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Man or machine?Dec 27, 2009 (Odessa American - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- There's one thing Jason Brown said everybody wants to know about the new self-service kiosks in the Jack in the Box stores he operates. "The first question everybody has is, is doing this replacing somebody's job?" Brown said. "And the answer is no." Instead, Brown said the machines act as a second or sometimes third open register. "It really just allows us to expedite orders," he said. Brown's newest Jack in the Box, located at West County Road and West University Boulevard in Odessa, opened earlier this month with a self-service kiosk. The chain's other Odessa location, on East 42nd Street, and its two Midland stores added machines in August. Customers can order from the machines, which offer pictures of the different menu items, in English or Spanish. Brown said they accept cash, credit cards or gift cards. "You can just walk up and cut in front of the line and place your order," he said. Jack in the Box isn't the first fast food chain to try electronic ordering in the Permian Basin. Chuck Wood, who operates Schlotzsky's stores in Odessa and Midland, said he had self-service kiosks in his Tall City stores, but had to remove them a year ago because they didn't network with the computer system at the sandwich shop's corporate offices in Austin. But, despite the bugs, Wood said the machines have potential. "People who are hearing impaired and stuff like that really enjoyed using them," he said. "It made it easier to communicate their order." During past economic booms in the Permian Basin, fast food restaurants have had a tough time finding workers to man cash registers. But Brown said that didn't factor into using the self-service kiosks. "When we put the machines in, the unemployment rate was really high," he said. "We didn't see any shortage of applications at the last two locations." Brown said such machines could be more prevalent in the future. "I think it's one component of the fast food industry and how it's evolving and using technology more and more," he said. Chris Alvarez of Odessa said he didn't use the self-service kiosk on his trip to the West County Jack in the Box Wednesday morning because he thought it was an ATM. But now that he knows what it is, he'll use it more often. "If it's something where you can order and get something really quickly, that can be convenient for a lot of people," he said. To see more of the Odessa American, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.oaoa.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Odessa American, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |