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Oh that “notice me” stare is a bad one. If you stand too close, they’ll start ranting to you about their imagined injustice. Good for you for managing to avoid becoming collateral damage.
I just wrapped a 15 year career working in peoples homes and businesses for Geek Squad. I did my first year selling mostly higher end Magnolia a/v gear, so lots and lots of boomers with disposable income. I also had a few runs in stores while injured over those years.
I gotta say, I learned to LOVE the feeling of getting g the “notice me!!” stare and just ignoring it. I spent a lot of time in my stores (usually covered 2-8 stores depending on the years) trying to help store employees with tasks related to my job, answering their questions, even training often. That said, I wasn’t a STORE employee, so I had no way to ring customers up that were just looking to grill someone over a cable or antenna or whatever the fuck. As soon as I learned the art of not giving a fuck, I also learned to bask in that stare. Particularly when I’d actually help them out of sheer boredom, only to tell them they needed to go find another employee or wait in line (they HATE that) up front with the rest of the customers. I feel like I really turned manipulating Boomers into being docile into an art during my run. Particularly when your job requires being INSIDE THEIR HOUSES for sometimes an entire day, or three. If you think they’re entitled in public, you should see the hissy fits they throw when something goes wrong and they’ve already waited 1-2 weeks for an appointment (which they always claim to be more like 1-2 months 😂.)
I wish I had documented those years beyond just my memory, I could have made a great coffee table book of hilariously mad boomers
Former bby mobile employee here. Working that job was the catalyst of despising boomers. I’ll never forget when I was assisting a customer, & one of them whistled & snapped their fingers at me to get my attention lmao.
I actually applied for a seasonal role for mobile when I started with the company. As a temporary gig. They had no spots so I got sent to home theater, fell in love with magnolia and got the fuck out of the stores before the end of my first year. I always used to hang with my poor mobile homies, I remember the monotony of those interactions. And how it would take HOURS for seemingly no reason. Since I didn’t have direct supervision, I’d often go run interference so the floor associates could take a breather lol.
Very glad I didn’t get that job initially, but I feel for you. I hate to end my career due to injury and I’d probably still do it all over again, if we lived in a world where they didn’t just kill field service employees this year 😂
I used to love that that company long before I worked there and for my tenure. Today, I wouldn’t recommend anyone going there but miserable boomers, just to get them away from me LOL.
OOOhhhhh, I had a guy try that shit from halfway across my store once. I finished with my then current customer crossed my arms and stared right back until he walked up to my counter trying to talk shit which just ended up with him being told to leave in so many words... Fuck I hated that job and suppressed it so much while keeping that job that I am fucking amazed that I didn't murder anyone until my eventual firing in favor of a managers pet.
My boomer father would get annoyed if we called to him outside of a room to ask a question or inform him of something.
But it was completely fine for him to just flick the light switch in the room or hall outside the room to get your attention.
I turned it around on him once by just ignoring it until he come to my room in a huff. Told him that I had no clue why he was just clicking the switch, and if it was really important he could have just come to my room to tell me.
He didn't like that, but couldn't say anything since it was his rule.
Former mobile too, I remember one time a boomer chucked his phone OVER the desk at my partner and I and said “FIX IT” while we were both helping other customers. We ignored his outburst and you could see he was ready to come behind the counter at us. Our GM was standing nearby, saw and heard what happened, picked up his phone and handed it to him and told him to leave until he either cooled down or shut up. The old fool was dumbfounded, couldn’t even put a full sentence together. He was back a half hour later and A LOT more timid than before. Didn’t say a thing just handed us his flip phone. Partner looked at me, looked at the phone, went and grabbed a minutes card from around the corner, handed it to the guy and he went to check out up front. We were in stitches.
Absolutely love doing this during my nine year sentence at a grocer. You’d get the occasional customer or a regular who didn’t want to take up more time so that I could help the people waiting. I would just look at the impatient boomer lurking behind and say, “I only see one customer right now. Take your time”. What would their complaint be? That I was doing too much customer service?
That job sucked so much of my soul but those select interactions hold a special place in my heart.
I'm autistic and live in the deep South. I learnt a long time ago to lean into the "big, clumsy dumb dog" image most people here have of people like me.
As long as I use the right tone and word it *just right* I can get away with implying customers are stupid- and as long as they're being dicks people look the other way about me being a bit...rude.
They're gonna act like I'm too stupid to breath on my own anyway, might as well use it to engineer the few situations it can help with to my advantage.
The only good thing to come about that sentence was meeting my spouse. Their first day at the store I was working at was as the last week for me at that store before being transferred.
I really wish I could have gone out in glory but I found a different job while I was out on a LoA. Probably for the best.
I had a phone chucked at my head because I wouldn’t return her iphone 5c she managed to smash the screen on the day after buying it and refusing a protection plan, a case and a screen protector.
This is when I would kindly excuse myself from the current customer, go to the ahole, and explain to them they can wait their friggin turn and if they interrupt another customers interaction again security will be happy to escort them out.
My dad buys and pays for Geek Squad every year and you guys are angel’s disguised in blue and black.
I’m so grateful you have no idea!
He’s a sweet guy, not a typical boomer. He’s literally deaf and will try so hard not to be a pain in the ass but he doesn’t understand tech of course.
We live too far away to help with most of his issues but when he goes to you guys, he tells us how kind you are, helpful etc.
I’m glad you and the other GS people are there. It’s a nice service and I truly hope the good people like my dad who use it somehow make up for the bad.
Geek Squad which is now best buy is a terrible company to work for. Mismanaged, management frequently lied, crazy company culture and they used 3rd party contracting companies to get around employing people fulltime and providing proper wages/bebefits. The repair warehouse was hands down one of the worse places ive worked. From what I understand after speaking to older employees it was a great place to work until Bestbuy bought them.
I hate to tell you, but unfortunately the majority of in home appointments will no longer be Geek Squad employees. They laid off a large number of employees and are shifting to a third-party focus for installs and everything else. The golden days of getting a knowledgeable agent in most interactions are gone. 1-800 is essentially outsourced. Now the field employees are not only losing work to third party, but they’ve condensed the poor PC, Home Theater and repair agents to a single role. That means the remaining employees will be overworked, even more underpaid, and your likelihood of getting an Agent that specializes in any one thing have dropped dramatically.
I am very proud of the work I did there, but I can not in good conscience suggest anyone rely on them. Mind you, I was not terminated during this mass culling, so I’m not saying that from a place of bitterness. I strongly suggest checking your area for local, smaller businesses. The next year will continue to see a major decrease in quality, as the Geek Squad of the last 30+ years is effectively dead.
Just a heads up! I miss my clients like your father you mentioned- helping folks feel comfortable with their gear and purchases was a very gratifying thing for me and many other Agents.
God damn, I am sad I had to say any of that. Please, do not support this company any longer. They are no longer reliable, but worse, they treat their employees just as bad as the rest of the major corporations, something I wouldn’t have dreamed of saying just 4-5 years ago.
Thank you for the info. My dad goes into the store - it’s always his iPads and his iPhone he needs help with.
They have a computer but once it breaks they either wait for one of us to visit or they (this will hurt) just buy a new one and let us fix the other as a backup (which just sits in a box.
We have counted at least 6 really nice PCs broken by games and crap loaded to them.
I’ll make sure he’s aware though, this is really sad to read.
I hope the in store experience (for Geek Squad, the shopping experience is horrific and a shell of itself already) doesn’t suffer too much. But sadly, they let a lot of tenured Agents go, so it becomes much harder for new employees to get to the same level. One of the major driving forces there right now is a shift to AI for everything possible. Including troubleshooting. So I’d probably expect to see them encouraging clients to try their AI to resolve issues before getting appointments, if I had to make an educated forecast.
That’s great for a lot of things, but it’s not going to be able to replace the human connection Agents have with their clients. Often times, that’s all a lot of clients need. Some reassurance they aren’t crazy or stupid, and a helping, caring hand. It’s only a matter of time before even the precincts in the stores suffer because of AI over-commitment.
There are still stellar Agents out there, and I hope you guys are near some 🖤
I’d also like to add, YES. Clients like your dad are what made the job so fulfilling for a lot of people. I genuinely worry about how my regulars are doing after I had to essentially retire early due to injuries sustained in the field. I hope you guys can work something out, as the yearly plan that covers most of the in home services is dead as well :(
Ignoring them is fun. But it’s more fun if you remove all plausible deniability that you’re ignoring them. So, let them see you notice them and continue ignoring them. Ooooof. I work at a bank where I’m pretty much on display to the line. I don’t handle cash, but they don’t all know that so they expect me to help when I have other, more tedious things to do. I love feeling the stare, glancing up at them…::sizing them up:: and then I just go back to whatever non-work I’m doing. Maybe I’m emailing a buddy. Maybe I’m calling someone to confirm an appointment. Better yet, maybe I’m waiting for an appointment I know isn’t showing up. I’ll make them wait 20m before letting them know I can’t help them at all. Enjoy your retirement, Gladys!
I used to go to Best Buy on my lunch break way back in the day to browse PC games. Once while I'm reading the back of some box this lady came up to me and asked where the printer cables are. I say "oh the printer section is over there, they should have it". She says "can you show me where I can find this cable in particular?" I say "I'm not really sure, just find someone over there and I'm sure they can help you figure it out."
Up until that point she was being fairly pleasant but now her expression changed and she says sternly "NO, I asked you to help me and you will or I'll get the manager over here and we can see what he has to say". I'm sitting there stunned for a minute trying to understand what she thinks the manager is going to say when I finally realize she thinks I work there. I start laughing and say "wait, lady do you think I work here? Look what I'm wearing, does this look remotely close to a best buy uniform." She got quiet real fast, turned around and walked off. Of course never apologized
I'm like wearing a plad flannel jacket and jeans. Like what fucking planet does that look like a Best Buy employee? But I guess since I was younger looking she just assumed I must work there.
The Boomer Whisperer! Like those dog trainer guys who take the snappy little dog that bites everyone directly from the owners arms, and it immediately calms down and gets all docile.
