I am surprised that fast food restaurants seem to be on the decline. To me, they are a much better deal and more convenient than the typical sit down restaurants. I like that the service is fast, you can sit where you want, and the employees don't expect a tip. I think that automation will destroy the industry. They could upgrade the food quality and increase the prices and still compete with the full service restaurants. Who cares if someone delivers food to your table and then expects a 20 percent tip?

It will only get worse (or better) as automation and AI will continue to expand......I know you are ok with it but you are being left behind. Reminds me of my dad not programming his VCR because he wouldn't accept the technology advances.

Not just your dad. The VCR was a technology disaster because normal people couldn't program them. Most people couldn't even set the clock. Being an engineer, I loved them.

Wrong it just increase profit margins.

Agree, like Walmart self checking. They have more self checkers checking than they do checkout employees.

Like smart TVs that aren’t so smart won’t upgrade. The messages come up press upgrade, says it failed, then, try again, failed. Every Time turn TV on the message pops up and you have jump though same hoops with same results, failed to upgrade. Don’t by Hisense. :shocked: I suspect eventually I’ll have to get new TV cause the message blocked screen and now way to up grade a perfectly working TV except for upgrade failure.

Smart TVs are a scam. Just buy any TV and plug in a $40 Roku stick. You will then have a smart TV that actually works.

Someone has to increase robot production, and that will require employees working in the manufacturing industry "on the floor." In some states those are very firmly Union jobs, but in others they aren't. So depending on who's putting those bolts on the bots will determine if it'll cost more, less, or no change on the actual presentation of finished product.

In the meantime, someone still has to drain, clean, and refill the fryolator once in awhile, so they'll still need humans do handle it.

Don't get a glass of Coke or other soda - I paid something like $7 for a ginger ale somewhere in the Villages recently. Mostly ice, maybe enough actual soda to fill a manhattan glass. I thought "hey I'll buy a non-alcoholic drink instead of the free but disgusting tasting tap water with lemon for a change" would be a good cheap option. Then the bill came. Never again. If I'm gonna pay $7 for a drink it'll have booze in it from now on. Free horrible-tasting tap water with lemon, it is.

Easy enhancement.

There are robots plating food today.

At lunch the other day the guy plating the food looked like a robot.

Dunno if all of them have these now but the last cruise I went on a few years ago had a robot bar. You selected the mixed drink from the menu, and the robot arm went back and forth, back and forth, mixing and pouring, shaking and stirring, and presented the finished product to you on the conveyor belt. It was a nifty gimmick, a cool novelty, but nothing I was interested in repeating.

Did the cruise line add an automatic gratuity for the robot??

No it went to the robot pool so they can all share

Most of the White Castles have closed