General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Wendy's is replacing its lowest-paid workers with robots [View all]forgotmylogin
(7,527 posts)I could be wrong, but I think for a device to qualify as a "robot", it must be manipulating something physically in the real world. If they had machines flipping burgers and packaging them, those would be robots.
What they're doing is providing an ordering kiosk which is essentially a touch computer or tablet that sends the information to the line prep. It does the same thing that modern cash registers do, only in a public-friendly way. It's the same as retail stores that provide self-checkout. Those are not robots, they are big specialized computers with the same equipment the cashier uses. Someone always has to monitor them.
Self-checkout hasn't eliminated grocery store cashiers, it just provides an alternate way for people to get through the line. I'd much prefer to scan my own items when I don't have a lot. I'd also venture that any store is never going to be able to completely eliminate cashiers. There will always be breakdowns, there will always be people who don't want to mess with the "new fangled" thing, there will always be drive-thru, there will always need to be someone supervising and helping. Automation, in this case, is letting one employee supervise six self-cashier lanes so they are six times as productive.
Most fast food and pizza places now encourage you to order online using apps and websites. I'll never order food by phone again if I can help it.