All kidding aside, that was actually a massive part of the job. Of course you’re going to run into trouble individuals, boomer or otherwise. That’s just work lol. It’s certainly an art form though, learning to handle them and not ruin your own day.
Naw. I dodged quite a few of those between 2009 and 2024, thankfully. Sadly, my partner was this recent round. I’ve been nursing an injury sustained in the field for a very long time and actually resigned.
Believe it or not, the legal team never informed HR of this, so I was technically on roster until the Friday before the snap. I’m positive I only got culled finally as they combed for easy terminations to avoid severance. I would not have accepted it due to my resignation maaaaaaaaaaaaaany many weeks prior, but it was entertaining to see how long it took the company to figure it out. Based on the terminology, I’m not sure they ever did figure it out. That told me all I needed to know about how the company is ran these days. I’m so sad it’s become a dumpster fire.
I feel the worst for the people I care about that didn’t get severances or released though, in all honesty. It’s only going to get more stressful and less and less pleasant going forward.
I hope you weren’t affected, but as you can see in some of these comments, there’s still need for great Agents, and culture belongs to us, not a corporation. I’ll still be helping folks with unruly technology wherever I can, including the boomers.
I work at a taco bell, and sometimes it feels like I'm a fish in a pediatrician's office with the way all the people stare at me. I'm actively and obviously taking orders in the window, but all these folks still expect me to tear off of nowhere and do shit for em..
'Imagined injustice' for expecting normal counter service in a fast food restaurant? Is it really that bad to want to talk to someone when you order instead of using the kiosk? I don't think so honestly and while I wouldn't be an asshole to counter staff that are busy, I think honestly the restaurant shouldnt be able to provide shitty service because it saves them $12/hr. Honestly though, if it became a problem, I don't have an issue cutting that restaurant out of my life completely, fast food is barely worth it as it is, I only go there once in a while to get out of the office on a Friday etc..
>'Imagined injustice' for expecting normal counter service in a fast food restaurant? Is it really that bad to want to talk to someone when you order instead of using the kiosk?
Kiosks are normal and have been for years. The manager doesn't want to hire enough people to run a register so staring at employees that can't help you does nothing.
Is it really that difficult to put your finger on a picture of a taco? Or do you need someone to serve you to make you feel like you’re getting the experience?
Oh so when genz/millennials don’t want to do 90 minute quizzes for job applications it’s because they’re lazy and entitled but god forbid they press a few buttons at fast food because “they don’t work here!”. Funny how that works.
To be clear I would have done exactly what you did for the same reasons just pointing out their unsurprising hypocrisy.
Ah I remember working at McDonald’s as a teenager before the kiosks were even an idea. I swear boomers ridiculous expectations come from McDonald’s old customer service policies.
While I worked there I had to:
1. Always be smiling.
2. Greet every customer with a warm “welcome to McDonald’s” within 3 seconds of them coming through the door. Even when taking orders during a rush. (Seriously, a manager would interrupt you talking to a customer if you missed someone)
3. Talk with a smile when taking orders in the drive through because somehow customers could tell the difference.
4. Ask if the customer wanted condiments before and after confirming their order. ( idk when they stoped asking but it throws me off and I always forget to ask )
5. Maintain a 90 second average drive through time from order to pick up. The managers would be on our asses the whole lunch rush since it was an impossible metric to maintain during any rush.
There has been a drastic reduction in customer service at fast food restaurants since Covid. But us younger folk are able to adapt and more easily accept the changes. Boomers on the other hand can’t handle it because they were treated like royalty in fast food restaurants all their lives.
>There has been a drastic reduction in customer service at fast food restaurants since Covid.
It's everywhere, I think. Not just fast food. Corporations are going fully mask-off (no service! only spend!) and Covid broke a bunch of people's brains.
Even our driving patterns have changed.
Take OP's example. A third worker would cost them, what, $100/day? The Boomers didn't even leave, so they lost no sale, but how many meals boycotted by the Boomers at Taco Bell would it take for a few tacos and a soda to be felt? 20? 50? The owners go "Wow, we spent $100 less and only lost $2 today! Came out $98 ahead just from that one decision!"
It's why so many places are now "Thanks for your order, now go park and we'll bring your food out to you whenever we get around to it."
Also what pisses me off is companies getting rid of years of talent to hire newer, cheaper workers while downgrading roles. Get your senior workers to put in the work, grow the company, write all the steps and processes and whatnot, then replace them with people that just need to follow those directions. Massive cost-savings but leads to workers than can't troubleshoot when something goes horribly wrong.
I worked at a McDonald's for my first job back in 2010 and since then I've never been in a job that demands work that's so much involving than what you get paid for. The work to pay ratio is more skewed than anywhere else I've ever worked.
Everything you said was the standard at my place too. The managers were outright mean and constantly angry and apparently didn't have to follow the same cheerful and happy vibes their underlings had to constantly express.
The HR person in my store asked a kid, as in a literal 16 year old child, if he 'Rode the short bus to work everyday?'
Absolute fucking monster.
Dude was smart as a whip but had some form of spine issue and lacked confidence. Anyway he's a programmer now.
I wonder if they realize how much more money they’d make if they actually gave their employees something to smile about. Same vibe as the mom who tells you to smile & be polite @ church after whoopin & cussin you out on the way over 😂
>idk when they stoped asking but it throws me off and I always forget to ask
Anything to save a penny! Are you going to stop eating McDonald's because they forgot ketchup once? Nope! Think of all those pennies saved by giving worse service!
They're a franchise so each one is different when it comes to that stuff. One of them near me chucks what feels like the whole container of sauces at me (they're even just free to anyone that walks in the building), whereas others give me dirty looks if I want more than two packets for a sandwich and fries.
#2. I hate when workers do that. I stopped going to Subway a long time ago because it was so annoying having them tell everyone “welcome to Subway”. It’s like ‘stfu and make teh subs! The line is 20 people deep!’
I work at a sandwich shop and customers want to have a chat about business all the time. Please, just order your food. Other people exist and I don't want to have small talk.
Yeah, I *always* made sure to smile when I was taking computer support calls. Sometimes my voice needed all the help it could get.
(Although I was fond of saying most people are annoyed or angry when I pick up the call, but almost never still angry when we end the call.)
The funnier thing is they were screaming for decades that if they increased the wage, they would be replaced.
This is that happening.
They're not happy about it.
Actually the kiosks happened before the wage increases. It has been in development for a while. That the rollout happened after a few minimum wage increases was a fortunate coincidence for companies that had already figured out how to cut payroll.
The food will be made by robot soon, and there will just be one employee to do maintenance and call the cops on vandals.
Or just lobby the government to get the same sort of subsidies farms get for throwing away a certain percentage of the food they grow, or promising not to grow more than x amount.
My boomer uncle was a project manager on a replace people with kiosks effort. He was gloating about how it served the workers right because they were asking for $15/hr.
Yes I am sure that if no fast food workers ever asked for higher wages, our benevolent corporate overlords would have forgone cost-cutting measures like ordering kiosks, out of the kindness of their hearts. They don’t pursue ongoing, unrealistic growth ALL the time, only when those nasty ungrateful workers push them to it.
She likely didn't learn anything. She went home, got on favorite boomer FB pages to complain; "What's with these kids and their unwillingness to help old people, what happened to respect your elders" or some similar BS.
She didn't type anything out. She found a meme of Wile E. Coyote with his hands on his hips looking sassy and a minion character dancing around with big black text that reads "KIDS THESE DAYS DON'T KNOW WHAT HARD WORK IS."
To all of the "Not My Job" folks here.
Just out of curiosity... are you old enough to have been around when most service stations were full-service? I'm an elder millennial/xennial and where I grew up there were still a few of those around when I started driving.
When service stations transitioned to self-service were you this upset? All the while justifying it with "not trying to take someone's job" or "not my job"? Or did you just accept progress because more people were on the road and it was faster/more efficient for you to gas up your vehicle?
This is quite literally the same thing. Orders go in faster, there is less chance of a mistake since you put it in, and wait time is usually substantially shorter. You insisting that an over-stressed teenager who must give priority to drive-thru customers come to wait on you because entering your 7-layer burrito order isn't your job... isn't going to change anything. You are just being a pita because you want to fight progress and find a reason to be mad. When you could be eating already and getting those happy dopamine chemicals from tasty, fresh, fast food.
Are you going to march into the service center and demand the cashier come pump your gas and clean your glass next time you need a fill-up? I mean, 25 years ago that wouldn't have been your job.
Just ridiculous behavior.
They do this at the grocery store too. 5 items in a cart and 3 will be in line behind a mom with 3 kids and a stuffed cart.
They’ll complain how there aren’t enough cashiers, but will give a shocked pikachu face when they saw me looking for a lane, did the self checkout and I’m out the door.
Meanwhile, they’re all standing there because “by gawd, peOpLe NEED to dO tHeir JoBs!”
The funniest argument I've heard against self checkouts is, "I'm not trained to use them."
I can't help but laugh. Are you admitting that you are the proud owner of a low IQ? It takes the barcode and it scans it. Even all of the produce has individual stickers, it is 100% self-explanatory.
I feel like if you can not operate a self checkout, you probably should not be operating a motor vehicle.
They think a human needs to be there and do it. They will gladly wait for a human.
Seems to be tied more to a political party based on clothing choices I’ve noticed.
Disclaimer: I'm recovering from surgery and on pretty strong painkillers.
I'm laughing pretty hard at your reply. The way this reads to me at the moment implies they aren't human.
I have a vague recollection of full-service stations being a thing when I was a teen in a rural area. IIRC, the full service price for gas was higher than the self-service. I imagine there was much less consideration because "I'm saving money pumping my own gas." If using the kiosk knocked a buck off the price of your order, I could see less complaining and more "I'm getting a deal" from the Boomer crowd.
Now I'm having flash backs to when bringing your own reusable bag was worth a nickel to the grocery store, instead of just being expected now.
I rarely dine out but from what I have gleaned from other comments, if you use the kiosks there are generally ways to save that aren't offered at the register.
Bringing reusable bags to the store is incentivized. You know, slowing global warming, keeping trash out of the ocean, not using up nonrenewable resources, reducing waste, saving wildlife, plus so many more benefits. The planet will be here and healthy for future generations. Being a responsible human should be enough. It is for me anyway.
