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Comment by Saint_Genet | Hacker News Reader

Is there any evidence that customers would want that? Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should

Yes. The fact that a lot of people prefer ordering from a screen at a macdonalds, compared to ordering from a person.

Do people really prefer that, or is that just a faster alternative?

I personally hate using self-checkout/self-ordering kiosks so I am surprised that others actually prefer doing these things without there being a carrot such as "faster" or "cheaper".

I do, well, /because/ it's a faster alternative (why is it a "carrot"?). I absolutely hate waiting in lines and I don't always feel like talking to people. It's not like I need recommendations at a McDonalds, so if I can just quickly input my order into a kiosk and skip the entire dance, I will.

I frame it as a "carrot" only because I hate using these kiosks and thus would need some incentive. The "stick" side of that metaphor for me is a nagging impression that companies that use them want to foist work on to their customers rather than provide service of any kind.

I 100% prefer self-checkout. I generally have no interest in interacting with strangers and am faster at checking out to boot

I prefer it. I will go out of my way to go to a store with self checkout vs one without. Probably due to anxiety/autism, but being able to remove the human element makes things much easier for me.

McDonald's is not a sit-down restaurant.

I primarily use the touchscreen at McDonald's when I suspect the cashier doesn't speak English.

I've never had an issue with a table-service restaurant! (Except when I can't speak the local language.)

That's a transaction and it's completely different from wanting to chit-chat with a robot while you eat.

Isn't it a proof of the opposite ?

If they really were lonely and craving human interactions wouldn't they just... talk to the human that's behind the counter ?

I feel like people use these screens exactly for the opposite reason: aka avoiding human interactions

That's not evidence that they'd like to talk to a bot

Isn't that kind of a self-selecting biased take? I haven't eaten at McD in about 20 years. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

The screens that make it take 4x as long to order as just telling a human what you want? People like those?

Mickey D's is that last place I would go to order food. I only use them as a restroom when traveling.

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