Ever ordered a burger from a robot? (Well, technically a screen, but let me be dramatic here.)
Went to Shake Shack for the first time with my boys the other night. I stroll up to the counter, ready to charm the cashier with my burger order, when my oldest nudges me toward these glowing monoliths in the corner.
“Dad, I think we’re supposed to use these?”
I mean, seriously? I hollered at one of the workers behind the counter, “YO! Do I have to order on this thing?” She just shrugged. SHRUGGED. Like, “Yeah, welcome to 2025, dinosaur.”
So there I am, poking at a greasy screen that 400 other humans touched that day, trying to figure out how to dial up a regular cheeseburger with pickles and ketchup (my 10 y/o’s favorite). Not happy with the situation at all.
And later as I’m telling Susan this story, she had the audacity to hit me with, “Ok boomer, I know you LOVE a good kiosk…”
Look, I’m 41. I’m cool. I’m hip. I use TikTok. Sometimes.
But here’s the thing – sometimes I just want to walk into a place, tell a human what I want, hand them money, and get food. Revolutionary concept, I know.
Some people love self-checkout lanes and ordering kiosks. Others would rather interact with actual humans. Neither is wrong! But forcing everyone down one path? That’s where things get dicey.
The situation is way more nuanced than “tech everything” or “humans only.” Smart businesses understand this balance.
First-time customers (like me at Shake Shack) often have questions. They want recommendations. They’re prime for upselling.
A screen can’t read my facial expression when I’m debating between a regular or double burger. A kiosk can’t tell me “the pickle sauce is fire” or “skip the fries, get the shake.”
And this isn’t just about burgers. This is about patient experience too.
When your LASIK prospects walk in, are they greeted by a warm smile or a cold tablet to “please check in”? Are your cataract patients feeling valued or processed?
Are you having 74-year-old Ms. Jones navigate your check-in kiosk, or is someone walking around the front desk and saying, “Let me take care of that for you, Mrs. Jones…”
I know for a fact some folks reading this have experienced this very pain in their practice – because you’ve told me, “We switched to this fancy new EMR that’s suposed to integrate everything and make it better, and now I have to click 7x more places than I used to. It’s a waste of my time and I absolutely hate it.”
Cool, that’s how your boy Troy feels dragging his finger across the greasy Shake Shack screen. And it’s how your patients may feel too.
So audit your processes and make sure they don’t feel that.
Because at the end of the day, people don’t buy vision correction from a kiosk. They buy it from people they trust.
Back to the original question: am I a boomer or not? I need to know for my Instagram bio.
– Troy “Hold the tech, extra connection” Cole
PS – In our talk on Sunday morning at ASCRS (with Carol-Anne, Diamond Dan and Mike-D), we get into specific ways to use tech AND your people to create a great followup experience for your digital leads. How to stop leaking $$ from your marketing, and build a better team culture while doing it.
As if that wasn’t enough, I’ll be decked out in a full baseball uniform to match the sporty theme of our talk. YES, including the tight baseball pants. I can’t make this more of a no-brainer for you. See you Sunday…