result, the company's shares hit an all-time high, rallying 26 percent this year through Monday. CNBC reports: Andrew Charles from Cowen cited plans for the restaurant chain to roll out mobile ordering across 14,000 U.S. locations by the end of 2017. The technology upgrades, part of what McDonald's calls "Experience of the Future," includes digital ordering kiosks that will be offered in 2,500 restaurants by the end of the year and table delivery. "MCD is cultivating a digital platform through mobile ordering and Experience of the Future (EOTF), an in-store technological overhaul most conspicuous through kiosk ordering and table delivery," Charles wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. "Our analysis suggests efforts should bear fruit in 2018 with a combined 130 bps [basis points] contribution to U.S. comps [comparable sales]." He raised his 2018 U.S. same store sales growth estimate for the fast-food chain to 3 percent from 2 percent.
Running Windows XP Embedded, and connected to the internet for convenient maintenance. What could possibly go wrong?
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
I could use some EXTRA BIG ASS FRIES right now.
Everyone else on Earth cheers as Wall Street replaced with algorithms capable of morality, compassion and empathy.
Everything's moving this direction. I remember a factory I worked at back in 2000 paid new hires $8 an hour and until recently it wasn't much more than that. Then they automated the hell out of everything with more robots than people and pay over $13 an hour to start. And this is in a town with a very low cost of living. If you can keep up with the bots, you can stay.
In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
Spent a month in Madrid and they have them there. Unless you eat at McDonalds way too much per person they are definitely a lot slower. However you can easily have 3 times as many as cashiers. The problem I see is similar to if you've ever seen a 65 year old try to use those touch screen Coke fountain drink machines that give you every combination on Earth. Old people won't like them. I also don't know that it eliminates all that many jobs. It seemed to me that they had just as many people, they were just expediting orders. Not saying they won't work, but questioning them being worthy of a stock boost.
Imagine how many jobs we can wipe out if we raise the minimum wage to $20.
Fucking left wing idiots.
You're replaced with machines.
Several fast food chains had those kiosks many years ago. They were ignored by customers who went to the counter anyway. This excites investors because they have never been in a fast food joint. They didn't see the failed system of the past. They have no clue how efficient current employees are. They think that laying off employees is the road to big profit.
Does anybody here see a future where food and drinks served by robots will be more attractive than what we have now? Isn't the personal service a large part of why we go out to eat and drink?
...omphaloskepsis often...
everyone else, sure. But not those guys. Well, you could try violence, but every time it's been done it's just ending with a different bunch of yahoos. I guess we could try worker solidarity, but nobody wants to pay for the other guy to have stuff. Lazy good for 'nothin's...
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the bloody Chinese can't even do it. Also $13/hr isn't much of a raise in 17 years.
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and since most of our locations are in the Seattle area so we're trying to get rid of employees. The vast majority of our employees don't provide $15 worth of value per hour. If a job isn't worth $15 per hour, then it simply won't exist.
Well, now that machines do all the easy jobs, shouldn't the salary be $15/hr, since all the remaining low-wage jobs are probably harder?
I tried one of those McDonalds kiosks once. Once. Ordering for 4 people with any drink options took, like 4 minutes and it was painful. Never again.
Ummm, okay. What are those jobs?
Maybe everyone will be bosses.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
The cashier kiosks could be extended to fully automated McDonalds restaurants. Only the cleaners would survive it a bit longer, perhaps. So be good and get to your nearest JC to train as robot fixer.
4wdloop
Jobs still going to Mexico. I guess Trump's deal wasn't real.
Either that, or he just convinced them to tell a story for a week till everybody forgot about it.
Sounds like an idea for a Monty Python skit or maybe Saturday Night live. Can't wait. Perhaps I missed the skits.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
Send in the clowns... They're already here.
I can get a Quarter Pounder and a chocolate shake for a dollar now, right?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Then we could get rid of all the tellers at banks!
Someone should make this.
Ontario has healthcare for all so even at $0 hr I still get a doctor and can walk into the ER and not face 100K bill.
Anyone in the eastern U.S. who has been to Sheetz or Wawa (don't start that war here, they're both great) knows that kiosks work and customers love them once they're used to them. More efficient, removes a step in the chain, orders get done right more often. Had lots of mistakes at McD's, never gotten the wrong thing at Sheetz or Wawa. All a $15/hr min wage does is create jobs for robots.