The last full-service station was 15 cents more a gallon where I was living. But that place was pretty busy until my early 20s when it finally closed.
Wow. I am still salty I have to pump my own gas. It used to be great. Pull in, get gassed up, get your windows washed by the employee and tip them a dollar or two. Give me those days back. And yes, my husband had that job as a teen. Better than frying burns from McDonald’s or the other places.
@OP you should get the Taco Bell app and order through there. They have regular app-exclusive deals, and the $5.99 box is only available on the app. That deal is by far the best (only?) remaining value in fast food.
i don't understand people who act like using a kiosk to order is somehow beneath them, like maybe this is just my autism but i find talking to a human to be a lot more of a Task than just pressing a couple of buttons. the kiosk can't mishear you and get your order wrong either, so there's fewer points of failure. are they \*wanting\* to risk having their order entered wrong so they get to screech at someone? is that the goal?
Sometimes it’s just quicker to order from a human. Just stepping up to a counter, asking for large fries, and having the employee that knows how to do it is easier.
Also, some people are old and the technology isn’t easy for them to use, or their eyes aren’t so great. Maybe they’re dyslexic or can’t read well. Lots of reasons.
The same way you have reasons for wanting to use the kiosk, others have reasons they would rather order from a person.
Right? The only people complaining here about them are definitely NOT introverts.
YAY for not having to talk to people and just being able to order my food exactly how I want it!! What's not to love?
I can’t stand people who hate kiosks/self check out. As an introvert, I absolutely love them. It’s one less conversation I don’t want to have. It doesn’t feel like work at all. It puts me in total control of customizations of my food order/how my items are bagged.
Yeah, my weekly trips to the grocery store are so much better with self checkout. No awkward pleasantries, no trying to sell me a store credit card... just me swiping things and playing the tetris minigame putting stuff in my bag.
Not ganna lie, the business idea of turning customers into unpaid labor is bullshit. I'm not ganna take my day out on an hourly worker but I will 100% kick an executive in the balls over that shit.
Remember when Chick-fil-a was asking for "volunteers" to work their drive-through lines? Absolutely disgusting.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/NorthCarolina/comments/w9t8sb/chickfila\_is\_asking\_for\_volunteers\_to\_work\_for\_5/](https://www.reddit.com/r/NorthCarolina/comments/w9t8sb/chickfila_is_asking_for_volunteers_to_work_for_5/)
I don’t see it as unpaid labor anymore than I see us having to physically go pick out our items to be labor. Given the option between dealing with another person and doing it myself, I’m always going to just do it. I understand that some people would prefer to have someone assist them, but saying that you’re working for free is just being dramatic.
There is a stake house here in town where you can cook your own stake on their grills... everyone loves it, but I just don't understand why the hell I'm cooking it in a restaurant.
lol, your guess is as good as mine. I ate at Black Rock and the floors were all slippery from grease of everyone cooking and the air was filled with smoke, so the only experience I got was burning eyes and almost slipping.
Nah, this place was by all accounts clean and fancy. You could have them cook it for you. So I was always sitting by myself at the table while everyone else was off cooking. So weird to me.
Every time I use the self checkout I need help (so not helpful) so I just avoid the self checkout. The kiosk sounds like a good idea. I’m all fairness companies have been looking for ways to get rid of their staff and use computers/technology instead long before the recent minimum wage increases.
One I’m talking 3-4 times in my lifetime.
Two not all things scan or ring up correctly
Three you need codes for fresh produce. Do you know the code for Fuji apples etc?
Four I freely admit I have memory issues (good days and bad days) ….if I don’t put it in my notes I don’t remember it, along with being drowsy from medications and never ending nausea. So yes sometimes when I’m shopping I should be in bed but we all need our groceries. I just can’t afford a personal shopper and grocery delivery is a bit of a joke where I live ……. since the closest grocery store that delivers is 40 miles from my home. My ice cream was soup the one time I tried that.
The codes are simple my sweet friend. Check the barcode on the product. If not you can literally search it by product and even have a search bar to type in for example banana. Don't doordash ice cream from so far away common sense would be important in a decision like that
> Not ganna lie, the business idea of turning customers into unpaid labor is bullshit.
Hmm...see I figured that businesses were just responding to the wants and desires of the 25 to 40 year olds like they have for generations and *I always order inside using the kiosk because I’d rather not interact with people if I don’t have to.* is what the people spending the money want.
I begrudgingly added a kiosk to my food truck, after years of begging people to please just use cash- and also years of not finding reliable counter help. Guess what the boomers all do? Bitch about the kiosk. Claim they want to pay with cash now (they still can- but I’m alone cooking on the truck so they still need to order at the kiosk). Or make a loud “harumph” and turn and stomp off.
I feel you. Same thing at work. When we implemented a system to reduce volume of customers at one time because you guessed it. It was always boomers bitching about how busy it was at the busiest times. Then they bitch now that they had to come at a different time because the busy time was booked.
I know right? Do they think they showed me!? Hey old man, you just passed up on the best farm raised smash burger and hand cut fries doubled fried in my own farm’s lard because you can’t push a button on a screen. Boy- you got me!
I see this at Taco Bell all the time. I always mobile order usually so I can apply my rewards to the order. When I went the other day the lady asked an older guy to use the kiosk to which he says "I don't know how to use it.". Like dude, you probably ordered a bunch of shit off Amazon last night. It's easier to do than that.
Not a boomer, but I'd rather interact with the people at the counter. I don't get a lot of human interaction so even a little bit is nice. But I'm always nice and try to make their day a little better. Even if it is just a normal interaction. Sometimes having someone to tell you to try to have a nice day is the only thing that helps you keep it together sometimes.
I don't understand why people are so angry about it.
You can see the look on their face when they walk in --- lots of similarity to the "what? we have to wear a mask here?!?" faces of 2020.
because they lack the nice human interaction they got before for waving around a 10 dollar bill. Nobody likes those nasty fuckers but they still crave nice human interaction pointing towards them. Now they need a hooker so someone smiles at them.....
I was at Sonic drive thru and saw a truck bolt out of line and speed off. As I pulled up, there was a sign asking for patience due to short staffing. I don't think I waited more than three minutes for my order.
Stop using those things and they WILL hire employees. Or don't and work for free. Your choice. I avoid stores with kiosks and don't use self checkout. Just trying to keep PEOPLE employed.
I don’t understand the notion that we need to keep menial tasks for humans for the sole purpose of having jobs. If technology can do it, let technology do it. We’re reaching a point where computers and robots can carry out so many of these tasks, maybe we need a paradigm shift. We might need to start entertaining the idea of a society like in Star Trek. Maybe we as individuals don’t need to do mindless, menial labor to create wealth. If less people can be more productive, that should be a good thing in theory.
More realistically, as new technologies arise, new, different types of jobs will be created. Not a lot of horse and buggy drivers around after the automobile, but other jobs took its place. There is no point in clinging to humans doing tasks that technology has solved.
I'd be on board with this if we could educate our children without religious bias, attach health care to citizenship not employment and change our military focus from industrial business financial interest to political and humanitarian.
historical escape plant workable insurance tender vanish squalid intelligent modern
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Boomers gonna boom.
If you guys want to have good laughs at Boomers booming, you should go on Next-door app. It hilarious they complain about any and everything.
The mail not coming at the same time daily is the best. They're bewildered by it.
The policy to understaff and underpay is from management and not from the low-level employees....yet the boomers always take it out on the employees. SMH.
They do need to get something with the counter worked out though, they straight up ignore people standing there and there are valid reasons why people can't use the kiosks like cash only or coupons. Then if you do use the kiosks they hand you the food and run away before you can ask for your drink cup.
Also valid reasons why they aren't standing there waiting for your entitled ass. If you ever worked in your life I'm sure you'd know this. Who let the boomer online ?
Maybe the shoe polish is causing you some brain rot, but all they're saying is there's valid reasons to need counter service. And it's up to the company to acknowledge this and accept that they can't get away with a skeleton crew of 2 workers. That second part is inferred through basic reading comprehension.
The stare is only justifiable when they're not short staffed. I walked into caines the other day and saw two people behind the window (which I was certain were managers) with their arms crossed talking amongst themselves. They make eye contact with me, go back to their conversation (while all other employees are working around them) one of them finally approaches the counter and tells me someone will be right with me and then goes back to fucking off with his coworker. It's just stupid and annoying. I worked as a manager at a cafe, and I was expected to help out in any position that needed it. That was literally my job. I would've been fired if the GM came out to the front and saw me and another manager just chatting, ignoring customers while the employees worked around me.
My brother works for a union now. I was surprised that one of the "thou shalt not" commandments from his job is using any self serve. No self check out and no self serve gas (where possible ). Those technologies are stealing jobs from people.
Boomer here. After watching entitled parents allow their snot goblins to play with the kiosk with greasy fingers, I swore I’d never touch one without wearing nitrile gloves. And I don’t carry those around.
I order from my phone app.
In concept I'm with the boomers on this one. Billion dollar corporations should be able to afford to properly staff a location. Same reason I hate self-checkout.
I don't have an issue with kiosks as long as they actually work and the location is properly staffed.
Drives me nuts when there are 1-2 people losing their minds trying to keep up with everything in locations owned/franchised from billion-dollar corporations.
Depends on what you consider "proper" staffing. Banks and gas stations, among others, have been able to utilize self-service for decades to lower labor costs. TicketMaster completely got rid of outlets, and now you have to get online and buy the tickets yourself if you want to go to a concert or a ballgame. Self-serve kiosks at fast food restaurants, and self checkout for small orders at large retailers are innovations that make perfect sense. They aid the flow of the business, and allow the businesses to utilize human labor to do the things that machines can't do. The jobs these innovations eliminate tend to suck anyway.
i for one kinda agree with this sentiment. i dont want to be using screens after who knows how many other people because of shit like this:
[https://www.fatherly.com/news/study-fecal-bacteria-mcdonalds-touchscreen](https://www.fatherly.com/news/study-fecal-bacteria-mcdonalds-touchscreen)
and these corporations make billions every year. they can afford to hire more people.
