No Pocket Money.

Last year I wrote a blog called "Who will I talk to now?", lamenting the demise of the airport check in as it was being replaced by self serve check in kiosks and I wondered how long other industries would take before they too decided to take out the middle man. Seems that the globe's, favourite burger place, McDonalds, is about to replace the world's teenagers with automation in the form of touch screen terminals and swipe cards.

When talking to the experts it seems there is a common thread running through the thought process. "The customer perception is that it's a better experience," said Christa Small, the McDonald's director heading the test. "It's the perception that you have control over the process." "It's about time and lines," said Harry Balzer, vice president with food market research firm NPD Group Inc. "We are looking for the easiest way to feed ourselves."

Like airports where waiting in line has become a tedious chore for most travellers, fast food outlets need to live up to their name and long waiting lines are the opposite of what they promise. So your son or daughter hoping to put themselves through university or even take away your burden of providing pocket money, will be back on the couch with you, because McDonalds and the other fast food conglomerates who will follow the kiosk lead, will no longer provide work opportunities.

In the beginning, fast food was provided quicker by the mere production line cooking processes and the customer showing up at the window instead of waiting at a table. The smiling 15 year old taking the order, has not increased the speed significantly and there was still margin for error in getting those burgers and fries mixed up. So the end is nigh for the high school drop out to work their way up the McDonalds' ladder from cashier to drive through window manager.

The kiosks will be connected directly to the kitchen and the screen will have pictures plus multi lingual text and verbal prompts for "fries with
that?" They may even let you customise that Big Mac for when you arrive after a heavy night and need more cheese and pickles to soak up the night before. Of course the kiosk will ask you about those ubiquitous fries after every entry, which McDonalds says could add 10% to 20% to the value of the end transaction.

The costs of the kiosks range from $10,000 to $20,000 but will pay for themselves quickly as the benefits out way the cost as time and error are taken out of the equation. The other advantage will be the customer information that can be gathered and analysed quickly per store, so that the next time you come in, the last item that wasn't available is now in stock as the kiosks provide rich data on consumer behaviour.

Like the airports which said staff would be strategically realigned ( isn't that a great euphemism for being made redundant ) McDonalds have indicated that staff would be deployed for better delivery of service and technological help if needed. After all it will be difficult to tap a picture of a Big Mac and swipe your phone/credit card - NOT!