Seriously, nearly every McDonalds around here has these kiosks
and when the line jams and the place shuts down do want some on side to un jam it or do you want to wait 30 min to an hour for someone to come over to fix it? also when people beat up an vending machine after losing $0.75 - $1.00+ on an candy just wait for them to lose $7-$12 on a meal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
We've had the kiosks in Canadian McDonald's for at least a year now and:
- It's a much nicer way to order, no lines and no shouting to be heard
- No worries that the clerk screws up your order
- There doesn't seem to be less staff behind the counter, just more of them filling orders rather than taking them
Overall, it works well enough that we prefer going to McDonald's.
When it comes to dining payment technology, it seems like Canada is light years away (as well as well into the future) than the US. Payment is made at the table with chip reading cards that take debit or credit and we have had the McDonald's kiosks and Canada's economy hasn't collapsed.
Yet when these things are talked about in the US, it seems like they are job killing ideas coming from the devil himself.
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
These have been available in Australia for 2 years - why is this news now?
Those remaining harder jobs already pay more than $15/hr. This automation will actually depress wages as more people compete for the "harder" jobs.
I hope they keep some employees around to clean the restrooms...
Next thing you know your doctor is a self-help kiosk with a $15/hr nurse watching over a room full of them.
When you can just order through an app?
I don't understand the desire to install all this infrastructure. A group of friends could scan the barcode on their table and all order separately and at the same time.
Also don't get why Chili's put in ziosk. Just use an app!
Investors are far more interested in conformity to belief than generating return.
No matter. What automation takes away, the Fed will deflate.
We should all support $30 minimum wage. Jobs that are lost will be regained by Fed monetary easing. Net flow from the wealthy to the rest.
Why should they start doing that now?
When I say NO ONIONS, I can select it on the kiosk screen and the robot will get it correct. Something people with undeveloped small brains can't seem to get right.
And if one wants to pay in cash? Here is the middle finger?
The Fed has a mandate of maximum employment. Any jobs lost from automation will be regained when the Fed eases monetary policy. The net effect is to deflate profits and create jobs. Hence, increasing minimum wage redistributes wealth from the rich to everyone else. The misinformation industry doesn't want you to know this.
Why not go all the way? Give me an app so I can order AND pay from my phone. Save them the cost of the kiosks and save me from wasting time queuing for a kiosk.
Show me how long it would take for the order, so I can order even before I go there, and arrive just in time to pick it up.
Oliver.
What would you expect from a fast food store?
A slow ordering system? NO.
The ordering menu should come up with a simple, single page order form.
So if I want a Big Mac with coke. I press two buttons on the top page and do the payment. BEEP. Then I go waiting for my food.
If people want to fine tune their order, they might go to a detail ordering page to adjust.
The order system in our area now requires pressing the touch screen and go through a few pages. I think that is not necessary. As a result, I ignore the stupid UI and go straight to the human ordering system.
There's your $15/hour minimum wage. Certain groups wanted this, now here it is. Good luck kids getting that first job to learn how to have a job so you can go out and get a real one.
This working bullshit just isn't...working for me. I look forward to not having to work anymore. Bring on the UBI.
What's the alternative? No strikes, and they still get replaced with machines a couple years later?
Ticket style, vending machine style, and probably kiosks too, who knows.
I'm not sure how long this has been common there but it seems like quite a while.
Random sample:
http://jpninfo.com/31417
I've had family who sorta tried (illness in the family made it impossible for the single parent to work) and you get about $200/mo if you're destitute with a note from a doctor saying you're a full time caregiver for a sick relative. There's no housing assistance to be had either. What little there is has 8 year wait lists.
I don't know if the dole ever existed in America, but I can sure as hell tell you it doesn't now. While I'm on the subject there's no such thing as welfare queens either. UBI would be nice, but I don't see us getting it because of the aforementioned welfare queens. That myth's got legs and no amount of evidence seems to kill it.
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when all the chains that aren't $30/meal are running them and you don't have a choice because you just gotta eat and you're too tired after 12-16 hours of shift work and the gig economy.
The moral of the story is things can always get worse. Especially if you let them, and we do.
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on shitty minimum wage jobs. For one thing you haven't completely destroyed your tech industry with cheap work visas (though your right wing is trying). You also have universal healthcare and a much more robust safety net. And a better higher education system. Your entire system is much better suited to deal with these changes than our puritanical, "I got mine f-u" one.
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They run windows embedded...im not saying McDonald's pirates software... But https://twitter.com/DemonicMem...
Technology marches on...
You say set the minimum lower? Fine, next year you will have to lower it again as the technology gets cheaper, and the same again the year after that. How low do you want to go?