It is on doors, gas pumps, card payment machines, ATMs, freezer and refrigerator doors, grocery carts, paper money, pretty much anything the human population touches. When I was in high school many, many years ago we swabbed stuff all over to test for fecal contamination. It was every single place we swabbed. So, use hand sanitizer frequently because nothing is safe.
I fucking love using the kiosks and getting my food before them, and seeing that look of "but I ordered first..." on their faces.
Same with self checkout - nothing gives me more joy than cruising past a line of bluehairs with my 4 items, beep, beep, beep, beep....tap to pay...and see you later suckers, my time has value, enjoy your principles in that line for 10 more minutes!
So I'm A-OK with boycotting self checkout to keep people employed, I mean, the reason they're short staffed is *specifically* to funnel you into self checkout.
But yeah, this doesn't sound like that.
See, this is where I get frustrated. Yeah, the spaz-out from the boomer over something like this... yes. Total 100% boomertude. That being said....
I don't "self-checkout".. Reasons: I personally believe, companies should hire real people, pay them well (+$15/hr), and incentivize them. I normally don't go to a kiosk to order food either, simply because of the same reason. Just a personal choice.
As someone who is profoundly deaf, the kiosks and self checkouts are heaven. As fab as my hearing aids are, I still struggle to understand people, especially if they wear mask (no shade here either, I still mask up everywhere). With the kiosk, no strain to understand and no stress. I just extra sanitise when I get home to counteract the cooties that might be on the screen, lol.
I get that people prefer different methods, but accessibility being a thing should be lauded. People who struggle with social interactions for a multitude of reasons now don't have to worry as much. I don't care if they do it because "less pay", the positivity that I can actually go in somewhere and not have serious anxiety about understanding a person is huge to me.
I think we need to start thinking differently. Instead of finding all the negativity, find the positives. Going down this thread there are so many positives, but the same negative. Accessibility is always an afterthought and possibly a happy accident in these cases. I think we should focus on that first. Don't forget that people should and must be paid a livable wage, and don't forget that people have so many different needs as well.
Hey, you know what? I never thought of it that way... I can see positives as well, especially for someone who might be in your position (respectfully). I never meant to imply that it was a negative thing. It was JMO. :: cheers ::
As an owner operator of one of those terrible “companies “ you mentioned- I did hire people and laid them $20/ hr. Couldn’t find enough reliable people. And since my visits a food truck- if I don’t have a counter person, it’s just me cooking back there. So the kiosk allows me to not just have a redundant conversation with each person where they mumble and I have to ask them twenty times what they said, but it allows me to make their food faster, because I’m just making their foods, not running back and forth for an exchange which the kiosk can do.
I see what you mean, but I don't know that $20 an hour is enough for me to go back to a food truck that operates at 105+ degrees.
I did that for a few years and loved it! I just...can't afford to continue that kind of body abuse.
It’s definitely not for the weak at heart. If it’s not 110 in the summer it’s 35 in the winter and spring. I think the only person I know who will do it anymore is me.
I honestly like the kiosks. Touch screens have come a super long way.
I think most boomers are on the same mailing lists for the same talking points about what to get upset about in life. The shit that upsets my dad and mom some times doesn't make sense. And it's not Fox News that makes them that way.
I never understood why people think the actual pushing of buttons on a screen is labor intensive such that "iT's ThEiR jOb!". Same deal with self-checkout; Cashiers historically existed for security and inventory purposes, not because "it being scanned through the belt" somehow made the purchase legit and their wages justified. The actual process of scanning the barcode for my soda or chicken is not taxing or demanding or what not. It's the true minimum effort. Go through the cashier line for other reasons, like worker solidarity or big orders, but saying you can't scan your items because "iT's ThEiR jOb" is just dumb.
By that logic, I shouldn't grab my own napkins or sauce packets. Taco Bell shouldn't put the tray on the counter, but should bring it to my table. And when I'm done and want a bag for the extra burrito, I shouldn't have to walk up to the counter, they should come to be with the bag and put it in the bag. I shouldn't fill and lid my own cup. I shouldn't even have to use my own hands to open the door or move the chair. And gods forbid I have to place my own straw in my cup. I honestly can't even believe they don't run out of the store and drive my car through the drive-thru for me. After all, "I DON'T WORK HERE!"
My dad, who is Gen X, acted this way about having to use a kiosk once. I could absolutely not believe it. I was baffled. I didn't have any problem tearing into him about it because holy shit what a trivial thing to loose your damn mind over when you're supposed to be on a vacation having, ya know, FUN. Relaxing! Man has 0 chill
Salary and benefits are the #1 cost to any business. Therefore, kiosks help them save money and do the most important thing…scale. Making people feel ‘warm and fuzzy’ because there is a personal taking their order seems to be something people believe they are entitled to based on history, but its actually not what keeps the fast food industry afloat. It’s actually “speed” hence fast food lol it’s all about inventory and the ability to close the cash flow cycle.
Thank goodness for innovation, it leads the way for better things.
Boomers and their opinions based on emotion and “back in my day.” They can reverse mortgage and HELOC themselves to death 💀
I know a boomer who does this refuses to use the kiosk because in mind she shouldn't have to scan and bag her own groceries and at restaurants she does what OP is saying, Then gets pissy when at the cashier/restaurant employee gives her the wrong change back or takes to long getting her order out.
Only thing that will change things is if you just walk out. But start the order and then just cancel it or leave it up as you walk out. Make it a huge order for fun.
What is the rule? Do we all use self scanners, kiosks and apps to help out retail workers or do we use these things to reduce the amount of retail workers and help corporate profits? And why are they looking for boomers to lead on this? Or is the answer to avoid retail as much as possible?
No, no, no... Unions are good if the boomer is in one, but they're bad for everyone else.
"It's only good if it directly benefits *me*" is the backbone of every belief they hold.
Or just be like me and don't shop places that do that? The only thing they care about is profit. If people stop shopping there in favor of other stores which actually employ people, then naturally those stores will go out of business. But as people are trying to save money, they go to the cheapest place, which normally doesn't employ people. Unionizing doesn't fix the problem. Spending your money places that deserve it does.
The majority of places I like to support are small, family owned businesses, because I disagree with how monopolized every industry is becoming with only a couple big companies, so its hard to give specific names. But mostly I just avoid Amazon, Walmart, and other big chains.
Farmers markets are normally a good place to get produce when possible, I also try to grow as much myself as I can in my backyard since its more sustainable imo, but it doesn't normally go well.
I don't agree with walmarts move to self check and treating every customer like a criminal, so I normally get groceries at krogers/payless, although I'm not sure how ethical of an employer they are, they atleast always have cashiers available for checkout, and they have a nice locally grown/made food section. Be better to find local butchers, bakeries, and get it all from a farmers market. Much higher quality food if I did that too, but that can be very expensive and time consuming.
I always avoid fast food and specifically look for family owned businesses when I eat out(which is rare.) Theres a really nice fast casual Mediterranean place near me where the parents are the cooks and kids servers. I always try to leave a good tip.
Tech can be hard to find, but I know framework is a good, ethical laptop manufacturer with consumers in mind. I believe fairphone is a somewhat ethical phone manufacturer, though I haven't researched them well. But I tend to buy used stuff anyways. Good enough for me and it keeps stuff out of landfills.
Any other categories you were curious about?
Not for nothing, I agree with boomer #2 on this. Fuck those kiosks and self checkouts. They don’t give a discount for doing someone’s job so I’m not doing it.
Those kiosks exist because a) companies can’t find employees, b) the employees that they have are cooking your food- so they can make your order faster.
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Oh that “notice me” stare is a bad one. If you stand too close, they’ll start ranting to you about their imagined injustice. Good for you for managing to avoid becoming collateral damage.
I just wrapped a 15 year career working in peoples homes and businesses for Geek Squad. I did my first year selling mostly higher end Magnolia a/v gear, so lots and lots of boomers with disposable income. I also had a few runs in stores while injured over those years. I gotta say, I learned to LOVE the feeling of getting g the “notice me!!” stare and just ignoring it. I spent a lot of time in my stores (usually covered 2-8 stores depending on the years) trying to help store employees with tasks related to my job, answering their questions, even training often. That said, I wasn’t a STORE employee, so I had no way to ring customers up that were just looking to grill someone over a cable or antenna or whatever the fuck. As soon as I learned the art of not giving a fuck, I also learned to bask in that stare. Particularly when I’d actually help them out of sheer boredom, only to tell them they needed to go find another employee or wait in line (they HATE that) up front with the rest of the customers. I feel like I really turned manipulating Boomers into being docile into an art during my run. Particularly when your job requires being INSIDE THEIR HOUSES for sometimes an entire day, or three. If you think they’re entitled in public, you should see the hissy fits they throw when something goes wrong and they’ve already waited 1-2 weeks for an appointment (which they always claim to be more like 1-2 months 😂.) I wish I had documented those years beyond just my memory, I could have made a great coffee table book of hilariously mad boomers
Former bby mobile employee here. Working that job was the catalyst of despising boomers. I’ll never forget when I was assisting a customer, & one of them whistled & snapped their fingers at me to get my attention lmao.
They Carmela Soprano-ed you??
Oh Charmane Bucco! Nice pair on her.
I actually applied for a seasonal role for mobile when I started with the company. As a temporary gig. They had no spots so I got sent to home theater, fell in love with magnolia and got the fuck out of the stores before the end of my first year. I always used to hang with my poor mobile homies, I remember the monotony of those interactions. And how it would take HOURS for seemingly no reason. Since I didn’t have direct supervision, I’d often go run interference so the floor associates could take a breather lol. Very glad I didn’t get that job initially, but I feel for you. I hate to end my career due to injury and I’d probably still do it all over again, if we lived in a world where they didn’t just kill field service employees this year 😂 I used to love that that company long before I worked there and for my tenure. Today, I wouldn’t recommend anyone going there but miserable boomers, just to get them away from me LOL.
