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McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

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Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#81
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly - the exact same pitch would have been used with “big data” in the 2010s, and probably something about OLAP a decade before that. It was weird seeing that example without even attempting to explain what makes it AI other than, presumably, giving Gartner a lot more money.

> the exact same pitch would have been used with “big data” in the 2010s I'm surprised I don't see this mentioned more often. The tech industry feels like a "more obvious than usual" case of déjà vu these past few years.

I think some of that is age and experience helping recognize the cycle (and the big consulting companies always pushing new things hoping their clients won’t notice their previous claims were off) but there also seems to be an angle around how much money is controlled by a handful of people seeking huge returns. The industry tends to focus on what VCs want and there just isn’t much diversity in that community – the guys who got lucky don't reliably keep having new ideas and having more money than you know what to do with tends to stifle creativity: they’re not forced to deal with criticism, nobody is stressing about their success, and their working experience is increasingly outdated because they’re hearing only from other rich guys who also not only don’t have to do the hard parts themselves but probably have entire teams “green-shifting” things so nobody has to tell their boss that their business isn’t as simple as some Gartner analyst assumed.

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#82

In 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.

Besides food preferences, you're being very cavalier here about that extra $5.

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#83
post #8

> 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…

This isn't really about giving anyone a deal

Once it detects who you are, it'll check to see how much money you have and jack up all their prices if they think you can afford it. Get a new job that comes with a 10% raise? Your prices at McD's will all go up by 10%.

It'll algorithmically determine how much money you're willing/able to spend to ensure that you're always forced to hand over the most money they can possibly get from you.

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#84

I don't understand how McDonalds is still relevant outside of food deserts. The food quality is trash, and the prices are so high that you can and should just go elsewhere and buy real food.

They are open for breakfast at 4am when you need to get up early and no where else is open. They are close to the job site and everyone knows the menu already to send one person out to pickup lunch. Many reasons why one might go for mcdonalds even in a food mecca.

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#85

I don't understand how McDonalds is still relevant outside of food deserts. The food quality is trash, and the prices are so high that you can and should just go elsewhere and buy real food.

> 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.

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#86
post #48

Earlier 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.

There aren't many big box names that compete. There are usually places that sell you a "meal" for comparable cost. The franchise has to pay fees and offer specific menu items. Small restaurants can outcompete in both price and quality. The flip side is those places don't normally get enough foot traffic to offer their stuff "near cost", so they bundle it up into serving sizes in the $$ range that can last you a coupl…

Those places are expensive now too. You should see how much they actually charge now a days in 2025. Burritos made on the sidewalk go for $12 or more now. The bacon wrapped hotdog cooked in a shopping cart on the sidewalk is now like $7 or $8 instead of $5. Cheap food isn’t so cheap anymore. You basically have to vet out specific lunch specials or something if you want a deal on a “meal” and even that will be a small plate vs dinner portion usually. And mcdonalds still wins on a calorie to dollar basis because the app routinely has deals like 2 for 1 big macs where you can throw back a good 1500 calories for like $6 or less. Only thing competitive is costco food court.

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#87
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, up until recently copyright/DMCA prevented them from repairing the ice cream machines - I'd give it some time to see if things start to improve. Other kitchen equipment does seem to generally be fixed/replaced promptly enough to not typically cause major impact. Sensors on the equipment seems reasonable to me. Predicting failure in advance can avoid downtime or more costly damage. Machines with degrading…

> up until recently copyright/DMCA prevented them from repairing the ice cream machines That's a red herring. The actual thing preventing them is the franchise contracts that require all ice cream machine maintenance be performed by a specific company, because McD's corporate knows that otherwise franchisees will cut corners and leave the brand associated with listeria outbreaks.

Isn't that Apple's argument for not allowing you to get your battery replaced by a 3rd party, because customers might buy a cheap off brand battery and it could cause their phone to catch fire?

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#88

Earlier 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.

> Not sure what you’re implying here, but McDonald’s is still contending for the bottom for price on fast food. No, that's exactly my point. McDonalds isn't all that cheap anymore. There are high-quality fast-casual restaurants and local shops that deliver much better quality food at roughly the same price point. E.g.: it looks like $12 is the current price for a Big Mac meal in my area. But I can think of several pl…

That sort of sandwich joint is $12- $15 before tax by me with no side.

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The prices in the app are lower than if you actually order in store. Specials and coupons are only offered through the apps now. Actual store prices can be seen on the delivery apps or by just going to a store. You can't actually order online through McDonald's directly because they are trying to force the app on you. But who actually wants the hassle of having an app for McD, BK, Subway, and other garbage where you'…

Umm, me? The "slight discount" usually gets me get a pretty full meal for less than $10 and, on occasion, significantly less than that. Really depends on what specials they're promoting and how frisky I'm feeling. And just turn off notifications to not get unwanted advertising. Don't really care if they know my food preference data since they would have it anyway if I pay with anything other than cash.

They're getting a hell of a lot more data from you than food preferences. They silently collect data even when you aren't using the app, and they take a TON of data: https://old.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/1cjtywo/the_...

At least on android devices you don't even have the option to disable a ton of access to things like sensors.

That data they collect isn't just about ads either. They'll throw you a deal every once in a while to keep you handing over that data, but they're figuring out how much money you have, when you're most vulnerable to suggestion and least likely to resist, all so that they can adjust their prices just for you in order to make sure you're paying as much as possible.

Re: McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover

#90
post #36
post #8

> 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…

AI is supposed to free us of menial labour and give us the future of our dreams and instead I’m getting targeted ads for McFlurries. God damnit.

So far the only jobs AI seems to be trying to take are the 'good' ones. Creativity, analysis, programming. Sure there's the dream that people in all 3 groups will just leverage it to do more and better, but most of the impact so far has been management openly extatic at all the people they can fire/pressure/not hire. Not the revolution I was looking for so far. And that's before taking the new horizons for disinformation and harassment into account.
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