Businesses have lied to you, tax breaks and lower wages do not equal more jobs, they simply mean more profits. Companies don't hire workers out of the goodness of their hearts, they employ the minimum number necessary to get the job done.
Ask the student how important it is to have minimum wage jobs be paid a "living" wage.
Yup, society at present is very F'd up. Nope, communism/socialism won't fix anything, in fact it does the opposite.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Sure, but how are you going to find Dr. Soong to get him to build an emotion chip? Lore used the last one to manipulate Cmdr. Data into doing bad things and it was damaged. So who will build us a new one, given that he's dead?
Well, unless we can find a magic planet to revive him, that is. But you'd have to find the corpse and that might be hard.
I have used those kiosks. I would rather be waterboarded than to use them again. A simple menu structure is needed rather than one that offers more menu options the further in you go. Now I just go to the cashier. I want a Big mac meal, not a 50 point menu selection.
Well at least what the serve has some physical similarity to edible substances, and the taste people like, which includes a lot of sugar.
But it is not food.
If bacteria can't digest it, neither can your gut flora. What MC-Donald's serves have has negative value.
Cashier less checkout, brilliant, the less human contact with their shite, the better.
Vending machines were invented long time ago, what is really new here?
Please people, stay away from mickey dees and other shit food.
Did people freak out like this when self-service instead of full-service at the gas station became the norm?
Seriously, it is LONG past time for America to refocus on automating our lower-end work, like we used to. Oddly, starting with reagan and esp during W's time, we have been instead focused on using illegal labor to replace American labor. That has created one of the nightmares that America is suffering in.
A good example of robotic need would be animal husbandry for dairy and other farms. A lot of that labor is devoted to simple mucking out the stalls. That is easily automated.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
If I pop in for a 99-pence cheeseburger, I won't be pressing buttons, or waiting for anything. And I expect a copper-looking penny as change. Try automating that.
Education is only for the few who are blessed with rich parents. Everyone else gets the "basic" education which barely qualifies them for a minimum wage job.
Clue: Education includes vocational.
Clue 2: Education is not expensive at community colleges, and community colleges usually offer vocational training.
It seems that technology is little by little erasing every daily occasion of interaction with other humans that we still have. I don't want to sound like a luddite, but I must admit that I'm a bit worried that in the long run this process is going to make humans less and less able to interact with each other; which is a problem, because in the end we are social animals, we literally die without some form of exchange with other members of our species.
Human employees are a huge drain on a business. There is the payroll, taxes, liability insurance, and all the entitlements like healthcare.
It's simple, kiosks and robots don't get sick, they don't require matching into social security, and they aren't a huge legal liability. When was the last time a robot sued a manager for sexual harassment? How about never.
It certainly will be a business utopia when there are no more employees anywhere.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Why not go all the way? Give me an app so I can order AND pay from my phone. Save them the cost of the kiosks and save me from wasting time queuing for a kiosk
I imagine it's possible to enter a McDonald's gift card into their app and then apply the balance towards mobile orders in markets where it is available.
there is a app lol.
I distinctly remember Mcdonalds saying that if they increased their min wage to 15$/h that it would force them to replace their employees with machines.
I went there with my family and made a simple fries order. The system punted us out the door. There were at least a half dozen parties jumped ahead of us in the processing queue. After almost ten minutes waiting, we still didn't even see our number listed.
Prepayment was offered/prioritized at the start. Fortunately I remembered to not ever pay (a corporation) ahead of time if one can avoid it!
Well as McDonalds (and many fastfood outlets) are just standard products, why not also let a machine do the creation of the burgers and meals. All you need is one or two 'supervisors' who can intervene if something goes wrong, instead of the 10+ personel now. It's already a sort of automatic process anyway.
They took our jobs!!
tuk ur jooohbs!!!
tkurdjobs!
And those chinese computers have a working visa?? well ? do they??
I say build a wall around all mc donalds! and let them pay for it...
Grab m by the burger!
This is dated news by now - McDonald's announced this (self-service kiosks in USA) in 2015. They already had experience with such kiosks installed in France or Poland, and by now Spain and other countries.
From a consumer practical point of view: :-/
- there are typically 2x-3x more kiosks (6-10) than people accepting orders previously (1-5). Kiosks work 24h (except for failures), so any flash-crowd (a tour coming in) can be absorbed even at time when human crew would have a reduced staff (sure, you will still wait for the actual food, but not for ordering.