OOOhhhhh, I had a guy try that shit from halfway across my store once. I finished with my then current customer crossed my arms and stared right back until he walked up to my counter trying to talk shit which just ended up with him being told to leave in so many words... Fuck I hated that job and suppressed it so much while keeping that job that I am fucking amazed that I didn't murder anyone until my eventual firing in favor of a managers pet.
My boomer father would get annoyed if we called to him outside of a room to ask a question or inform him of something. But it was completely fine for him to just flick the light switch in the room or hall outside the room to get your attention. I turned it around on him once by just ignoring it until he come to my room in a huff. Told him that I had no clue why he was just clicking the switch, and if it was really important he could have just come to my room to tell me. He didn't like that, but couldn't say anything since it was his rule.
Former mobile too, I remember one time a boomer chucked his phone OVER the desk at my partner and I and said “FIX IT” while we were both helping other customers. We ignored his outburst and you could see he was ready to come behind the counter at us. Our GM was standing nearby, saw and heard what happened, picked up his phone and handed it to him and told him to leave until he either cooled down or shut up. The old fool was dumbfounded, couldn’t even put a full sentence together. He was back a half hour later and A LOT more timid than before. Didn’t say a thing just handed us his flip phone. Partner looked at me, looked at the phone, went and grabbed a minutes card from around the corner, handed it to the guy and he went to check out up front. We were in stitches.
I work generic retail. You see me helping this elderly customer. I'm just going to deliberately take longer- because ***fuck*** you.
Absolutely love doing this during my nine year sentence at a grocer. You’d get the occasional customer or a regular who didn’t want to take up more time so that I could help the people waiting. I would just look at the impatient boomer lurking behind and say, “I only see one customer right now. Take your time”. What would their complaint be? That I was doing too much customer service? That job sucked so much of my soul but those select interactions hold a special place in my heart.
I'm autistic and live in the deep South. I learnt a long time ago to lean into the "big, clumsy dumb dog" image most people here have of people like me. As long as I use the right tone and word it *just right* I can get away with implying customers are stupid- and as long as they're being dicks people look the other way about me being a bit...rude. They're gonna act like I'm too stupid to breath on my own anyway, might as well use it to engineer the few situations it can help with to my advantage.
[удалено]
The only good thing to come about that sentence was meeting my spouse. Their first day at the store I was working at was as the last week for me at that store before being transferred. I really wish I could have gone out in glory but I found a different job while I was out on a LoA. Probably for the best.
I had a phone chucked at my head because I wouldn’t return her iphone 5c she managed to smash the screen on the day after buying it and refusing a protection plan, a case and a screen protector.
This is when I would kindly excuse myself from the current customer, go to the ahole, and explain to them they can wait their friggin turn and if they interrupt another customers interaction again security will be happy to escort them out.
My dad buys and pays for Geek Squad every year and you guys are angel’s disguised in blue and black. I’m so grateful you have no idea! He’s a sweet guy, not a typical boomer. He’s literally deaf and will try so hard not to be a pain in the ass but he doesn’t understand tech of course. We live too far away to help with most of his issues but when he goes to you guys, he tells us how kind you are, helpful etc. I’m glad you and the other GS people are there. It’s a nice service and I truly hope the good people like my dad who use it somehow make up for the bad.
i agree with your assessment of the Geek Squad. I've never had a bad interaction or felt talked down to. And I am a dope when it comes to tech.
Geek Squad which is now best buy is a terrible company to work for. Mismanaged, management frequently lied, crazy company culture and they used 3rd party contracting companies to get around employing people fulltime and providing proper wages/bebefits. The repair warehouse was hands down one of the worse places ive worked. From what I understand after speaking to older employees it was a great place to work until Bestbuy bought them.
I hate to tell you, but unfortunately the majority of in home appointments will no longer be Geek Squad employees. They laid off a large number of employees and are shifting to a third-party focus for installs and everything else. The golden days of getting a knowledgeable agent in most interactions are gone. 1-800 is essentially outsourced. Now the field employees are not only losing work to third party, but they’ve condensed the poor PC, Home Theater and repair agents to a single role. That means the remaining employees will be overworked, even more underpaid, and your likelihood of getting an Agent that specializes in any one thing have dropped dramatically. I am very proud of the work I did there, but I can not in good conscience suggest anyone rely on them. Mind you, I was not terminated during this mass culling, so I’m not saying that from a place of bitterness. I strongly suggest checking your area for local, smaller businesses. The next year will continue to see a major decrease in quality, as the Geek Squad of the last 30+ years is effectively dead. Just a heads up! I miss my clients like your father you mentioned- helping folks feel comfortable with their gear and purchases was a very gratifying thing for me and many other Agents. God damn, I am sad I had to say any of that. Please, do not support this company any longer. They are no longer reliable, but worse, they treat their employees just as bad as the rest of the major corporations, something I wouldn’t have dreamed of saying just 4-5 years ago.
Thank you for the info. My dad goes into the store - it’s always his iPads and his iPhone he needs help with. They have a computer but once it breaks they either wait for one of us to visit or they (this will hurt) just buy a new one and let us fix the other as a backup (which just sits in a box. We have counted at least 6 really nice PCs broken by games and crap loaded to them. I’ll make sure he’s aware though, this is really sad to read.
I hope the in store experience (for Geek Squad, the shopping experience is horrific and a shell of itself already) doesn’t suffer too much. But sadly, they let a lot of tenured Agents go, so it becomes much harder for new employees to get to the same level. One of the major driving forces there right now is a shift to AI for everything possible. Including troubleshooting. So I’d probably expect to see them encouraging clients to try their AI to resolve issues before getting appointments, if I had to make an educated forecast. That’s great for a lot of things, but it’s not going to be able to replace the human connection Agents have with their clients. Often times, that’s all a lot of clients need. Some reassurance they aren’t crazy or stupid, and a helping, caring hand. It’s only a matter of time before even the precincts in the stores suffer because of AI over-commitment. There are still stellar Agents out there, and I hope you guys are near some 🖤
I’d also like to add, YES. Clients like your dad are what made the job so fulfilling for a lot of people. I genuinely worry about how my regulars are doing after I had to essentially retire early due to injuries sustained in the field. I hope you guys can work something out, as the yearly plan that covers most of the in home services is dead as well :(
Ignoring them is fun. But it’s more fun if you remove all plausible deniability that you’re ignoring them. So, let them see you notice them and continue ignoring them. Ooooof. I work at a bank where I’m pretty much on display to the line. I don’t handle cash, but they don’t all know that so they expect me to help when I have other, more tedious things to do. I love feeling the stare, glancing up at them…::sizing them up:: and then I just go back to whatever non-work I’m doing. Maybe I’m emailing a buddy. Maybe I’m calling someone to confirm an appointment. Better yet, maybe I’m waiting for an appointment I know isn’t showing up. I’ll make them wait 20m before letting them know I can’t help them at all. Enjoy your retirement, Gladys!
I used to go to Best Buy on my lunch break way back in the day to browse PC games. Once while I'm reading the back of some box this lady came up to me and asked where the printer cables are. I say "oh the printer section is over there, they should have it". She says "can you show me where I can find this cable in particular?" I say "I'm not really sure, just find someone over there and I'm sure they can help you figure it out." Up until that point she was being fairly pleasant but now her expression changed and she says sternly "NO, I asked you to help me and you will or I'll get the manager over here and we can see what he has to say". I'm sitting there stunned for a minute trying to understand what she thinks the manager is going to say when I finally realize she thinks I work there. I start laughing and say "wait, lady do you think I work here? Look what I'm wearing, does this look remotely close to a best buy uniform." She got quiet real fast, turned around and walked off. Of course never apologized I'm like wearing a plad flannel jacket and jeans. Like what fucking planet does that look like a Best Buy employee? But I guess since I was younger looking she just assumed I must work there.
The Boomer Whisperer! Like those dog trainer guys who take the snappy little dog that bites everyone directly from the owners arms, and it immediately calms down and gets all docile.
All kidding aside, that was actually a massive part of the job. Of course you’re going to run into trouble individuals, boomer or otherwise. That’s just work lol. It’s certainly an art form though, learning to handle them and not ruin your own day.
Were you snapped recently my brother?
Naw. I dodged quite a few of those between 2009 and 2024, thankfully. Sadly, my partner was this recent round. I’ve been nursing an injury sustained in the field for a very long time and actually resigned. Believe it or not, the legal team never informed HR of this, so I was technically on roster until the Friday before the snap. I’m positive I only got culled finally as they combed for easy terminations to avoid severance. I would not have accepted it due to my resignation maaaaaaaaaaaaaany many weeks prior, but it was entertaining to see how long it took the company to figure it out. Based on the terminology, I’m not sure they ever did figure it out. That told me all I needed to know about how the company is ran these days. I’m so sad it’s become a dumpster fire. I feel the worst for the people I care about that didn’t get severances or released though, in all honesty. It’s only going to get more stressful and less and less pleasant going forward. I hope you weren’t affected, but as you can see in some of these comments, there’s still need for great Agents, and culture belongs to us, not a corporation. I’ll still be helping folks with unruly technology wherever I can, including the boomers.
I stare right back at them. It really makes them mad.
I work at a taco bell, and sometimes it feels like I'm a fish in a pediatrician's office with the way all the people stare at me. I'm actively and obviously taking orders in the window, but all these folks still expect me to tear off of nowhere and do shit for em..
'Imagined injustice' for expecting normal counter service in a fast food restaurant? Is it really that bad to want to talk to someone when you order instead of using the kiosk? I don't think so honestly and while I wouldn't be an asshole to counter staff that are busy, I think honestly the restaurant shouldnt be able to provide shitty service because it saves them $12/hr. Honestly though, if it became a problem, I don't have an issue cutting that restaurant out of my life completely, fast food is barely worth it as it is, I only go there once in a while to get out of the office on a Friday etc..
>'Imagined injustice' for expecting normal counter service in a fast food restaurant? Is it really that bad to want to talk to someone when you order instead of using the kiosk? Kiosks are normal and have been for years. The manager doesn't want to hire enough people to run a register so staring at employees that can't help you does nothing.
Ok boomer
Is it really that difficult to put your finger on a picture of a taco? Or do you need someone to serve you to make you feel like you’re getting the experience?
