There is a convenience store near me that implemented these about a year or two ago (not a walgreens). They suck, even when they are "working" - it often takes several seconds for the screen to "wake up" and realize you're there, sometimes the items or prices are wrong, and usually ends up with me getting frustrated and opening every single door. So, I just stopped going altogether to that place. At first I was enraged, like "who is this even helping?" until I realized oh, this isn't for my benefit.
At some point this industry needs to come to terms with the fact that hostility towards users to generate revenue is not an infinite resource. Any technology that does not make things better for the end user should be immediately suspicious. So much produced nowadays is just overly fancy crap that isn't providing much or any additional utility to the alternatives, or it falls apart completely after a year or two or when the company disappears and stops supporting it.
That reminds me, in a couple years I'll probably have to choose between keeping my gas car, whose CVT will eventually break, and putting up with gas pump videos screaming at me, or switching to a BEV or plug-in hybrid, and having to neuter it, because all the car companies decided that my private data is actually their private data, especially if the car is electric, because all other electric devices are pieces of shit anyway so why not your auto?
I'm seriously thinking of going through the hassle of buying an older southern state car to replace mine for this reason, normally I'd just buy a new one and drive it into the ground. And I'm actually interested in electric cars in a general sense. I probably should be buying older cars anyway. The problem is that only delays the inevitable. Who knows though? I might die before that workaround fails.
> I'll probably have to choose between keeping my gas car,
Kind of an aside but I've had similar thoughts as well - I am not taking any kind of stance on whether this is right/wrong but there are states like CA that are trying to move towards complete elimination of gas-powered vehicles in the next few decades, so that is a consideration too. I expect that becomes more common. I will not switch to electric because AFAIK there are no "dumb" electric cars, and I don't have easy access to any kind of charging station.
I really want a PHEV, and will probably have one in 2-3 years. I won't be buying one, though - I'll be retrofitting my existing 2000 Jeep Wrangler, even if I have to design and build the whole thing from scratch.
I like the technology. It makes a ton of sense for my use case. The support network isn't quite there yet in my area, but I can probably make do with a PHEV for myself and a ICE or hybrid for my wife for a decade at least. I don't typically drive my vehicle far or often, but when I do it's critical that I have access to it.
I'm really hoping there will either be a "dumb EV" hit the market or ICE conversion kits will become much more mature and popular.
At some point this industry needs to come to terms with the fact that hostility towards users to generate revenue is not an infinite resource. Any technology that does not make things better for the end user should be immediately suspicious. So much produced nowadays is just overly fancy crap that isn't providing much or any additional utility to the alternatives, or it falls apart completely after a year or two or when the company disappears and stops supporting it.