Walk into a McDonald’s, Taco Bell, or Panera today and the odds are good that you’ll be greeted by a kiosk just as quickly as a cashier. Chipotle, Starbucks, airports, and even movie theaters have followed the same path by making self-ordering screens and app-based ordering part of everyday life. For many of us, it’s no longer surprising to tap our order onto a screen. In many markets, and more every single day, it’s simply becoming the norm.
The reason is simple: these businesses are adapting to rising labor costs, staffing challenges, and consumer demand for speed and consistency. While some people grumble about touchscreens and digital interfaces, the results speak for themselves as kiosk technology and self-ordering solutions spread across the service industry.
Why Kiosks Are Winning Everywhere Else
Restaurants, retailers, and service brands are embracing kiosks for the same set of advantages:
- Staffing shortages and labor costs: As minimum wage requirements climb and entry-level jobs get harder to fill, kiosks provide an alternative that never calls in sick and reduce reliance on hard-to-staff positions.
- Reliability: A kiosk doesn’t forget an upsell, mishear an order, or give inconsistent service. The process runs the same way every time, just as you define it.
- Labor optimization: Operators can assign fewer people to repetitive, low-skill tasks and instead hire skilled staff for roles that truly require a human touch.
- Customer choice: A growing percentage of every major market prefers interacting with technology, while others value human interaction. The kiosk model supports both. And as age demographics trend younger, the preference for self-ordering has been shown to be as high as 84 percent compared with staffed checkout.* With a hybrid model to satisfy those customers who want a person to interact a savvy operator can meet multiple customer demographics with the service level they want.
Where Car Washes Fit In
The car wash is another part of that same daily routine. Customers grab their morning coffee, stop at the store, pick up lunch at their favorite fast-casual spot, and all of those touchpoints are increasingly app- or kiosk-driven. Why should the car wash experience feel any different?
Just like fast food, the car wash doesn’t require staff involvement for the core sales process. And just like fast food, staff can be focused on preparation, maintenance, and guidance only in the areas where customers actually need it, like the tunnel entrance. That creates an even bigger opportunity for operators to modernize and match the rest of the retail landscape their customers already know.
Where AMP Goes Beyond the Fast-Food Model
This is where AMP gives car wash operators a powerful advantage. Instead of choosing between fully attended or fully unattended models, operators have the freedom to design their own balance.
- Full Autonomy: Run a completely unattended site with kiosks handling everything from retail washes to memberships while staff restock towels, guide drivers into the tunnel, and handle pre-wash prep.
- Attendant Empowerment: Equip staff with tablets that let them roam, engage, and sell without being tied to a point of sale. Upsells and membership conversations feel natural and mobile. Sell in the lane, at the vacuums, or even offsite, completely untethered.
- Split-Lane Strategy: At multi-lane sites, dedicate some lanes to kiosk-only service for fast retail sales and convenience, while placing your best salespeople in attended lanes to build relationships and upsell. Customers can choose the experience they want.
- Hybrid Flexibility: Adapt instantly when circumstances change. A staff member calls off sick or traffic delays an attendant? No problem. The AMP kiosk can automate the sales process with operator-defined flows, image-mapped menus, and personalized promotions based on customer history. Once staffing is back to full strength, you can return to your preferred model without missing a beat.
Options Create Operator Advantage
In fast food, kiosks are a reaction to necessity. In car washing, they are an opportunity to leap ahead. AMP makes it possible to run leaner, smarter, and more flexibly than ever before.
The choice isn’t between kiosks or people. It’s about using both in the smartest way for your business. With AMP, operators can reduce costs, empower staff, and give customers a modern, consistent experience that fits seamlessly into their daily routine.
*Source: kioskmarketplace.com study
