var json_comments = new Array("
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Starfury
July 23, 2009 7:08 PM
Moderate | Flag for review

Jack in the Box in Palo Alto, CA on El Camino has one of these in it. I've watched a few people use it but most of us fast food junkies prefer to order from a person.

I may give it try the next time I'm there.

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7 replies
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RogerTheAlien
July 24, 2009 6:30 AM
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@Starfury: Carl's Jr (Hardees to you East Coasters) had this in their location at the Marine Corps Base in 29 Palms, CA about three years ago. Was great!

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cuchanu
July 23, 2009 11:40 PM
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@Starfury: I don't mind ordering from a person, but sometimes there are language barriers. I don't think fast food restaurants hire people that only speak English anymore because then everybody else wouldn't be able to understand them.
It cracks me up when I go to a Teriyaki restaurant and the Korean people are yelling, \"POLLO!\" One time I got some fish and the lady asked if I knew how to say fish in Spanish.

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Oddfool
July 23, 2009 9:05 PM
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@Starfury: Jack in the Box on Balboa Ave. in San Diego has had 2 of these for a long time now. I'll use these to bypass the line. If there is no line, I still prefer to order from the smiling and personal cashier.

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Berz
July 23, 2009 11:17 PM
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@Oddfool:

When i was in SD on business last year the one I went into had two of those in it. I thought it was sort of cool. Wonder if it was the same one...

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nerdtalker
July 23, 2009 8:04 PM
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@Starfury: First one I saw was at a Carl's Jr. on Baseline road in Tempe, AZ.

It was actually very well done; order everything (on a cool 3D UI to boot), pay, and then take a receipt which folds and sits on your table. I found myself ordering things I didn't know were on the menu that way.

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IR1
July 23, 2009 8:24 PM
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@nerdtalker: Yeah saw one of these at the JITB in Milpitas right off Montague. They said it was out of order when I tried to use it though...

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ceriphim
July 23, 2009 7:47 PM
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@Starfury: Yeah I noticed them all over the Bay Area when I moved there two years ago. Not sure why this is news, exactly.

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eelmonger
July 23, 2009 7:09 PM
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McDonald's had tested this out awhile ago apparently. Haven't been to one that has one of these kiosks though are they still around?

[www.clickorlando.com]

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3 replies
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Anonymous
July 23, 2009 10:50 PM
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@eelmonger: Yes, McDonalds tried these out in our area about a year ago. During Sunday morning breakfast, there'd be 40 people in line for the registers and no one willing to try these. I'd jump on one and get my order done in 10 seconds and then have to wait because they didn't have anyone behind the counter assigned to fill the machine orders. Sad.

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jrembold
July 23, 2009 7:46 PM
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@eelmonger: There used to be one at American University when I was there in the early 2000s. It was nice because you could walk in and have your order done in 20 seconds if you knew where the buttons for your options were.

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raptorrapture
July 24, 2009 3:19 PM
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@jrembold: I wonder what'll happen to HS dropouts now? Fast food places no longer an option?!

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acknight
July 23, 2009 7:12 PM
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Sheetz convenience stores do this as well. Of course, you still somewhat interact with a human to actually retrieve the food... but that may not require speaking :-)

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TCama
July 23, 2009 7:14 PM
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@acknight: If I recall correctly, Sheetz won't let you pay at the Kiosk. Then again it's been a few years since I've been to Sheetz.

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ratsafari
July 23, 2009 8:14 PM
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@TCama:

correct, you gotta take your ticket and pay for your food and then go back to retrieve it.

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MauriceCallidice
July 23, 2009 8:55 PM
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@ratsafari: Wawa, a similar local gas/convenience store chain, has more or less the same system as Sheetz. They're very convenient, which is the point.

You get a written record of what you ordered down to the condiments, you can request funny combinations like horseradish, extra ketchup, and \"a little bit of mustard\", and you can order for a group or family sequentially without taking up a lot of time hemming and hawing with the cashier. Just pick out what you want on the screen, taking as long as you need.

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Cant_stop_the_rock
July 23, 2009 7:13 PM
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Most chain convenience stores that sell sandwiches around here have touch-screen ordering. They're great for things like sandwiches that are highly customizable.

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oldtaku
July 23, 2009 10:50 PM
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@Cant_stop_the_rock: Yeah and all these (and automated grocery store checkout lines) are both good and bad.

The good is that you're far more likely to get your own order right than the stoner behind the counter is, and it's much faster if kiosk is free.

The bad is if there's a line at all for the kiosks. Other customers are just as dumb as a bad employee and they have no monkey training, so they'll take five times as long to figure out how to use the thing as it would have taken to order face to face. And this is even with an interface that already assumes you're not as smart as a fifth grader.

