Minimum wage leading to touchscreens replacing cashiers?

[Jimdamick]

Although I hate McDonald's, they are responding reasonably to the growing costs of doing business. Especially in light of increasing sentiments toward higher minimum wages and the pipe-dream of "living wages" for burger-flipping and cashier "professionals".

McDonald's gets a bonus when they develop machines to replace workers: the workers they're eliminating are typically dumb, inefficient teenagers working their first job. And the increase in efficiency of machines over teenagers must be huge.

What would you do, with what you deem "dumb, inefficient teenagers", where actually most of the employees are adult females working 2 shifts to survive in this economic climate, that apparently you think is OK. This is the 21st century, and that work until you drop dead, as long as our stock is up bull shit is about to end, because it is destroying the world (or at least the USA) The free market economic system in today's modern world is bull shit, unless your Chinese, and even they are going to get fucked in the end.

 

[mollymcgrammar]

I side with those who work skilled jobs that dont make tons of money.

I think McDonald's food is garbage, and they clearly dont give a fuck about anything but money.... BUT... they have that right.

The fact is, unskilled jobs will make less than skilled jobs. If companies are forced to pay more for labor, they will find ways to cut costs.

Look at grocery stores.... SELF CHECKOUT? Now 1 cashier can manage 6 registers. That saves alot of money. Nobody complaining about that so why are they bitching about McDonald's?

@UncleBuck if you move to PA ill hire you. I dont discriminate against anyone, not even liberals.

 

[mollymcgrammar]

And btw, how is it right to give 15 an hour to someone unskilled meanwhile many skilled workers make that, or less. Hell, if burgerking paid 15 an hour id close up shop and work there

 

[Rrog]

The point remains that we have a growing unemployed workforce that has been marginalized because of corporate profit.

What are we going to do with this enormous population when we're replaced all the jobs with machines or Chinese?

 

[MuyLocoNC]

hopefully all these laid off people come steal your TV. Congrats on being right.

It's not just about us being "right" (we are), it's about progressives and the insane and naïve policies/legislation they are responsible for, coming back to bite them in the ass...as they ALWAYS do.

When you create a hostile environment in which businesses must operate, don't be surprised when you encounter hostility staring back at you.

 

[TBoneJack]

What would you do, with what you deem "dumb, inefficient teenagers", where actually most of the employees are adult females working 2 shifts to survive in this economic climate, that apparently you think is OK. This is the 21st century, and that work until you drop dead, as long as our stock is up bull shit is about to end, because it is destroying the world (or at least the USA) The free market economic system in today's modern world is bull shit, unless your Chinese, and even they are going to get fucked in the end.

Why don't we just offer them government (i.e. taxpayer) handouts? Because that's what a "living wage" would be for fast-food workers: a government-managed cash-flow system funneled from the real producers in society, to the unwise people who get themselves into life situations that force them to work 2 shifts at McDonald's.

Fast food restaurants are not based upon a business model that could ever support paying a living wage to "professional" busboys, dishwashers, waitresses, short-order cooks, cashiers, etc.

 

[MuyLocoNC]

The point remains that we have a growing unemployed workforce that has been marginalized because of corporate profit.

What are we going to do with this enormous population when we're replaced all the jobs with machines or Chinese?

You keep telling yourself that the problem is corporate profit and we'll see how far that gets you. I'm guessing ten feet past the starting line and a mile short of the finish.

We don't have to do anything, starvation is progressivism's natural ally.

 

[texasjack]

And btw, how is it right to give 15 an hour to someone unskilled meanwhile many skilled workers make that, or less. Hell, if burgerking paid 15 an hour id close up shop and work there

this us exactly what I mean. You would rather make sure no one else gets a raise rather than you he a raise yourself. Self defeating AND retarded. Did it occur to you people leaving for burger king would be great or you? Your boss would HAVE to pay more to keep you.

 

[MuyLocoNC]

Your boss would HAVE to pay more to keep you.

And like SUBSIDEEZ, increased wages are free and the money supply is endless, right?

Unfortunately for your position, businesses can't operate like the Federal government. The increased wages actually have to come from somewhere and it won't be less profits to the owners/stockholders. They will fire your buddy or reduce a majority of the employees to part time. You will end up making less and it's more likely the business will fail as a result.

YAY, arbitrary minimum wage increases.

 

[Jimdamick]

Why don't we just offer them government (i.e. taxpayer) handouts? Because that's what a "living wage" would be for fast-food workers: a government-managed cash-flow system funneled from the real producers in society, to the unwise people who get themselves into life situations that force them to work 2 shifts at McDonald's.

