No people | TheaterFire

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mr_spackles@reddit

What state? Guessing it's one with a ridiculously high minimum wage

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realauthormattjanak@reddit (OP)

Texas

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So who cleans the lobby? When I worked at Burger King then a subway, my job as a front cashier was to always look out for the lobby to sweep, wipe tables and clean the soda fountain. If we were super slow I had to start window cleaning lol

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BigPoppaStrahd@reddit

I rarely go in to the lobby any more. Order online and pickup at the drive thru.

Although even the Taco Bell drive thru person is AI. You don’t even order talking to a real person

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Oraistesu@reddit

I stopped by a Taco Bell for the first time in like a year the other day.

Beefy 5 Later Burritos for $5.69 and an AI order-taker at the drive through.

I left and went to Chipotle. Less than $10 for a chicken bowl that has real ingredients.

I don't know who Taco Bell thinks they are, but it's cheap, shitty, fast food. If it's not cheap and they barely even have people working there (so it's not fast), then they're just left with shitty.

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Username_NullValue@reddit

People live on this stuff. My neighbors live on Chic Fil A takeout. Fast food is the new normal.

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Indubitalist@reddit

I noticed a while ago that basically everything is “fat cut” now, where the sizing is wider than it used to be, it doesn’t fit well unless you’re overweight, so I have to be careful with sizing or I end up with clothes that look like I’m wearing bags.

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

Amen to this.

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Clean-Witness8407@reddit

I haven’t seen the AI order taker yet and I go to Taco Bell 2-3x a month.

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Wanderaround1k@reddit

I usually say “fuck you robot” repeatedly until someone comes.

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BigPoppaStrahd@reddit

That seems a little unnecessary

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Wanderaround1k@reddit

I mean, prolly, but it makes me smile.

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Clean-Witness8407@reddit

Same here.

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

On a positive note, this combined with their atrocious prices has made it pretty easy for me to quit eating shit food so often (the majority of fast food, not just Taco Hell).

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jx2002@reddit

Nah it’s really just Taco Bell. The others now use apps to give you decent prices. Taco Bell don’t give a fuck

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

And I don't use apps to buy food. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Haha.

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jx2002@reddit

At this point, in 2024, if you eat at a fast food chain that has an app and you don't use it, you're literally paying a Based Tax every time you eat.

You don't have to use it, but you also don't get the discounts / rewards programs bonuses.

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External-Animator666@reddit

they also stalk your gps location. Mcdonalds won't even let you have offers unless you give them location access, you can't get them by finding a restaurant with zip code

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MLDaffy@reddit

Mine works by Zip Code. It's under the Deals button. If you claim you like a NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL team they will give you extra deals when they Win

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External-Animator666@reddit

mine doesn't. I tried it the other day day, then I tried doing the general location and the app demanded that I enable specific location data to view any deal.

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MLDaffy@reddit

Hm that's odd. You may live in a bigger area though. I don't give location and just choose my location based off of which 1 I'm closest to

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External-Animator666@reddit

probably just trying different stuff out in different areas, it didn't used to be like this for me, it used to be you select a restaurant and get the deals

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Emergency_Word_7123@reddit

Bet anything they're micro targeting. I don't know if that's the proper name. But some apps get algorithms to offer different promos to different people to maximize profits.

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jx2002@reddit

As long as I get 25% off my order or whatever, I honestly don't give a shit

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ronchee1@reddit

To be fair.....

I have seen different deals at different locations on the same day

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Midnight_Marshmallo@reddit

To be fairrrrrr

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icebeancone@reddit

I've used location spoofers and see that some McDonald's have excellent deals while the one near me rarely has anything for more than 50¢ off.

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kg51113@reddit

All of the McDonald's near me are owned by the same people so there's not much difference.

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Prossdog@reddit

That’s true. I never cared that much for McDonald’s but when they keep giving me $2 breakfast sandwiches and $1 ten piece nuggets, what am I supposed to do?

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Jin-roh@reddit

On the times I've wound up at Taco Bell, I'm pretty shocked that I paid over 10 for a taco and a chalupa.

Taco Bell is supposed to be tasty cheap garbage. That's their lane. If it's going to cost more than 10 for not even a full meal, I'll skip it too.

