The company compiled information from franchisees and guests on how to measure friendliness, resulting in the fast food chain training its AI system to recognize certain words and phrases, such as “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you.” Managers can then ask the AI assistant how their location is performing on friendliness.
Not at all dystopian. Orwell would approve!
That sounds like a big steaming violation of workers rights.
Is surveiling workers fine where this is planned to be executed?
Forcing them to say please and thank you will not fix the issues with Burger King lol.
That is the shittiest fast food place. I loved it as a kid but it’s gone way down hill. The food is awful quality and the employees don’t care about anything because they aren’t paid a living wage. I stopped going a while ago when they gave me a drink full of moldy ice. I took my kid because he wanted to try the king of burgers. He was so disappointed lol
“Please, go fuck yourself. Thank you.”
Could do a compliment sandwich. You got really nice shoes. You’re appalling and pathertic. Fuck you. You got really nice watch.
Hope there is some kind of bonus if you do! Like 95% politeness this week, 50$ for you
94% politeness lose a shift
Fuck I gotta stop doing to BK now too?
I can’t understand why anyone which is 20+ years old want to go to a fast food chain anyway.
If they need food, fast? I’m not sure what age has to do with it. Why would anyone over 20 not want to go to a fast food chain?
“Please don’t pull up to the window until we wave you forward. We’re gaming the timers. Thank you!”
The joke my friend made is, “Elf on the Shelf in your ear”
I don’t mind if they not or say these words often. They’re underpaid and exhausted enough to be courteous, just want to get the job done and call it a day. Fuck AI sucking corpos
So…instead of AI doing the work…AI is going to be the Boss?
Fuck. That.
And middle managers everywhere don’t see the writing on the wall somehow.
Thing is, I’m sure they do. But they’re middle management so they can’t do shit about it. Executives that think this stupid shit up have their heads so far up their ass they don’t understand how incredibly dumb their ideas for what AI does actually are.
Idk, one of my co-workers on another team specifically brought up to their manager that what it’s currently being trained to do is basically a majority of the managers job and he didn’t get it.
Maybe he does and was just playing it off though 🤷
Well some people are just stupid too lol. I bet most of them see that threat. Some also want to try and be the one that stays behind because they did all the AI stuff not realizing it’s all going to fail lol.
I don’t think it’ll completely fail, you are overestimating the average middle manager ;)
This is going to be the boring dystopia we all experience.
Pro tip to BK: I probably wouldn’t even notice the lack of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. I would, however, be significantly happier if you stopped making them say “You Rule”. Seems like they have to say it as both greeting and a “your order is finished”. It’s just unpleasantly cringey.
If they want to lean more into the branding, they should do something like make the BK uniforms more regal. I’m thinking flowing robes, little plastic crowns, that sort of thing.
plastic crowns, I’ll settle for nothing short of genuine gold and gems, thank you very much.
Please do not, that’s disgusting, thank you.
Just like basically all of this AI shit… Who is this for?
They should be focused on making their food better and cheaper, not making their employees miserable.
I’ll get my burger at whatever restaurant treats its workers and customers like human beings.
I love you
Do you love me?
I think maybe I do!
It’s a love pentagon
My SO works at a callcenter and they get dinged for the use of what they call “tragic phrases.” These include, but aren’t limited to:
- “Unfortunately”
- Words/phrases that imply uncertainty like “should”
- Words/phrases that imply non-commitment like “I can’t do that” or “that’s against policy” or “that’s not my dept”
- So-called sloppy words/phrases like “No problem” or “hold on just a sec”
Its fucking ridiculous. They pay some outside vendor for training and guidelines.
As a customer, I would feel much more comfortable talking to someone who doesn’t sound like they have a gun to their head.
In my younger days, I worked for U-Haul. They had these preloaded speeches you were supposed to adhere to when someone called. I am sure they felt it maximized sales. One for trailer/truck rental, another for storage, etc. I never liked acting as a robot, so I free-formed the calls (I’m a people person!). I was/and am quite customer focused, so I was good at answering the phone. Up until I got fired for not following the canned company diatribe. They had a call center dedicated to calling around the country to test employees. I failed twice.
God dam, that’s horrible. Unfortunately it’s not my department but I should let you know your not alone, now hold on a sec while I transfer you to purgatory
I’m so glad I can mouth off to customers in my line of work, not that I abuse the privilege but sometimes a customer needs to be told they are a fucking idiot and they could of flooded or burnt the place down.
I’ve come to accept that “no problem” is just some people’s way to say “you’re welcome” but I still really dislike the sound of it right after I say thank you for something completely normal.
Cashier: “Here’s your change.”
Me: “Thank you.”
Cashier: “No problem.”
My brain: “Oh… I didn’t even think it could have been a problem to hand me my change, but I guess I’m glad to hear that it was not in fact any problem.”
You aren’t speaking the same language, apparently:
What about people who say “my pleasure” or “I just came”
I love to see that kind of intercultural reading being made. In good faith, I respect it and disagree with its internal logic. If you think help is expected of you, you will not offer any mention of whether or not it’s a problem for you, period.
non-commitment like “I can’t do that” or “that’s against policy” or “that’s not my dept”
Ok, I’m not a native English speaker but… I have the feeling that they don’t know what non-commitment means. Unless it’s commitment to fuck the customer, but then, why bother to offer a call center?
