McDonald's has been testing self-service kiosks on-and-off since at least 2004. There must be some barrier to adoption that's holding it back.

That, plus most quick service restaurants do a majority of their business in the drive-through now. Ever see a line of cars out to the street and then go inside the store? Empty counters.

True, and there's an element of the McDonalds crowd that would be uncomfortable with touchscreens. I was thinking chains like Luby's, Bob Evans, Applebees, etc, more than fast food. There's a labor issue at work here, too. You're not cutting into labor with sit-down restaurants like you are with fast food. Just making the existing labor more efficient.

A McDonald's outside of Orlando was experimenting with self-ordering in 2003. I saw it in action when I was working on a tablets-at-the-table start-up. It worked well. In the Midwest, Sheetz "gas station" (quotes because it's so much more) has done self-ordering for years using a system from Radiant Systems.

Wawa (covenience store that also sold sandwiches like subway) was using touch screens for ordering since at least 03 or 04. It was great and I've wanted to see it used everywhere since then, I agree that it's surprising it's not already widespread.

Casual dining chains are very scared of change. Deciding to feature a different sandwich in the most prominent sections of their menus is what they consider a huge decision. All execs believe that their customer service experience is much better than in reality. So, they compare their "ideal selves" to the experience of using a tablet and cringe in horror. Also, most folks managing in the restaurant industry came up through the ranks, so they've all self-selected into an extroverted, interaction-intensive occupation. Their views don't mirror those of Americans as a whole.