Octopus Overlords

em2nought wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:23 pm I don't like the new McDonalds with self service ordering kiosks Sam I am. How will a new generation learn to interact half way politely with anyone? It does seem to make it very hard to get their attention if you absolutely don't want to use that discombobulated little machine interface that's trying to do everything it can to prevent you from ordering off the dollar menu.

On the plus side I can't wait to order chicken wings at a Thai McDonalds next month, yum! Going to Thailand and wanted McDonalds. LOL

I love those kiosk because My company is putting them in . The best part about them will be when they pay us to take them out in 3 years because nobody is using them!

Mythbusters did it, too.

As experimental controls, the MythBusters kept two untainted toothbrushes in an office far away from the lavatory. At the end of the month-long trial, they sent their toothbrush collection to a microbiologist for bacterial testing.

Astonishingly, all the toothbrushes were speckled with microscopic fecal matter, including the ones that had never seen the inside of a bathroom. The confirmed myth unfortunately proved that there's indeed fecal matter on toothbrushes — and also everywhere else.

I wonder if they tried sending some unopened toothbrushes to be tested as controls; maybe toothbrushes come already laced with fecal matter!

morlac wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:43 am

em2nought wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:23 pm I don't like the new McDonalds with self service ordering kiosks Sam I am. How will a new generation learn to interact half way politely with anyone? It does seem to make it very hard to get their attention if you absolutely don't want to use that discombobulated little machine interface that's trying to do everything it can to prevent you from ordering off the dollar menu.

On the plus side I can't wait to order chicken wings at a Thai McDonalds next month, yum! Going to Thailand and wanted McDonalds. LOL

I love those kiosk because My company is putting them in . The best part about them will be when they pay us to take them out in 3 years because nobody is using them!

I've used them and prefer it because it makes customizing an order so much easier! Taco Bell has them to and I like using them for the same reason (especially as I customize more at Taco Bell).

I've used the kiosks too and will use them if anyone is in line in front of me. The only tricky part was figuring out how to pay - otherwise quite intuitive.

Chick-Fil-A's app is the better experience though. I haven't tried the McDonald's app - I seem to recall them wanting permission to look at my photos. Uh, no.

I don't know if things but I found the McDs kiosks incredibly slow. I'd rather wait in line than deal with an unresponsive UI. It helps that there is rarely a line because McDonald's sucks and is surrounded by better options. (my kids don't yet understand this)

pr0ner wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 12:04 pm Taco Bell has them to and I like using them for the same reason (especially as I customize more at Taco Bell).

When I break down and do fast food I rarely go inside but I have gone inside and used the Taco Bell Kiosk and they did everything right. It's very easy to use and pay and if you have to customize, it's also very easy to do. So now when I break down and get fast food if I go to Taco Bell and there is a line of cars I will go inside and use the kiosk in heartbeat. Not all kiosks I've tried are as properly thought out but Taco Bell did it right.

I don't think any of the Taco Bell locations in our area have kiosks yet. Their app is pretty good though, I'll use it during busy times (lunch or dinner rush). If I'm stopping in early in the morning, I'll just go inside, the place will likely be empty.

McDonald's, on the other hand, always has a line of cars wrapped around the building.

More than once I've been standing in Starbucks waiting for my order when someone walks in, grabs something off the area on the counter where I guess phone orders are placed and runs out, only to either walk back in shortly after or have someone chase them down because they grabbed the wrong thing.
It might help if SB didn't just randomly line stuff up without any semblance of order. Technology is only as good as the people using it.

The thing about the McDonald's kiosks is they're an inefficient use of space, a few of them standing out in the open. Add to the fact that you have a line of people waiting for their orders, and at least two lines for those ordering at the cash, and when the place is very busy it becomes quite chaotic and a confusing experience.

morlac wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:43 am

em2nought wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:23 pm On the plus side I can't wait to order chicken wings at a Thai McDonalds next month, yum! Going to Thailand and wanted McDonalds. LOL

I love those kiosk because My company is putting them in . The best part about them will be when they pay us to take them out in 3 years because nobody is using them!

Damn, now I'm thinking about those spicy chicken wings again. I just made Som Tam but with zucchini instead of papaya tonight because I was so hungry for that. Hard to find Som Tam in most US Thai restaurants at least around here. Zucchini doesn't quite cut it though, too mushy.

When I was at my sister's place, a few weeks ago, we went to McDonald's (it was early am with not much open, we just ran a 5K, and the kids were screaming for food, etc.)

They had those kiosks and we each used one. The place also had table service so you just put your order in, grabbed a numbered table tent, grabbed drink cups and a drink if you had one, and sat down. They brought the orders out. I couldn't tell if this was for all orders or if the luddites using the cashiers had to wait at the counter.

stimpy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:47 pm More than once I've been standing in Starbucks waiting for my order when someone walks in, grabs something off the area on the counter where I guess phone orders are placed and runs out, only to either walk back in shortly after or have someone chase them down because they grabbed the wrong thing.