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Moxie_Stardust@reddit

The pricing is nuts, they really want to force you into ordering one of the box meals online/in the app (nothing else makes sense money-wise). I used to eat there at least once a week, now I think I've eaten there 3 times in 2 years.

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slampdi@reddit

Last time I went, it was $35 for 2 of us and it will forever be the last time.

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4score-7@reddit

All of us are getting older now too. That stuff doesn’t sit as well when you get well into your 40’s. And by sit, I mean you will likely be needing to sit very quickly after eating it.

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chunkerton_chunksley@reddit

I go to TB once every few months for a lil 'spring cleaning'

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4score-7@reddit

I bet you’re a Baja Blast man like me, huh? 🤜🏻🤛🏼

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nuclearslug@reddit

That’s all you can do now - order the box meal. A cheese quesadilla costs $6 now. You can get the whole box and a Pepsi for the exact same price.

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meatpuppet92@reddit

We can eat out as a family of 4 for under 50 bucks at an all you can eat buffet right next to Taco Bell, which would run us over $50 just for disappointment and to leave hungry anyway.

Idk how they stay in business but fuck all fast food places.

Couldn't even enjoy Wendy's for two without spending over $30 by the end of it.

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cyberfx1024@reddit

Serious... I ordered 2 cheese quesadillas for my kids and a cantina chicken burrito combo for myself a week ago. After everything was said and done the bill was almost $30 for it all. I was amazed about the price of everything for those 3 things

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VaselineHabits@reddit

I'm so suck of apps for everything. Stop selling my data assholes

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meatpuppet92@reddit

The 3 local Taco Bells here always stink to high heaven when you step inside. Almost as if you can smell shit caked toilets while you're trying to sit and enjoy your overpriced meal. Between that and ridiculous prices, we started going anywhere else when grabbing a quick bite while running errands.

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DrSadisticPizza@reddit

We used to "cater" our sunday night poker game ('02-'07 RIP), and taco bell was a regular choice. $60ish would buy unspeakable amounts of taco bell back then.

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histprofdave@reddit

If I wanted to spend more than $10 on something that gives me diarrhea, I'd just go to Chipotle like usual!

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HortonHearsTheWho@reddit

As someone who hasn’t been to Taco Bell in at least decade, I find that shocking

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No_Solution_2864@reddit

From the employee perspective(having worked a lot of fast food in my youth), dealing with the customers was the only hard part of the job. And it really sucked ass. People would come in and take out their life frustrations on the lowly fast food cashier all the time

I welcome doing away with such abusive, unnecessary, bullshit interactions

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

I can appreciate that take. I worked retail for 5 years right out of highschool (Menards). When I finally got out of there I vowed to never work another retail job again. People suck, it's just that simple.

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WhippidyWhop@reddit

What are you talking about? Not ordering from counter retards IS a positive note! It's all positive.

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I'd much rather order from a "counter retard" than from a screen 5 feet away from the counter or from my phone. Call me crazy but I still appreciate human interaction.

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Still_Top_7923@reddit

Dude, using the app the build your own combo is like 7 bucks for a crunch wrap, burrito, spicy potatoes, and a drink. That’s pretty fucking cheap

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

I use as few apps as possible and definitely don't use them to order food. Just another reason to avoid it altogether I guess.

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Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit

Taco Town?

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

Taco Bell, as pictured.

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deeann_arbus@reddit

and they're big financial supporters of project 2025.

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VaselineHabits@reddit

I guess Demolition Man was right

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JungleBoyJeremy@reddit

Perfect reference for this sub

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Hagbard_Celine_1@reddit

Dude I went to Taco Bell after a doom metal show a while back. I got two chalupas and fries I think. It was twenty fucking dollars! Twenty fucking dollars. I felt like I had been raped. It was one of the worst things I've ever experienced. At that moment I swore to never go back to Taco Bell. Never again. I have young kids. They will never try it and I will besmirch the name of taco bell every chance I get to them. The u/Hagbard_Celine family does not go to Taco Bell and that's it.

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DinglesBerry3@reddit

It’s very cheap on the app.

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khatpewp@reddit

Yes to this!

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_its_a_SWEATER_@reddit

Stupid crazy how expensive FF has become, but helps to avoid it for sure. I don’t even know what a 3 taco combo meal goes for now, but I remember when it was under 5 bucks, and for a long stretch.

