ABSTRACT
Raleigh-Durham International (RDU) is a typical midsize American airport. Outside the main terminal, several banks of trim silver kiosks line the path to short-term parking. Charge cards are inserted, then quickly removed; PINs are entered, then ‘enter’ is pressed. Receipts are accepted, declined, or ignored. A row of tollbooths stands guard at RDU’s perimeter, armed with kiosks programmed to accept validated tickets as well as charge cards. On average self-payment kiosks cost upward of $100,000 and pay for themselves in eighteen months.1 Annually, consumers in the U.S. spend more than two trillion dollars using self-check out terminals.2 Recently the kiosks at RDU have been upgraded with sleeker casings and touch screens, and they have been stripped of their branding. An ExitExpress banner no longer hangs from the tollbooths’ awning, nor does the logo adorn every machine. Elaborate instructions have also been removed. The denuded parking kiosks at RDU embody this book’s animating question: how did self-service become second nature?
