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Dehumanized McDonald's, a sign of sorry times
Slowly but surely, we're losing human connections.
By Dennis J. Larson
December 21, 2023 at 11:30PM
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As we venture toward a new year and I look at wrapping up my last year in my 60s, I've started thinking about what has changed the most.
It occurred to me that along with many big things, perhaps it's the small things that have changed our daily lives the most. An example would be McDonald's.
McDonald's started national expansion in 1954, so I feel like we've grown up together. Visiting McDonald's the other day I was struck by the changes in their operation since my first visits.
In the early years there was only one way to get your order. Drive into the parking lot, park, walk up to the window and order one of the five menu items, after paying cash. So what's changed?
Start with the parking lot. The first thing you notice now is the dominant striping encouraging you to use one of the drive-through lanes. If you choose to park you must navigate the landscape of specific spaces allocated to uniquely labeled pre-order methods; an employee will hustle your preordered food to you.
If you chose the drive-through yet another set of designated spaces are set aside for waiting. If you choose to walk in you will immediately be confronted by a lineup of ATM-style soldiers waiting to take your order. When you make your way to the counter you may be confronted by a sign notifying you that "for efficiency please order at a kiosk."
Now, when you are acknowledged by a person to take your order you must navigate the animated complex menu board scanning the now 145 menu combinations. Also, there's a pickup station for those who have ordered their food for delivery via one of the food delivery operatives. Only now may you complete your order in cash. Other order methods can only be done via plastic or mobile payment.
It would seem that the goal of 70 years of fast food evolution is to eliminate face-to-face customer interactions, transforming fast food operations into nothing more than unstaffed food vending machines.
No one is against efficiency and value but we must consider what is lost. We should be saddened at the loss of human interaction. I don't feel we are heading down the right path.
Dennis J. Larson lives in White Bear Lake.
about the writer
Dennis J. Larson
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