Oswego State students looking to obtain an entry-level position while juggling a college or high school education are expressing concerns over the future implications and consequences in standardizing self-service kiosks in fast food restaurants. They have every right to be worried. In an already-shrinking market, how does job loss and student criticism weigh up against corporate benefit?
The west-end Oswego McDonald’s, located approximately a mile away from the Oswego State campus, recently underwent a dining room renovation. The restaurant will now include self-order kiosks that will allow for customers to skip the line and avoid the wait while interacting with a touch-screen monitor.
One Oswego senior expressed a concern that many students apply for positions at the Bridge Street location during the fall and spring semesters. Senior broadcasting major Zakary Haines claims that the addition of self-service kiosks would essentially mean that fewer employees would be necessary at the front end of the restaurant to engage in customer service and cashiering duties.
If you are an anxious individual who steers away from socializing in these situations, kiosks may be great for you. Other large chains such as Walmart utilize a self-checkout kiosk process that often have only one self-checkout attendant to aid in issues that may arise with regular machine usage, even during busy times of the day. Therefore, many elect to wait in line for self-checkout because they see it as the “lesser of two evils” option.
As a former McDonald’s crew member, I believe that in many cases, self-service kiosks are more hassle than they are worth compared to human cashiers. Machines, like humans, are not perfect. They crash, stall, glitch and require routine maintenance. Relying on self-service kiosks may not always go as a corporation projects.
If you are looking to just grab a large black coffee and go, a kiosk may be the way to go to avoid unnecessary wait time. Not everyone wants to have a conversation when they are still waking up in the morning or trying to get through mid-day drowsiness. Nevertheless, many customers still elect for the traditional manner of standing in line, which often times move at a faster pace than those waiting to use a kiosk. While service speed in a high-traffic area that receives an influx of daytime customers from the Oswego State campus and surrounding Oswego City School District may be valued, sacrificing personable entry-level jobs from students in search of work might not be worth it in the long run.
Photo by: William Rogers | The Oswegonian
