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Re: McDonald’s fresh hope to turn around slumping sales: Ordering burgers from a mach
Win/win right? Wrong! Now I have to sit behind someone that doesn't know their elbow from their ass trying to work the machine and 4 other people that typically breathe through their mouth. It may of saved AMC theaters money but it's ruined my experience and makes me more likely to sneak in a diet Mr. Pibb than go through that aggravating experience.
The elimination of fast food staff is heavily reliant on people doing what they should when going through the process. You can control your staff, you have no idea what will happen when you open it to the wider public. What happens if I only go to fast food once every couple of months and drive up to see a kiosk? I may be like "**** this" and go to Wendy's.
Cost isn't the only consideration. Take for example the coke machine kiosks that have started to get added to various places. I go to a movie and now they give me a cup to go fill up my drink. The kiosk has about a million different soda's which is freaking amazing. It has saved the movie theater a tons of money because they have eliminated positions because filling soda's probably accounted for the majority of their time filling an order.No, you have over simplified the economics. The decision to install kiosks is not a stand alone decision. The up front cost of the kiosks and the cost of maintenance have to be compared to the similar cost of keeping human staff.
If, for instance, 1 employee at $8/hour can process 30 orders per hour and 1 Kiosk costs effectively $9/hour and processes the same number of orders then the decision to keep the person is easy. But is the government now imposes a $10/hour minimum wage now the kiosk is the better choice. The choice to use kiosks has EVERYTHING to do with the cost of labor.
The drive through isn't really a special case. Replace speakers and menu boards with a kiosk and a smartphone app. Cooks (until they are automated) can simply put the foot on a conveyor for delivery to the drive through window or the counter.
You won't likely eliminate ALL employees at a fast food restaurant but if you cut down the staffing need from 8 to 2 then the 2 minght get $15 and hour but that is small consolation to the other 6.
Win/win right? Wrong! Now I have to sit behind someone that doesn't know their elbow from their ass trying to work the machine and 4 other people that typically breathe through their mouth. It may of saved AMC theaters money but it's ruined my experience and makes me more likely to sneak in a diet Mr. Pibb than go through that aggravating experience.
The elimination of fast food staff is heavily reliant on people doing what they should when going through the process. You can control your staff, you have no idea what will happen when you open it to the wider public. What happens if I only go to fast food once every couple of months and drive up to see a kiosk? I may be like "**** this" and go to Wendy's.
The wage increases are usually credited to the huge economic boom of the 90's. Did Welfare to Work create the economic boom?We;ve rarely gotten to see a reprieve from increased social spending in this country in that time, but as I have shown with the Economist graph, when welfare was cut in 1997 the income of the 10th, 20th and 50th percentiles increased by as much as 20%.