Self-serve kiosks coming to a fast food restaurant near you

Here in the land where it's illegal to have self-serve gas, I wonder how Jersey will take to self-serve kiosks at fast food joints. Wendy's has announced that by the end of the year they expect to have 1,000 of it's locations nationwide equipped with kiosks where you can put in your order yourself and wait for your food. With more than 100 Wendy's locations in the Garden State, we are bound to get some of that technology here.

The company says it will reduce wait time during the peak lunch and dinner periods and increase efficiency coming out of the kitchen. They also point out a kiosk is never late for work and is always polite. The order accuracy can never be argued since the customer is inputting it on their own. It's also about saving money. Wendy's saw 5 percent wage inflation last year and expects to see 4 percent wage inflation this year. Thanks to so many states enacting laws to hike minimum wages and include cost of living adjustments (as Jersey did) it is now going to cost jobs. It was only a matter of time.

Who will use it? They say the younger you are the more likely you want to order yourself at a kiosk. I'd be surprised if everyone doesn't end up using these. Frankly I'm tired of fast food workers demanding $15 per hour who are too busy talking to their friends behind the counter to do their job or who couldn't care less if they are slow or screw up your order.

There will be those who say technology like this costs jobs. Yes, but technology also creates other jobs. At the post office I never go to the counter when I can go to a machine in the lobby. At Quick Chek I like using the kiosks to order a sandwich, and I always use the self-serve checkouts when available. At the bank I go to the ATM for anything not requiring a teller. I would certainly pump my own gas if I were allowed. A trip to Wendy's or other fast food restaurants that use these will be a no-brainer. I'm most definitely on board.

The cost to Wendy's? $15,000 will equip them with a kiosk. The savings for them will pour in especially if workers ever win in their demand for $15 an hour. It won't end with the kiosks. Ordering and paying through smartphones will be next. Company's will want that because they can provide data about their customers to better market to them.

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