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Human Interaction - Who needs it?!

Killed_by_Death

Killed_by_Death

Snaggletooth
Inactive
Jan 2, 2015
24,890
61,257
14 Megameters from Groong Tehp
#1
IMG_20170501_162334362_HDR.jpg

Some of you big city dwellers might have already seen these, but here in backwater we've just got the first ones at our local Mickey Dee's.

You can order your food & pay w/o having to talk to the cashiers. Then you take a number & they bring it to your table.
So the only interaction with a human you'll need is if you feel obliged to say "Thank you" for bringing the food to the table.

Some of the patrons were joking that soon you'll just be able to order from home & have it delivered by drone, LOL!

In the Land of Smiles we could order from McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, etc. & have it delivered, but only in Bangkok & Pattaya (that I know of)

The first time I saw online food order was in Singapore in 1999. Every shopping mall had their URL posted out front. You could order your groceries online & of course fast food, or even more upscale restaurants that would deliver.
 
#5
Pretty soon each McDonald's will have one employee per shift....a technician who can fix the machines. He will make about twenty bucks an hour or so and replace up to a dozen people.

Be careful what you wish for.....
 
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#6
Although the McD version of this automated ordering is clearly more advanced, like having the payment pad, they're not the first to do this. Many years ago a place called Burger Works in Madras (Oregon) had optional automated ordering. I'd never seen anything like it at the time. It was a little kiosk in the dining room. You punched in your order on a touchscreen and then paid the cashier. Kind of ahead of its time. They had fantastically good burgers too.

Unfortunately Burger Works folded. It's a Mexican takeout place now.
 
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#9
two fingers said:
Pretty soon each McDonald's will have one employee per shift....a technician who can fix the machines. He will make about twenty bucks an hour or so and replace up to a dozen people.

Be careful what you wish for.....
Click to expand...
The grim side of it. Honestly I'd rather the Barnes and Noble stores got rid of people asking if I want to join their special "I'll spend more money so I can save a couple singles!" Club. McDonald's. ...well, at least they don't have a discount club. Btw, "land of smiles"? Huh?
 
#12
two fingers said:
Pretty soon each McDonald's will have one employee per shift....a technician who can fix the machines. He will make about twenty bucks an hour or so and replace up to a dozen people.

Be careful what you wish for.....
Click to expand...
People that demand $15 minimum wage never take into account that they are pricing an employee out of the workplace.
 
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#14
BigBasserino said:
"land of smiles"?
Click to expand...

Thailand is called the Land of Smiles or LOS, because Thais spend a lot of time smiling.
They can also interpret one another's smiles, like body language.
There's a smile for when you're lying or about to strike out in a violent rage :laugh:
There's smiles for when you're happy, or even smiles when you're uncertain or shocked.

I remember walking along the beach in Pattaya one day & there was a small group of men looking in my direction with these weird smiles on their faces.
As I got closer I could see they had discovered a body had floated up to the pier they were standing on, so it was the smile of shock!
There's basically a smile for everything, and just because someone is smiling at you doesn't mean they don't want to rip your lungs out :eek:

It's endearing to the tourists, but after living there a while, it's just par for the course.
It is a good idea to keep smiling though, even when you want to rip someone's lungs out :wideyed:

examples:

thaismile2.jpg
10.jpg

thai29.jpg
 
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#18
Man, you just have to get your time in Thailand and such into every thread possible, don't ya? Sheeze.
electracoyote said:
This is not driven by an anti-social bent. McDonald's adapted, and I think the honest among us know why they're moving in this direction.
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This is pretty much it, and it's going to continue. I got ahead of the curve and work on similar stuff that does put certain folks out of jobs. I used to wrestle with the idea in my own head, and came to the conclusion that many other industry experts have - automation is here in a lot of areas, coming in a whole lot more, and it will have a massive impact. If you're in a low skill, repeatitive kind of job, you'd be very wise to get some sort of skill that'll put you at least a little ahead of the curve.
 
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#19
Selta said:
If you're in a low skill, repetitive kind of job, you'd be very wise to get some sort of skill that'll put you at least a little ahead of the curve.
Click to expand...

And short of that, or in the meanwhile, appreciating the low skill job (that was never meant to provide a living wage) for what it is might get you down the road and keep the job from becoming automated.

McDonald's is determined to keep my hamburger relatively reasonably priced. I approve.
 
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