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P_Smith
July 23, 2009 9:06 PM
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@Cant_stop_the_rock: Are you kidding?


It's hard enough getting people not to screw up orders for \"no mayonnaise on the burger\" and \"no salt on the fries\" when talking face to face. I'd bet my money that special requests via computer will be ignored just as often, if not more.

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scootinger
July 24, 2009 4:25 AM
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@P_Smith: No...when you order a sandwich at a fast-food joint, you have both the person taking the order who may misunderstand your order, as well as the person making the sandwich (according to the order entered by the person helping you) who can screw that up too. If you enter an order for a sandwich at a kiosk, then you can be the one that makes sure that what goes into their system is correct...meaning that the only person who can screw it up is the person making your food.

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RedwoodFlyer
July 23, 2009 9:46 PM
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@P_Smith: You're wrong. Consider actually trying a product/service before bashing it. It's much easier for sandwich makers to follow your \"checklist,\" and they know that they'll be held accountable since there is a written record.

Also, asking for \"no salt on fries\" is a difficult measure since most fast food places make fries in batches.

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logicalnoise
July 23, 2009 7:13 PM
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the Gabuto Burger at my local Asian marketplace had two. I used the human ordering device and was satisfied with a teriyaki egg burger that melted my dreams.

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BCK
July 23, 2009 7:14 PM
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Hardees/Carl Jrs have had these in their stores (least in our area) for a while now. Pain in the ass when you end up behind old people who find them memorizing/scary.

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MaelstromRider
July 23, 2009 7:15 PM
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That's really cool... I wish my local fast food places had that. I'm one of those annoyingly fussy people that can never just order the sandwich as prepared normally. That would at least remove the cashier error of them not ringing it up properly and leave the place for error as the kitchen.


On a side note, have you ever noticed anything like this? Where I live, it seems like regardless of which particular one I go to, at McDonald's the error is always with the order-taker--they fail to put the \"no mayo\" or whatever on the ticket. At Wendy's, the error is always with the kitchen. The \"no mayo\" or whatever is always on the ticket, but the food is prepared wrong. Oh, and at What-A-Burger, if you tell them no mayo, they put mustard on it instead, without asking, if you don't tell them not to. WTF?

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frodolives35
July 24, 2009 1:29 AM
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@MaelstromRider: Me thinks you need a good homecooked meal.LOL

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MauriceCallidice
July 23, 2009 9:00 PM
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@MaelstromRider: I can't seem to find a Subway that will give me \"a little bit of mayo\" no matter how carefully and elaborately I ask. \"A little bit\" or \"just a tiny amount\" or even \"just a single line of mayo, don't go back and forth across the bread\" all yield the same thing: a thick coating of mayo in a pattern that looks like a child was learning cursive by writing lines of \"l\"s.

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speedwell (!)
July 23, 2009 8:15 PM
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@MaelstromRider: As a Houstonian oil industry tech support analyst, i can tell you two things for damn sure:


1. The problem is, 99 percent of the time, a PEBCAK error (problem exists between chair and keyboard, for those of you who don't know). The machines are not going to replace counter help. The counter is going to turn into a machine support help desk.


2. You can't have a burger in Texas without mustard. What are you, some sort of Commie?


(kidding)

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TeeDub
July 23, 2009 7:15 PM
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Carl's Jr. put those in a long time ago... You can still order at the counter and talk to a person.

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1 replies
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whyerhead
July 24, 2009 12:16 AM
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@TeeDub: These can also be seen in Idiocracy..

Would you like an extra big-arse taco? Now with more molecules!

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hungryhomer
July 23, 2009 7:15 PM
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Imagine the day where it will be a novelty to order food from a human. Pretty disturbing, if you consider that we're slowly creeping in that direction.

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MooseOfReason
July 23, 2009 10:19 PM
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@hungryhomer: Much less error in food preparation. I don't see the disturbing part of that.

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The Porkchop Express
July 23, 2009 7:37 PM
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@hungryhomer: what's more disturbing....when the computers want tips and put little jars on top of themselves.

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Mike8813
July 23, 2009 7:51 PM
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@You know what ole' Jack Burton always says: Agreed.


And what does Jack Burton always say, anyway? I'm afraid I don't know.

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Anonymous
July 23, 2009 9:15 PM
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@Mike8813: Jack Burton: When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: \"Have ya paid your dues, Jack?\" \"Yessir, the check is in the mail.\" (Big Trouble In Little China)

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Anonymous
July 23, 2009 8:43 PM
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The problem with robots taking all our jobs is it's only good for us when they're done. The more jobs they take, the harder it is for us to find one. Once robots are doing ALL the work, we can live in luxury not having to work, but until then, as the number of human jobs decreases, the difficulty of finding the remaining ones will be just maddening.

