Last Updated on March 6, 2026 by Craig Allen Keefner
The rise of the machine: Stores and restaurants turn to self-service kiosks
Self-service kiosks at McDonalds restaurants are part of a national trend toward automation at stores and restaurants driven by tech-savvy consumers and the ri…
Source: buffalonews.com
Nice article. The rise of the machine: Stores and restaurants turn to self-service kiosks
Excerpt:
Increasing the minimum wage decreases significantly the share of automatable employment held by low-skilled workers and increases the likelihood that low-skilled workers in automatable jobs become unemployed,” the study found.
But McDonalds said the move has nothing to do with cutting labor costs. In fact, the company expects to add employees, banking on a sales boost from the added efficiency and diverting front-end cashier work to other customer-facing positions in the dining room such as assisting with kiosk orders and bringing food to tables.
“It’s all about taking care of the customer and creating a better customer-service experience,” said Sandy Haefner, who started as a McDonald’s employee in 1974, became a franchisee in 1989 and now owns five McDonald’s locations in West Seneca, Lackawanna, Depew, Cheektowaga and Lancaster. “We’re adding that human touch.”
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