Panera Bread has announced it’s going to replace its human cashiers by 2016. The company will install automated ordering and payment kiosks so you don’t have to talk to a human while ordering your food. Or while picking it up — just snatch the tray with one hand and continue playing with your phone with the other…
The news follows moves from Chili’s and Applebee’s to place tablets on their tables, allowing diners to order and pay without interacting with human wait staff at all.
Panera, which spent $42 million developing its new system, claims it isn’t planning any job cuts as a result of the technology, but some analysts see this kind of shift as unavoidable for the industry.
via Geekologie
