Who wants a byte of apple pi?
A social media user has gone viral sharing a peek contained in the first-ever robotic McDonald’s.
The restaurant — outside Fort Price, Texas — features an “order ahead lane,” where diners receive their food via a conveyor belt; kiosks to position orders to go; and a pick-up shelf for meals.
“The technology on this restaurant not only allows us to serve our customers in latest, progressive ways, it gives our restaurant team the power to pay attention more on order speed and accuracy, which makes the experience more enjoyable for everybody,” Keith Vanecek, the franchisee operating the test restaurant, explained in an announcement this month.
The 29-second clip posted last week by TikTok user @foodiemunster shows an empty restaurant with no seating. A machine pushes orders to customers on the drive-thru.
In its statement, McDonald’s noted the restaurant is “considerably smaller” than its traditional stores since it’s geared to people dining at home or on the go.
There may be a room for couriers to retrieve orders; “several” parking spaces dedicated to curbside pick-up; and designated parking spaces for delivery drivers.
The foodie’s fast footage — which is serving 1.3 million views, and counting — is drawing heated response from McFans.
“In the event that they forget an item, who you imagined to tell, the robot?” one TikToker gulped. “It defeats the aim of using the drive thru if you may have to go inside for it.”
“No thanks. I like the folks that work there. I need to listen to voices and see faces. I need to see smiles at each windows!!!!” one other grimaced.
But others are lovin’ it.
“Finally, my order will probably be quick and accurate,” one user toasted.
“Awesome. No more attitude on the counter,” one other ribbed.
And everybody seems to agree, robots or not, the ice-cream machine will still be fried.
McDonald’s emphasized the restaurant is within the “test and learn” phase, and it’s toying with the concept as a part of its “Accelerating the Arches” plan to deliver across five areas: “purpose, mission, values, growth pillars and our foundation of running great restaurants.”
The cheeseburger conglomerate has been making many headlines recently, with a lady claiming she decorated her Christmas tree with old Joyful Meal toys; a drunk woman insisting she by chance ordered 160 chicken nuggets celebrating a World Cup win; and a lady giving birth inside an Atlanta-area McDonald’s, nicknaming her baby “Little Nugget.”
Hopefully the robots are trained in labor and delivery.
