Computers in the Workplace - Retail/Food Service

I have worked quite a bit in the retail and food service industries. Computers are used daily in these industries. The gas station/convenience store chain I currently work for is a little of both because we are a fast food restaurant in addition to selling the typical snacks and convenience items. The registers, self-checkouts, and order points customers use to order food are very high-tech touchscreens. Also, the screens back in the kitchen and the coffee machines use touchscreen technology, and a robot is programmed to mop the floor by itself.

There is a ton of technology all through the store. While support systems are in place when something goes wrong, and the tech stops working, employees need to be computer-literate to do their job. There are a lot of buttons to learn on the register, and helping a customer order food or coffee requires an employee to know how to use those machines as well. There are also online orders, which means the company has a mobile app that allows customers to place an order. Some of these things were accelerated because of the pandemic. Self-checkouts and online ordering (including delivery and curbside pickup options) allow for minimal contact with others. Being able to help customers with all of this technology is essential to customer service and can help keep the company competitive in an increasingly challenging market.

Over the next ten years, I see these trends continuing. Automation is becoming more common in the industry. McDonald's has been trying automated stores where ordering is done through kiosks or an app, and a conveyor belt brings your order to the window (Picchi, 2022). Amazon has also tried cashier-less stores with no checkout lines. Customers use the app to enter the store, cameras and sensors track what they pick up and leave with, and their account is charged (Liao, 2018). There is concern about eliminating jobs. However, the article about the McDonald’s store mentioned that the kitchen staff is still human, and the company says this allows them to make orders more efficiently. I see this where I work as well. People using the self-checkout and a robot helping with cleaning the floor free up employees to focus on other tasks. Either way, I see companies in this industry continuing to utilize technology and continuing to automate wherever they can.

References

Liao, S. (2018, September 17). Amazon opens its first cashier-less go store outside of Seattle. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/17/17869294/amazon-go-store-chicago-cashier-less

Picchi, A. (2022, December 23). McDonald’s unveiled an automated store. some consumers aren’t loving it. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-automated-restaurant-robots-drive-thru-conveyer-belt/