Retail Watchers

Groceteria wrote:Arby's did this in Bay Area locations in the early/mid 1990s. It didn't last, but the touch-screen technology was not as ubiquitous (and therefore was probably off-putting fro some) at the time.

True, we are definitely in a much more mature market, technologically speaking, where the prevalence of smartphones and tablets in practically every consumer's hands makes kiosk ordering much more appealing to and accepted by customers.

I found an oddly placed McDonalds in Chula Vista with just one ordering kiosk (two sides on it). I say oddly placed because most of the McDonalds where I have seen kiosks have been busy downtown locations or large interstate locations. This was a neighborhood location and did not seem particularly busy. I used it to order my 89cent large drink. Nobody else was using the kiosk but I saw 3-4 people using the regular order counter.

The whole time I was in there, maybe 5-10 minutes, I did not see anyone else use the kiosks. Also I did not see kiosks at any other San Diego area McDonalds, and I visited a half dozen or so.

Personally I like the kiosks but that is just me.

I do think the kiosk may be a little slower than a regular order counter, though...

I think ordering via Smartphone/App is going to be the more popular vehicle going forward. Panera's model where you just go straight to the pick up shelf and get your order (zero employee interaction) is very interesting to me. I also wonder how often people go to that shelf and take orders that are not theirs... Panda Express also has an interesting online ordering option that has been offering $3 off any order lately and works very smoothly.

I did not visit a Wendy's on my most recent trip to Canada, but almost every McDonald's I walked into had the kiosks. I saw a few people using them but they were by no means mobbed.

If a kiosk makes it any easier for me to order a Quarter Pounder without cheese (and without paying for cheese), I'm for the idea.

Looks like Wendy's is planning to have the kiosks in 1,000 locations (out of around 6,500) by the end of 2017:

http://q13fox.com/2017/02/26/wendys-pla ... locations/

Andrew T. wrote:If a kiosk makes it any easier for me to order a Quarter Pounder without cheese (and without paying for cheese), I'm for the idea.

Somehow, I doubt a Wendy's kiosk will help with that