Taco Bell operations

[cjd]

Still mostly been disappointed with Taco Bell lately. The food seems fine but the service and cleanliness leaves some to be desired.

I usually go in on Friday evening. Last time I’d went there were printed signs up stating that dining room orders were kiosk only. Tonight didn’t see the signs but didn’t see any orders taken either.

Tables always seem dirty and sticky and for the most part nobody seems to eat in anymore. I just see people waiting to get their orders to go.

Last time I went the employee completely messed up my name calling it out. I realized it was mine since nobody else picked it up. To be fair she did apologize and saw I didn’t have my cup so grabbed one without me having to ask.

Also they clearly have not had breakfast at this location - I tried a few months back - doors locked, and when I drive by only see one car in lot in morning. Yet even tonight signs were up clearly advertising “breakfast til 11AM.”

Some people seem frustrated by the kiosk only ordering - heard two men taking about it tonight. Some time ago I went and a lady came in and said “is that the only way to order… there’s no person??” The people ordering shrugged and she replied “never mind, I don’t want to eat here that bad!”

I remember Friday nights used to be quite busy with dine in the early days at this location, shame it almost seems drive thru for the most part now with a few carry out orders.

[Alpha8472]

The problem is that many customers hate kiosk ordering. Many senior citizens are especially frustrated and confused. They may leave and never come back.

I have seen the prices go up and the menu shrink at Taco Bell. You used to have many meal deals or Doritos combos. Those days are long over.

I have seen newly remodeled Taco Bells where the new sign says Taco Bell with a lighted Breakfast sign below. Is this a breakfast only restaurant?

The signs are confusing, but I assume Taco Bell is desperate to increase breakfast sales.

My local Taco Bell also stopped having an employee with a tablet computer taking orders outside at the drive thru. They have switched back to speaker ordering. I guess they are trying to cut employees again. Now the drive thru line spills onto the street.

[BillyGr]

The problem is that many customers hate kiosk ordering. Many senior citizens are especially frustrated and confused. They may leave and never come back.

There is also the issue that many of these machines are not set up to pay with money (only cards), which makes it difficult for some as well (not just seniors, but there are likely more in that group that still use mainly cash than in other groups).

No idea if that is the case with Taco Bell, but it may be.

[storewanderer]

Taco Bell Kiosks are card only and do NOT issue receipts. If you want a receipt you have to ask for it at the register and it is a real "hassle" to get a receipt out of them.

Taco Bell Kiosks are very easy to use, very easy to customize orders, and overall aside from the receipt issue they are the best fast food ordering kiosk I've ever seen. Taco Bell Kiosks are much easier to use than the Taco Bell app.

Wendys kiosks are also card only and do NOT issue receipts, however, when you order at Wendys kiosk, a receipt automatically prints over at the printer and they are supposed to attach that receipt to your bag of food. Wendys kiosk is very easy to use and customize orders and has a similar interface to their app.

Steak N Shake kiosk accepts cash and issues receipts, and is the same software as the Wendys kiosk. It is very easy to use.

McDonalds kiosk is the absolute worst piece of garbage I've ever dealt with. Worse than an ATM from 25 years ago, and slower too.

[Romr123]

I've only ever used TB and McD kiosks...would concur with your analysis. Taco Bell is crystal clear, easily modified (tbh I wonder if half of the problems these days with fast food in general is excessively modified formulas) and really works well. Kudos to their UI folks. McDonalds is dire....it's clearly set up to maximize spending/reduce visibility of specials and is soooo slooow.

[cjd]

The problem is that many customers hate kiosk ordering. Many senior citizens are especially frustrated and confused. They may leave and never come back.

I have seen the prices go up and the menu shrink at Taco Bell. You used to have many meal deals or Doritos combos. Those days are long over.

I have seen newly remodeled Taco Bells where the new sign says Taco Bell with a lighted Breakfast sign below. Is this a breakfast only restaurant?

