Ditto here about five years ago.
One of the issues is that most 40-year-olds have little trouble with new touchscreen gadgets, but most 80-year-olds will be frustrated by it. (Note the uses of the word most - there are some octogenarians who love touchscreen stuff and newfangled gadgets and some 40-somethings who hate it, but age tends to be a significant function.)
The self-checkouts in the one local grocery chain near me are rarely used: because they’ve reserved them as express lanes for EIGHT items or fewer. I can’t remember the last time that I went to the full-sized supermarket for that small an order, it’s not time or fuel efficient. So I’m forced to wait in line while the self-checkouts sit empty. I once asked, when all six self-checkouts were unused and the lines were long if I could use one even though I had more than 8 items and I was told absolutely, positively not. I could see enforcing the limit if there were lines for them, but when they’re not it’s just infuriating.
They actually had a publicity campaign a few years ago about their willingness to customize orders. Not quite on the level of Burger King’s have it your way, but you can ask for special preparation and get it quite easily.
As mentioned, at Sheetz, not only do they have general upsells like that, they have item specific upsells. If you order, for example, a turkey with swiss, the screen will offer double turkey, double swiss and bacon add-ons. If you order a veggie sub, it’ll offer roasted onions and peppers. The systems are fairly smart.
I for one welcome our touchscreen overlords. I’ll take them everywhere possible. More touchscreens, please!
Last summer we had a million things to do and I had the great idea of offering nearby kids the chance to earn some cash mowing our lawn. Our equipment, our gas, their time. Way, way better than minimum wage. We had zero takers.
So I do not share your concern.
Well, there’s a difference between a two-hour-gig once a week and a full-time job for an adult, unskilled labourer. That said, in my area you can’t walk past a flat surface without seeing flyers from kids looking for something to do in the summer. Most of them end up doing things like these, painting houses or delivering newspapers.
Sounds like the self check-in kiosks at the airport. I mostly fly American, and whenever I use one of these to get my boarding pass I get asked if I want to pay extra for early seating or double mileage. I can also request a seat change, which I sometimes use to see how crowded the plane is.