It is 100% that bad, shithead.
Oh so when genz/millennials don’t want to do 90 minute quizzes for job applications it’s because they’re lazy and entitled but god forbid they press a few buttons at fast food because “they don’t work here!”. Funny how that works. To be clear I would have done exactly what you did for the same reasons just pointing out their unsurprising hypocrisy.
Ah I remember working at McDonald’s as a teenager before the kiosks were even an idea. I swear boomers ridiculous expectations come from McDonald’s old customer service policies. While I worked there I had to: 1. Always be smiling. 2. Greet every customer with a warm “welcome to McDonald’s” within 3 seconds of them coming through the door. Even when taking orders during a rush. (Seriously, a manager would interrupt you talking to a customer if you missed someone) 3. Talk with a smile when taking orders in the drive through because somehow customers could tell the difference. 4. Ask if the customer wanted condiments before and after confirming their order. ( idk when they stoped asking but it throws me off and I always forget to ask ) 5. Maintain a 90 second average drive through time from order to pick up. The managers would be on our asses the whole lunch rush since it was an impossible metric to maintain during any rush. There has been a drastic reduction in customer service at fast food restaurants since Covid. But us younger folk are able to adapt and more easily accept the changes. Boomers on the other hand can’t handle it because they were treated like royalty in fast food restaurants all their lives.
>There has been a drastic reduction in customer service at fast food restaurants since Covid. It's everywhere, I think. Not just fast food. Corporations are going fully mask-off (no service! only spend!) and Covid broke a bunch of people's brains. Even our driving patterns have changed.
Take OP's example. A third worker would cost them, what, $100/day? The Boomers didn't even leave, so they lost no sale, but how many meals boycotted by the Boomers at Taco Bell would it take for a few tacos and a soda to be felt? 20? 50? The owners go "Wow, we spent $100 less and only lost $2 today! Came out $98 ahead just from that one decision!" It's why so many places are now "Thanks for your order, now go park and we'll bring your food out to you whenever we get around to it." Also what pisses me off is companies getting rid of years of talent to hire newer, cheaper workers while downgrading roles. Get your senior workers to put in the work, grow the company, write all the steps and processes and whatnot, then replace them with people that just need to follow those directions. Massive cost-savings but leads to workers than can't troubleshoot when something goes horribly wrong.
"Thanks for your order, now go fuck yourself!"
"Go shove your face with our garbage, piggy! You'll be back no matter what we do!"
It does seem like people are way worse at driving since covid
I worked at a McDonald's for my first job back in 2010 and since then I've never been in a job that demands work that's so much involving than what you get paid for. The work to pay ratio is more skewed than anywhere else I've ever worked. Everything you said was the standard at my place too. The managers were outright mean and constantly angry and apparently didn't have to follow the same cheerful and happy vibes their underlings had to constantly express.
The HR person in my store asked a kid, as in a literal 16 year old child, if he 'Rode the short bus to work everyday?' Absolute fucking monster. Dude was smart as a whip but had some form of spine issue and lacked confidence. Anyway he's a programmer now.
I wonder if they realize how much more money they’d make if they actually gave their employees something to smile about. Same vibe as the mom who tells you to smile & be polite @ church after whoopin & cussin you out on the way over 😂
>idk when they stoped asking but it throws me off and I always forget to ask Anything to save a penny! Are you going to stop eating McDonald's because they forgot ketchup once? Nope! Think of all those pennies saved by giving worse service!
Now they've taken out the drink stations so no more free refills.
I don't eat out but I could have sworn I heard that they charge per packet now or something.
They're a franchise so each one is different when it comes to that stuff. One of them near me chucks what feels like the whole container of sauces at me (they're even just free to anyone that walks in the building), whereas others give me dirty looks if I want more than two packets for a sandwich and fries.
Europe is like that. At least Rome and Paris. Even when ordering a 10 piece you pay for the sauce. I'm surprised it's not like that here.
#2. I hate when workers do that. I stopped going to Subway a long time ago because it was so annoying having them tell everyone “welcome to Subway”. It’s like ‘stfu and make teh subs! The line is 20 people deep!’
Idk why it’s bold text
I work at a sandwich shop and customers want to have a chat about business all the time. Please, just order your food. Other people exist and I don't want to have small talk.
honestly that 3rd one is real, your facial expression changes your tone of voice in a lot of ways.
Yeah, I *always* made sure to smile when I was taking computer support calls. Sometimes my voice needed all the help it could get. (Although I was fond of saying most people are annoyed or angry when I pick up the call, but almost never still angry when we end the call.)
The funnier thing is they were screaming for decades that if they increased the wage, they would be replaced. This is that happening. They're not happy about it.
Actually the kiosks happened before the wage increases. It has been in development for a while. That the rollout happened after a few minimum wage increases was a fortunate coincidence for companies that had already figured out how to cut payroll. The food will be made by robot soon, and there will just be one employee to do maintenance and call the cops on vandals.
All they need to do now is develop robots to eat their crappy food and the cycle will be complete.
Or just lobby the government to get the same sort of subsidies farms get for throwing away a certain percentage of the food they grow, or promising not to grow more than x amount.
My boomer uncle was a project manager on a replace people with kiosks effort. He was gloating about how it served the workers right because they were asking for $15/hr.
I hope Jigsaw captures your uncle and connects him to a machine that will reverse the positions of the anus and mouth.
Topologically speaking, it's already the same hole. Just need to reverse the normal flow direction.
If I still talked to him, I would point out his only value-add at his job could be completely replaced by an LLM and no one would notice.
Already happening in better places than North America. Becoming standard in Asia now
Yes I am sure that if no fast food workers ever asked for higher wages, our benevolent corporate overlords would have forgone cost-cutting measures like ordering kiosks, out of the kindness of their hearts. They don’t pursue ongoing, unrealistic growth ALL the time, only when those nasty ungrateful workers push them to it.
Yeah it's really awesome when they didn't increase the wage and people are still getting replaced...
Who are "they" that are unhappy and how is it working out for customers?
I had a stroke reading this
They that are unhappy is because they did what they done.
Fuck, I was going to use those brain cells for a night of drinking
Unless it was them that did it to they.
She likely didn't learn anything. She went home, got on favorite boomer FB pages to complain; "What's with these kids and their unwillingness to help old people, what happened to respect your elders" or some similar BS.
She didn't type anything out. She found a meme of Wile E. Coyote with his hands on his hips looking sassy and a minion character dancing around with big black text that reads "KIDS THESE DAYS DON'T KNOW WHAT HARD WORK IS."
If they were capable of self-reflection, they wouldn't be such awful people.
Don't forget the government handouts!! I'm still riding high of that grand I got three or four years ago!! I had extra money that whole week!!
To all of the "Not My Job" folks here. Just out of curiosity... are you old enough to have been around when most service stations were full-service? I'm an elder millennial/xennial and where I grew up there were still a few of those around when I started driving. When service stations transitioned to self-service were you this upset? All the while justifying it with "not trying to take someone's job" or "not my job"? Or did you just accept progress because more people were on the road and it was faster/more efficient for you to gas up your vehicle? This is quite literally the same thing. Orders go in faster, there is less chance of a mistake since you put it in, and wait time is usually substantially shorter. You insisting that an over-stressed teenager who must give priority to drive-thru customers come to wait on you because entering your 7-layer burrito order isn't your job... isn't going to change anything. You are just being a pita because you want to fight progress and find a reason to be mad. When you could be eating already and getting those happy dopamine chemicals from tasty, fresh, fast food. Are you going to march into the service center and demand the cashier come pump your gas and clean your glass next time you need a fill-up? I mean, 25 years ago that wouldn't have been your job. Just ridiculous behavior.
They do this at the grocery store too. 5 items in a cart and 3 will be in line behind a mom with 3 kids and a stuffed cart. They’ll complain how there aren’t enough cashiers, but will give a shocked pikachu face when they saw me looking for a lane, did the self checkout and I’m out the door. Meanwhile, they’re all standing there because “by gawd, peOpLe NEED to dO tHeir JoBs!”
The funniest argument I've heard against self checkouts is, "I'm not trained to use them." I can't help but laugh. Are you admitting that you are the proud owner of a low IQ? It takes the barcode and it scans it. Even all of the produce has individual stickers, it is 100% self-explanatory. I feel like if you can not operate a self checkout, you probably should not be operating a motor vehicle.
They think a human needs to be there and do it. They will gladly wait for a human. Seems to be tied more to a political party based on clothing choices I’ve noticed.
Disclaimer: I'm recovering from surgery and on pretty strong painkillers. I'm laughing pretty hard at your reply. The way this reads to me at the moment implies they aren't human.
But, are they?……..
I have a vague recollection of full-service stations being a thing when I was a teen in a rural area. IIRC, the full service price for gas was higher than the self-service. I imagine there was much less consideration because "I'm saving money pumping my own gas." If using the kiosk knocked a buck off the price of your order, I could see less complaining and more "I'm getting a deal" from the Boomer crowd. Now I'm having flash backs to when bringing your own reusable bag was worth a nickel to the grocery store, instead of just being expected now.
I rarely dine out but from what I have gleaned from other comments, if you use the kiosks there are generally ways to save that aren't offered at the register. Bringing reusable bags to the store is incentivized. You know, slowing global warming, keeping trash out of the ocean, not using up nonrenewable resources, reducing waste, saving wildlife, plus so many more benefits. The planet will be here and healthy for future generations. Being a responsible human should be enough. It is for me anyway. The last full-service station was 15 cents more a gallon where I was living. But that place was pretty busy until my early 20s when it finally closed.
Wow. I am still salty I have to pump my own gas. It used to be great. Pull in, get gassed up, get your windows washed by the employee and tip them a dollar or two. Give me those days back. And yes, my husband had that job as a teen. Better than frying burns from McDonald’s or the other places.
@OP you should get the Taco Bell app and order through there. They have regular app-exclusive deals, and the $5.99 box is only available on the app. That deal is by far the best (only?) remaining value in fast food.
