QSRs are not ready for self service

ChicagoTribune: Shoppers can buy gas, check in for a flight or scan their own groceries without the help of a clerk, but the self-serve kiosks revolutionizing so much of the world are having a tough time gaining traction in the nation's fast-food industry. While major restaurant chains such as McDonald's Corp., Taco Bell, Burger King and Dairy Queen have considered the idea, none has taken the step to order a roll-out of the technology.

 

"The country is not quite ready for self-serve," said Devin Green, chief executive of ESP Systems LLC, which is deploying a system for alerting a restaurant's staff that a patron needs service. "This is a people business. People go to a restaurant to be served."