Sign of the times

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cody6268
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by cody6268 »

Anyone else hate the touch-screen Coke machines? In my area, both Burger King (the first to have installed them; 4-5 years ago) and Wendy's use them.While they do offer more flavors, they're a pain to use. Gotta go through a menu just to get a basic Coke. Even a friend of mine who is a former Coca Cola engineer hates the things.
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philco
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by philco »

cody6268 wrote: Wed Oct 09, 2019 1:04 pm Anyone else hate the touch-screen Coke machines? In my area, both Burger King (the first to have installed them; 4-5 years ago) and Wendy's use them.While they do offer more flavors, they're a pain to use. Gotta go through a menu just to get a basic Coke. Even a friend of mine who is a former Coca Cola engineer hates the things.
I don't care for them either.
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glennbad
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by glennbad »

Newer generations prefer to avoid personal interactions. They would rather text, snap-chat, or instagram. Our son is 24 years old, and only one of his friends will actually call him on the phone. Our son also had to "learn" to interact on the phone...(make appointments, call the vet, you know, adult stuff).

You don't even need to leave your house now, all your food can be brought right to your door. We're becoming a world of non-social hermits.
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

Anyone remember the humans in the movie Wall-E?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-kdRdzxdZQ
"The Luggage had a straightforward way of dealing with things between it and its intended destination: it ignored them." -Terry Pratchett
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edge213
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by edge213 »

I also hate the touch screen Coke machines.
I never use auto checkouts. I'm 56 have never used a money machine and I 've never had a debit card.
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Waukonda
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by Waukonda »

I hate touchscreen ordering, check ins, check outs etc. I don't use a debit card and use a credit card rarely. I NEVER use a cc for a purchase at an independent mom n pop store. Credit cards are convenient only for the purchaser and are very detrimental to the small businesses out there. Annual credit card processing fees paid out amount to thousands of dollars for these stores , the Wal Mart, Target, Lowes, etc stores can easily absorb these costs but it can mean the difference to a struggling small business. They can't make up the diff by raising prices, competing with big box stores is already a losing proposition. I could go on but you get my point and I understand diff viewpoints.....it's just another sign of the times.
Ike
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Mike, believe it or not I've actually purchased food from one of those. In fact they're still in vogue in Japan, or at least they were the last time I was there about 5 years ago.

Rick, sounds like your wife might not go for this but here's what my wife and I do, which pretty much eliminates the problem you explained. We have one credit card account and one debit card. The credit card is used for most purchases and it's paid in full every month so we never pay any interest. (In fact we get cash back but that's another story).

The debit card has one use only which is to obtain cash from the ATM - "walking around" money for incidentals. When we make an ATM withdrawal we split the cash 50/50 between us (then she runs out and "borrows" mine). :lol: The checkbook stays home and is rarely used. Neither of us carry a checkbook or any checks.

The bank and the credit card company both provide an "alert" system for which you can enroll and set your own alert limit. Any purchase or withdrawal exceeding the limit you set triggers a text message to my cell phone within minutes of the transaction. I can also send the bank a text 24/7 requesting our account balance and receive a response within seconds. Both the bank and the credit card company have on-line apps through which you can log in 24/7 and see all up-to-the-minute transactions and account balance - makes it really simple and easy to keep track of everything.

Don't need checks for anything except paying a few monthly bills. ::tu:: when either of us want to know the "balance" the answer is available within a few seconds. None of this is difficult to set up and use assuming you have an Apple or Android system on your smart phone.

Ken
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

I used to work at the corporate office of a large, well-known, old restaurant chain that was primarily franchised locations, and most of the franchisees had less than 5 locations, with many just 1 or 2. The franchisees paid the corporate parent 4% of their gross sales. A large number of the smaller franchisees did not use a point-of-sale computer system. This meant there was a very inefficient system of collecting the franchise fees where every week the franchisees had to send their cash register or handwritten receipts to the corporate office as evidence of their gross sales. So, the corporate office decided to make a point-of-sale system that had an internet connection mandatory, and we negotiated a great deal with a major point-of-sale vendor for the franchisees. Once installed, the corporate office would simply pull the daily sales data directly from the point-of-sale systems and eliminate all the manual work.

The result had an interesting side-effect: At nearly all locations where there was a switch from a manual cash register to an online point-of-sale system, the gross sales of the location increased from 2% to 10%. Hmm - why would changing to a computerized system increase gross sales? Well, because both the franchisee and their employees were skimming money from the restaurant by not entering all the cash sales. If someone came in for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, and paid with cash, it was not punched into the cash register and the cash never made it into daily sales records.

True story!
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1967redrider
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by 1967redrider »

The new Taco Bell Cantina in Old Town Alexandria has kiosks. I had to get the guy behind the counter to walk me through using it, thinking this was the preferred method for placing an order. I've been back a few times but haven't used a kiosk since. Not that I'm not into using technology, but I would probably only use the kiosk again if they were really crowded.

