Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a flood of new technology making its way into the restaurant customer experience in everything ranging from mobile ordering apps to digital touch screens. And now, with perhaps the biggest wave of new technology yet, we’re seeing new ways in which restaurants will use tech to reinvent the customer drive-thru experience.
And, as just as we’ve seen in other areas in which new technology enters our lives, this means a growing presence of something else we’ve become all too familiar with – a screen with lots of small print asking for permission to use (i.e. monetize) information about us.
The terms and conditions (T&C) agreement has become a regular feature of modern life, something we see whenever we sign up for a new app or connected gadget. I’d even seen them in restaurants, where I’d agreed to T&Cs for a mobile ordering app or a bio-authentication payment system. But, I must admit I was surprised to see a T&C show up in a place I’d never seen one before: the drive-thru.
I didn’t see this new T&C screen in person, but in a video showcasing technology from voice tech specialist Soundhound. The video shows the Soundhound AI-powered voice assistant being used at White Castle, which is partnering with Soundhound and Samsung, the provider of the digital display screen used at the restaurant’s drive-thru.
The video, which you can see below, is impressive, but I was struck by the fact the customer in this video is asked to verbally approve the T&Cs that ask to record the customer’s voice. The request, which you can see in the video, states, “White Castle and its contractors, including without limitation Mastercard and Soundhound, will capture, collect, store, share and use an audio recording of your voice. The specific processing purposes and the length of the voice audio recording is being collected, stored, and shared is available at the below link, along with the retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying the audio recording.”
Below the small print is a call to action that says, “To agree and proceed, say ‘ok, I’m ready.'”
It really shouldn’t be surprising that White Castle and others decided to ask for permission from the consumer, particularly given the bad press and legal problems companies like Samsung have come under fire for with products like smart TVs. If they didn’t, there’s no doubt at some point, some organization would out them and probably file a class action lawsuit. It’s also somewhat refreshing for a company to ask for permission from the get-go, especially as more and more technology like cameras and sensors are coming into retail and food service as a way for operators to monitor, market, and enable commerce with their consumers.
All that said, however, I must admit it’s a bit of a jolt for anyone who’s used to going through a drive-thru their whole lives to be asked to agree to share their personal data, including the sound of their voice, when ordering a burger and fries. And if someone like me, someone who’s been following the evolution of the drive-thru voice ordering technology, finds it a bit weird to be presented with a T&C screen at the drive-thru, I have to wonder what everyday drive-thru customers think of being asked to record their voice and use it in some mysterious way?
There’s a good chance many will be ok with it. After all, many of us – maybe the majority -quickly scroll down to the bottom of the T&Cs when signing up for a new product to get to the experience of using it. And most of us, even if we wanted to read through all the legalese, probably can’t quite precisely decipher the terms of what we’re agreeing to. But I think some will find this new request to use our personal info disturbing and say “No way” instead of “It’s ok.”
For those types, my guess is White Castle and others in this space will have an order tree path that enables users to connect with a live person to take their order.
It’s hard to say how exactly new technology will change restaurants in the future. Still, one thing we can probably be sure of is that we’re going to have to get used to that mainstay of modern digital life, the T&C screen, becoming a fixture at the drive-thru of the future.
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