| If... - You have good eyesight and can see the menu behind the counter - You speak the same language as the order taker or they speak your's - The person behind the counter actually is proficient at the machine Then you run into the situation where over time people get better at using the kiosk. And much like lines to get subway cards (something replaced by kiosks in Boston long ago), if you get stuck behind someone who is really slow at using it there are usually more kiosks you can move to. It worked in... - Subway systems - Self checkout at grocery stores - Bank ATMs Especially that last one. Pretty much the only time I use an actual teller at an ATM is if I need a cashier's check. I think in fast food it is a bit of a foregone conclusion. |
It's still too soon to say those self-checkout machines are a success. There are a few stores (Albertson's, Costco) that have eliminated them entirely, a few large retailers have scaled them back.
Mostly, the assumption was that ringing up items is easy enough for even untrained customers to do it, and that assumption has proved only partly correct. Every time (and I do mean every time) I've stood in line to use them, 1+ customers have needed assistance from a worker (alcohol, voiding an item, price discrepancy, item won't scan, can't find the picture, weird detection on the bag-side...).
Maybe when the generation that grew up with iPads becomes the eldest we'll see full self-checkout implementation, but for now the average customer is not equipped to effectively utilize the technology.