Of course robots may never be able to replace the jobs of musicians, filmmakers, etc., but with robots doing all the actual *work*, people could pretty well do those things for free, not having to pay anyone for their labor. (Resources could still be an issue though...)

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Megalomania
July 23, 2009 7:22 PM
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@hungryhomer: I wouldn't think so - no human WANTS that job (people might want A job, but it's not an aspiration to take orders at at fast food restaurant). Plus, while we might not need people to ask us what toppings we want on our hamburgers, it means more technicians are needed to keep them working, people are needed to build them, someone has to design them and find new ways to improve them... just a shift towards a more skill oriented job market.

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Powerlurker
July 24, 2009 6:32 AM
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@Megalomania:

Many cafeteria style restaurants in Japan do something like this. To avoid having to hire a dedicated cashier, you go to a vending machine and buy a ticket for what you want. You give your ticket to the kitchen personnel and they make your food.

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TheFlamingoKing
July 23, 2009 7:42 PM
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@Megalomania: Beautiful response, bravo.

Machines should do this work. If the order taker at your local fast food joint is just going through menus and pressing the correct buttons, then there's no complexity involved in their job that can't be assumed by the user. I've worked every job in a fast food restaurant as a teen, and as far as taking orders the only complexity is memorizing where the less-used options are on the touch pad. A order kiosk doesn't want to go on break, it doesn't complain when asked to do some unwanted task, it doesn't get frustrated and it doesn't take offense to getting yelled at by impatient customers. It just runs code.

And the greatest thing about capitalism is that your dollar is your vote! Are you creeped out by the prospect of ordering from machines instead of live humans? Then take your money to a restaurant that gives you what you ask. Speak to the owner or manager of your favorite restaurant and let them know you won't do business with a robot. Or open your own restaurant with 100% authentic flesh-n-bone humans! Your freedom to choose is supported by an open market that allows competition for your business.

...unless the government starts getting into fast food like they have for cars, and health care, and airlines, etc, etc.

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dragonfire81
July 23, 2009 7:49 PM
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@TheFlamingoKing: And what if the money this person is making is helping to keep their family afloat? With the job gone, that could ruin the situation.

People NEED these jobs, especially in times like these.

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MauriceCallidice
July 23, 2009 9:04 PM
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@dragonfire81: If it's so important to employ people doing jobs that could be done by machines, than lets eliminate the electronic ordering system all together. Have the cashier write out the order longhand, then hand it off to an order caller who will tell the cooks what to make, and make sure it's brought up for the customer. After all, we could employ more people that way.

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rhys1882
July 23, 2009 7:17 PM
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I'd rather use a computer, I've often had my orders screwed up by the people ringing me up.

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almightytora
July 23, 2009 7:20 PM
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There is a Jack in the Box in Sherman Oaks, CA when I used to work around there (2006) that they had one employee promote it to show us how to work it.

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JonThomasDesigns
July 23, 2009 7:20 PM
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I was out in cali like 4 years ago and they had these

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Kevin Bourrillion
July 23, 2009 7:22 PM
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I remember seeing this at Arby's in Sunnyvale, CA many years ago, but I don't remember seeing it there recently.

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sardonicbastard
July 23, 2009 9:38 PM
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@Kevin Bourrillion:

The Arby's in Menlo Park had this set up back then- CRT touch screens, but they still had people behind the counter to actually take your money and give you change. All you were really looking at was the exact same screen the workers used, so it was a real pain in the ass to figure out how to order anything.

It was a pretty awkward situation, because the workers still had to stand there attentively, waiting for you to finish punching in your order so they could take your money.

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Southern
July 23, 2009 8:12 PM
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@Kevin Bourrillion:


I remember it being in that Arbys too (on El Camino I think it was? Or maybe it was Matilda) back in like 1995.. I thought back then they would have become popular, but we left the state about a year later and I've never seen one anywhere else..


I still miss Sunnyvale/Milpitas area. :(

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HogwartsAlum
July 23, 2009 8:33 PM
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@Southern:

Isn't that around where the haunted Toys R Us store is? In Sunnyvale, on El Camino? I never got to go there darn it.

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JustinSane07
July 23, 2009 7:23 PM
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Stop & Shop in Mass has these now for the deli department. You can place your order through a kiosk and just wait for them to fill it without having to order by hand, a la The Wrestler.


They also have scanners you bring with you, you scan your items as you shop then scan something at the register and your whole order pops up already scanned. It's a complete honor system.

