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Tommy Siegel | Bluesky
Transcript
Single panel comic
Illustration of a highway with 3 billboards for fast food chains. A bridge is visible in the background, as are power lines running along side of the service road.
Each billboard has a chain logo, with secondary text below.
Wendyβs
McDonaldβs
Burger King
Okay, dumbass gen-X-er here. Why in the name of Zeus' butthole is there an app for any of these places? Let alone a compulsory one?
Brand recognition. Makes you more likely to patronize said brand if you are seeing their logo on your phone multiple times a day ... Likely hundreds. especially for iPhone where it's on the home screen
Data collection and tracking . lots of these fuckers run in the background, calling home to report back what apps you have, your location, phone number etc. They're using this info to market to you more efficiently and to sell to others for profit. My wife had a shit ton these and her battery was dying faster than usual. Got rid of the bastards and battery life improved.
Advertising. Direct. To you. If they have a deal or feel like you haven't opened the app enough, they send you notification spam. It's a corporations wet dream. Immediate visual direct to consumer advertising and they paid nothing to achieve it. You just simply gave your permission for them to do so
If you're ordering via app, this opens up the possibility of giving others different prices depending on if they think you'll bite or accept it. This is much easier to do on an app or mobile site.. But impossible if you order in person
But I hate all those things ππ»
Good news for me! it's precisely for these reasons (and there are more) that I won't ever get their apps, and that also means I'll avoid eating at these trashfood places
I'd like to take the moment to thank these corporations πβ
@DoucheBagMcSwag @dejected_warp_core they also get people to install them with vouchers and raffles.
I haven't been out to eat since the pandemic. And, the more I read about how much it's changed for the worse, including how ridiculously expensive it's become, I don't think I'll ever eat out again.
Whoa nellie.
I mean, I guess it depends on your area and such, but there still great places to eat out if the situation allows for it. Of course groceries are cheaper, but some places are still affordable.
I wouldnβt touch any of the comicβs chains though. I think I went to a McDonaldβs once since the pandemic, for a quick breakfast while on the road, and it was indeed disproportionately expensive. But (as an example) taco Tuesday at Rosaβs Cafe is still reasonably priced here.
There's a major fast food place near my office that is 100% app-ordering only. They have locker lined up like PO boxes on the outer wall where you pick up your order, and you can't talk to anybody. They call it a "Digital Kitchen".
If I can do it from a website I wouldn't have a problem with it. It's the install/app permissions that would make me skip over ever going there
You're allowed to tell us the name of the fast food chain
Not in this case. I'm already uncomfortably close to doxxing myself with my comment history, and that last detail would probably absolutely nail who I am.
Ah OK, that's fair
No, because doxxing.
Whenever I order stuff at McDonald's, it's been over a femtosecond since my last visit, so the app has logged itself out. So I always need to sit down and re-login. With mandatory 2 factor authentication. No TOTP, of course, it sends the code to email.
Welcome to McDonald's. Papers please.
Can't you order from the in store screens or with a worker behind the counter? I haven't been to McDonalds in a few months though.
I don't use the app myself but I believe it's the only way to get discounts / deals these days.
I know an even cheaper method.
Ah, the old drive-through interception β a classic!
Can we talk about the Taco Bell app that was updated last week and looks so absolutely vibe coded that it broke nearly everything and now it takes like 10x times to find or order anything because you get to see pictures of everything that take 45% of the screen real estate ?
I love to see it.
I hope these companies who bit the slop absolutely bleed their money/marketshare because of this.
Vibe coded by the CEO himself
McDonald is the only one that Iβm aware of which wonβt let you order without an app. For this reason I do not eat there.
You cant buy McDonald's now without an app?!?! What?
Ive seen a McDonald's where they have touch screens inside and you need to use those, do you mean that as well? Those are gross too with the shared screen.
You can 100% buy mcdonalds without an app. Not sure what OP is on about.
What like you can't walk in and order a burger without an app?
I prefer to order ahead. Itβs probably an anxiety thing, thatβs all.
Nope, nope, and nope. My fiance stopped going to Wendy's because she hated the AI voice. I still go there on occasion, all you have to do is say give me a human being. It is annoying having to wait for the McDonald's drive-through to ask me if I'm using the mobile app. They're just doing their job but it's seriously annoying.
Although I did make a comment to the teenager work in the register when I went to pay at Wendy's once because I drove past their slogan that said something about never cutting corners in service, which is hilarious seeing as using an AI menu board is literally cutting corners in service.
Makes it easier to eat healthy at this pace.
It's not getting out of control at all. Just stop eating at these places.
I had no idea they even had apps, because I don't eat at these places.
They used to have good deals. I was able to order meals with deals and points to get a combo for a dollar. You used to be able to customize better too. I was able to put fresh diced jalapenos on my beef n cheddar.
Now the customization options are worse and the deals are worse. I hardly go anymore. Just not worth it. I can get a better deal at the sit down restaurants.
That's classic enshitefication. First it is good to hook you, then it gets slightly worse but you still use it out of habit, then it gets terrible and there is no other option.
Fast food serves zero purpose now. Itβs not cheap and itβs not good. So why on earth would I ever install an app for any of these ghoulish companies?
That Burger king one is legit by me. They cut their staff so much they have 2 people cooking and one kiosk you can self order at that's broken half the time. Half the time you to to the drive through and they have a sign that says "app orders only." It's insane.
I doubt the person who drew this comic has had the misfortune of trying to order food in China. It's basically a literal form of what the comic is poking fun of, and it's ubiquitous.
In China, you can go up to the counter, but you cannot place an order. Sometimes, you cannot even read a physical menu. Not even so much as a menu on the screen. You have to scan the QR code using the Panopticon app (also known as WeChat) and then get bombarded with advertisements. Like us and get a free drink! Click here for a random coupon! Join our WeChat group! No, no, no, no. Then click through their garbage UI to find the one thing you actually want. Make sure you don't accidentally replace your order with one of their "recommendations" that pop up! Then, try to check out. Do you want to join our WeChat group for exclusive deals? Do you want to create an account? Dismiss, dismiss, dismiss.
Click here to pay. Only WeChat Pay is accepted. No cash, you backwards peon. Enter your mobile number here. Required to order. Ha ha, nice try, 123456789 is not your mobile number. No worries, we got it from WeChat. You'll get 3 order confirmation texts and 2 advertisements a week for the next six months.
jesus fucking christ.
Mfw the "communist" country that can do no wrong according to the tankie instances out-enshittifies the home country of enshittification and capitalism in general π€¦π»π
Meanwhile, the best baseball player in the world is Japanese, the number one ranked player in the NBA is Serbian, and they've even been overtaken as the most obese people by the citizenship-deprived residents of American Samoa!
If not for Handegg and money hoarding, the US would hardly be #1 at ANYTHING anymore!
And each of these apps is no less than 500 MB
I'm never going to install an app for a fucking fast food restaurant lol