The signs are confusing, but I assume Taco Bell is desperate to increase breakfast sales.

My local Taco Bell also stopped having an employee with a tablet computer taking orders outside at the drive thru. They have switched back to speaker ordering. I guess they are trying to cut employees again. Now the drive thru line spills onto the street.

Fully agree on that. I would get Taco Bell at least once a week because it was great for the price on the meal deals. They had the burrito, Doritos and a drink for something like $3.

If I was particularly hungry I’d order another burrito to go with it and have a good sized meal still probably under $6.

Now they do still offer the combo with chicken burrito, beef taco, cinnamon twists and large drink for $5. This is what I usually get although I wish there was a way to not have the sauce on the chicken burrito when ordering on the kiosk.

I do wish they’d offer an option for Doritos instead of the twists though. And the Doritos were better than the nachos which is the only alternative now when ordering a la carte.

[SamSpade]

Interesting perspective on Taco Bell pricing in Seattle.
Note, sometimes The Stranger can feature borderline NSFW advertisements.
https://www.thestranger.com/food-and-dr ... -taco-bell

[Romr123]

2-in 1 (or 3-in 1) concepts at YUM Brands have always been a little wonky pricing and offering-wise. This is pretty clearly a KFC-franchised unit with Taco Bell. I'd be verrrry curious about the KFC pricing in relation to the nearby locations.

[storewanderer]

2-in 1 (or 3-in 1) concepts at YUM Brands have always been a little wonky pricing and offering-wise. This is pretty clearly a KFC-franchised unit with Taco Bell. I'd be verrrry curious about the KFC pricing in relation to the nearby locations.

Took a look at some KFC pricing. 8.99 sandwich only. 4.99 individual side. I stopped looking.

I'm sure the excuse is Seattle and $15/hr.

Kind of old excuse at this point...

But the location has pretty current imaging for both brands. That seems to be a very important thing for KFC (exterior paint colors, signs, etc.).

[Brian Lutz]

There's another location in South Everett on 128th St SW (Combination KFC/A&W) where I've seen similarly ridiculous pricing in the past, and that still seems to be the case when I look now. Doing some quick comparisons between that location and another Everett location (the one on Broadway near my old home) they generally seem to match the pricing of the Queen Anne location referenced in the article. I see that the combo meals are only different by a couple of dollars, but some of the other pricing on the menu is crazy.

2 piece chicken combo: $12.99 (compared to $10.49)
3 piece tender combo: $13.99 (compared to $11.49)
Mac and Cheese Bowl: $8.99 (compared to $5.00)
Chicken Sandwich: $8.99 (compared to $4.99)
Chicken Sandwich combo: $12.99 (compared to $8.99)

When you start getting into family meals the differences become even more ridiculous:

6 piece chicken + nuggets family meal: $38.99 (compared to $26.99)
8 piece chicken or 8 piece tenders: $25.99 (compared to $14.00)
8 piece chicken + 8 piece tenders fill-up: $57.99 (compared to $30.00)

Oddly enough, the price of a 16 piece chicken meal is the same at both locations ($60.99) and 16 piece tenders are actually cheaper ($37.99 versus $41.99) at the 128th street location, but the pricing is highly disproportionate to just getting two orders of 8 tenders.

And to compare Washington pricing to where I am now in Greensboro, here are the prices of the items above at the closest KFC to here (where they have lower labor costs and a lot of competition with Bojangles and Popeyes):

2 piece chicken combo: $6.79
3 piece tender combo: $6.99
Mac and Cheese Bowl: $5.00
Chicken Sandwich: $4.99
Chicken Sandwich Combo: $7.99
6 piece chicken + nuggets family meal: $26.99
8 piece chicken or 8 piece tenders: $10.00
8 piece chicken + 8 piece tenders fill-up: $30.00
16 piece chicken meal: $41.99

Some of the promotional item prices seem to be the same as the Broadway location, but generally things are much cheaper here.