Self order kiosks at McDonalds

[newnative]

    We saw a lot of these in Japan--and not just at fast food restaurants.  You select your order and pay--sometimes before you even enter the restaurant--and then a food runner brings your food to your table when it's done.

[PhonThong]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Not going to work. The future is automation and millions ( ?billions ) unemployed.

No government is discussing it seriously and probably hoping they can retire before it happens because the is coming.

Short of legislating against the robots it's inevitable as companies seek to remove pesky humans from the workplace, with their demands for minimum wage, sick leave, paid holidays and parental rights.

 

They are all fools though, as if everyone is unemployed, just who is going to be able to afford to buy what they are selling?

 

Perhaps they dream of a world where we all just die quietly and leave them selling to the 1%.

They need to find a way to collect income tax and social security from these machines in the U.S.. 

[Searat7]

10 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

I hope so because too many lame people seem to be in line at these places.

They are in line for 10 minutes then decide when they need to order to look at the menu, point and point, ask a bunch of odd questions.

Maybe I am being impatient.

But, are there that many people coming here who have never been to a McDonald's or Burglar King?

You are so right....all the questions and indecision takes forever sometimes. Then if customer is a woman she has to find the money in her purse (Men usually have money ready). I have used the machines at the McDonalds in Silom quite a few times with my Thai ATM Card and it’s quick /easy.

[galt67]

Walmart is pushing 'self-service checkout' at multiple stores in my area thus eliminating most cashiers.

 

And Amazon.com is 'testing' stores (including Whole Foods) with minimal employees.

 

What will happen to the tens of thousands of (poorly educated) Thais working these type of jobs?

 

Other 'jobs'? Re-trained to do what?

 

Perhaps the nightlife will have an influx of workers as it always seem to be hiring.

[Hal65]

Well, the Thai single mothers do have excellent career options in Pattaya...

 

Jokes aside I've heard Thailand is at full employment. In such a case this may actually free up labor to be put to better use elsewhere.

 

Though judging by my street, it seems they like to create pointless little shops and spend most of the day sitting out front. Maybe a change in culture is also needed.

[duanebigsby]

On the face of it, kiosks appear to be replacing workers but it's simply not the case.  McD's is adding concierge and table service to its restaurants which have kiosks. The increase in sales means more kitchen staff and food runners are required. There are many reports that the kiosks are actually resulting in a net gain in jobs. The minimum wage hikes had nothing to do with the advent of kiosks. They had been in the works years before there was any talk of a $15 an hour minimum.

[stanleycoin]

5 minutes ago, duanebigsby said:

On the face of it, kiosks appear to be replacing workers but it's simply not the case.  McD's is adding concierge and table service to its restaurants which have kiosks. The increase in sales means more kitchen staff and food runners are required. There are many reports that the kiosks are actually resulting in a net gain in jobs. The minimum wage hikes had nothing to do with the advent of kiosks. They had been in the works years before there was any talk of a $15 an hour minimum.

Oh do behave.

 

 

[Hal65]

Fast food and retail will be the real battlegrounds which tell us which side is right. If fast food/retail evolves to truly have more personalized service and other yet to be seen features, then maybe there really is a permanent linkage between productivity and employment.

 

If however these things are found not to bring in new revenues, and irreplaceable layoffs occur in these low level sectors, then that's telling that this time really is different (productivity rises, job growth falls or goes negative)

[bkk6060]

A problem I see here is over employment.  The unemployment rate is 1%.  Its a joke you walk in the mall or dept. store and way too many employees doing nothing.  I think the worst place is Home Pro.  Literally 100's of employees in some stores.

You look at something in an aisle and 3 employees are standing behind you. Just annoying for me and of course noone in the entire store speaks English.

If they managed it with smarter business practices, the unemployment rate would probably be near 10% I believe.

So, bring on the machines lets see what happens.

[newnative]

     One of the things my Thai partner and I like about Thailand is the number of workers on hand at the stores where we shop--especially the home improvement stores, furniture stores, etc.  They know the products they are selling and if they don't have an answer for something they'll find someone who does.  Never a wait to get paint mixed, you can point at something and tell the worker to take it to the checkout counter while we do more shopping.  You can ask for something to be assembled so you don't have to do it.  Even in the chain stores you can negotiate a lower price than the one listed--although it helps to be Thai.  Luckily, I think Thais expect and demand this kind of service and I don't see it changing any time soon.  

[Hal65]

5 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

A problem I see here is over employment.  The unemployment rate is 1%.  Its a joke you walk in the mall or dept. store and way too many employees doing nothing.  I think the worst place is Home Pro.  Literally 100's of employees in some stores.

You look at something in an aisle and 3 employees are standing behind you. Just annoying for me and of course noone in the entire store speaks English.

If they managed it with smarter business practices, the unemployment rate would probably be near 10% I believe.