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481126@reddit

Went into a McDonalds bc it's the only place my kid will eat from and the whole restaurant was ran by 3 people at lunch rush. Ordered on a computer and eventually a human came around from the back to put the food on the counter. They got something wrong and I had to wait until they came out with someone elses' order to speak to someone to correct it.

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ZeMole@reddit

They should have invested in machines to make their food. There’s nothing they serve that a machine can’t make. Instead we got feces covered touch screen kiosks and incorrect orders.

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Username_NullValue@reddit

Those kiosks replaced the meth addled cashiers and servers at these chain restaurants. It’s an improvement.

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soopafly@reddit

Took my kids and their friends to Habit Burger one day. They all wanted the same thing…. Cheeseburger with nothing on it. Walked in and was told to use the kiosk to order. Well, when you add a burger, they all come loaded. You have to deselect EVERYTHING in their terrible UI! No ketchup, no mustard, no pickles, no lettuce, no mayo…. Can you duplicate the order? Nope… had to do that shit 4 more times. I was ready to flip some tables. Give me a person any day.

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JungleBoyJeremy@reddit

Yeah but you can’t customize. I used to turn McDoubles into cheap Big Macs back in the day.

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Username_NullValue@reddit

They’re doing you a favor. You don’t need to be eating that shit.

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JungleBoyJeremy@reddit

True but I like complaining

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Clean-Witness8407@reddit

Mobile app all day.

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meatpuppet92@reddit

This shit is far too common everywhere. The local Burger King, McDonald's, and Taco Bell have been guilty of this to blood boiling levels. The workers straight up ignore you while making eye contact.

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Catfactory1@reddit

It’s tough with picky kids. I was one once. Good luck!

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wrldruler21@reddit

I didn't understand why the McDonald's drive thru line was so long.

So I went inside. Mistake. There are no humans inside.

But you can talk to humans in the drive thru. So everyone using drive thru.

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Username_NullValue@reddit

We don’t eat fast food, but I made the mistake of introducing my kid to McDonald’s milkshakes and chicken nuggets when it became our “thing” when we went out together. I put a stop to it after long lines, shitty service, shitty food, he’s only 9 and even he was pissed off half the time.

We do Red Robin now. It’s still a cheap burger, fries, and a shake, but I also get a Blue Moon and get to keep my dignity.

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DrenAss@reddit

We've also switched to Red Ribbon. Campfire sauce is the boooooomb.

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Prossdog@reddit

Oh I don’t go in to ANY fat good restaurants anymore. Even if I wanted to eat in, I’d go through the drive through and then park & walk inside. They don’t give a crap about dine in customers anymore. It’s really bizarre.

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cybercuzco@reddit

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Xennials-ModTeam@reddit

Moderators reserve the right to delete posts/content that do not meet the community standards.

This content has been removed because it is not conducive to the sub.

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DamarsLastKanar@reddit

I was ecstatic when my grocery store first got self-checkout.

When my Taco Bell first got a self-service ordering kiosk? Delighted!

What throws me off?

There's no menu board.

Then it hit me: the kiosk is the menu. Everything is there, organized. All the prices are there, itemized.

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HandsomeGemini@reddit

Even minimum wage is too much for these capitalist fucks to pay their workers.

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MaestroGamero@reddit

Don't worry it will soon be automated and those minimum wage jobs will be gone.

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No_Solution_2864@reddit

I think their point was that that has already happened

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meatpuppet92@reddit

I can smell that floor from here

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Flaggstaff@reddit

It sucks for society but my order almost never gets messed up now.

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MichaelMilkensMoxie@reddit

So few people are objective and honest. Just squishing out the narrative their diseased brains want to keep gushing out

Thank you for your refreshing burst of forthrightitude

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ethan__l2@reddit

I went to one recently that looked exactly like this one and just as empty. No one to take the order and they also didn't have any trays...not just at the time..no trays at all, ever.

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TheJustBleedGod@reddit

Prices are insane. The whole point of Taco Bell was that it was cheap. It was never good, but at least cheap.

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

Right? When it's cheap enough you can kinda look past the lack of quality. But not so much anymore.

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ghost_28k@reddit

The worst is how the mobile order works at some of them. McDonald’s prepares your order at the time you arrive and give them the code similar to a regular drive through order. Taco Bell gave me a time slot and when I showed up too early I couldn’t get my food because they said I had to wait for my time and there were no other cars behind me. There’s people there they are all just huddled up in the drive through area talking about the most useless bs you ever wanted to hear.

