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McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a [W:391]

Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

shrubnose said:
Just one question: After all of the human workers on this planet are replaced by robots, who will be buying this delicious food? :roll:
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That's a damn good question. I love to know the answer.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

PirateMk1 said:
What you describe is the easiest way to increase profits also its the one you have the most control over. Raising rates is a bitch. In the past three years I have done that once.
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raising prices in a competitive market is very hard to do

you have have a better product/service than the other guy, and one that the customers are willing to pay a premium for

so cutting costs is ALWAYS the easiest way to improve the bottom line

from cutting what your product costs you, to lowering your electric bill

it all counts as extra profit
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

PirateMk1 said:
That's a damn good question. I love to know the answer.
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Those who own the robots.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

PirateMk1 said:
That's a damn good question. I love to know the answer.
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they wont all be replaced

someone has to program the machines

build the machines

maintain the machines

a lot fewer positions, but all better pay than the jobs they replaced

the question becomes, what do the people who were replaced do next?
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

longview said:
I have to disagree a bit. You need to be careful is selecting the college, and also ask what you are buying.
If you want to purchase the traditional college experience, with dorms and keg parties,
that can be very expensive.
If on the other hand a student wants an education and a degree from an accredited school,
there are less expensive options.
Living at home and and attending a community college, and then the state university,
can get a BS degree for as little as $25K over 4 years. (Like buying a car, but with better return).
Another option are state technical schools,
Texas State Technical College Waco | Programs | A-Z Listing
They offer AS degrees that are accredited and transferable, but more importantly,
they work closely with employers, so that most of the graduates have jobs when they graduate.
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A 3rd option would be actually trying in HS, finish in top 3-5%, get into elite college and finish with 0 debt.

However, i think we need more than 3-5% of the population to attend college, so either we need to invest more in education, or at least i'm going to sympathize with the lack of attractive options. Cause you know, $25k is a damn lot for something without an actual guarantee and our K-12 just fails at preparing for AS/BS programs.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

fmw said:
I can see it now.

"Big mac please"
"You just need to bring up the MacDonald's app on your tablet."
"I don't have a tablet. I have cash and an appetite, though."
"Sorry, we don't take cash any longer. We don't have anyone to handle it. The Mac App will allow you to pay electronically."
"You mean I can't get a hamburger unless I order it with a tablet and a Mac App and pay for it electronically?"
"That's right."
"Shoot, now I guess I'll have to go buy a tablet. Anything else I can do with it?"
"Sure you can access the internet and play games."
"I just want to buy a hamburger."
"Sorry, Sir. Next."
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This very conversation WILL happen I guarantee it.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

Quick, cheap, and good. Pick 2.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

gdgyva said:
actually

i think a combination is going to be the new thing

a couple of years at a community college

then maybe a 4 year tour in the military

between the two, you will be exposed to lots of potential careers

and you wont be tens of thousands of dollars in debt

i got my degree while active duty.....it is hard to do

but more than anything else, it made me grow up, and face the world
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They only emerge from active not in debt because the taxpayers allow it. The younger generation is quite more skeptical of the need for such a massive military. I don't see why we should invest trillions in "4 year military tours" but continue to make cuts in college education. This isn't 1950
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

chromium said:
You act like they wouldn't turn to automatons and mass layoffs regardless. The one constant in capitalism is it's not a charity. They strive to only hire as many workers as necessary, and pay as little as they can get away with, by definition. Why? Because the CEO of a company with declining sales making 4600x the pay of the employees is just not enough.
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Why should it be?
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

gdgyva said:
raising prices in a competitive market is very hard to do

you have have a better product/service than the other guy, and one that the customers are willing to pay a premium for

so cutting costs is ALWAYS the easiest way to improve the bottom line

from cutting what your product costs you, to lowering your electric bill

it all counts as extra profit
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Amen. :agree
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

JasperL said:
There will never be a time in any country, ever, without low skill, poorly educated workers. They're in that position for all kinds of reasons, many of them their own doing, many of them factors beyond their control. And if you immediately made every worker in the U.S. skilled and responsible according to your metrics, we'd still need cashiers, McD workers, janitors, yard guys, etc. Millions and millions of them to make the economy hum. Now what are you going to blame for their low wages?