- there is much more time to make your selection without queue peer pressure. With tradidional setup some people act as if they have never been to McDonald and ask details about everything holding the hungry queue behind them. Some people need 5 minutes at the counter to decide if they want large or superlarge fries. With kiosks you can take your time - they effectively eliminate head-of-line blocking.
- time to receive food has decreased by 1/3rd. Average order value increased, probably because customers don't feel bad ordering quadruple big-mac from a machine
- people swarming McDonalds seem to be school-age kids and teens. They have absolutely no problem interacting with kiosk and paying with a contactless bank card (standard here for 10 years), minimum fuss for them.
- older people can typically afford (money-wise and health-wise) to eat better food, you don't see that many of them in McDonalds (unless their kids/grandkids drag them there).
- queue to order, which was the source of problems when crowded, is now replaced by almost no queue to the kiosks and a crowd of people politely waiting until their order number is displayed.
- it seems that the same number of people who were previously accepting orders are still there - they assemble orders and give them out, making the process more efficient.
- you can still come up to the counter and interact with a human being as before, should you have a special request, a question, or need assistance with ordering process or the order.
- employment has increased since introduction of the ordering kiosks.
- social part is still there, kids hang out with each other (or with their phones), they don't need the staff for that.
- there is on average 50 employees per restaurant (38 workers, 9 assistant managers, 3 managers) and that number doesn't seem to have fallen in the past 3-4 years. There are still summer jobs (about +10% of workforce).
It's actually really good, so long as you want to pay with card.
They actually have table service along with it too. So I don't think anyone lost their job, they just go reassigned to food prep or table service or working the drive through.
If you want to pay with cash then you just have to wait in line and do things the old fashion way. That said the old fashion was is not so old fashioned, they now use a ticketing system (which I guess they always did, but now the customer gets the ticket and waits for the screen to show order status.
I think it is a definite improvement as the food is prepared in time rather than being sat in boxes on under a heat lamp.
fuck the bankers! they are the next lol...
.... all these people that will no longer work at McDonalds can just run over to WV and get one of those millions of new jobs in the coal industry?
Your sig here!
And let's also point out that many brainy jobs don't have much market demand. For example, theoretical physicist. Or how about aerospace engineer. There are only so many jobs for those folks - that's why if you have a colleague with an engineering degree slinging code, it's probably an aerospace engineer.
Folks above cite economic theory "Broken Window Fallacy" and whatnot, but let's remember modern economic theory was created during the Industrial Revolution. We are now in a new Industrial Revolution or as some economists argue, Phase II of the Industrial Revolution that started in the late 18th century (1770s). Modern Economic theory is not wrong, but it is incomplete.
Economic theory today is where physics was before Faraday/Maxwell or something like that.
And back in the Industrial Revolution, the folks who displaced by automation were screwed. And that's when the riots started. We are seeing the same social unrest. Other reasons are blamed (immigrants or billionaires) but there are some serious economic changes happening in the USA and the World. And folks are being pushed DOWN the socioeconomic ladder. My standard of living has been declining since 2001. I'm working harder and longer but the rewards are declining - I'm working harder for less. And it's happening to everyone.
The owner and ruling classes are gonna have to buffer the transition or there is going to be some very nasty stuff happening. Venezuela today? Russia 1917?
I guess it's time average Americans made a choice: are they so spoiled they'll be fobbed off with a minor, temporary improvement (table service) in return for what will doubtless turn into massive job losses at the entry and desperation level, or will they just not use these things after the novelty wears off?
There's no doubt that if this experiment is successful, such kiosks will cut into staffing levels. The jobs they replace are typically first jobs and those held by retirement-age people who have no choice but to keep working...because even though the economy has tripled in size, wages have stagnated and pensions are now almost unheard of.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
Pay them to fight to the death in open pits for the wealthy.
They can also clean houses, be the butt of jokes, and just generally act as disposable servants and entertainers.
Well, now that machines do all the easy jobs, shouldn't the salary be $15/hr, since all the remaining low-wage jobs are probably harder?
Harder jobs likely do pay more but that's really not how it works though. It's more about supply & demand than anything. Easy to fill jobs will pay less than hard to fill jobs. What makes them "easy" or "hard" to fill is a long, long list of possibilities. Who can/wants a job that clean sewers? Few. Who can/wants a job where you stand around with minimal responsibilities? Many. Who can/wants a job programming in an x86 instruction set? Few. Who can/wants a job where you get to stock shelves in a store? Many. Who can/wants to live offshore away from family and operate an oil rig in the ocean? Few.