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SeaworthinessFit2151@reddit

I hate the future

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Krazylegz1485@reddit

And a lot of the present. Haha.

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Verbull710@reddit

we live in a society (allegedly)

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RolandMT32@reddit

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MichaelMilkensMoxie@reddit

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ronchee1@reddit

https://i.redd.it/87pdv7clfb6e1.gif

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edcross@reddit

Want a receipt? Then give us your email so we can spam you with marketing.

Fuck off tbell. I don’t need a daily email at work because I took a client there once. Never again I tell you what.

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needsZAZZ665@reddit

Guy pulled out in front of me from a Taco Bell yesterday, had a bumper sticker that was the Taco Bell logo and the words "I SHIT MYSELF" under it in the Taco Bell font.

Gotta give it to the man, he knows what he likes and he knows who he is.

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FilmCompetitive3167@reddit

Taco Bell was cool when I was in high school.

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thebeardlywoodsman@reddit

A couple months ago I walked into McDonald’s to use the WiFi. I planned to get a drink or something, but I saw the kiosks and no people at the counter and decided to just order the free WiFi. I prefer to talk to people and I don’t like navigating a kiosk menu that wants me to buy higher margin items.

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jstnpotthoff@reddit

You say that like it's a bad thing...

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realauthormattjanak@reddit (OP)

It is. Things are different and different means bad. Especially if you're going to make me do the work of an employee but not make it cheaper since I'm doing everything.

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jstnpotthoff@reddit

There is very little that makes me happier than not having to talk to fast food workers

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Leading_Cheetah6304@reddit

I just don't eat there.

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dishwasher_mayhem@reddit

I haven't eaten at a fast food place besides Wendy's in about 3 years now.

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NickLoner@reddit

Same here. Wendy's is the only fast food place left in my area where I can get a burger and fry for $4. It actually tastes good still too.

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dishwasher_mayhem@reddit

With kids, the damn 5 dollar deal is the best thing ever.

Burger

Fries

Nuggets

Drink

Dave Thomas is my hero.

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NickLoner@reddit

Damn, that's right! I'm so used to ordering a Jr. bacon and Jr. fry that I forget I can get nuggets and a drink for an extra dollar lol

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joshhupp@reddit

How do they expect to win the fast food wars?

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SciFi_MuffinMan@reddit

Just remember that this is before the ramp up and the franchise wars. If Demolition Man taught us anything other than the three sea shells, it was that TacoBell will always be there.

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rjcpl@reddit

Dining room at ours is just outright closed and you can’t just place an order at the drive-thru have to online order ahead.

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BennyOcean@reddit

It used to be cheap but these days literally any Mexican place would be a better choice.

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BadOpinionsAndOnions@reddit

I know that this is taking away jobs from people, but as someone that hates interaction with strangers, I love automated kiosks and self checkout.

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realauthormattjanak@reddit (OP)

If I'm going to work there at least give me an employee discount.

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BadOpinionsAndOnions@reddit

No kidding. I priced dinner for 3 the other day and it was close to $50. For one dinner! I went home and made tacos instead.

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YinzerInExile@reddit

If they'd hire more people for the kitchen instead of just pocketing the savings, it would actually improve the customer experience

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Ok-Association-2134@reddit

It’s like that at McDonald’s

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CptCheesesticks81@reddit

$12.99 “value box” that was $5.79 four years ago? No thanks, Taco Bell.

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surfingbiscuits@reddit

What's old is new again. The automat is back.

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AdjacentPrepper@reddit

I'm not sure what your point is, but now I'm craving a Cheesy Bean & Rice burrito. Substitute black beans for refried and I'll have it grilled with some Diablo sauce.

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realauthormattjanak@reddit (OP)

My point is old man yells at cloud.

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Brs76@reddit

Dont forget your drink

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realauthormattjanak@reddit (OP)

Guess what they forgot to give me? Just guess.

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

Just boop the little machine.

Was a little surprised to go into a McDonald’s tonight and there’s no drink dispenser or ketchup though. Or even napkins.

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obeekaybee7@reddit

Went through a Taco Bell drive though today and they had a notification to come inside and order via the kiosk as they didn’t even have a person to work the window.