But the bottom line is I have a hard time calling people WORKING a JOB an example of their "utter irresponsibility" because it's low paid. Not everyone can be above average intelligence, with above average skills making above average wages.
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Well, no, that is the point. The kind of low skill repetitive jobs that these workers do are increasingly becoming the realm of robots.

You eliminate the need for cashiers just by turning the cash register 180 degrees.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

Companies will always look for ways to trim expenses. If having your IT staff create, maintain, and support self-ordering kiosks is cheaper, more effective, and better than hiring, training, and retaining a human, they will make that choice.

The retailer I work for in IT has thought about doing self-checkout kiosks but have decided against it because it doesn't fit our customer interaction model.

This approach isn't going to boost sales, but it could increase profit margin through a reduction in op ex.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

Cephus said:
Those jobs are supposed to be filled by teenagers, kids living at home with most of their expenses covered, as a place to learn basic work skills and develop a work ethic.
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After 3 PM Monday through Friday and all day on the weekends, perhaps, but excluding that, you're wrong.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

jmotivator said:
Well, no, that is the point. The kind of low skill repetitive jobs that these workers do are increasingly becoming the realm of robots.

You eliminate the need for cashiers just by turning the cash register 180 degrees.
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OK, so the low skill jobs disappear, and the workers whose jobs were eliminated.........??? That's the point I was addressing. That and blaming poor people for being poor.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

JasperL said:
OK, so the low skill jobs disappear, and the workers whose jobs were eliminated.........??? That's the point I was addressing. That and blaming poor people for being poor.
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And whose fault is it that they didn't get an education and make good life decisions?
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

chromium said:
A 3rd option would be actually trying in HS, finish in top 3-5%, get into elite college and finish with 0 debt.

However, i think we need more than 3-5% of the population to attend college, so either we need to invest more in education, or at least i'm going to sympathize with the lack of attractive options. Cause you know, $25k is a damn lot for something without an actual guarantee and our K-12 just fails at preparing for AS/BS programs.
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The top 3 to 5% may get you accepted to some good schools, but not the Scholarship.
$25K over 4 years is not really that much money.
Assume a parent starts putting aside $270/month at the beginning of the child's freshman year in HS.
By month 93 (Final senior year payment) the account would be over $25K.
The account would have been spent down by then, but close enough to get to the finish.
Just so you know I am not blowing smoke, I paid for Bachelor degrees for my kids this way.

I would hope states return to funding colleges better, as they are good for the economy.
Back when I was involved with such things, the State could expect $33 in higher taxes
for each $1 spent on Higher ed, within 5 years of graduation.
People who make more, pay more taxes.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

JasperL said:
I'm not sure what your point is. We have millions of low wage jobs that will always be filled by someone. And after we offshored 10 million or so good paying production jobs to lowest common denominator locations, there aren't many options for people to move up to. My uncle married a woman from a family where NONE of the family had ever graduated from HS. It worked out OK for them because they lived near a bunch of manufacturing plants, and they worked hard and made a decent living. Those are gone now, and there isn't much left. They get their GED and then what?

We eliminated perhaps 10 million production jobs that create real value and replaced them with low value added service jobs. And you're blaming people who fill those jobs for being low paid in positions that will always be low paid. You can blame democrats for the offshoring, high taxes and regulations or whatever, but it sure as hell isn't the fault of workers in towns hollowed out when the manufacturing left and all that came in to replace them was a job at Walmart making 1/3 the pay. I guess everyone should be an engineer or something.

There's this weird strain in the republican party that is proudly contemptuous of poor people.
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no not all engineers, or accountants, or teachers

how about some plumbers?
electricians?
masons?
welders?

trade skills are almost as valuable as the stem degrees in a lot of areas

very few people have them.....

schools have stopped teaching them.....

when you have ambition, you find a way....

when you dont, you make excuses

it really is that easy.....
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

gdgyva said:
no not all engineers, or accountants, or teachers

how about some plumbers?
electricians?
masons?
welders?

trade skills are almost as valuable as the stem degrees in a lot of areas

very few people have them.....

schools have stopped teaching them.....

when you have ambition, you find a way....

when you dont, you make excuses

it really is that easy.....
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I think we need to revamp higher ed, parse out the levels better, and attempt to fill the technical niches that develop with complex society. Trade School is certainly a reasonable and good choice for some, and we do need trade labor. Maybe we can replace the greasy kid at McDonald's with a robot, but we'll still need the trades for a lot of infrastructure and maintenance.