Was at the Whole Foods and saw some guy do that. They just call out the item name. So some guy who ordered like 10 seconds prior grabbed the drink a guy waiting for several minutes (that I observed) was waiting on. The staff was no help and the guy just shrugged and walked off with his 10 second iced frappe whatever.

As someone who doesn't drink coffee, or any caffeine really, the whole Starbucks/cafe thing is crazy to me. Add in people jonseing for their fix and it gets scary.

I went to the cashier to pickup an online order at Chipotle and he pointed me to some shelves with pickup orders. There was my bag and another really large one. It made we wonder how they prevent people from just walking in and grabbing something.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:37 pm The thing about the McDonald's kiosks is they're an inefficient use of space, a few of them standing out in the open. Add to the fact that you have a line of people waiting for their orders, and at least two lines for those ordering at the cash, and when the place is very busy it becomes quite chaotic and a confusing experience.

My company is installing part of the kiosk system nation wide. We are installing the cababaling and zone sensors plus a monitor for the system in the back. The site you went to wasn't finished yet or (see below)if people are waiting in a line for picking up their food. The idea is to pickup a numbered "tent" at the kiosk that will tell them in the back know what zone you are sitting in so they can bring you your food promptly when it works right....which is not very often. The other problem is the owners are cheap and do not properly staff the restaurant for said table service.

morlac wrote: ↑Mon Jun 17, 2019 12:35 pm We are installing the cababaling ...

?

cable balling?

morlac wrote: ↑Mon Jun 17, 2019 12:35 pm The site you went to wasn't finished yet or (see below)if people are waiting in a line for picking up their food. The idea is to pickup a numbered "tent" at the kiosk that will tell them in the back know what zone you are sitting in so they can bring you your food promptly when it works right....which is not very often.

No, the places we've all visited were already well in place. Although now that you mention it, I've never seen table delivery happen. I've also never seen those machines used all that much, and when I did, they all stood waiting in line anyway. I suspect some locations have dropped the table delivery idea completely. Everyone clusters around the order pickup line watching the monitor that displays the orders being worked on. I know the system is supposed to make things more efficient, but it's just soooo slow. All the times I've been, it's felt backed up most of the time.

There's a taco place here that has some of the electronic coasters that do location and has table delivery.

Been using them a bit now. Today was the first day I had to take my own table number gizmo and wait at my table .They brought it to me. When looking at the number card I appears to have a battery in it. So must be a locator so they know where you are in the place. I was hid in the play area since they decided to stupidly get rid of their outside tables I wanted to eat at.

morlac wrote: ↑Mon Jun 17, 2019 12:35 pm The idea is to pickup a numbered "tent" at the kiosk that will tell them in the back know what zone you are sitting in so they can bring you your food promptly when it works right....which is not very often.

8n my above example, that's exactly how it worked out. I was quite surprised, actually.

wonderpug wrote: ↑Mon Jun 17, 2019 12:47 pm

morlac wrote: ↑Mon Jun 17, 2019 12:35 pm We are installing the cababaling ...

?

cable balling?

LOL! opps.

I have seen worse. At a Petco network refresh we found a petrified dead bird in a cable bundle bigger than that one. I guess it got loose and tried to make a CAT 5e nest

I hate McDonalds.

I'm Loving It

When McDonald's canned Stephen Easterbrook as CEO in 2019 for having what he and the company described as a consensual relationship with an employee, the parting was relatively straightforward — and highly lucrative for the ousted CEO, who walked away with a compensation package reportedly worth more than $40 million. Eight months later, the fast-food giant is suing its former chief executive to recoup the money, claiming he had sexual relationships with multiple employees and tried to cover them up.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Delaware, McDonald's accuses Easterbrook of having relationships with an additional three employees in the year before his termination, alleging he "concealed evidence and lied about his wrongdoing." The suit further alleges that Easterbrook approved an extraordinary stock grant worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for one of the workers.

I'm loving your link title.

Thank you.

I've started ordering Sausage McMuffins with lettuce and mayo, sometimes tomato or egg as well. It's evocative of the BLT-like breakfast sandwiches some fast food places have, including McDonald's itself. (But with sausage!) I tried to convince Mrs. Nym this is a well known food hack termed the "McTuffin", but she didn't buy it. However, I'm not relenting and she now knows what to order me when I ask for one.

Mind you, the Sausage & Egg McMuffin is still my go-to for actual breakfast. The McTuffin is just a side piece. Also, the internet suggests I'm not the first to ask this, but how come the Sausage McMuffin doesn't include egg by default? The technical name for the egg version is "Sausage McMuffin with Egg". Yet the traditional Egg McMuffin includes ham. You don't order an "Egg McMuffin with Ham". By this logic, shouldn't ordering a Sausage McMuffin get you an English muffin with sausage, cheese, and ham?

Here is a bizarre commercial with Jason Alexander dancing and singing the praises of McDonalds:

When my wife worked at McDonalds she called the Sausage McMuffin with Egg the SEC. So thats what Id order it as since it was my favorite. Us being in the SEC for sports and TN Vols football also made sense. But after that I tried to order it that way and the girl had no idea what I meant.