Once upon a time a thirsty customer drove through Taco Bell and ordered 18,000 cups of water. He didn’t care how all that water would fit into his car. He also didn’t care how long it would take Taco Bell to hand over thousands of cups. He was just that thirsty. But when he pulled up to the window after ordering he discovered the entire restaurant had gone dark. No lights, no sounds, not one bit of movement inside. It was almost like… no, it was exactly like a computer shutting down, all by itself. Our thirsty customer gave a satisfied smile as he drove off.
This tale of drinks in the drive-thru is true; well… except for the part where Taco Bell goes dark. Our thirsty customer’s order was entirely by design, testing the response of a fast-food technology driven by artificial intelligence. The person taking his order for 18,000 cups of water was no person at all. And as computers are wont to do when overloaded, the system simply shut down. I picture a spark-laden burst of circuitry overload, a bright red WARNING! flashing on the screen, a few tendrils of smoke emerging from the processor, and an audible “click” as everything shuts down.
One year after this escapade Taco Bell has improved its AI programming to where 18,000 cups of water no longer turns off the lights. Instead, the computer cycles to a canned response akin to, “I’m sorry, that selection is not possible. Would you prefer one cup of water? And would you like fries with that?” So despite his best intentions, our thirsty customer actually improved the technology. And the proof is in the pudding: Taco Bell recently reported an uptick of 1.5% in sales and 6% in customer satisfaction directly attributable to their use of AI.
Sorry, I’m not a part of that 6% uptick in customer satisfaction. I have two concerns about AI and automation in restaurants. The first one is obvious. The cost of the technology will be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. Case in point: my wife and I went to a Mexican restaurant last night with friends. Not a fancy place mind you, but not Taco Bell either. And when our entrees showed up they were on the shelves of a delivery robot. Our waiter moved the plates from the robot to the table but was relieved of the burden of carrying them out from the kitchen.
Useful tech perhaps, but pricy as well. Last night’s bill for two margaritas and two entrees was over seventy-five dollars. For lack of an itemized receipt (which I neglected to check when I paid) I can’t begin to explain how a couple of burritos and drinks cost that much. Yes, I need to factor in tax and tip, but maybe also a “technology fee”.
My other concern is more difficult to quantify but no less significant. You can see where all of this is headed. Taco Bell has “AI’d” their drive-thru, which means eventually they’ll automate their entire kitchen. As it is, I’ve seen self-operating drink machines behind the counter, their orders fed directly from a computer. No human interaction. And that, my friends, is the crux of my concern.. I want human interaction.
I want the person at the drive-thru window asking, “So how’s your day been so far?” as she waits for my order to be prepared. I want the waiter at the table picking up on bits of the conversation, adding a thought or two of his own. Delivery robots may be “cute” but eventually they’ll be seen as just another appliance. I can recall several dinners out where the service was so good that the food was a secondary thought. In other words, complete customer satisfaction with zero technology.
The next time I’m out to dinner maybe I’ll order 18,000 cups of water. The waiter will look up from his notepad, stare at me, and probably laugh out loud. And that’s all I’m really looking for – an interaction and a smile, all for free. That’s more than a robot can ever deliver.
Some content sourced from the Entrepreneur article, “Taco Bell Put AI in 900 Drive-Thrus – Here’s What Happened to Sales” and the BBC article, “Taco Bell rethinks AI drive-thru after man orders 18,000 waters”.