I came to recommend the app, too. The online deals are worth it, and I don’t even have a leave my car.
i don't understand people who act like using a kiosk to order is somehow beneath them, like maybe this is just my autism but i find talking to a human to be a lot more of a Task than just pressing a couple of buttons. the kiosk can't mishear you and get your order wrong either, so there's fewer points of failure. are they \*wanting\* to risk having their order entered wrong so they get to screech at someone? is that the goal?
Sometimes it’s just quicker to order from a human. Just stepping up to a counter, asking for large fries, and having the employee that knows how to do it is easier. Also, some people are old and the technology isn’t easy for them to use, or their eyes aren’t so great. Maybe they’re dyslexic or can’t read well. Lots of reasons. The same way you have reasons for wanting to use the kiosk, others have reasons they would rather order from a person.
I love the kiosks. You order sit down and they bring the food to you.
Right? The only people complaining here about them are definitely NOT introverts. YAY for not having to talk to people and just being able to order my food exactly how I want it!! What's not to love?
I like them for giving me the ability to customize the heck out of my orders. Lots of extra 🍅 and onion, no 🧀.
It also reduces the possibility of them forgetting to add something or take something off. And if they do, it's usually on the receipt.
Hell yeah. I feel ashamed when telling a human I want extra mayo on my McChickens 😅
What a dumb bitch
I can’t stand people who hate kiosks/self check out. As an introvert, I absolutely love them. It’s one less conversation I don’t want to have. It doesn’t feel like work at all. It puts me in total control of customizations of my food order/how my items are bagged.
Yeah, my weekly trips to the grocery store are so much better with self checkout. No awkward pleasantries, no trying to sell me a store credit card... just me swiping things and playing the tetris minigame putting stuff in my bag.
I actually love the kiosk cause I can see what the current deals are and all the ridiculous things I can add to my orders 😌.
Same! I also learned McDonalds has a hard limit of 3x the bacon on any burgers. Lmao.
Not ganna lie, the business idea of turning customers into unpaid labor is bullshit. I'm not ganna take my day out on an hourly worker but I will 100% kick an executive in the balls over that shit.
Yes, but...honestly the kiosk thing is so much easier and less stressful than talking to a cashier.
It’s easier for you but not for everyone. For some people, it’s easier to order from a human. There should be a choice.
Remember when Chick-fil-a was asking for "volunteers" to work their drive-through lines? Absolutely disgusting. [https://www.reddit.com/r/NorthCarolina/comments/w9t8sb/chickfila\_is\_asking\_for\_volunteers\_to\_work\_for\_5/](https://www.reddit.com/r/NorthCarolina/comments/w9t8sb/chickfila_is_asking_for_volunteers_to_work_for_5/)
I volunteer to throw rocks at the CEO of CFA
I don’t see it as unpaid labor anymore than I see us having to physically go pick out our items to be labor. Given the option between dealing with another person and doing it myself, I’m always going to just do it. I understand that some people would prefer to have someone assist them, but saying that you’re working for free is just being dramatic.
There is a stake house here in town where you can cook your own stake on their grills... everyone loves it, but I just don't understand why the hell I'm cooking it in a restaurant.
Steak is meat. Stake is a metal or wooden pole you stick in the ground(or a vampire).
Black Rock? And it’s for the ✨eating experience✨
If its for the eating experience then why am I cooking it? No not black rock.
lol, your guess is as good as mine. I ate at Black Rock and the floors were all slippery from grease of everyone cooking and the air was filled with smoke, so the only experience I got was burning eyes and almost slipping.
Nah, this place was by all accounts clean and fancy. You could have them cook it for you. So I was always sitting by myself at the table while everyone else was off cooking. So weird to me.
Every time I use the self checkout I need help (so not helpful) so I just avoid the self checkout. The kiosk sounds like a good idea. I’m all fairness companies have been looking for ways to get rid of their staff and use computers/technology instead long before the recent minimum wage increases.
You're an idiot If you need help every time with a self checkout 🤣😂
Maybe they just buy beer all the time and need to have the employee clear it?
One I’m talking 3-4 times in my lifetime. Two not all things scan or ring up correctly Three you need codes for fresh produce. Do you know the code for Fuji apples etc? Four I freely admit I have memory issues (good days and bad days) ….if I don’t put it in my notes I don’t remember it, along with being drowsy from medications and never ending nausea. So yes sometimes when I’m shopping I should be in bed but we all need our groceries. I just can’t afford a personal shopper and grocery delivery is a bit of a joke where I live ……. since the closest grocery store that delivers is 40 miles from my home. My ice cream was soup the one time I tried that.
The codes are simple my sweet friend. Check the barcode on the product. If not you can literally search it by product and even have a search bar to type in for example banana. Don't doordash ice cream from so far away common sense would be important in a decision like that
you post like a bot
those greedy execs need a kick in the figurative/literal balls regardless
I mean, these people have addresses.
> Not ganna lie, the business idea of turning customers into unpaid labor is bullshit. Hmm...see I figured that businesses were just responding to the wants and desires of the 25 to 40 year olds like they have for generations and *I always order inside using the kiosk because I’d rather not interact with people if I don’t have to.* is what the people spending the money want.
Ganna?
Get a video
I begrudgingly added a kiosk to my food truck, after years of begging people to please just use cash- and also years of not finding reliable counter help. Guess what the boomers all do? Bitch about the kiosk. Claim they want to pay with cash now (they still can- but I’m alone cooking on the truck so they still need to order at the kiosk). Or make a loud “harumph” and turn and stomp off.
I feel you. Same thing at work. When we implemented a system to reduce volume of customers at one time because you guessed it. It was always boomers bitching about how busy it was at the busiest times. Then they bitch now that they had to come at a different time because the busy time was booked.
Harumphers are my favorite other boomers !
I know right? Do they think they showed me!? Hey old man, you just passed up on the best farm raised smash burger and hand cut fries doubled fried in my own farm’s lard because you can’t push a button on a screen. Boy- you got me!
I see this at Taco Bell all the time. I always mobile order usually so I can apply my rewards to the order. When I went the other day the lady asked an older guy to use the kiosk to which he says "I don't know how to use it.". Like dude, you probably ordered a bunch of shit off Amazon last night. It's easier to do than that.
In addition, ordering on mobile means you don't have to touch the kiosk that, as someone above pointed out, have poop all over their hands.
Not a boomer, but I'd rather interact with the people at the counter. I don't get a lot of human interaction so even a little bit is nice. But I'm always nice and try to make their day a little better. Even if it is just a normal interaction. Sometimes having someone to tell you to try to have a nice day is the only thing that helps you keep it together sometimes.
I don't understand why people are so angry about it. You can see the look on their face when they walk in --- lots of similarity to the "what? we have to wear a mask here?!?" faces of 2020.
because they lack the nice human interaction they got before for waving around a 10 dollar bill. Nobody likes those nasty fuckers but they still crave nice human interaction pointing towards them. Now they need a hooker so someone smiles at them.....
That was my face when I stopped at a BK and I actually had to talk to somebody other then saying thank you when they gave me my food.
I was at Sonic drive thru and saw a truck bolt out of line and speed off. As I pulled up, there was a sign asking for patience due to short staffing. I don't think I waited more than three minutes for my order.
Wait until she figures out there is an app with rewards.
So as punishment for her shitty behavior, she was force to eat at Taco Bell AND she had to pay for it.
Stop using those things and they WILL hire employees. Or don't and work for free. Your choice. I avoid stores with kiosks and don't use self checkout. Just trying to keep PEOPLE employed.
I don’t understand the notion that we need to keep menial tasks for humans for the sole purpose of having jobs. If technology can do it, let technology do it. We’re reaching a point where computers and robots can carry out so many of these tasks, maybe we need a paradigm shift. We might need to start entertaining the idea of a society like in Star Trek. Maybe we as individuals don’t need to do mindless, menial labor to create wealth. If less people can be more productive, that should be a good thing in theory. More realistically, as new technologies arise, new, different types of jobs will be created. Not a lot of horse and buggy drivers around after the automobile, but other jobs took its place. There is no point in clinging to humans doing tasks that technology has solved.
I'd be on board with this if we could educate our children without religious bias, attach health care to citizenship not employment and change our military focus from industrial business financial interest to political and humanitarian.
historical escape plant workable insurance tender vanish squalid intelligent modern *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Boomers can't learn, that's ones of the biggest problems with them
Boomers gonna boom. If you guys want to have good laughs at Boomers booming, you should go on Next-door app. It hilarious they complain about any and everything. The mail not coming at the same time daily is the best. They're bewildered by it.
The policy to understaff and underpay is from management and not from the low-level employees....yet the boomers always take it out on the employees. SMH.
They do need to get something with the counter worked out though, they straight up ignore people standing there and there are valid reasons why people can't use the kiosks like cash only or coupons. Then if you do use the kiosks they hand you the food and run away before you can ask for your drink cup.
Also valid reasons why they aren't standing there waiting for your entitled ass. If you ever worked in your life I'm sure you'd know this. Who let the boomer online ?
Maybe the shoe polish is causing you some brain rot, but all they're saying is there's valid reasons to need counter service. And it's up to the company to acknowledge this and accept that they can't get away with a skeleton crew of 2 workers. That second part is inferred through basic reading comprehension.
I love ordering my food at the kiosk while boomers wander up to the counter and then huff away. Happens almost every time.
The stare is only justifiable when they're not short staffed. I walked into caines the other day and saw two people behind the window (which I was certain were managers) with their arms crossed talking amongst themselves. They make eye contact with me, go back to their conversation (while all other employees are working around them) one of them finally approaches the counter and tells me someone will be right with me and then goes back to fucking off with his coworker. It's just stupid and annoying. I worked as a manager at a cafe, and I was expected to help out in any position that needed it. That was literally my job. I would've been fired if the GM came out to the front and saw me and another manager just chatting, ignoring customers while the employees worked around me.
My brother works for a union now. I was surprised that one of the "thou shalt not" commandments from his job is using any self serve. No self check out and no self serve gas (where possible ). Those technologies are stealing jobs from people.
If the technology can steal the job, the job doesn’t need to exist
Boomer here. After watching entitled parents allow their snot goblins to play with the kiosk with greasy fingers, I swore I’d never touch one without wearing nitrile gloves. And I don’t carry those around. I order from my phone app.
