Most people can accept ordering off a kiosk for #fastfood. @freshii has people in Nicaragua taking your orders and getting paid $3.75/hour to do so. https://t.co/NClAES61ho
— Chad Rubel (@balanceoffood) July 8, 2022
Haven't had much fast food in recent years. Have enjoyed ordering from the Steak n Shake kiosk. My large fries orders aren't complicated and they haven't screwed up the orders.
Would I rather order from a human being? I want my order to be correct. Anecdotally, kiosk orders have been more accurate.
Freshii splits the difference. You approach a screen. You talk with an actual human … in Nicaragua. That person is getting paid $3.75/hour.
Ordering from a human sounds better than ordering from a kiosk. Yet there are a few drawbacks to the Freshii plan:
The idea behind fast food jobs is that they help the youth in your area get work experience. Unless you live near Managua (the Nicaragua capital), this would not apply. The profits don't stay in the area. Paying the workers in your community benefits the community where they live.
There are often subtle language differences in dealing with customer service with someone whose primary language is different than your own. You want to be understood when ordering fast food. What happens when you don't get your order prepared properly. Yell at someone in Nicaragua who is doing their best? Learn Spanish curse words?
There will always be some element of the customer base who enjoy personal interactions with a real human. That could be ordering fast food or going through the checkout at grocery stores. Would these people settle for a virtual human, the kind of humans who don't need a break and won't want money as a reward.
Fast food kiosks and self checkout at grocery stores have an efficiency that improves service. This works better when workers are trained to work in other areas of the business to improve the customer experience.
Wendy's self-serve kiosks should inspire better customer service
The Freshii compromise, like most compromises, misses the boat. You get a human but not likely one who will improve the customer experience. However insulting $3.75/hour might be, the kiosks could be cheaper in the long run.
Customer service phone lines get outsourced to countries with a lower standard of living. The service isn't any better, often worse. The corporate people smiled when they collect huge bonuses because they employ people, even at wages that would be illegal in the United States and Canada.
A local upscale fast food business recently reopened. In the past, you ordered from a live human being standing in front of you. They ask for your credit card (no cash) when the order is complete.
The new system in scanning in a QR code to your smartphone. You order awkwardly from an online menu. I ordered 2 items yet had to start over with 1 item since the cart didn't receive the item. I had to type in my credit card information to a third party for a fast food meal. You can store that credit card information, all for a now way more expensive fast food experience.
This was a system with financial vulnerability and 4 times the period for placing an order. I was ready for a kiosk at that point. This is a place that I liked before the changes.
Change, yes, but why not change that improves the situation for the consumer. The new changes are great for the business but finding solutions that help both are truly a win-win.
No one is asking to go back to the time where telephone operators had to connect people (ask your parents or grandparents). We want to benefit from improved technology.
BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage
Making rich people richer isn't helping society. A kiosk may seem impersonal but that feels slightly better than cramming a room full of people taking orders thousands of miles away. You could easily make the argument that those wages are better than paying for a machine.
Henry Ford had the idea of paying people a decent wage so they could afford to buy a Ford. You also got better customer service back then because that was meaningful.
Good customer service would be worth a few pennies more in the long run, however the order is collected.
Twitter capture: @balanceoffood
photo credit: me