McDonald’s burger empire set for unprecedented growth over the next 4 years with 10,000 new stores

I think the expectations of consumers for a dine in experience is just a lot higher these days than McDonalds is interested or equipped to compete with and they're also in the process of pivoting towards a post-automation future.

This to me sounds like a company that is realigning their strategy to fit the market segment they think they have the best chance of capitalizing on, which is apparently faceless late stage capitalism burgers.

Everything you describe appeals to me. The less I have to directly interact with their employees, the better.

Being able to take a few moments to ensure my order is complete and accurate, without delaying every other customer behind me, radically improves the customer experience.

Eliminating the two most error-prone steps (communicating between customer and staff, and entering the order into the register) greatly improves order accuracy.

Taco Bell is doing the same thing, but hasn't inflated their prices nearly as much as McDonalds. Burger King and Wendy's are lagging behind.

That is a return to their original business model that led to them becoming a global institution.

Their dining areas were famously uncomfortable, witht he focus on being easy to clean and maintain and discourage people from lingering. The color scheme of red and yellow is purposefully garish, and combine with the lighting to make you want to get your food and get out.

There used to be a set of slanted warming shelves connecting the kitchen in the back to the area behind the front counter. You'd walk in during peak times and see rows of sandwiches already assembled and wrapped. You'd order your food and the cashier would reach around and gather the food that had been prepared 15-30 minutes ago. If you wanted a burger without onions or mustard or whatever you'd have to stand awkwardly and wait. The drive-thru used to be quick, maybe a couple minutes total.

I haven't been to one in a few years so I'm not sure how it's changed recently, but starting in the 2000's they changed their business model to try to compete with places like Subway, Panera, Starbucks, Chipotle, etc. They introduced more greys and browns into their colorways. They expanded the menus with a ton more choice: novelty limited-time sandwiches, "healthy" options like salads and fruits, specialty coffees. They moved to making things to-order instead of having things pre-made. Wait times and prices both increased.

Every other "fast food" place seems to have followed them. The closest replacement I've seen is the expansion of gas station/convenience store food. Places like GetGo and Sheetz near me usually don't have drive-thru's, but I can quickly walk in and grab a pre-made sandwich for a few bucks and walk out.

What you are describing almost sounds to me like a modern automat.

Couldn't disagree more, depending on the location.

Pretty much ever McDonald's outside of major cities is a social hub for locals. People will go there everyday and spend hours inside talking with each other.