So, bring on the machines lets see what happens.

 

I asked about the Homepro overstaffing a couple years ago. Others said the manufacturers send agents to the stores, hence what looks like a massive overstaffing. 

 

Sales is one field with a very low automation risk.

[jerry921]

3 hours ago, duanebigsby said:

On the face of it, kiosks appear to be replacing workers but it's simply not the case.  McD's is adding concierge and table service to its restaurants which have kiosks. The increase in sales means more kitchen staff and food runners are required. There are many reports that the kiosks are actually resulting in a net gain in jobs. The minimum wage hikes had nothing to do with the advent of kiosks. They had been in the works years before there was any talk of a $15 an hour minimum.

True the order kiosk machines have been in the works at all sorts of fast food chains for years, but so have the calls for ever-higher minimum wages. $15 is the tipping point, not the start of the process. The handwriting has been on the wall for some time.

 

Minimum wages are simply a way of outlawing jobs that aren't worth the minimum wage.

 

McD's is in trouble as their growth has slowed, the younger generation has spurned them for "healthier" alternatives (like Chipotle and their e-coli specials). They punted one ineffective CEO and the replacement is throwing every idea that comes along at the wall to see what sticks. Don't judge the fast-food industry by McD's.

 

But other fast food has been experimenting with kiosks also. The Jack-in-the-box I used to go to went from a staff of 4 in slow hours to 3 plus a kiosk to run the whole place, drive through and eat inside. That happened when minimum wage in that area hit $12.50.

[jerry921]

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

Sales is one field with a very low automation risk.

There's a little company out of Seattle you might not have heard of that's been doing a bit of experimenting with automated sales for a few years now. They seem to think it's going pretty well so far. Of course what does Amazon know?

[jerry921]

4 minutes ago, oby said:

What annoys me personally is seeing young tourists buying KFC etc. I want to grab them by the scruff of the neck and drag them off

Probably their parents won't let them eat it at home.

But no need to get violent, that will land you in a starring role in your own thread on the forum.

Edited February 25, 2018 by jerry921
reduce quoted text

[stanleycoin]

29 minutes ago, transam said:

Well as a teen in the UK 60's I was always in a Wimpy bar...I just loved that French mustard on my burger....Happy days...

I'm no where's near as old as you. 

but loved this at Wimpy when i had the money,  very early 80's

would not eat it now days, way to fatty for me same as McDonald's and the rest of the trash food outlets.

 

Edited February 25, 2018 by stanleycoin

[transam]

7 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

I'm no where's near as old as you. 

but loved this at Wimpy when i had the money,  very early 80's

would not eat it now days, way to fatty for me same as McDonald's and the rest of the trash food outlets.

 

I come from an era where there was no fancy oils to cook stuff, it was all done in beef fat, which was great. Obviously my parents were brought up with the same and lived till their late 80's....In this day and age life is very different, we are in the "sofa" age where folk lay around watching a zillion TV channels and talking crap on an iPhone..In my day we burned off stuff through work or play, so to me fast food is not the "biggy", it is what one does when not stuffing ones face..

[Rimmer]

Some troll posts, flames and replies have been removed

[weegee]

22 hours ago, sanemax said:

There is a machine with lots of pictures on it , you press the buttons to show what you want and you get a piece of paper with your order on it , you then take that paper to the counter, where, they take your money and give you your food

So theres still a chance of a mix up with the order?....

[Rimmer]

 

[Hal65]

4 hours ago, jerry921 said:

There's a little company out of Seattle you might not have heard of that's been doing a bit of experimenting with automated sales for a few years now. They seem to think it's going pretty well so far. Of course what does Amazon know?

Amazon is part of the retail industry. Sales is a profession.

[sandyf]

On 2/24/2018 at 12:29 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

Not going to work. The future is automation and millions ( ?billions ) unemployed.

No government is discussing it seriously and probably hoping they can retire before it happens because the is coming.

Short of legislating against the robots it's inevitable as companies seek to remove pesky humans from the workplace, with their demands for minimum wage, sick leave, paid holidays and parental rights.

 

They are all fools though, as if everyone is unemployed, just who is going to be able to afford to buy what they are selling?

 

Perhaps they dream of a world where we all just die quietly and leave them selling to the 1%.

The Wetherspoon pubs in the UK introduced an app some time ago. You just walk in, sit down, log on to order and pay for your food and drinks, then just wait to be served.

No jobs at risk, they never had the staff to cope in the first place.

[Pattaya46]

49 minutes ago, Rimmer said:

 

 

I like the indication of calories 

Now did he noticed that this small "meal" would bring him more than 50% of the calories he need for a full day ? 

[transam]

59 minutes ago, Rimmer said:

 

Feel sorry for the bird frying up inside...

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 2:42 PM, Sealbash said:

 

Doesn’t it require people to build, program, install, and maintain these machines?