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Craig Stevens
July 23, 2009 8:31 PM
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@JustinSane07:
Very true about the audits. I actually work at that same Stop and Shop and I cant tell you how many people we've caught stealing or trying to steal. Ive seen people try to walk out with the guns themselves but little do they know an EAR piercing ringing comes out if you try to.

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Grabraham
July 23, 2009 7:50 PM
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@JustinSane07: ... to a point. They randomly 'audit' your orders. Sometimes you scan the complete your order card at the register and the screen tells you to go to a cashier. They then scan a few items from your bags to make sure you are not cheating.

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PockyPimp
July 23, 2009 7:23 PM
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Yeah one of the local Jack in the Box's here in LA got one a few months ago. I used it mostly since it was faster than waiting in the 5 deep line and they were promoting free curly fries for using it. It's pretty fast and you can zip through it pretty quick.

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Nolarchy
July 23, 2009 7:26 PM
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Wawa's have had these for a long time in the deli dept. Makes ordering the perfect meatball sub super easy.

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oneandone
July 23, 2009 8:31 PM
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@Nolarchy: When I saw this, my first thought was Wawa.

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halothane
July 23, 2009 7:27 PM
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Count me in with the people who'd rather user a computer. My orders are so consistently screwed up at fast food places that I now only get chicken nuggets. Yeah, I could always step to the side and unwrap the burger to make sure it doesn't have mayo on it, but then all the other toppings fall out all over the place and it's a mess by the time I get it back to my desk.

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Rachacha
July 24, 2009 5:34 PM
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@aloria: I've had the local Mc Donalds screw up a chicken nugget order. My kids can usually eat 8-10 nuggets, so rather than buying 2 - 10 piece McNuggets for +$3 each, I buy 4 - 4 piece McNugets for $1 each off the dollar menu (We have thankfully instilled in our children that Happy Meals are a waste of money and the \"prizes\" are usually junk, so we will almost always order the individual components and save ourselves some money). They just can't seem to grasp that someone might want to order more than 1 4 piece nugget off the Dollar Menu as I will without a doubt get only a single box of 4 piece nuggets.

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tvmitch
July 23, 2009 7:28 PM
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Oh my gosh, as someone who always gets custom-made stuff at fast food places (I hate tomatoes and mayo) this kiosk thing would be AMAZING. I always hate going back and trying to be as polite as possible while saying \"hey, no mayo, bub.\"

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pengajim
July 23, 2009 7:31 PM
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Is this news? Taco Bell tried this in 1996 in Boulder, CO.

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blazinrebel
July 24, 2009 5:16 AM
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@pengajim: OF COURSE IT'S NEWS! I'm sure there are MANY consumerists such as myself that HATE dealing with people and are thrilled with the opportunity to eliminate the variable of a human being in their fast food dining experience. Hell, I would park outside and walk in just to use one of these.

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Scuba Steve
July 23, 2009 7:33 PM
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what's a jack in the box?

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B
July 23, 2009 8:21 PM
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@Scuba Steve: You know those windup toys that's a box with a crank on it, you wind the crank and a clown head pops out? That's a jack in the box. I don't know why anybody would order tacos from them, though.

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solareclipse2
July 23, 2009 7:33 PM
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Does it ask you if you'd \"like to make it a combo for only 59 cents more\" if you only order a sandwich and drink or sandwich and fries?

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bobpence
July 23, 2009 7:34 PM
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There's something about the quality of workers stores choose to hire. The McD's and Burger King restaurants in my area make me yearn for one of these, even in the drive-thru, but the Chick Fil A employees are consistently clear, as if they are paying attention to what they are doing.


The upside for stores, in addition to clearer orders, easier upsells (a la the side salad in original post), and potentially needed to sked fewer order-taker human hours: Less (unwanted) free toppings. Back when Wawa filled out a carbonless two-layer description of your sandwiches, workers assumed you wanted everything on it; now with touch screens, plain is assumed and you can take your choice of more options than ever. Win-win, as mkting ppl you want to shoot say.

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Stefanie Walsh
July 23, 2009 7:35 PM
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They need this at the Subway near my house. It would need a feature to indicate the amount of each topping you want too since verbally the employees seem to be unable to comprehend quantity. If only the computer could make my sandwich too. Based on their hearing failure and/or language comprehension skills I'm not sure I'd put faith in their ability to read correctly.

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GarouDiams
July 23, 2009 7:36 PM
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In other places, it is the opposite.

I went to Chick-fil-a the other day during the dinner rush, and they had a actual human with a touch clipboard taking the drive-thru orders. It was some of the best and quickest service I have ever had.

Why, oh why must they be closed on Sunday?