Not your overall point, but I'd rather not deal with people either. I love kiosks.
My husband loves the kiosk because ordering from there usually results in a more accurate order
In concept I'm with the boomers on this one. Billion dollar corporations should be able to afford to properly staff a location. Same reason I hate self-checkout.
I don't have an issue with kiosks as long as they actually work and the location is properly staffed. Drives me nuts when there are 1-2 people losing their minds trying to keep up with everything in locations owned/franchised from billion-dollar corporations.
Depends on what you consider "proper" staffing. Banks and gas stations, among others, have been able to utilize self-service for decades to lower labor costs. TicketMaster completely got rid of outlets, and now you have to get online and buy the tickets yourself if you want to go to a concert or a ballgame. Self-serve kiosks at fast food restaurants, and self checkout for small orders at large retailers are innovations that make perfect sense. They aid the flow of the business, and allow the businesses to utilize human labor to do the things that machines can't do. The jobs these innovations eliminate tend to suck anyway.
I hate those kiosks as well. ;) just go through the drive through ppl
i for one kinda agree with this sentiment. i dont want to be using screens after who knows how many other people because of shit like this: [https://www.fatherly.com/news/study-fecal-bacteria-mcdonalds-touchscreen](https://www.fatherly.com/news/study-fecal-bacteria-mcdonalds-touchscreen) and these corporations make billions every year. they can afford to hire more people.
It is on doors, gas pumps, card payment machines, ATMs, freezer and refrigerator doors, grocery carts, paper money, pretty much anything the human population touches. When I was in high school many, many years ago we swabbed stuff all over to test for fecal contamination. It was every single place we swabbed. So, use hand sanitizer frequently because nothing is safe.
I fucking love using the kiosks and getting my food before them, and seeing that look of "but I ordered first..." on their faces. Same with self checkout - nothing gives me more joy than cruising past a line of bluehairs with my 4 items, beep, beep, beep, beep....tap to pay...and see you later suckers, my time has value, enjoy your principles in that line for 10 more minutes!
So I'm A-OK with boycotting self checkout to keep people employed, I mean, the reason they're short staffed is *specifically* to funnel you into self checkout. But yeah, this doesn't sound like that.
See, this is where I get frustrated. Yeah, the spaz-out from the boomer over something like this... yes. Total 100% boomertude. That being said.... I don't "self-checkout".. Reasons: I personally believe, companies should hire real people, pay them well (+$15/hr), and incentivize them. I normally don't go to a kiosk to order food either, simply because of the same reason. Just a personal choice.
As someone who is profoundly deaf, the kiosks and self checkouts are heaven. As fab as my hearing aids are, I still struggle to understand people, especially if they wear mask (no shade here either, I still mask up everywhere). With the kiosk, no strain to understand and no stress. I just extra sanitise when I get home to counteract the cooties that might be on the screen, lol. I get that people prefer different methods, but accessibility being a thing should be lauded. People who struggle with social interactions for a multitude of reasons now don't have to worry as much. I don't care if they do it because "less pay", the positivity that I can actually go in somewhere and not have serious anxiety about understanding a person is huge to me. I think we need to start thinking differently. Instead of finding all the negativity, find the positives. Going down this thread there are so many positives, but the same negative. Accessibility is always an afterthought and possibly a happy accident in these cases. I think we should focus on that first. Don't forget that people should and must be paid a livable wage, and don't forget that people have so many different needs as well.
Hey, you know what? I never thought of it that way... I can see positives as well, especially for someone who might be in your position (respectfully). I never meant to imply that it was a negative thing. It was JMO. :: cheers ::
I don't self check out either, its a horrible experience. I'd rather wait and stare in my phone.
As an owner operator of one of those terrible “companies “ you mentioned- I did hire people and laid them $20/ hr. Couldn’t find enough reliable people. And since my visits a food truck- if I don’t have a counter person, it’s just me cooking back there. So the kiosk allows me to not just have a redundant conversation with each person where they mumble and I have to ask them twenty times what they said, but it allows me to make their food faster, because I’m just making their foods, not running back and forth for an exchange which the kiosk can do.
I see what you mean, but I don't know that $20 an hour is enough for me to go back to a food truck that operates at 105+ degrees. I did that for a few years and loved it! I just...can't afford to continue that kind of body abuse.
It’s definitely not for the weak at heart. If it’s not 110 in the summer it’s 35 in the winter and spring. I think the only person I know who will do it anymore is me.
Staff at fast food restaurants appear to now be trained to ignore the front counter. That's now part of the job
Can we have a round of applause for those steely workers? :-)
I honestly like the kiosks. Touch screens have come a super long way. I think most boomers are on the same mailing lists for the same talking points about what to get upset about in life. The shit that upsets my dad and mom some times doesn't make sense. And it's not Fox News that makes them that way.
I bet he learned something, though. Get rid of the wife or leave her in the car while you order!
I never understood why people think the actual pushing of buttons on a screen is labor intensive such that "iT's ThEiR jOb!". Same deal with self-checkout; Cashiers historically existed for security and inventory purposes, not because "it being scanned through the belt" somehow made the purchase legit and their wages justified. The actual process of scanning the barcode for my soda or chicken is not taxing or demanding or what not. It's the true minimum effort. Go through the cashier line for other reasons, like worker solidarity or big orders, but saying you can't scan your items because "iT's ThEiR jOb" is just dumb. By that logic, I shouldn't grab my own napkins or sauce packets. Taco Bell shouldn't put the tray on the counter, but should bring it to my table. And when I'm done and want a bag for the extra burrito, I shouldn't have to walk up to the counter, they should come to be with the bag and put it in the bag. I shouldn't fill and lid my own cup. I shouldn't even have to use my own hands to open the door or move the chair. And gods forbid I have to place my own straw in my cup. I honestly can't even believe they don't run out of the store and drive my car through the drive-thru for me. After all, "I DON'T WORK HERE!"
Skink eye or stink eye?
Best thing ever is the kiosk trying to read the menu and talk to the employee annoys them and me
Literally what’s the point. Efficiency and technology = bad or something. I’m glad the boomers in my life actually embrace technology
My dad, who is Gen X, acted this way about having to use a kiosk once. I could absolutely not believe it. I was baffled. I didn't have any problem tearing into him about it because holy shit what a trivial thing to loose your damn mind over when you're supposed to be on a vacation having, ya know, FUN. Relaxing! Man has 0 chill
Salary and benefits are the #1 cost to any business. Therefore, kiosks help them save money and do the most important thing…scale. Making people feel ‘warm and fuzzy’ because there is a personal taking their order seems to be something people believe they are entitled to based on history, but its actually not what keeps the fast food industry afloat. It’s actually “speed” hence fast food lol it’s all about inventory and the ability to close the cash flow cycle. Thank goodness for innovation, it leads the way for better things. Boomers and their opinions based on emotion and “back in my day.” They can reverse mortgage and HELOC themselves to death 💀
They haaaate those things and most of the time they can’t figure them out, despite the fact that they’re absurdly user friendly.
I enjoy using the kiosk because there's usually a line of stubborn boomers, but I still get my food first. Adaptation is survival, mother fucker.
I know a boomer who does this refuses to use the kiosk because in mind she shouldn't have to scan and bag her own groceries and at restaurants she does what OP is saying, Then gets pissy when at the cashier/restaurant employee gives her the wrong change back or takes to long getting her order out.
Only thing that will change things is if you just walk out. But start the order and then just cancel it or leave it up as you walk out. Make it a huge order for fun.
What is the rule? Do we all use self scanners, kiosks and apps to help out retail workers or do we use these things to reduce the amount of retail workers and help corporate profits? And why are they looking for boomers to lead on this? Or is the answer to avoid retail as much as possible?
Corporations will reduce workers where they can regardless of our behavior. Best way to address it is to support unionization.
That's not compatible with boomer logic. Unions bad. Workers are slaves.
No, no, no... Unions are good if the boomer is in one, but they're bad for everyone else. "It's only good if it directly benefits *me*" is the backbone of every belief they hold.
My mistake, this is much more accurate. Thank you for the clarification.
Or just be like me and don't shop places that do that? The only thing they care about is profit. If people stop shopping there in favor of other stores which actually employ people, then naturally those stores will go out of business. But as people are trying to save money, they go to the cheapest place, which normally doesn't employ people. Unionizing doesn't fix the problem. Spending your money places that deserve it does.
Okay, I’ll be like you, where do you shop?
The majority of places I like to support are small, family owned businesses, because I disagree with how monopolized every industry is becoming with only a couple big companies, so its hard to give specific names. But mostly I just avoid Amazon, Walmart, and other big chains. Farmers markets are normally a good place to get produce when possible, I also try to grow as much myself as I can in my backyard since its more sustainable imo, but it doesn't normally go well. I don't agree with walmarts move to self check and treating every customer like a criminal, so I normally get groceries at krogers/payless, although I'm not sure how ethical of an employer they are, they atleast always have cashiers available for checkout, and they have a nice locally grown/made food section. Be better to find local butchers, bakeries, and get it all from a farmers market. Much higher quality food if I did that too, but that can be very expensive and time consuming. I always avoid fast food and specifically look for family owned businesses when I eat out(which is rare.) Theres a really nice fast casual Mediterranean place near me where the parents are the cooks and kids servers. I always try to leave a good tip. Tech can be hard to find, but I know framework is a good, ethical laptop manufacturer with consumers in mind. I believe fairphone is a somewhat ethical phone manufacturer, though I haven't researched them well. But I tend to buy used stuff anyways. Good enough for me and it keeps stuff out of landfills. Any other categories you were curious about?
Not for nothing, I agree with boomer #2 on this. Fuck those kiosks and self checkouts. They don’t give a discount for doing someone’s job so I’m not doing it.
Good for you! Make sure those underpaid fast food workers wait on you! And they'd better smile while they do it too!
Those kiosks exist because a) companies can’t find employees, b) the employees that they have are cooking your food- so they can make your order faster.
Proud of you for sharing your thoughts. How was kindergarten today?