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

Joking, right?

Once AI comes along computers will program and install themselves. AI controlled robots will do the building and maintaining, though technology will do away with all moving parts so not much to maintain. Imagine a flash drive that can do everything a desktop can do now.

The trillion $ question is when is AI going to be developed enough to do that, but it can't be far away. 

Anyway, there are 7 or 8 billion people on the planet as of now; how many people do you think it will need to program and install?

Robotics can do almost any job presently done by humans, and that's using available technology.

If posting on forums was a paid job, I'd be doing all right though!

[thaibeachlovers]

27 minutes ago, sandyf said:

The Wetherspoon pubs in the UK introduced an app some time ago. You just walk in, sit down, log on to order and pay for your food and drinks, then just wait to be served.

No jobs at risk, they never had the staff to cope in the first place.

With all the people lovin' it being able to use an app that eliminates jobs, I wonder how they will feel when THEIR job is eliminated by an app?

Here's an idea; try to think of any job that can't be replaced by AI, androids ( robots combined with AI ) or robots, and make a list. It will be a very short list.

[watcharacters]

On 2/24/2018 at 3:39 PM, csabo said:

I've been using the self checkout line in the states for years. No surprise Amazon is phasing in checkout free grocery stores at Whole Foods. The minimum wage hike brigade was a little short sighted when it resulted in workers wanting less hours because making too much money at work knocked them out of public assistance maximum wage levels. While the entitlement class keeps demanding more free stuff know that corporations are going to find a way to protect their bottom line. I would expect to see a lot more robots in the very near future. FedEx type shippers will be on the chopping block next. 

 

 

And be sure to throw the drones in  for delivery of all manner of products.    Maybe the military career suggestion is not too far out of line.

 

 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, transam said:

I come from an era where there was no fancy oils to cook stuff, it was all done in beef fat, which was great. Obviously my parents were brought up with the same and lived till their late 80's....In this day and age life is very different, we are in the "sofa" age where folk lay around watching a zillion TV channels and talking crap on an iPhone..In my day we burned off stuff through work or play, so to me fast food is not the "biggy", it is what one does when not stuffing ones face..

Strange world indeed. When I was young the concept of "gyms" where people go to exercise was unknown. That was because people didn't sit on their bums in front of a screen for 8 hours a day.

[transam]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Strange world indeed. When I was young the concept of "gyms" where people go to exercise was unknown. That was because people didn't sit on their bums in front of a screen for 8 hours a day.

Absolutely.  Plus no car to go a few yards up the road, no bag of crisps to keep the kids quiet, a clout round the lug hole did that...

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 3:39 PM, csabo said:

I've been using the self checkout line in the states for years. No surprise Amazon is phasing in checkout free grocery stores at Whole Foods. The minimum wage hike brigade was a little short sighted when it resulted in workers wanting less hours because making too much money at work knocked them out of public assistance maximum wage levels. While the entitlement class keeps demanding more free stuff know that corporations are going to find a way to protect their bottom line. I would expect to see a lot more robots in the very near future. FedEx type shippers will be on the chopping block next. 

I have given much time and thought to this, and it disturbs me that so little discussion is happening while jobs vanish all the time in the past 5 years.

As long as companies can replace humans with robots they will. Why wouldn't they? Humans are emotional and have hangovers on Mondays, get sick or have children that get sick, want holidays or pay raises. The only reason it hasn't happened in large numbers before is because they cost a lot to buy. Now they are being bought by the thousands the price is coming down.

Those factories Trump said are coming back to the US will be coming back, but his promised jobs will not, because new factories will be run with robots, IMO.

Makes sense for all factory owners to relocate to the country they want to sell in. Minimal wage expense and save large on transportation costs, plus no tariffs or other customs bureaucracy to worry about. Loads of companies went to China to save on labour costs, but expect to see loads returning to build with robots as no shipping costs.

Not many even think about 3d printing, but that is the way of the future. They can make almost anything, and the machine can be reprogrammed in minutes by AI. Make to order indeed. Big enough machine and they will be able to build a car body to your own design.

Think about it. You can order whatever you want on your computer, the 3d printing company makes it, any other parts required were automatically ordered by the AI, it will be assembled by robots, tested by robots and shipped by driverless delivery vehicle to your front door. All possible already for small items with todays technology. Just needs a company to build the factory.

Take movies. The technology to make CGI movies without people exists, so if you want to see a new movie, just watch it on your home theatre set up, with a cable tv movie subscription, like we already do, except no human will have been involved- no more human film stars and all that gossip.

[stanleycoin]

47 minutes ago, transam said:

Absolutely.  Plus no car to go a few yards up the road, no bag of crisps to keep the kids quiet, a clout round the lug hole did that...

Now i know what your on about 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4JNdseNOkE

 

Edited February 25, 2018 by stanleycoin