Wendy's Drive Through Experience Changing: Better or Worse?

Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner told investors the company spent 53 million dollars to install digital menu boards at 300 restaurants, implement AI voice-enabled ordering at 100 restaurant drive-thrus, and accelerate using digital ordering kiosks. He told investors it's simplified the ordering process and freed up employees. Unfortunately, according to an article in the U.S. Sun, Wendy's customers may see the efficiency differently.

The U.S. Sun highlighted one commenter from a Wendy's subreddit who trashed the restaurant's AI ordering. The customer found he or she had to repeat their order three times for it to take. Additionally, they found the AI chatbot cutting them off mid-sentence and interrupting if they paused for half a second to breathe.

Regarding the changes, I'm not a fan of the AI ordering, especially if it's as bad as the subreddit user says it is. As far as digital ordering kiosks, I can go either way. Technology, like ordering at a kiosk instead of a human, can make the ordering process more accurate than explaining what you want to a human. Yet, it is disappointing to lose the human element.

Of course, there is one way to avoid talking to a bot at the drive-thru or at least simplifying what you need to say: order on the app. At this point, I order most of my fast food through the restaurant's app if I'm not eating in the restaurant. Why? First, I feel the food order gets submitted how I want it. Second, nothing in the order gets missed depending on where I'm eating and what I'm ordering. And finally, I'm not worrying about paying at the window.

I get it. Some of you probably dislike ordering in the app more than using an AI chatbot at the drive-thru. That said, eliminating the need to pay at the window and making sure my order is customized the way I want it generally improves the service I get at the window and the accuracy of my order.