Anyway, I decided to stop for fast food while I was there, not really because I was hungry but mostly because I had downed half of a Mickey D's 42 oz coke on the way up and really needed to stop somewhere before I made the return hour trip home. The only thing I found was this ritzy looking Jack in the Box off the 78 freeway (by the way, who even knew the 78 was a freeway in San Diego?), so I stopped in there for a chicken sandwich.
Holy cow. First off, Vista must be a wealthy town, because the Jack in the Box interior was furnished like a Starbucks. Sleek modern looking tables and chairs, plenty of people in suits eating salads, and a whole ambiance to boot.
But the ordering line is where it got impressive. As I stood at the counter, being kind of ignored by the three people bustling around behind there, I noticed a machine just to the left of me. It kind of looked like a free standing ATM machine, except the screen was flashing ORDER HERE TOUCH SCREEN TO BEGIN. Pretty clear what it's purpose was, but still I thought, no way, they're still going to give me the option of ordering at the counter, right? It's not a computer-order-or-nothing place, right? Wrong. They continued to ignore me as I stood there, until finally a girl came out from the kitchen area to take my order by punching it all in the machine for me. (I could have figured it out.) They're clearly trying to wean people off the face-to-face ordering we've all grown accustomed to by doing this directly in front of customers so they catch on, although she punched in the order so fast I only caught glimpses of the various screens as they flashed by.
I'll admit, I was impressed. The machine had the whole menu, prices, flashing lights and buttons, credit card slots, all the things Americans are attracted to in technological advancement. I tried to find a picture online, but the closest I got was this ugly Taco Bell/KFC hybrid that is big and clunky and clearly last year's model:
So there you have it, friends. The Future of fast food. Pretty soon, these things will make our food internally and spit it out seconds after we complete our order. I give it 4.25 years.
Also, while I was searching for this pic I found another fun one here. Gotta love those beautiful Golden Arches:
2 comments:
over here on the east coast we have this wonderful place called Sheetz and an even more amazing place in the north called WaWa [the heartbeat of jersey]...they both have touch screen ordering systems.
both are actually gas stations, but rumor has it WaWa is not always a gas station, but either way, it's a convenience store with fast food. AMAZING food and coffee!
the future is already the present, it has been for at least four years [that i am aware of].
What is it when it's not a gas station?
And, sheesh, I'm so beyond with the times if even the east coasters are hip on these kind of phenomena.
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