Putting aside the shitty micromanagement, why does this require AI? There are plenty of simple transcription softwares, especially if you're just monitoring for keywords, that would be infinitely cheaper.
this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2026
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I don't want to be recorded when I order food. Your employee may have signed an agreement. I didn't.
- buy buying and consuming our food you agree to everything in perpetuity.
agreements like that should be illegal
They are! But we live in interesting times.
“Welcome to Costco, I love you”
That’s it! I’m going to Carl’s Jr instead.
Fuck you, I’m eating!
Can we stop at Starbucks on the way?
They should make it so that the customer says please and thank you instead. They're literally the one's asking for the service. I think its only polite, personally.
I've been pushing to implement a "stupid bitch fee" for repeat offenders.
When the customer asks "what the hell is this 20% surcharge on my bill", employees are required to tell them that it's "an extra fee for having to deal with your stupid ass".
Then, "If you start acting right, we might consider removing your stupid bitch fee."
The employee would of course receive a cut of the fee, say 75-80%, with the rest going to the business.
This would obviously be a win for everyone.
- The business gets that little extra bit of profit (or gets to cover expenses incurred by the stupid bitch doing stupid bitch things)
- the employee is compensated appropriately for having to deal with hazardous stupid bitches (morale boost, more smiling)
- the stupid bitch is punished for being a stupid bitch while extending a way back to polite society using a language they might actually understand - money
I made my pitch to several area businesses and haven't heard back yet.
the people who don’t know what’s it like to work in the service industry will get mad when someone doesn’t thank them. Those people deserve soggy food.
I used to work in the service industry. Holy crap, do I end up extra nice to anyone dealing with the public.
I suppose it's my service industry persona coming out in a way. But I'll be extra patient, extra kind, use the name on their name tag, ask how their day is, do basic banter. Just generally be happy to interact with them.
I don't think I've ever met a service industry person who liked it when their name was used by someone they didn't know personally. It certainly made me uncomfortable.
Yeah when my name is used by a customer, even in a positive context (unless they are talking to someone else to say how good I was), I assume they are going to use my name to harm my job in some way. Don't think that is too unreasonable in today's service industry.
Definitely had a few customers who we both know our names and are actually interested in chatting. But it's like 1/1000.
I assume they are going to use my name to harm my job in some way
Especially because the fucking corps have made it so easy to do by accident. They want to gush about my service, but give me 4/5 stars because "nobody's perfect", and I can get dinged for it. They want to praise me for taking extra time with them, and corporate might hear that I'm exceeding my allotted time per customer.
It's bullshit.
Gross, I will continue not eating at BK
hmmm how do I boycott since I already don't eat here?
You already did it! Congratulations.
Of course this will boost the profit by a huge margin
They haven’t had my business in years. Too bad I can’t extra avoid them.
Same. The number of boycotts I can't join because I was already avoiding the company is really saddening lately
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Surely micromanaging your employees will turn the company around...
Great call management, that'll make your food taste better.
Seriously, that's the easiest fast food chain boycott.
I literally have not stepped inside of a BK in over 10 years. Not for ethical or boycott reasons. I just got tired of having stomach pain every time I ate there. They have the worst food of any restaurant fast or not. Their fries left a weird waxy dry taste in my mouth and their “burgers” felt like a stack of wet paper towels.
How people can still eat there is mind boggling.
I liked their fried fries tbh, not that they were that great but I enjoyed them. Otherwise, it felt like the cheapest fast food out there.
Same, I've been once maybe 10 years ago, and it confirmed that going to A&W is always the right call :)
I don't recall ever caring in the slightest if an employee says "please" or "thank you". Of course I like politeness, but those terms aren't necessary for it.
I prefer to be the one saying please and thank you. They're providing a service to me, not the other way around. As for my money, we both know most of it is going to the owner.
How much money is spent on the AI for this?
Just have a manager with a headset so they can hear what's happening.
Why not just have the AI say please and thank you at every possible opportunity on a loudspeaker?
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Say thank you for what? Listen if it comes out naturally for some reason it's fine, but the forced thank you, please, my pleasure, yessir, yes right this way master, etc etc is cringe af.
Hurray for the increasing creep of the surveillance industry!
Employees will be much happier having their every word monitored to ensure the right amount of flair!
You didn’t even say thank you.
The less professional and more stoned sounding the fast food worker, the more I'm willing to go to a place.
If you're gonna pay minimum wage your employees should at least be vibin.
Turns out, the major use case for AI is surveillance analysis for those who don't care too much about false positives.
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