Not just food, it's the new business model. Just give them something for their money, it doesn't have to be good, or work properly, it just has to be profitable.
this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2026
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That's what I've been screaming about AI since the beginning.
Take self checkout kiosks for example. Anyone that is old enough to remember what the grocery store was like before the kiosks would know how much faster a human cashier was then the stupid fucking machine. There was no tabbing through 20 screens of fruit to find the plantains, there was no "sorry you have to scan every pencil individually and place them in the bag one by one because we can't do multiples", and there was never, ever, an unexpected item in the bagging area.
The doctor I go to has replaced all their front office staff with self check-in kiosks. You cannot check in with a person anymore. If you are unable to use the machine you have to press a special button and wait for someone to come from the back and press the buttons on the kiosk for you. The time to check in for an appointment with the person used to take under a minute. The kiosk takes 10+ and has a 25% error rate.
But none of that matters, because the machines don't draw a paycheck, and they don't care about anything else.
Many businesses have calculated that they'd rather save the paycheck, and live with a drop in customer service. That attitude will increase, and eventually customer service will be one of those unreasonable things that only stupid customers expect.
"You gave me your money, you got your thing, we're done here, now you're just bothering me, so get out!"
Except it'll be more like Idiocracy where they charge her for the fries and don't give her anything, migrating towards a built in failure rate to what customers will accept vs profits.
Optimize for minimal complainability, maximal annoyance and minimal effect of actual complaints
This guy gets it.
I cook dinner 95% of the time and honestly, it sucks. I don't blame people who have the money eating out constantly, but i can't afford that crap and i would be 300 lbs.
$25 can get me either a terrible pasta dish at olive garden, or 2 meals at a local diner, so i usually go to local small places. Screw $15 burrito's and $18 hamburgers, i'll make them at home.
me cooking at home 😎
Don't be afraid! You get better the more you do it and you learn more about your tastes.
What even is the point of fast food now?
- ✅ Fast (edit: sometimes)
- ❌ Good
- ❌ Cheap
It has jumped the shark and serves no purpose now, other than screwing working class people in food deserts out of their hard-earned money.
not even fast anymore to my experience
There are still places with surprisingly good value for money, but they're rare. Greggs has been this for me, recently, though maybe a useless point of reference for anyone outside the uk
I've stopped doing fast food. Last time I was out running errands over lunch I went to a pub instead. I chatted with the staff got a cidre, burger, and fries for like $30. It was great, worth the time and money.
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Available at off-ramps while travelling. That's the only time I get it.
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I have a non-chain fast food place near me, doesn’t even have indoor seating, just a small waiting space (holds maybe 10 people if you pack them in such that the personal space bubble is tiny) and some picnic tables, but no drive-through.
They’ve managed to keep prices pretty low; Big Mac or whopper equivalent is $4, for example and I think fries are some 2.50 for the large. While that does add up since everything is ordered individually, the quality is superior and it’s local-family-owned, so well worth it. And it’s very very popular even without the drive-through convenience. The local McDonald’s hardly gets any traffic by comparison.
Just goes to show it can totally be done, if not for outright greed.
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If a fast-food burger costs the same as a burger in a restaurant, then something’s wrong...
Since when is fast food fast?
If you order fast food it’s because it doesn’t upset your stomach and it’s the only restaurant you know where you are
What the fuck happened with everyone switching to ingredients that make you shit yourself? Like making it smaller, without flavor, and unpleasant textures wasn't enough? It's like someone at the top said "Wow, they're still buying our food after all that? Well let's see what happens if we start making them shit their pants too."
It used to be fast before skeleton crews were the norm, but I'm sure a lot of people alive today have never experienced it.
I remember when I was young, I could go to mcdonalds with a friend and 5 bucks. They handed you your order almost immediately and we both left full. There was a time when fast food was actually fast and food. Now it struggles to be either.
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I like that this post is coming right as I'm planning to tighten my budget a fast more/lose weight.
Its an expensive lesson. Life's education is never cheap
I stopped eating most fast food for this exact reason.
funny how all the local places are still tasting just as great yet corpo places are slinging literal shit for food.
Maybe stop doing that then. I can get a weeks worth of food for that kind of money and it tastes good.
I'm disabled and homeless and eat veggies, fruit, pasta, bread, cheese and protein on a daily basis at about $7 a day. people eat fast food because they are lazy, not poor.
Yes, with 1 other caveat.
People will also eat at restaurants because they're ashamed and embarrassed of their own cooking ability and don't want to look bad in front of their peers.
Food deserts are a thing.
I wanna say first that is a tragedy you are homeless and I wish the best for you in finding permanent lodging but your statement raises some questions. How are you preparing these foods? If you are as homeless as you purport, are you using a campfire, or a communal kitchen, or are your meals prepared for you? How are you procuring your groceries?
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I am fortunate we have enough mental energy to go to stores to buy ingredients to cook our own meals most days.
Its similar, to what is referred to as “adhd-tax” I am still in this picture more then i would like.
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The best burgers I have had, have been from small back alley places. Had one a couple of months ago, lovely quarter pounder with chips (fries) and a drink for around £6 here in London.
Had less of an upset stomach too, although I do still check the hygiene ratings for the places which helps in this regard.
TIL the UK has publicly available hygiene ratings. I like that.
Ah thanks for pointing that out, I forget not all US States have it.
Nearly every restaurant I've been to, and take away place, has proudly shown their hygiene ratings as a sticker on the window. These can be verified via a website too. It's very useful as I get an upset stomach rather easily.
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I had a Whopper and fries at Booger King last year for the first time in a couple of decades. With a drink it was like $20 which is pretty absurd. It actually tasted pretty good and the fries were fresh out of the fryer (which is basically what makes fries good), but I just felt so physically bad after eating. I don't know what it was, probably the massive amount of salt in it.
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Peasants of the French Revolution: "Pathetic"
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