It doesn't appear that Flippy has taken off. I spent a bit of time in a fast food kitchen around 20 years ago and it was already pretty automated, but it seems like human hands are quite hard to beat.
There's only two electronic menu boards down from the previous four. Yet six total self-order kiosks (three double-sided), but the real expectation is people will just place the order with the phone via mobile ordering. After all, that's what most of the teenagers order did, in order to get their $0.50 Double Cheeseburger (with no additional purchase).
Moreover, you can't see into the kitchen anymore at all. It was a solid wood-decorated wall behind the counter, clearly a "hallway" or partition behind that, of which behind that is likely the actual kitchen. They increased the space of the dining area somewhat as a result.
I haven't been to McDonald's (in the US at least) in like 20 years. Double cheeseburgers are only $0.50?? After inflation that feels like it costs 25% of what I used to pay.
As others have mentioned, in-app coupon. Haven't seen it recur since (this was a few weeks ago).
Normal price of a Double Cheeseburger at that location is $3.89 ($4.13 with sales tax).
As a human it’s hard to compete with a screen when the person who needs to interact with you has used them for as long as they can remember.
December of 2022, McDonald's installed its first fully automated restaurant in Texas.
This concept is only about 1-2 years away from burning across the US like a wildfire.
Basically it eliminates the human interaction component for customers, but humans are still doing all the cooking, assembly, and packaging.
Think similar to a 1920s automat, but with mobile ordering and drive thru.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/23/mcdonalds-a...
Also, for what fast food costs these days, I can go to a local sit-down restaurant with a friend, briefly talk with a waiter, and talk to the checkout lady for a minute because we're regulars there and have a very pleasant lunch. I don't exactly long for human interaction at McD's but if we're going to go full automated dystopia (or just pretend that we have by removing all human interaction from the process), then I think it could be a lot cheaper.