Huron Expositor, 2016-05-18, Page 5Wednesday, May 18, 2016 • Huron Expositor 5
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McDonald's new kiosk system a major inconvenience
If you've ventured
into your local
McDonalds lately,
you may have noticed a
new employee. Except
this employee doesn't
wear a nametag, uni-
form or even receive a
paycheck. Automated
kiosks are popping up in
Ontario letting custom-
ers place their own
order on a touch screen.
What could McDon-
alds be planning with
these electronic wait-
ers? Many speculate
that the rising mini-
mum wage may be the
reason. If McDonalds
can replace a living
worker making $18,000
a year with a machine
for a one-time installa-
tion cost, then they're
poised to save a lot of
money.
Column
Matt Recker
According to the res-
taurant chain (the
world's 4th largest
employer) that is not
their plan. A McDonalds
CEO told the Huffington
Post that the kiosks are
mean to give the custom-
ers "a modern opportu-
nity to order at their own
pace” and to "try their
own hand at customizing
their order?'
To me this sounds like
a big PR spin -job.
Customers don't want to
"play cashier," they want
to order the food and
receive it as quickly as
possible so they can sit
down and eat. It's hard
to look at these changes
as anything but a cynical
cost cutting measure. I
frequently make an
appearance at the McD's
near my house for coffee
and I've seen people
using these machines
recently. Most custom-
ers seem confused and
take three times as long
on the kiosk as it would
take the cashier to ring
in their order like they're
paid to do. There is even
a staff member walking
around taking custom-
ers out of the regular
line to try the machines,
seemingly against their
will.
While some may like
the novelty of the sys-
tem, general reaction in
my location had been
less than positive. Cus-
tomers have been
heard complaining
about the machines
being overly compli-
cated and slow and say-
ing they're a poor
replacement for human
interaction.
As if that wasn't
enough, these machines
bring a new problem for
the fast food chain:
excessive wait times.
Since they now have a
line for a cashier plus a
line for the machines,
they've introduced a
ticketing system for
orders. After paying, you
will receive a number on
your receipt and that's
the order in which you
So we bought a mini -van
So we welcomed our
new twins to the
world March 10,
which means we have
four children under four -
years of age, two dogs and
a partridge and a pear
tree.
We pretty much dou-
bled our household,
which made it impossi-
ble to leave the domicile
and travel as a unit
because we had our five -
seat, black Chrysler 300.
It was apparent we
needed something big-
ger. Humm, I pondered,
maybe an SUV? But it
would have to be a
seven -seater and good
on gas. As the words
came out my mouth, I
couldn't even believe
what I was about to
Column
Shaun Gregory
say- a mini -van? The
search was on, it kind of
sent a knife to my ego,
but we knew it was what
made sense, mathemati-
cally and all around just
practical. As I drove out
of the dealership in
Kitchener Ont. Could
this be true? I'm a soc-
cer/hockey dad? I drove
farther and farther. What
a smooth ride, I thought
to myself. No Shaun,
don't do this to yourself.
It was happening and
there was no stopping it.
I ended up loving my
purchase and still do to
this day. When you're in
your teens, you dream
about all the sports -cars
you're going to buy, not
many are hoping for a
mini -van. Not many,
what am I thinking,
nobody is thinking of
mini -vans. Before I
owned one myself the
only van I sat in said taxi
cab across the side. This
is the aftermath of hav-
ing such a large family. I
did this to myself. In
hindsight, I couldn't be
happier. My black 2008
Dodge Caravan is a
beaut. I have even came
up with a little nickname
to show appreciation to
her, the Black Beast. I
don't know how I came
up with that name, the
vehicle is far from a
beast. If anything it has
amazing mileage and it
fits me and my minions
comfortably.
So for all you soon to
be dads out there saying
the day you own a van is
when pigs start to fly,
watch what you say, you
might eat your words.
Porky might soar by your
house and the next thing
you know you've got a
big old van parked in
your driveway. Signing
out from my laptop
upstairs, because it's
chaos downstairs, Shaun
AKA the van guy.
Drivir-w YOUR ROADMAP TO ALL THINGS AUTO
— J NEWS / *** REVIEWS /
COMPARISONS /
will receive your food.
This has created long
wait times for customers
as someone who just
ordered a coffee and
muffin will have to wait
behind people who
order three Big Mac
combos (even though
the cashier could get
that order in 10 sec-
onds). During lunch
rush it's not common to
see the line for receiving
food three times longer
than the line to order.
Personally, I don't
like the idea of ordering
my food from a
machine. It feels too
dystopian. I feel like it's
going to ask me what
flavor of Soylent Green
I want with my nutrient
enriched vita -paste. I
want to talk to a human
being, not a program,
ea orthhuronex.ositor.co
and I think most people
feel the same.
Part of the appeal of
fast food is the conveni-
ence, and from a corpo-
rate perspective self-ser-
vice kiosks may sound
more convenient; but
their practical applica-
tion is the exact opposite.
Overly complicated
automated systems are
inferior to the tried and
true method of telling a
cashier your order, then
waiting to get it deliv-
ered. No tickets, no
touch screens, no extra
lines, no nonsense.
When ordering a meal at
a restaurant becomes
more of a hassle than
making it yourself, you
might as well stay home
and make the burger
yourself; it'll even taste
better.
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