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hardpass85@reddit

That’s what 20$ minimum wage gets you. Less employees, more AI.. you asked and you received.

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ZeeeeeroCool@reddit

Wait until a window pops up and says

“sorry, we are unable to serve you at this time, see details about your social credit score below.”

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Mobile-Boss-8566@reddit

One day it will be revealed that Taco Bell is made meat is made from people.

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Emergency-Quiet6296@reddit

I dunno this is kinda perfect for Taco Bell. There are so many items and it keeps on changing every 6 weeks or so. It always feel like it takes everybody 5 mins to figure out what to order.

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waitimnotreadyy@reddit

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Junie_Wiloh@reddit

The last time I ate at Taco Hell, I had to use one of those kiosks to order food. Then it took them over 30 minutes to prepare it. And they missed an item. But their drive-thru was definitely cranking out the orders. Never again.

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Jolly_Werewolf_7356@reddit

Well, California fast food minimum wage is $20/hr.

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DirectMatter3899@reddit

The local McDonald's is like this. My Dad took my kids for a fun 1/2 day lunch, it was a good thing the kids were there. He was lost on how to operate it.

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heaven_and_hell_80@reddit

I hate it. The one by me still has a cash register for show, you're supposed to use the kiosks. They make me a little sad. The new one they built is like this. Even worse is the steak and shake by me. It's full on dystopia. One sad sack in there flipping burgers and that's it.

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Username_NullValue@reddit

Steak and Shake. Not only is it vacant, that place is so dirty inside I thought about getting tested for hepatitis.

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Single-ch@reddit

I know we are somewhat there already, but we are unfortunately headed to a major day and age where we will have to subsidize a huge population of people who are considered useless to employers and what jobs are left for humans to do. Times of unemployment have shown major uptick in crime. Things are going to get rough unless these considered useless people are somewhat subsidized. Don’t choose an education for a career that will leave you replaceable eventually by software, or replaceable eventually by machines.

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Username_NullValue@reddit

Universal Basic Income (UBI). You get paid for nothing…and it surprisingly works.

https://globalaffairs.org/bluemarble/multiple-countries-have-tested-universal-basic-income-and-it-works

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GrumpsMcYankee@reddit

So, I'm kinda down with this move, cause I can get particular with the cheap menu items. And I know I can tell a human clerk to add jalapenos to my bean burrito, but they don't need that detail in their lives. Better to tell the machine my boutique tastes.

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fermentedradical@reddit

Is that what those places look like now? I haven't really been inside a fast food joint in 20 years.

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andrewclarkson@reddit

As someone who doesn’t love social interaction I don’t mind this I just wish they’d get the orders right.

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Moof_the_cyclist@reddit

I've soured on Taco Bell for this exact reason. What used to be 30s to order and pay is a few minutes of frustration fumbling through menus. It is not hard, but it is just a downgrade in experience and the prices went up, not down, so where exactly are the cost savings?

McDonald's seems to be headed the same direction in more places that not, and I've taken to avoiding them on road trips where they used to be a quick lowest common denominator that would get us back on the road quickly. Now the refills are gone, ketchup is behind the counter, and you are made to feel unwelcome to sit inside.

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External-Animator666@reddit

nobody can afford soft tacos anymore

probably cos its a 12 dollar combo

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Ok_Researcher_9796@reddit

Crazy that they have a special sign for paying in cash.

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Atrocious1337@reddit

Let me know when they are no longer cutting their beef with flour, and tacos are less than $1 each.

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Millard_Fillmore00@reddit

Complain all you want but I love ordering from them things. Helps me customize how I want it and makes it easier to get my order how I want it.

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Delta632@reddit

One person in the back wishing that they had the arms of an octopus is what I’m imagining in the back.

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curedbyink@reddit

Been like that where I live for 3 years now. I actually prefer it. They don’t mess the order up as much.

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Scrambled_Creature@reddit

Everywhere now. Greedy corporate fucks don't need to pay anyone wages/provide benefits when they can just get us to work for them for free.

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Clean-Witness8407@reddit

They really said “oh you want more $$$$? Ok check this out.”

But really, I see help wanted signs in a lot of places like Taco Bell. There was even a Burger King nearby that had to close early because they couldn’t staff it for the night shift.

I pulled up to the drive through at like 6pm after work one day and the lady says “sorry we’re closed” and then explained why at the window when I pulled up lol

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