The company that created the fast food assembly line back in 1948 is taking even more inspiration from the factory floor. According to the Wall Street Journal, as reported on by Eater, McDonald’s is testing voice-activated ordering systems, beverage makers, and robotic fryers that will cook chicken, fries, and fish. McDonald’s claims that the main reason they’re trying out this new hi-tech approach to fast food is because they want to speed things up for customers. However, Eater pointed out that they’re probably also looking at the cost-saving benefits of replacing workers (who require pesky things like wages, health insurance, and bathroom breaks) with a robot that can work night and day for free.
At the moment, the technology is being tried out at a drive-thru in the Chicago, IL, suburbs, which makes sense given that the McDonald’s headquarters are located in the Windy City. It’s unclear how long it will take before other restaurants in the chain get their hands on this technology, though, since the systems are still in the early stages of testing. But apparently, some franchises are already resisting, mainly because of the cost of installing robots.
However, these aren’t the first robots to join McDonald’s. The chain has been steadily adding self-serve kiosks to their stores for over a year.
And while McDonald’s isn’t using robots to actually cook their food at the moment, other restaurants are testing it out.
Meet Flippy, CaliBurgers’ robot employee of the century:
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJVOfqunm5E"]As Tony Lomelino, CaliBurgers’ chief technical officer and Flippy’s manager, explains, Flippy needs a bit of help and prep, but it is pretty fast (when it works). Flippy didn’t last very long after its debut in March 2018. Days later, GrubHub reported that customers flooded the Pasadena store to check out the robot at work, and it wasn’t able to keep up with the orders. It was put on hold after only one shift while the restaurant trained more employees on how to use it.
Employees: 1, Robot: 0
On Monday, Flippy the burger flipping robot opened for business. But that was before all the calls started flooding in. Now, the owners are taking a break, to train more people on how to work with Flippy. pic.twitter.com/1J0BSSZSvx
— Jefferson Graham 📷 (@jeffersongraham) March 8, 2018
But then in May 2018, Flippy returned to the Pasadena store, but only for the lunch hour. And it’s not the only hi-tech gadget CaliBurger is using to do jobs normally done by humans. They also have facial-recognizing technology that lets customers pay with their face!
So @CaliBurger is the first retailer you can pay by facial recognition… specifically a smile. I smile A LOT, so we’ll see how that goes. 😉 Pretty cool tho!! https://t.co/x7R70390DQ
— Mike Sievert (@MikeSievert) February 4, 2018
Employees: 1, Robot: 2
Flippy isn’t the only robot working with food.
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLMiU_k2Cao"]It’s blowing people’s minds:
@greggutfeld did you see this, what’s next Robots at McDonalds? https://t.co/Ue962A5jE2
— 🇺🇸 (@debivino1961) June 21, 2019
Er, someone tell Debbie…
This news is especially controversial given that McDonald’s has already been in the news recently for their low minimum wage:
The point of fighting for 15$ minimum wage for McDonalds and Walmart employees, is because those are gigantic multinational corporations who could easily afford to pay that price. The minimum wage in many states is not a living wage, and we should address that.
— kibbs (@Kaby_bby) June 19, 2019
Some people think that this robot revelation is McDonald’s sending a warning:
McDonalds is currently testing voice recognition at drive-thru's and robots to "man" the fryers..
— ___ (@d_shrck1) June 21, 2019
But go head n keep b*tchin about a 15$ minimum wage. 😂😂😂
And that this move puts the workers in a tricky position.
I agree. I own restaurants and do pay my staff significantly more than minimum wage but I can because we hire well and help them work smart. A min wage of $15 for a mcDonalds employee would most likely result in robots taking over those jobs. The solutions are not obvious.
— Stephanie Rogol (@strogol) June 9, 2019
Others think that this is all just a big misunderstanding, and that the McDonald’s CEO (who is a millionaire) really has workers’ best interests at heart:
This is a false representation of CEO's intent. They are mindful of human capital and retention of good employees. The are not robots. Most companies have community service as part of their mission statements.
— W G Strong (@wgstrong) June 13, 2019
Fast food employees are constantly dealing with people insulting their jobs:
Flipping burgers n standing behind a cash register isnt a real job 🙄🙄
— Wesley Hodge (@WesleyHodge8) June 20, 2019
And now those customers they serve all day — probably the ones who’ve never worked in a fast food place themselves — are happily dishing on how they don’t think they deserve to be paid even a respectable minimum wage:
And that robots could do a better job:
@McDonalds employees are striking today...how long until all of their jobs are replaced by robots? Maybe they would at least get my order right.
— Moderate Pushed Right🇺🇸🚛 (@CourtneyCzk) May 23, 2019
Others aren’t so sure:
I swear ever since @McDonalds got those robots to order from it’s taken a lot longer to get my food 🤧
— Alec Barr (@Itssalec_b) June 13, 2019
Many people who are pro-robot are too busy enjoying the tech to remember the workers:
Forget fries. This Twitter user is already imagining robot pies.
This may be the beginning of the end.
I watch as the bitter stare of the McDonalds employee dives into my soul. He holds back tears as I order through the robot kiosk in front of him. Hes lost. I glance at Greg the cashier, I smile and nod as if to say “I know exactly what I’m doing.” Robots have won. Robots have won
— Joel Griffin (@JoelTheCasanova) November 11, 2017
The battle between workers and ‘bots is only just beginning. Will they make our lives easier, or eventually become evil overlords that make even our least favorite managers seem tame? Head to McDonald’s in about 2030 to find out.
