LOS ANGELES , September 18, 2024 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) –
Blake Hundley has a love for Taco Bell, for reasons that are harder and harder to come by.
"My personal love for Taco Bell...comes from eating and hanging out there with my friend group in high school and having a management and staff that was fun and interactive, and checked in on us as we ate," said Hundley, the Merch & Compliance Manager at Sam’s Club, as well as the founder and Community Manager of Living Más, a website dedicated to hosting news and information on all things Taco Bell. "They knew us and our orders."
Memories like Hundley's are no longer the norm, as more fast-food and fast-casual restaurant chains are swapping out the personal touch with self-serve kiosks in order to drive efficiency and reduce labor costs. This industry trend is also driven by today's generation shying away from direct interaction, Hundley said.
"There’s a generational change on interaction with other people, which was likely only strengthened with COVID, along with generally poor customer service that has driven people to wanting less interaction with others," Hundley said. "(It's) just a natural evolution of the ordering process."
But as this industry evolution occurs, direct interaction should maintain a role, Hundley said.
"The key parts of the industry going this direction are keeping [employees] trained and useful to the customer when help is needed and keeping up the positive experiences," he said. "I think it’s still important to have a staff member checking in on people ordering as well as the people dining."
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