[quote=AN]It started in the factory, but it won’t stop there. I heard McDonald is spending tens of millions in automation to supplement their work force. I feel like this will only accelerate. Once McDonald is successful of going mostly automation, I’m sure other fast food chain will follow. Then other casual dining place will do the same as well. Red Robin is already kind of doing this already.[/quote]
Restaurants already have the technology for people to order without human intervention, and it can speed up the process and reduce errors. I’ve ordered Chipotle online in the past. My wife is a big fan of the Starbucks App.
It’s interesting and a bit worrisome, because the service industry has been doing ok in recent decades while manufacturing struggled. But except in cases where a real live human is demanded by consumers, service is likely to decline.
On the flip side, a lot of consumers do still avoid self-service check out lanes except as a last resort.
