McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
131–140 of 142 posts
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
They absolutely will. The problem with just setting a high price is that they'd be leaving money on the table whenever anyone who could afford even higher prices comes through. That's what they want to eliminate. Even if you aren't earning more money the algorithm will constantly be testing you by jacking up prices to see what you'll endure under which circumstances. Screaming kids in the car with you? You'll probabl…
Look, I'm all excited over the incoming cyberpunk dystopia but no they won't be able to do this. They still have posted menu prices and folks will be pissed if prices ever go up from what they're expecting to pay.
Digital signs and apps are what they're pushing on us now. There are already restaurants that don't have any kind of printed/posted menu at all and you're expected to use your phone to scan a QR code. There's no telling if the prices shown to you on your device are the same as what the person behind you in line will see.
There are also already restaurants that have different prices when you use their app which helps condition you to accept that prices will differ from person to person or even day to day.
You're right that people don't care for discriminatory pricing though. People's objection to the practice is the only thing that's been keeping it from being more widely used already (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41272-019-00224-3)
They stand to make money hand over fist from it though so we're going to see company after company testing it, pushing the boundaries of what we'll accept and normalizing the practice. Without regulations making discriminatory pricing illegal in certain settings, it's basically inevitable that we'll see it more often.
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#133“McDonald’s tapped Google Cloud in late 2023 to bring more computing power to each of its restaurants—giving them the ability to process and analyze data on-site. The setup, known as edge computing, can be a faster, cheaper option than sending data to the cloud“ What fresh hell is this?
It doesn't sound fresh at all. It sounds like McDonald's going back to the way it used to operate. I knew a guy who used to repair the PDP-11's under the counters that ran each restaurant. He said the #1 failure mode was soda spilled in the machines.
I have a very hard time believing every McDonalds once had their own PDP-11. Despite being called “minicomputers” those things were huge!
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#134In my area, I can pay about five dollars more and get an equivalent meal from Five Guys. Why would I ever go to McDonald's when I can get a meal that I actually taste good. Especially something that should not be eaten that often.
You are just so sophisticated. I would consider starting a podcast honestly.
I thought so too, you should check it out, I'll shout you out next episode
https://open.spotify.com/episode/09x5EVWzLVJRhO4Xp07DRP?si=i...
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Look, I'm all excited over the incoming cyberpunk dystopia but no they won't be able to do this. They still have posted menu prices and folks will be pissed if prices ever go up from what they're expecting to pay.
They would probably be able to do it if the listed prices were fixed, but they provided a personalized discount that would vary depending on who you are.
This is already how the app works and indeed pretty much every form of price discrimination runs this way. It's just that that the "who you are" part often isn't as obvious because you'll just encounter a coupon code and not realize that by virtue of you seeing it you're part of a specific demographic they're targeting.
But the reverse of raising prices beyond menu price depending on who you are will get pitchforks.
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#136> McDonald’s consumers remain pressured, particularly low-income diners and families. The restaurant is hoping that a better tech-enabled experience will help it deliver on its goal of growing its loyalty patrons from 175 million to 250 million by 2027 > [..] > AI will be able to help McDonald’s tailor its promotions and offers by using customer data such as prior purchasing history, and even linking it with weather…
I’m also trying to figure out how AI is revolutionizing the business by selling cold treats on a hot day when people did that in the analog era. That seems like it would be a lot more compelling if it found some non-obvious connections.
Also they're just lying, ice cream would cost more on hot days due to demand
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
They absolutely will. The problem with just setting a high price is that they'd be leaving money on the table whenever anyone who could afford even higher prices comes through. That's what they want to eliminate. Even if you aren't earning more money the algorithm will constantly be testing you by jacking up prices to see what you'll endure under which circumstances. Screaming kids in the car with you? You'll probabl…
Look, I'm all excited over the incoming cyberpunk dystopia but no they won't be able to do this. They still have posted menu prices and folks will be pissed if prices ever go up from what they're expecting to pay.
Well of course, except the menu prices are the "max" and everyone gets varying discounts depending on their profile. Just like at your local auto parts store, basically nobody pays "list price", yet it's there for the odd walk-in cash sale who doesn't know how these things work.
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see this sort of remark every time McDonald's comes up and I always wonder why it doesn't prompt people to check their assumptions. Clearly they are doing well enough so you're missing something.
Seeing as how the remark begins with “I don’t understand how…” it seems you’re the one with unchecked assumptions: namely, about what the text actually says.
I don't believe for a second that you wrote your comment as an earnest solicitation for information.
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
> and the prices are so high that you can and should just go elsewhere and buy real food. Not sure what you’re implying here, but McDonald’s is still contending for the bottom for price on fast food. Groceries are of course cheaper if that’s what you mean by “real food”, but there aren’t restaurants that really compete with that value meal outside of Taco Bell/Time and maybe Burger King.
At one point I noticed that a Big mac and a large fry was $10, and that I could spend an extra $3 or $4 and get a steak, a baked potato, a salad, and loaf of bread at Outback.
If you go to Outlook you will miss the "fast" part of fast food which is one of the selling points.
Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seeing as how the remark begins with “I don’t understand how…” it seems you’re the one with unchecked assumptions: namely, about what the text actually says.
I don't believe for a second that you wrote your comment as an earnest solicitation for information.
Believe what you want, I guess?