Don Norman mentions affordances, signifiers, mappings and feedback being some principles of interaction. The affordances of the McDonalds kiosk are to order food and self-checkout. When you walk up to the kiosk, there is a huge button on the home screen that says, “start your order here” as well as a button that says, “press for assistance.” The customization sections have plus and minus button to add or remove toppings from your sandwich.
The mapping of the kiosk starts with the categorization of salads, sandwiches, chicken & fish, beverages, etc. The kiosk also features a wheel on the left side that can be scrolled up or down to get to the category desired. There is a step-by-step process with numbers to choose your sides and drinks.
McDonalds has a survey that a customer may take to give them feedback on their experience with the kiosk. I took the survey and they ask if you’ve used the kiosk and give you space to give feedback. The customer receives a coupon code for free food on a future visit as a thank you for taking the survey.
During the hour and a half, I spent at McDonalds, I was able use the kiosk to familiarize myself with how it works and watch twelve people use the self-ordering kiosk.
According to Hollis Johnson, McDonalds started installing their self-ordering kiosks in 2015. The addition of these kiosks was implemented to help the chain get back the loss of money they suffered in sales.
People tend to order more from the kiosk, according to News 5 Cleveland. They can customize their order and take as much time they need to decide what they want. One of the customers that I observed stood at the kiosk for a few minutes just scrolling and looking through all the options. Once he chose what he wanted, he spent a minute or two customizing his topping options.
According to Fortune, in a press conference, CEO of McDonalds, Steve Easterbrook said that McDonalds is no longer making the customers conform to their model but changing the models to appease their customers. The lines at the registers used to take forever, causing the people to dine elsewhere and the installation of the kiosks have reduced this problem. I noticed several of the customers saw the two or three people waiting to get their order placed at the register and then saw the empty kiosks and walked right up. Most of the time they had their orders placed before the cashier was finished with the first person in their line.
Resources:
Johnson, Hollis. “We Tried the Kiosks That Analysts Say Could Help McDonald's Win Back $2.7 Billion in Sales. Here's the Verdict.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 26 July 2018, www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-kiosk-vs-cashiers-photos-2018-3.
Kowitt, Beth. “Why Eating at McDonald’s Is about to Undergo A Massive Makeover.” Https://Fortune.com/2016/11/18/Mcdonalds-Kiosks-Table-Service/, Fortune, 18 Nov. 2016.
Matarese, John. “McDonald's Kiosks Get First Customer Reviews.” WEWS, 20 Aug. 2018, www.news5cleveland.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/mcdonald-s-kiosks-get-first-customer-reviews.
Norman, Donald A. “The Psychopathology of Everyday Things.” The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition, Basic Books, 2013, pp. 1–36.
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