Having two kids in travel hockey means I’m constantly on the go, which also means we eat out more than I’m proud of.
On a recent pit stop at McDonald’s, I found myself standing at a self-serve kiosk…reflecting (and yes, ranting a little) about the experience.
With the rise of AI and automation, it’s no surprise fast food has leaned into technology, running leaner, reducing waste, and increasing margins.
No real downside there… right?
As someone who spent years in food service, I couldn’t help but think about what is gained and what is quietly given up in the name of efficiency.
Sure, a small part of me was thinking, “These damn kids don’t know how good they have it," but that’s not really the point.
Table of Contents
Before
There was nothing more humbling than working the front register during a lunch or dinner rush.
Some days, you were chatting with a regular while pouring coffee. Other days, someone was throwing a sandwich at you and telling you how stupid you were. And everything in between.
When something went wrong (missing items, incorrect orders), you were the first person the customer saw. Whether it was your fault or not, it became your problem.
You had to:
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make decisions quickly
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de-escalate situations
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ask the right questions
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read people in real time
You didn’t get to step away or ignore it. No AI to advise you. You handled it somehow, right there.
Every shift was unpredictable. Every hour was different. And if you wanted to get paid, you had to face it head-on.
What Changed
Self-serve systems like kiosks didn’t just make things faster. They changed how the work happens.
They shifted part of the responsibility to the customer:
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Customers enter their own orders
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They control customizations
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They review and approve before submitting
That reduces ordering errors and waste. It also means fewer employees are needed at the front, allowing businesses to reallocate staff or operate leaner.
From an operational standpoint, it’s hard to argue with:
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more accuracy
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more consistency
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more efficiency
But that shift also changed something less obvious.
The job moved from:
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Thinking critically, interpreting, guiding, and reacting
to:
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executing what’s already been decided.
What Got Lost
Efficiency matters, but service is still the foundation of any brand.
The best service happens in the moments where things aren’t perfect.
When you remove interaction, you also remove:
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opportunities to build rapport
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opportunities to recover a bad experience
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opportunities to turn frustration into loyalty
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opportunities to grow sales and skills
There’s real value in a human being stepping in and saying, “I’ll take care of you.”
And that’s not just good service: it’s a skill.
A skill that only gets built through repetition.
The Bigger Tradeoff
When those interactions disappear, so do the reps.
Fewer conversations.
Fewer difficult moments.
Fewer chances to think on your feet.
And over time, that changes what people learn on the job.
Skills like:
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communication,
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conflict resolution,
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emotional intelligence,
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decision-making under pressure,
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understanding situational nuance,
don’t get developed the same way.
You don’t learn those via training manuals or theory. You learn them by being in it.
What This Means for the Future
Jobs in food service are often dismissed as simple or temporary, but they teach things that carry into every industry.
They teach you how to:
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deal with people
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stay composed in fast-moving situations
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take ownership of problems
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think quickly when things go wrong
When we reduce those experiences, especially early on, we risk developing a workforce with these skills severely underdeveloped.
And these aren’t small skills. They’re the ones that show up everywhere: communication, judgment, the ability to handle pressure, and navigate difficult conversations.
If those aren’t built early, they don’t just disappear. They show up later as hesitation, passing problems off to someone else, or avoiding them altogether.
Those gaps don’t just stay small-scale or internal. They show up at the brand level in the moments that matter most: when something breaks, when expectations aren’t met, and when a customer is waiting for someone to take ownership.
Over time, they shape brand perception and reputation, influencing whether people feel taken care of or just processed through a system.
When I think back on my time in food service, I don’t remember the orders. I remember the moments.
The relationships. The difficult customers. The fast decisions. The pressure.
Those experiences shaped how I work today and the level of service I expect myself to deliver to my clients.
Technology has made a lot of things more efficient, more consistent, and better overall.
Efficiency doesn’t just change how work gets done. It changes what people learn while doing it.
As more technical work becomes automated, these human skills matter even more, not less.
That’s the tradeoff worth paying attention to.
Technology isn’t the problem. Unintentional tradeoffs are.
If we’re removing the environments where people naturally build these skills, then it becomes our responsibility to replace them through coaching, real conversations, and giving people the chance to handle situations instead of avoiding them.
Because in service-based businesses, customer experience is the product.
And that experience is only as strong as the people delivering it.