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solareclipse2
July 23, 2009 7:52 PM
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@GarouDiams:

Because they \"encourage you to visit your place of worship\", just like Hobby Lobby.

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henrygates
July 23, 2009 7:47 PM
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@GarouDiams: True. I have eaten at Chick-fil-a, and their drive thru system is very efficient.

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Six_El_Sid
July 23, 2009 7:36 PM
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I gave it a swing in Vegas when I was there. It works fine and if I had a chance to wrap my brain around it I could blast through it. You get the option to go back and get a submenu of everything on your sandwich, so you can take off those tomatoes. Fortunately, they did give the system powering it good enough specs, I was expecting it to lag slightly like a Bank of America ATM, but it ran smooth.

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tande04
July 23, 2009 7:38 PM
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The Arbys in my mall had touchscreen ordering in it when I was growing up. That was in the mid 80s.

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davere
July 23, 2009 7:39 PM
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They have these at some dining locations at Disney World. They work well except for people who let their children use the touchscreen thus taking 10 times longer than it should.

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MostlyHarmless
July 23, 2009 7:43 PM
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But there's just something fun about standing less than 10 feet away from a restaurant employee and choosing to order from your robot friend instead.

Hey, atleast when the inevitable robot uprising happens, they'll know who their friend is. Maybe they will offer to hook me up with some cybernetic implants too.

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Scrutinizer
July 23, 2009 8:08 PM
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@MostlyHarmless: What is the over under line on when our happy, helpful fast food pals become self aware and rise up against us?

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speedwell (!)
July 23, 2009 9:44 PM
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@MostlyHarmless: Basically it has to do with the statistics of gambling odds.

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MostlyHarmless
July 23, 2009 9:48 PM
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@speedwell, avatar of snark: Ah thanks.

@Scrutinizer: So if you are asking when is it likely to happen? My friend Hofstadter has a prediction:

\"Sooner than you think. Even when you factor in this statement into the calculation.\"

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HRHKingFridayXX
July 23, 2009 7:44 PM
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I want this in starbucks- it would free up more baristas to actually make coffee, and it would increase the chance they get my milk choice right.

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rdm
July 23, 2009 7:46 PM
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...and we take another step toward \"Idiocracy\" becoming reality.

This one I am ok with though - about 50% of the time they get my order wrong near my house.

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Skin Art Squared
July 23, 2009 8:04 PM
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@rdm: Welcome to Carl's Jr. Would you like to try our EXTRA BIG ASS TACO? Now with more MOLECULES!

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theblackdog
July 23, 2009 7:51 PM
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Wawa stores that have sub shops inside have only kiosks to place your sandwich order, though you still have to take it up front to pay for it.

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henrygates
July 23, 2009 7:51 PM
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I envision a restaurant where I can walk in, create my own order from a kiosk, build the sandwich myself, cook my own fries, bag it myself, and insert my payment of choice. Why bother having any employees at all? I want to pay the same price for my goods while slowly replacing the company's expensive overhead.

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Thorny
July 23, 2009 7:53 PM
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Any bets on when the first letter comes in to this blog from someone who was egregiously offended or poorly served these self-serve kiosks?

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madanthony
July 23, 2009 7:57 PM
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I think this is a great idea - not so much for inside the resturant as for the drive-through. I don't understand why technology has progressed so much, but yet I can't order a burrito at Taco Bell without talking to someone who sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher.

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HogwartsAlum
July 23, 2009 8:37 PM
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@madanthony: I never EVER go to the drive thru at Taco Bell. They always get it wrong. ALWAYS. I go inside and order from the people, and check my Baja Steak Gordita before I leave to make sure they didn't put any yucky lettuce on it.

No Taco Bell in the universe has ever gotten it right when I go through the drive thru. I would love it if they had a kiosk.

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Worm
July 23, 2009 7:58 PM
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I was at a Subway in Philadelphia that had one of these. All it did though was print out your order behind the counter and they still made your sandwich right in front of you. Seemed a bit strange to me.

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Alexander
July 23, 2009 8:05 PM
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I don't see a difference between this and the ticket vending machines at movie theaters. Also, isn't there a bigger chance of your order being right using this machine? I hope they are start using them here in So Cal.

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Skin Art Squared
July 23, 2009 8:14 PM
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Would be handy if they wired these up to the Internet, and then put in widespread underground delivery tubes like the drive-thru at the bank has.

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jrizos
July 23, 2009 8:21 PM
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Will it be able to scan the chip in my hand as I'm punching in my order so I don't have to bother with my Credit Card?

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carbonmade
July 23, 2009 8:27 PM
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Hey, I remember when Arby's did this in the early 90's. I suppose it could have been a test market thing.

