Earlier quoted context omitted.
seems they took Dude, Where's My Car as an inspiration? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkdyU_eUm1U
aaaand then?
No and then.
Taco Bell AI Drive-Thru
231–237 of 237 posts
Re: Taco Bell AI Drive-Thru
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've had two interactions with Wendy's AI drive-through, and the first time I was pleasantly surprised, but the second time it would not stop suggesting add-ons after every single thing I said. It was comically pushy. A human would have pretty quickly picked up on my increasingly exasperated "no, thanks" and stopped doing it, but the AI was completely blind to my growing frustration, following the upsell directive wi…
I'm optimistic that the ease of enforcing rules like this and better customer data (maybe via the apps) will lead to a better format. The annoyance grows from the rules causing us to be prompted to do or respond to things we don't want or need. When the taco bell guy asks if I want to add sour cream for the third time, I am getting pretty annoyed. I don't like sour cream, period. But every time they hit me with "woul…
I wish I was optimistic that data and compliant robots will be used to make things better for customers.
I think it's far more likely that they will, at best, be used to do whatever horrible and unpleasant things that temporarily juice sales numbers. Across our economy we'll see this play out in every customer service interaction. And a wave of perniciously persistent upselling attempts will wash over us all.
After a while, we won't stop noticing that the simple process of buying a soda requires saying no to 15 different requests to subscribe to a service, put our credit card on file, sign up for notifications, and consider buying cookies, a burger, and some fries. But our lives will be worse for it.
Re: Taco Bell AI Drive-Thru
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've had minimal contact with drive-thrus in the past decade, because ordering ahead online is superior in every way. It's also parallelized instead of having a single queue.
Works when you actually have that option. Usually the only time I ever go to fast food places are late at night when everything else is closed. Most open-late fast food joints in smaller cities and towns will only have the drive through open, not the restaurant area.
if you have the computing infrastructure to run AI in the drive through, at night, when everything else is closed, then you probably have the infrastructure to do online orders via an app.
Re: Taco Bell AI Drive-Thru
#234Why order when you arrive at the place? Just have people talk to their phones, and make sure the order has some sanity checks and orders something similar to what they can order online? There's less noise talking to your phone, and you can do it without being in line.
Well there's a few things that have to go right for that scenario to work. It's not impossible but I'd imagine the number of people that could take advantage of it is small.
If I have a passenger that can use the phone - it will be infinitely easier to have them place an order via app. They can look at the map, set up navigation, read through the menu and handle getting the order in, etc.
The driver needs to know where the restaurant is. A lot of time when I'm getting fast food - I'm on the interstate, I don't really know where I am, I just know I saw a sign saying the next exit has a Taco Bell. If anything asks me to confirm the restaurant location as 123 Main Street or in some city - I have no idea if that's right or not.
Maybe if it integrates with Android Auto and Google Maps so I can place an order and get navigated, that could work.
Another big issue is knowing the menu. I definitely wouldn't want to sit and have a robot read me the whole menu. There are some places where I could order without seeing the menu but - if you don't go very often you probably need to see the menu. And if you're not going very often you probably don't have their app on your phone anyway.
The apps don't take how busy the restaurants are into account. If I get to a place and it's slammed, I'll look around a bit for something else less busy, because I want to get back on the road. So I'm not really all that committed to a particular place anyway.
I also tend to not trust the apps. I can't tell you how many times I've placed an order only to find out they're out of something when I get there. If I order at the speaker I get that feedback immediately and can pick something else (or somewhere else).
Basically you need to have all of the following be true:
* Have nobody else in the car that could operate the phone for you * Know the restaurant location * Know the menu * Have the app * Ready to commit to any wait * Trust the app is correct
Re: Taco Bell AI Drive-Thru
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
Works when you actually have that option. Usually the only time I ever go to fast food places are late at night when everything else is closed. Most open-late fast food joints in smaller cities and towns will only have the drive through open, not the restaurant area.
if you have the computing infrastructure to run AI in the drive through, at night, when everything else is closed, then you probably have the infrastructure to do online orders via an app.
Of course you do - and some do (McDonalds, Chick-fil-A). But not all of them.
Re: Taco Bell AI Drive-Thru
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s a StarBucks near me that takes about 3-4 minutes per car at the drive thru. Frequently there would be 3-6 cars in line. Yes, people literally wait 15-20 minutes in line before they can even order, much less get their order. Sure, maybe they’re just inefficient and shouldn’t be rewarded. However the people there are indeed working feverishly (and paid poorly). Going inside and ordering isn’t any faster. I’d pu…
I've always been puzzled that Starbucks drive through is a thing, and even has long queues. It's coffee, do people really drive there just to get a cup? I understand if it's along the highway but otherwise. You pay the premium of the brand without getting to see or enjoy the facilities. Just my feeling as european, maybe just a cultural thing.
The US has very few coffee chains and StarBucks dominates. Not like the European cities that seem to have a bakery on every block!
A lot of people say StarBucks coffee is bad, but it’s far better than the burnt motor oil sold at fast food places, gas stations, and donut shops. The upscale coffee competitors are even more expensive and never have a drive-thru.
Worse, donuts shops and gas stations never have real milk creamer — only the extremely artificial powdered stuff (not made from milk). Or they’ll sell a bad cappuccino for $5.
Re: Taco Bell AI Drive-Thru
#237Which AI platform are they using?