The can vs. want are vastly different things but they both unfortunately affect supply & demand the same way. That's how you can have sectors where jobs demanding low skill but nobody wants to do can pay well. While jobs demanding high skill but everyone wants to do pay poorly. Then factor in how many of those jobs are even out there.
You have the correct answers for a freshman economics class and would have received an A+.
Now here is what is being observed today:
Industries being started today are also automated. Meaning unlike the past where a new industry pops up that is labor intensive, it doesn't happen anymore.
Amazon is estimated to have killed over a million retail jobs with just 30,000 people - which is declining as Bezos continues to automate more of Amazon's business.
Where did those people go? Many jumped into the line for the hopes of maybe getting a job at Walmart.
And here's the other thing: there are just not enough jobs being created to absorb the folks being displaced. Yeah yeah yeah, we have a sub 5% unemployment. What NO government statistic measure are the folks who are "out of the workforce" but would jump at the chance to get back in. There is a huge problem with 50-65 year olds being unemployable. In the past, that should be the prime earning years for people, but they are getting by living with their parents or living off of the salary of a spouse.
Or something much worse.
And that is going to be a HUGE problem in the near future.
Humans have never seen automation in this scale or ability before.
...meaning money is freed up to spend or invest elsewhere in the economy. This means that not only is there no net loss of jobs, ...
That's proving to be wrong. The money usually goes into a hedge fund and does very little for the economy - if anything at all. And there is a net loss jobs. It's just not noticed because it isn't measured.
We could just build a parallel economy.
I can't pay my taxes, utilities, gas, insurance, healthcare, student loans, tuition with the apples I grow in my backyard. Actually, I couldn't even buy a backyard.
Everything you learned in Econ 102: Macroeconomics is based on past economics and economic theory that proving to be not completely true. (Economics is NOT a natural science. I love it, but I'll be the first to admit that Alfred Nobel was right. )
Things ARE changing dramatically. People intuitively understand it and as a result, we are seeing the social unrest that is inevitable when economies drastically change.
But by all means, keep clinging to antiquated and partially wrong economic theory.
I haven't eaten at MickeyD's since *1984*. Their food is just plain AWFUL.
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
Have no problem with the Kiosks - some of that stuff is bound to come about with technology. But the real push for them came about because of the push for a minimum wage of $15 - $20. Businesses like McDonald's push back by bringing in Kiosks.
Now don't think I don't realize that many people have trouble making it even with $15 - $20 per hour. But I'll bet 15 - 20 years ago making $8 an hour was about equal to making $15. The real issue here is what is causing money to be worth less and less? How about: When more and more money is made (in paper or electronically) the value has to go down because resources remain the same. And where does the extra money go? Who gets it? The answer to some of these questions cannot be answered in detail until the Federal Reserve is audited and (quite likely) closed down.
This is happening because of the Fight for 15 movement. Restaurants of all kinds are going to start eliminating minimum wage jobs with kiosks. Being a McDonald's server/cashier is not supposed to be a lifetime job, it's supposed to be a starting place where youngsters learn a work ethic.
"Politicians always tell the truth, when they're calling each other liars."
Hey, I'm sure all those cashiers will retrain to be lawyers and doctors, thusly increasing their earning potential. Everybody wins! /S
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I'm still waiting for the announcement they're replacing their menu with real food instead of the fecal matter they currently serve.
... Wall Street awarded companies with higher stock prices based on whether they helped bettors^Wanalysts quarterly bets^Wpredictions and not whether the companies were being well managed.
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
There is a very, very, very easy solution. If we deport all of the illegal immigrants (many who work at places like McDonald's) there will be enough low-paying jobs for those who are in the country legally and legitimately.
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If not for the current push for a $15/hr minimum wage, there would not have been serious motivation to move ahead with this automation. Say goodbye to thousands of entry-level jobs!
According to trickle-downers McDonald's now has more money to hire more workers, and will do exactly that!
McD near me installed the kiosks a few weeks ago. They were simple to use, gave incredible level of customization, a server brought the meal to my table, and I didn't have to deal with cashiers that barely speak english (a HUGE problem in south florida) that are guaranteed to get my order wrong, even when I just call out numbers.
I'm all in favor of these kiosks. To hell with $15/hr desiring employees that can't even communicate with me.
wtf did we even need the proxy steward to press the buttons in the first place; did it tske FAIL STREET to turntable the register console?