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hewhoroams
July 23, 2009 8:35 PM
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i ordered a pizza from my iphone from Papa johns without ever leaving the backyard. It was amazing.

Jack in the box is awesome and I wish more places did this. Viva la skynet.

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Jonathan Thomas
July 23, 2009 8:40 PM
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I used one of these a month ago. It was pretty easy and faster than the one cashier they had. They still managed to forget the bacon on my burger though so until they have hamburger making robots I'm not impressed.

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michaelgibbons
July 23, 2009 8:43 PM
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You may call me a loon, but the federal minimum wage has helped usher in this technology. Some may say it's an upgrade. Possibly. I mean getting stuck behind a techonology illiterate in line will probably happen just as much as a slow order to a live human.

But we're just eliminating another rung on the employment ladder; we're now devoid of a handful of jobs at this JOB.

To the HS kids, this is not too big of a deal if they go to college or see this as a HS job only. To those who intend on making the industry their career, we're all now a bit poorer.

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scootinger
July 24, 2009 4:35 AM
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@michaelgibbons:

\"To those who intend on making the industry their career, we're all now a bit poorer.\"

How so? I would guess that if you plan on making a career out of being in fast food, then you will almost certainly be in management. And while it might cut back on the number of people on the \"front lines\" in such a job, I don't see how this will really affect prospects for fast food management jobs. If anything it might actually improve things, considering that it might be able to make such restaurants a little more profitable.

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morlo
July 24, 2009 12:02 AM
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@michaelgibbons: Wasted labor is wasted labor. And it's not so much the federal minimum wage as the cheapness of technology. You'd probably need to work for something like .50/h to compete with machines. You're better off collecting empty cans and bottles.

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speedwell (!)
July 23, 2009 9:45 PM
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@michaelgibbons: Don't worry. Instead of cashiers, all the counter kids at fast food places will now be able to say they were \"computer support technicians.\"

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Wubbytoes
July 23, 2009 8:46 PM
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I've been to a few Carl's Jrs that had these. I never saw anyone use them except me. It was nice ordering there and not having to wait in line behind all the people afraid of a touchscreen.

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valthun
July 23, 2009 9:01 PM
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A theater here in LA has these. You still have to speak to a human to get your food. What I can't stand about it though is that it assumes you don't want another drink. Or another candy item. Its great for ordering for a single person, but not for a couple.

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mannyv
July 23, 2009 9:01 PM
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What, you mean like the automat?

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SiddhimaAmythaon
July 23, 2009 9:03 PM
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My local wenershishel has this exact machine. its a god send the place is ALWAYS understaffed. 2-3 people for cooking drive though and counter, cleaning ext. its much fatser for me to put in my cobo meal and swipe my cc then wait for the guy to help other 3 people waiting to he helped.

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morganlh85
July 23, 2009 9:04 PM
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They have this at Sheetz, which is a PA based gas station/made to order food type place.

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David Derus
July 23, 2009 9:04 PM
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I find that these machines are much slower than the actual person. I'm a fan of Jack. I always make it a point to talk to the cashier.

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chiieddy
July 23, 2009 9:04 PM
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Wawa in the PA/NJ area does this in their sub department.

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No_Moleste
July 23, 2009 9:09 PM
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Probably about as friendly and genuine as a fast food worker...

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dp3
July 23, 2009 9:12 PM
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The Santa Monica, CA one has a kiosk, too. I find it kind of creepy...

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albear
July 23, 2009 9:13 PM
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I saw that thing a month and a half ago month at the JIB in Van Nuys, CA on Laurel anyon Canyon. I stood in line to order from the person, I avoided the drive thru because have gotten ripped off at the drive thrus so many times at different places that it's not even funny,

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coren
July 23, 2009 9:47 PM
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We got one of these in Dupont recently too. It was pretty convenient to use, easy to go back and correct, and my free tacos were delicious!

The only thing I'd wonder about is special orders - no mustard, no pickles, extra ketchup, that sort of thing. I didn't try to do one so I'm not sure if it would allow it or not...

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Nick Pudim
July 23, 2009 9:58 PM
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I live in Japan, and a LOT of our fast food restaurants use vending machines to order, you push the picture of what you want, a ticket pops out, you hand the ticket to the cashier and wait for your food.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
July 23, 2009 10:09 PM
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Lately this blog is all about \"Ways the World Is Turning into Idiocracy\"

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tz
July 23, 2009 10:11 PM
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I'm in San Diego at the moment where they are based. They have the Kiosks.

Two problems. 1. You can't specialize the order (e.g. no mustard - or figure out if something has mustard on it). 2. It doesn't take change in payment. This might be fine, but if something ends up totaling $2.17 you will get a pocket full of change. But it does take credit cards.