Not everyone goes to college or university, not everyone needs to; but we are at a point were near everyone is going to have to do something post high school. We need Trade Schools, Community College, College, and University and each of those need to be separate and distinct. They need to be well funded and we have to get our population into them.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

JasperL said:
OK, so the low skill jobs disappear, and the workers whose jobs were eliminated.........??? That's the point I was addressing. That and blaming poor people for being poor.
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That is like the old joke of the economist who goes to China to observe the great 5 year plan and is taken to tour a major dam project. He sees thousands of men of all ages with government issued shovels moving tons of earth.

At that he asks his guide "Why don't I see any front-end loaders, backhoes or dump trucks?"

The guide answered "Because, you see, this is not just a dam, this is a jobs program."

To which the economist replied "Ah, I see. Well if this is a 'jobs program' then why don't you just issue them all spoons?"
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

It's my understanding that the biggest driver of McDonald's loss of market share has little to do with cost or speed of service. It has to do with younger diners seeking fresher and healthier foods, both of which pose a threat to McDonald's existing cost-based business model. McDonald's also seems to have lost some focus e.g., it is trying to compete with Starbucks among others in the coffee segment, something that detracts from its core business, as that market is quite a bit different from McDonald's core market.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

PirateMk1 said:
Their iced mocha sucks IMO. In fact all their iced and frappes do. Their regular coffee is actually decent.
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I hear it is served piping hot!
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

I'm a software developer considering going back to school for robotics, it is incredibly interesting to me. Ima put all you suckers out of work too, ha ha ha. No but really this trend is going to be a death knell for people whose jobs are replaced. I truly do wonder what is going to happen to them, regardless of the silly notion that people can just get a better job. Out of twenty people replaced will two or three of them get jobs tending to this new system? What about the other 17?

The only realistic solution in my mind is a more socialist state where those at the bottom are completely taken care of and working is optional. Oh my... I just felt heads exploding everywhere.

It can be mitigated somewhat by creating more high end jobs but that can only go so far. The majority of these workers will not be capable of doing anything too technical.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

jmotivator said:
That is like the old joke of the economist who goes to China to observe the great 5 year plan and is taken to tour a major dam project. He sees thousands of men of all ages with government issued shovels moving tons of earth.

At that he asks his guide "Why don't I see any front-end loaders, backhoes or dump trucks?"

The guide answered "Because, you see, this is not just a dam, this is a jobs program."

To which the economist replied "Ah, I see. Well if this is a 'jobs program' then why don't you just issue them all spoons?"
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I'm missing the point all the way around. Sorry.

We HAVE double digit real unemployment, we DID offshore a bunch of value producing jobs, they WERE replaced with low value service jobs that command low wages, etc. I have no idea what point you're addressing but it's not what I was talking about.
 
Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

gdgyva said:
no not all engineers, or accountants, or teachers

how about some plumbers?
electricians?
masons?
welders?

trade skills are almost as valuable as the stem degrees in a lot of areas

very few people have them.....

schools have stopped teaching them.....

when you have ambition, you find a way....

when you dont, you make excuses

it really is that easy.....
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It's that easy to mouth platitudes.....

For an individual, all that's fine advice. But for lots of reasons we'll always have low skill workers, making low wages. What you said is just a way to avoid the question. You will have people in the lowest rungs, lack of intelligence, disability, sickness, mental illness, PTSD (a current problem now) family reasons, addiction, laziness, whatever. I volunteer for a charity that serves homeless vets and others - they're all poor and the vast majority of them have some form of diagnosable mental illness (i.e. not addiction, but bipolar, etc. most often treated with drugs. Controllable, but not exactly the kind of person that's ever going to run his own plumbing business. They have to work to be in the program, but make very low wages. 1000s more just like them not in our program. Force them to beg or what?
 
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Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach

JasperL said:
I'm missing the point all the way around. Sorry.

We HAVE double digit real unemployment, we DID offshore a bunch of value producing jobs, they WERE replaced with low value service jobs that command low wages, etc. I have no idea what point you're addressing but it's not what I was talking about.
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Justifying the opposition to automation because it has a negative effects on jobs is not unlike the Chinese guide in the story arguing that using construction equipment means you hire fewer laborers.

Also, having double digit unemployment is a BETTER argument for not pushing for $15 minimum wage than it is for not automating.
 
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