All I can say is only one person will not be satisfied because he can't order his Whopper at McDonald's: Chuck Norris.
Turns out many people don't believe in the free market. They think people "deserve" a job with a "livable" wage.
Why the "-1" on this?
The comment is "spot on" and should get a "+10"....
FTFY:
The money flows upwards. Not downwards. The "trickle-down" theories are pure fancies; the facts have illuminated the actual reality, which isn't so much "trickle-up" as "cascade-up."
Anyone who thinks this is good for the traditional workforce in the existing economic structure is deluded. Anyone who doesn't think so but says it is... well, it's pretty obvious at this point.
Until / unless we change the fundamental nature of the economy to an automation-based, human supporting one, this kind of thing represents the tightening of the economic noose about the lowest level worker's necks. I submit that it is inevitable, given the drive for companies to always increase revenue, but it's damned painful and there is no additional compensating mechanism available. In fact, with the Republicans in charge at the moment, what compensating mechanism there was is under pressure to be significantly reduced in effectiveness.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
... to bring the jobs back. Big announcement in the coming weeks folks.
How moral is it to let them starve?
How moral is it to deny them healthcare?
How moral is it to let them end up living on the street?
The "pointless job" concern pales next to any of the above, and can be the trigger that causes all of the above.
This is not a black and white issue of "job is pointless."
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Yum, third-rate food products from what is basically a vending machine. Good luck with that.
They have these at the McDonalds in Riverdale, MD. Once you get used to the quirky UI, you can place your order very quickly and accurately. The problem is that there is always something malfunctioning on each of the four new kiosks, and they never fix them. Often, you don't get the receipt so you don't even know your own order number, let alone have proof that you paid. The manager will get your order straightened out, but there goes any time you saved and then some. One kiosk has it's card terminal permanently non-working, and it doesn't tell you until it's time to pay. I mention these problems to the manager, but nothing ever gets fixed.
Cashiers screw up the orders way too often, especially with the promotions. Right now you can get one 6-piece McNuggets for $2.99 or two of them for only $2.50 total, when ordered as a "McPick 2". The kiosk applies the promo automatically. The cashier has to do it the right way, otherwise you'll get charged $5.98 for the exact same order. If you order a Sausage McGriddle, the cashier will almost inevitably enter Sausage McGriddle with Egg and enter "No Egg" in the special instructions. This costs more than a dollar over ordering the correct item, which is easy to do on the kiosk.
Lucky for me, I know which of the four kiosks is least likely to malfunction.
BE COMPLACENT!
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Looks like they're making it even harder for me to get my medium iced coffee with just a single pump of syrup.
...ever to successfully order a Whopper at McDonald's...
$10 * 40 hours per week * 52 weeks per year (no vacations) = $20,800
$20,800- 2,000 for average federal taxes = $18,800
$18,800 - median gross rent of 959 * 12 months = $11,508
$11,508 - rough average utilities * 12 months = $10,248
$10,248 - $2,641 for food = $7,607
$7,607 - rough average of health insurance per individual mandate of $3,000 = $4,607
$4,607 - annual average cost of transportation of $9,004 = -$4,397
Let's stop there. Now that person that "could live pretty well on $10 an hour" still has state and city taxes to attend to, general maintenance costs like clothing, a cellphone bill that needs to be paid (good luck getting a job without having a phone number), has no retirement, has no savings in the case of actually needing to use their health insurance, will never see a vacation, and is increasing their debt by $12 per day.
Do you understand why the average American has $16,000 in credit card debt?
That debt only covers four years of living expenses. Why could that be? Because that is how long many people live the way you describe as being "could live pretty well on $10 an hour" in order to attend higher education and seek out a better life. They rack up an average $37,172 of student loans during that time.
Now they have no savings, no assets, have never known a vacation, couldn't possibly afford to use their health insurance, have no credit, and have $53,172 in debt but finally have an opportunity to get a better job: "If you can keep up with the bots, you can stay."
How is that for living pretty well on $10 an hour?
Capitalism relies on the fundamental assumption that 80-90% of humans can find something valuable to do with their time for ~40 hours per week. If/when automation reaches the point where most of us cannot find something of value to do with our work week, Capitalism will break down and society will need to find another way to portion out resources.
I've used the kiosks and, frankly, they take longer to go through the menus and choices to record and pay for your meal than to simply say to the cashier your meal number and size, and hand over the card/cash.
http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm
Computer automation can lead to a utopia or a dystopia. Which way will we go?
Just wait for the unintended consequences. See what wall St. says then.