The Fast-Food Revolution with Automated Technologies:case Study Assessment

Case

The Fast-Food Revolution with Automated Technologies

There are nearly 200,000 fast food restaurants, also known as quick serve restaurants (QSRs), in the U.S. Aitken (2022) reports that McDonald’s opened its first automated restaurant in Texas, USA, with technology driven machines handling everything from taking orders to delivering the food to customers. The new McDonald’s restaurant in Texas has no seating or bathroom facilities for customers. This facility is geared toward customers who are planning to dine at home or on the go.This restaurant features an “Order Ahead Lane” where customers who order ahead can receive food by conveyor belt and avoid all human interaction during their order. A restaurant crew will remain inside to help prepare the orders. “The technology in this restaurant not only allows us to serve our customers in new, innovative ways, it gives our restaurant team the ability to concentrate more on order speed and accuracy, which makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone,” said one franchise owner.

Another QSR, Chipotle, in USA also offers no place for customers to sit inside one of their Ohio restaurants that only takes digital orders. Similarly, Taco Bell is evaluating a new design that features 4 drive-through lanes, double the typical two in Minnesota, USA. Starbucks in USA, which described itself as a “third place” for customers to gather after home and work, plans to add 400 U.S. stores with only delivery or pickup service in the next 3 years. Starbucks’ CEO has acknowledged its cafes now are often clogged with pickup, drive-through, delivery and cafe orders all at once. The result: long lines and frustrated customers. His plan is 700 more U.S. stores in the next 3 years with drivethroughs as the primary means of sales.

America’s biggest QSRs companies made a bet during the pandemic that customers would rather eat the food cooked on their restaurant facilities rather than some other places. Now these QSRs are gambling customers will want to do so for years to come. The strategy from these giant QSR chains is to orient their operations around drive-throughs and online ordering while testing new restaurant concepts that only serve food as takeaway, reports Haddon (2023) states these designs will make them more profitable and efficient since restaurants that bring fewer customers inside cost less to build, maintain and staff. Of all orders placed at U.S. fast-food restaurants in 2022, 85% were takeaway. That is down from a high of 90% during 2020, but up from 76% pre-pandemic. Among fullservice restaurants, 33% of orders were takeaway in 2022, which is double the pre-pandemic rates.

The concept of takeaway of food and beverages took root in the years after World War II, as Americans embraced an automobile culture. In the 1970s, the industry fully bought into the takeaway idea. Wendy’s introduced its pickup window in 1970, with the first McDonald’s drivethrough in 1975, fast-forward, now 90% of McDonald’s business is now drive-through.

This case situation is Adopted from Jay, Barry & Chuck’s OM Blog

By looking at this case situation,

1. Explore the nature of the service & service management, which includes processes, employee and customer orientations of service delivery of QSRs in this fast-food revolution.Critique whether this fully automation can help QSRs to effectively perform in the market.
2. Evaluate the service process design, technologies and the role of facilities, including the servicescape to serve customers well in QSRs and similar organisations.
3. Explore resource planning models/ strategies for effective and efficient service delivery by QSRs and similar service organisations and elaborate on potential service management. solutions (In this section, the rationale for your recommendations is discussed).
4. Explore your analysis on service quality, capacity, performance and other related service issues. (In this section, the rationale for your recommendations is discussed).
5. Identity potential ethical issues that can be associated with this service delivery and explore the challenges these fully automated QSRs might face in the future. (In this section, the rationale for your recommendations is discussed).
6. Provide your recommendations to QSRs.