Tag: kiosks

Retail kiosks suck for everyone

Retail kiosks suck. They kinda suck for customers, and they definitely suck for workers. So why do companies turn to  them?

One reason companies turn to them is the rising cost of workers. Indeed, as you can see from this, any time minimum wage goes up, kiosk promoters publish dreck like this:

You can see why retailers are tempted to get a kiosk or three. It would seem that at least for retailers, kiosks do not suck.

It might seem that way, but what is actually happening for retailers is shown in this piece: Retailers are pulling back from self-checkout after years of theft, errors, and questionable time savings.  In short:

  • Increased theft: Self-checkout has led to increased theft, both accidental and intentional, contributing to higher retail losses (a/k/a shrinkage).
  • Reduced savings: Retailers must hire staff to monitor and assist customers at self-checkout lanes, reducing the expected labor savings.
  • Longer lines: Shoppers often scan items slowly, make mistakes, or encounter technical issues, leading to longer lines and frustration.
  • Slower checkout: Despite the promise of faster checkout, self-checkout often takes longer than traditional cashier lanes, especially for larger purchases.
  • Unhappy customers: While some shoppers appreciate the convenience, others feel self-checkout is impersonal, difficult to use, or akin to “free labor.”

This is not to say kiosks are never good and employees are never bad, but the way I see kiosks used in retail spaces is all kinds of bad. (For the record, kiosks at airports are good. And Starbucks self service via an app is a much better customer experience than say the kiosks at fast food places like McDonald’s or Subway. As for grocery kiosks, they are among the worst.)

Here’s to retailers figuring out how to get the right combination of self service that results in happier customers and happier workers and ultimately happier retailers.

Thoughts on automation, from the WSJ (and me, someone who specialized in automation)

Robots
Christopher Mims has a good piece here that touches on many of the recent arguments concerning automation, here: Automation Can Actually Create More Jobs (WSJ). Well worth reading.

For my own perspective, early in my career my job was automating many of the systems operations tasks in my part of IBM. In one year I automated essentially the work of 10 people. No one lost their job as result, because while it was good to have these activities automated, the activities were not valuable enough to justify hiring people to do the work. Essentially the automation improved the quality of our work. Automation using IT to improve the quality of work is a good use of automation, be that automation be a lowly shell script or very expensive robot with A.I. Quality aside, how the automation affects staff depends on the culture and the makeup of an organization.

There is talk of places like McDonald’s replacing workers with kiosks as a result of a drive by some for a higher minimum wage. First off, McDonald’s are rolling out those kiosks in Canada, too, which makes me think they are going to deploy them regardless of what the minimum wage is. Second, I have used the kiosks a number of times, and they are of a limited benefit to a McDonald’s customer. The kiosks are good if there is a long line for a person to take your order: they kiosks are bad if there is a small line or no line. They are bad because it will take you many more minutes to place your order, due to the kiosk’s user interface. (Try one and you will see.) The kiosks some time will fail to print out your receipt: if you don’t remember your order number, then you have to go in line, tell them what you ordered, and then get your number. Overall the kiosks are not bad: they are especially good if you like to special order. But if the lines aren’t long and your order is standard, skip them and go in line.

Besides that, McDonald’s will still have plenty of staff and likely will for the future. Kiosks can’t cook, can’t pack your order, and can’t clean the restaurant. If you think robots can do that and do it cheaply, you need to learn more about robotics. I can see why McDonald’s and other fast food places need automation: they are constantly trying to retain people while trying to keep costs down. But the notion they are automating to spite people looking for a higher wage is ridiculous. McDonald’s is not going to become a glorified vending machine and they should not try to be. People go to restaurants and coffee shops to socialize and to come in contact with other people, and automation will provide less of that, not more.

As well, smart fast food places will learn that human contact makes for better business (see Starbucks). There are many ways to be successful as a fast food business, and a positive experience in dealing with staff is one of those ways.

Automation changes work. However, how it changes work is complex. It is tempting to assume that it will eliminate all work, but that is too simplistic. In addition, we need to think about work, income, and why we do what we do. Automation can help us do that, and that is one clear benefit of automation.

(Image: link to image.freepik.com)