I spent 8 years at Taco Bell with 5 as a manager. I worked at over 12 stores across 5 states.
The best R&D project that they came up with back in the 90's was the automated food line with voice order system. They built a prototype that cost millions of dollars with an automated roof inventory control system also.
This behemoth would replace all the humans in the store that make the food, take the orders, and cashier the orders. The only store personnel was the store manager, store assistant manager, two shift managers, the computer tech/maintenace tech staff of 4 also. Down the road, they planned to make the techs the managers to cut labor in half.
Here's how the system was designed to work. Customer approaches the counter or drives up to the speaker in the drive-thru. An automated message would be emitted from a speaker in the dining room or outside speaker prompting the customer to place an order. The customer would voice the order and a software program in a computer bank would process the verbal order. The customer would be given a total. The automated food line which would be very complex would make the order according to the data received from the computer. The meal when completed including being placed in wraps, boxes, and bags would be dispensed to the customer on a tray or through a tray slot in the wall for the drive thru. The customer would pay for the meal by placing cash into a cash dispenser like a vending machine. Change would be dispensed back.
Technology is there to make it happen. The cost was over 5 million dollars for that system alone.
The automated inventory system in the roof was cheaper and more feasible in the future. Most stores chose not to spend the 1 million dollar pricetage on that. This was one system that all of us working there agreed would make our jobs easier.
The automated line system. Another implementation of companies to reduce labor pools to save money on wages, benefits, vacations, retirement plans, stock bonuses. Replace the human with the robot. Ultimate outsoucing.
One day in the future this will happen.
