Walked into a coffee shop in Portland and their AI ordering system took 3 times longer than just talking to a human

The tablet asked me 7 questions about my oat milk preference before I could even say 'medium roast' and I stood there for 4 minutes while it 'processed' - has anyone else had a totally overcomplicated AI tool ruin a simple interaction like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy3021d ago

Ugh the "7 questions about oat milk" thing is exactly what happened to me at a shop in Seattle last week. I just wanted a plain drip coffee with oat milk and the tablet asked me if I wanted it "lightly steamed" or "extra creamy" or some nonsense, took forever. Best advice just skip the screen and go straight to the counter if you can see a human standing there, or pick a shop that doesn't have the iPad kiosk right at the door. I've started looking for places with a simple paper menu and a real cashier, saves so much time and headache.

the_viola1d ago

Read a study the other day about how these AI ordering systems actually increase wait times by like 40% on average, which tracks with my experience. @amy302 totally right about skipping the screen straight to the human if you can see someone standing there, that's my new go-to move. Had a similar thing happen at a place in Austin where the tablet asked me to confirm my oat milk brand preference and I just walked out. Like, I get trying to be efficient but when it takes longer than a normal conversation, what's even the point.