I would note that in Pennsylvania, Sheetz, and I think Wawa had ordering kiosks three years ago.

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MooseOfReason
July 23, 2009 10:21 PM
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They have them at the Quick Chek one town over from me. Very easy to use. Some of the add-ons are rip-offs. I bet if a robot were making my sandwich, if I pressed \"extra meat,\" I'd actually get it.

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WhoAsked You
July 23, 2009 10:24 PM
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Okay so I am really divided on this one. I generally hate the intrusion of automation and replacement of humans with robots, especially if 1. The damn thing could stop working and no smart human to help out if so 2. The damn thing is poorly programmed by morons.

However, in the case of airports and theaters, the amazing efficiency that really has resulted in shorter lines, simpler transactions has made me a fan.

Now - here are two counter-examples I really HATE in the same category

1. Grocery store machines where you self-check out are horrendous and stupid and unjustifed a. because more is involved and they mess up regularly b. despite not working well regularly as a concept it is forced on us anyway in a lot of ways, soon to have no choice c. Ever notice we aren't given the saved labor cost back like we should on our purchases for using them? Labor is the biggest expense of any business, you should proportionately get credit back on purchase cost since you aren't using their labor.

2. I saw an article here on automated mall \"help\" in department stores. You know, there are just things that SHOULD NOT be automated, and complex shopping like that being automated is ridiculous.

[redtape.msnbc.com]

But just because it is ridiculous doesn't mean it won't be forced on us massively by corporations who frankly just don't care about the everyday impact on us, just like they outsourced our jobs and force us all to talk like trained monkeys to machines on the phone press 47 options and wait an hour and a half to talk to some poorly trained peasant who could care less in India or Russia.

So I guess what it comes down to is - transaction simple, okay as long as you have humans to help, just in case and people can choose humans to begin with.

transaction not simple - don't even think about it and how DARE you if you do roll it out, and consumers should fight back / sabotage, and strongly oppose it if businesses collude and force it on all of us in a given industry.

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PølάrβǽЯ
July 23, 2009 10:26 PM
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[www.papajohns.com]

When I lived near Papa John's, I ordered my pizza online. Got a knock at the door 30 minutes later.

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sbcpunkrocker
July 23, 2009 10:47 PM
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Has anyone seen the movie Idiocracy? kind of reminds me of that.

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Grrrrrrr, now with two buns made of bacon.
July 24, 2009 12:19 AM
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I like the idea. If I'm buying fast food, I just as soon interact with a computer screen that won't screw up my order, go on break, or spend 10 minutes talking to its friends while I'm sitting there waiting to order. I don't count ordering a McWhopper from a machine rather than a 17-year-old kid as any missed opportunity for a meaningful social encounter.

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The Black Bird
July 24, 2009 12:26 AM
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The last Jack in the Box near me closed down about 20 years ago. There are no locations in the state where I live nor are they in any of the surrounding states.

I honestly don't remember if their burgers were any good.

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Steve Reisman
July 24, 2009 12:41 AM
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We have one of these near me. Struck me as Jack the corporate bigwig, rather than Jack the family man. I've refused to use it, even when the employees suggest it to me.

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H3ion
July 24, 2009 1:08 AM
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This is really a good idea for restaurants in areas where English is not the usual language among the staff. I'm not talking about accented English. I'm talking about people who literally did not speak the language at all and were working the counters in Maryland. I've had experiences in McDonalds, Wendys, and one other where there was no way of getting the human to understand what I was ordering. Even pointing to the sign didn't result in any sign of recognition. Yes. Let's go with the touch screen.

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H3ion
July 24, 2009 1:10 AM
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Burger King used to have a commercial \"Have it your way.\" I ordered a whopper with sauce Bearnaise but didn't get very far.

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Anonymous
July 24, 2009 1:14 AM
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I've actually used the kiosk in the picture above. I live in Bellevue. We got it not that long ago, and it was a bit of a surprise. The top changed now though, and it doesn't promote 2 free tacos but a sign saying how to order.

I really like the menu. I took a few minutes to look into it before, so its pretty fast to order, and there are sides and things on there I never knew existed or you could get with a combo.

Some people are fine ordering from it. Others just go up and prefer the counter. We have a lot of Boeing and Microsoft people right by this Jack and the Box though, so most around here aren't a stranger to technology.

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Alicia Johnson
July 24, 2009 2:01 AM
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Used one of these in the Denver area back in December, this is far from the first time it's been done.

Absolutely fantastic idea, though, and it was really simple to use. The Jack in the Box I went to offered you the choice of using the machine or getting in a regular line.