I do like using the MTO screens at Sheetz for ordering sandwiches and sides and I also like the Coke machines at Moe's. The Coke machines mainly because when I get a burrito I can also dial up a Lime Fanta, which works as the perfect tequila mixer for when I get home. ::super_happy::
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Colonel26
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by Colonel26 »

I’m not a fan of the automated ordering machines like the ones at McDonalds, terribly inefficient imo.

But I love the automated coke machines! The main reason is I have to drink diet drinks now and I hate Diet Coke! With the automated machines I can get Diet Dr. Pepper which I really like.

Another thing I’m a fan of are the fast food restaurants that have apps you can order and pay from. I get a total of 22 minutes for lunch and on days I don’t bring my lunch, there’s just no time to run out for it, order, wait, pay, get back, eat, and be back on duty. I use the subway app and order my meal, walk in and pick it up, and have time to get back and wolf it down.
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carrmillus
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Re: Sign of the times

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Mumbleypeg wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2019 9:39 pm My wife and I journeyed into the city yesterday, and stopped at a recently opened chain sandwich shop for lunch. Upon entering the place immediately on the right were 3 touchpad "kiosks" from which customers can enter orders and pay, and select a vacant table to have their order delivered to when it is ready. There were three twenty-somethings, one at each tablet, placing their orders.

Directly ahead upon entering is a conventional counter with three staff employees with cash registers, and a huge menu board behind them. You can read the board and talk to a real live human being there! No customers were there until my wife and I walked up, ordered and paid.

It has gotten to the point that you can order and receive your meal without ever having to interface with another human, and that is apparently the preferred choice of the present generation. ::facepalm::

Ken
...........only place I like to eat out at is a place that opened in 1942-"johnnie's drive -in" everything is still like it was when I was a kid, and the doughburgers are still the same!!!!............. ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu:: .............
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KnifeSlinger#81
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by KnifeSlinger#81 »

Mumbleypeg wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2019 9:39 pmIt has gotten to the point that you can order and receive your meal without ever having to interface with another human, and that is apparently the preferred choice of the present generation. ::facepalm::
Well it's much safer and more comfortable to the sensibilities than to risk interaction with another human who could be offensive in some way.
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cudgee
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by cudgee »

carrmillus wrote: Wed Oct 09, 2019 8:34 pm
Mumbleypeg wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2019 9:39 pm My wife and I journeyed into the city yesterday, and stopped at a recently opened chain sandwich shop for lunch. Upon entering the place immediately on the right were 3 touchpad "kiosks" from which customers can enter orders and pay, and select a vacant table to have their order delivered to when it is ready. There were three twenty-somethings, one at each tablet, placing their orders.

Directly ahead upon entering is a conventional counter with three staff employees with cash registers, and a huge menu board behind them. You can read the board and talk to a real live human being there! No customers were there until my wife and I walked up, ordered and paid.

It has gotten to the point that you can order and receive your meal without ever having to interface with another human, and that is apparently the preferred choice of the present generation. ::facepalm::

Ken
...........only place I like to eat out at is a place that opened in 1942-"johnnie's drive -in" everything is still like it was when I was a kid, and the doughburgers are still the same!!!!............. ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu:: .............
Sounds like my kind of place. ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu::
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cudgee
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by cudgee »

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: Thu Oct 10, 2019 5:07 pm
Mumbleypeg wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2019 9:39 pmIt has gotten to the point that you can order and receive your meal without ever having to interface with another human, and that is apparently the preferred choice of the present generation. ::facepalm::
Well it's much safer and more comfortable to the sensibilities than to risk interaction with another human who could be offensive in some way.
Very clever and very funny. :lol: :lol: :lol: ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu::
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by Mumbleypeg »

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: Thu Oct 10, 2019 5:07 pm
Mumbleypeg wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2019 9:39 pmIt has gotten to the point that you can order and receive your meal without ever having to interface with another human, and that is apparently the preferred choice of the present generation. ::facepalm::
Well it's much safer and more comfortable to the sensibilities than to risk interaction with another human who could be offensive in some way.
I think you're onto something Paul. Nowadays you never know who might think they've been offended, and by what! :roll: Seems that everyone is a "victim" of something.

Sincere and perfectly innocent compliments, or offers to help someone, seem to be objectionable to some people. At least, that's what the news media would have us believe - haven't seen much of it around here. ::shrug::

Fits right into the "Sign of the times" subject of this thread.

Ken
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fergusontd
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Re: Sign of the times

Post by fergusontd »

::woot:: I was waiting in line at our local McDonald's when one of the kids told me I could use the kiosk. I told her I'd just as soon wait and she said if I needed help with it she'd show me how to use it. Really didn't need her help I'm old not stupid. ftd
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