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bananaboat
July 24, 2009 2:51 AM
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Wow! They skipped the \"best shore\" decision to use a VOIP line to India and removed any human intervention.

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GeneticDisorder
July 24, 2009 2:56 AM
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The Jack Shack near my place has one. Walked in wanting an iced tea and the cashier pointed to the machine and said I had to place my order with it. \"Uh, I just want a drink, and don't want to push seven buttons to get it.\" Looking mightily annoyed, she said, \"Sorry, you have to order through it.\" My response: \"Uh, Einstein, your machine doesn't accept coins,\" which is doesn't. She actually took my change (I had the exact amount), opened up the register and then handed me the bills so I could now place my order through the kiosk. I was amazed. She actually went through the motions of taking my order without placing the order...all for a drink. I thanked her for the bills and walked out the door.

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CVonSkeletor
July 24, 2009 3:21 AM
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probably works out great in those areas where the girl taking orders doesn't even speak english. happens every time i go to lunch there!

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Righteous
July 24, 2009 3:46 AM
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Jack In The Box is not food. It's an amalgamation of chemicals.

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Kishi
July 24, 2009 3:52 AM
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There's a curry place downtown that has a touch screen to order. I love the place.

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Wendy Sloan
July 24, 2009 4:15 AM
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This is AMAZING.

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offbeat
July 24, 2009 5:49 AM
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this is what happens when minimum wage gets raised during an economic crunch where businesses are already suffering. they replace unskilled minimum wage workers with machines.
this why you never have someone pump your gas at the local gas station anymore
or why you rarely if ever have your groceries bagged and taken directly to your vehicle anymore
this why you wait so long at the grocery store checkout lane because the cash register attendant is ringing up your items and at the same time bagging them.

minimum wage does more worse than good.

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sbcpunkrocker
July 26, 2009 7:53 AM
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@offbeat: more worse than good?

too bad minimum wage can't make you pay attention in english class

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zombie_batch
July 24, 2009 7:01 AM
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Golden, Colorado has one of these kiosks too.

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TVGenius
July 24, 2009 7:43 AM
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Curious to see if these show up here anytime soon... we're near San Diego so we tend to get stuff before most other places do. We had the new logo before it was officially announced.

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BustangBetty
July 24, 2009 8:04 AM
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I like this kiosk idea! It eliminates the language barrier that I find at most restaurants. I don't understand a lick of Spanish and the employee has issues understanding my English annunciation. I will have to head down to the Bellevue JITB tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up!

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Heresy_Fnord
July 24, 2009 3:09 PM
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I use the self-checkouts at grocery stores because I really don't want to talk to people working there. If I were to go to a fast-food chain and had a kiosk like what is pictured, I would use it every time over talking to some dense high-school kid that fucks up my order.

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sbcpunkrocker
July 26, 2009 7:53 AM
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@Heresy_Fnord: how dare you be inconvenienced while you are eating chemically processed \"food\"?

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Heresy_Fnord
July 28, 2009 6:39 PM
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@sbcpunkrocker: I don't eat at fast food restaurants. Since the article is about Jack in the Box, I just stated that if I were to eat there, I would much rather use a kiosk.

I have eaten at fast food restaurants before. That's how I know the employee's are generally dense. And yes, I do find human interaction an inconvenience sometimes.

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silentluciditi
July 24, 2009 3:20 PM
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Nothing new, the Jack in the Box here in Parker, CO had this last year. We tried it out because there were lines six people deep and no one would go near it. It was quick, easy, and accurate.

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trujunglist
July 24, 2009 5:14 PM
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Maybe it's cuz I'm in San Diego, but these have been around for at least a year and a half.

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TeeArr
July 24, 2009 6:14 PM
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We're now one step away from \"Get your big-ass fries!\" automated kiosks from Idiocracy.

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savdavid
July 24, 2009 7:01 PM
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Jack in the box is a poor man's McDonalds. The only thing is good, in my opinion, are their shakes.

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amuro98
July 24, 2009 7:41 PM
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There's an Arby's by my house that was purchased by an Indian gentleman, and all of his employees were also Indian.

When he first took ownership, service fell off horribly as people couldn't understand the staff's thick accents, and most of the staff was still learning to speak English.

The owner did something very smart, and installed a touch-screen system for ordering. This way you could punch in what you wanted, and the staff could simply read the receipts, grab your food, take your cash, and bid you good day.

It worked marvelously.

But then the staff got better at English, and the system was removed. Service is still OK but I miss the touchscreens.

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Kathryn Teall
July 25, 2009 3:30 AM
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Wish Jack in the Box would come to Michigan.

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