Life choices? What was your life choice at birth, if your mother could hardly read because of the educational system in this country, that supposedly is equal to all. Total line of conservative bull shit. What about if your father was in jail for selling, because all the job's went to fucking China, like they HAVE DONE. How about stop CUTTING taxes for individuals making over $450,000 a year, and put that money into an educational system that IS ONE OF THE WORST IN THE FUCKING WORLD. This country is designed for niggers to do the work, while the powers that be sit on their white asses, and complain about government interference, and the green quality at their country club. Fuck capitalism, it is designed for a few to profit, and counts on the rest not so fortunate to deal with it. It might have worked at one time, but look around and you can see that the less fortunate are getting fucking sick of it.
Oh yea, I'm a big fan of Marx, if you couldn't tell, and you know what, his foresight doesn't seem that far off the mark, after all look at China. LOL

 

[travisw]

And btw, how is it right to give 15 an hour to someone unskilled meanwhile many skilled workers make that, or less. Hell, if burgerking paid 15 an hour id close up shop and work there

Did you even read the link you posted?

But according to McComb, McDonald's is not planning to pare down its work force as it adds the new kiosks to restaurants.
The kiosks could, however, allow operators to move some workers away from cash registers and into the kitchen to help speed up customer service.

McDonald's started putting these things in European stores back in 2009.

They added 7,000 to the European market in 2011, .a move intended to reduce the time it takes to process an order, not a drive to reduce labor costs.

McDonald’s does not expect any reduction in staffing as a result of the changes. “In fact the business is growing so we would expect to see an increase in overall staff numbers and we’re still on track to create an additional 15,000 new jobs in Europe in 2011,” it said.

Here’s how an industry publication headlined their report on this back in 2011: “McDonald’s Europe expects kiosks to increase jobs”.

Yes, increase jobs, because faster orders reduce turnaround time and increase business.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e28f6864-7f1e-11e0-b239-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3lS31VwCx

So you're a business owner in his twenties who would shut down his company to work at Burger King, if you could make $15 an hour?

I can't decide what's sadder, the fact you actually seem to think $15 an hour is a lot of money, or how quickly you side with what you perceive to be corporate interest to gleefully shit on fellow laborers.

 

[mollymcgrammar]

Did you even read the link you posted?

But according to McComb, McDonald's is not planning to pare down its work force as it adds the new kiosks to restaurants.
The kiosks could, however, allow operators to move some workers away from cash registers and into the kitchen to help speed up customer service.

McDonald's started putting these things in European stores back in 2009.

They added 7,000 to the European market in 2011, .a move intended to reduce the time it takes to process an order, not a drive to reduce labor costs.

McDonald’s does not expect any reduction in staffing as a result of the changes. “In fact the business is growing so we would expect to see an increase in overall staff numbers and we’re still on track to create an additional 15,000 new jobs in Europe in 2011,” it said.

Here’s how an industry publication headlined their report on this back in 2011: “McDonald’s Europe expects kiosks to increase jobs”.

Yes, increase jobs, because faster orders reduce turnaround time and increase business.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e28f6864-7f1e-11e0-b239-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3lS31VwCx

So you're a business owner in his twenties who would shut down his company to work at Burger King, if you could make $15 an hour?

I can't decide what's sadder, the fact you actually seem to think $15 an hour is a lot of money, or how quickly you side with what you perceive to be corporate interest to gleefully shit on fellow laborers.

Where i live 15 an hour is WAY MORE than most make

 

[Rrog]

Not everyone is smart. Not everyone can be trained to perform anything beyond menial labor.

Not everyone is created intellectually equal, so if the new work force needs smart educated people, you are isolating potentially millions of people whose only crime is being born not as smart as the rest.

 

[MuyLocoNC]

Did you even read the link you posted?

But according to McComb, McDonald's is not planning to pare down its work force as it adds the new kiosks to restaurants.
The kiosks could, however, allow operators to move some workers away from cash registers and into the kitchen to help speed up customer service.

McDonald's started putting these things in European stores back in 2009.

They added 7,000 to the European market in 2011, .a move intended to reduce the time it takes to process an order, not a drive to reduce labor costs.

McDonald’s does not expect any reduction in staffing as a result of the changes. “In fact the business is growing so we would expect to see an increase in overall staff numbers and we’re still on track to create an additional 15,000 new jobs in Europe in 2011,” it said.

Here’s how an industry publication headlined their report on this back in 2011: “McDonald’s Europe expects kiosks to increase jobs”.

Yes, increase jobs, because faster orders reduce turnaround time and increase business.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e28f6864-7f1e-11e0-b239-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3lS31VwCx

So you're a business owner in his twenties who would shut down his company to work at Burger King, if you could make $15 an hour?

I can't decide what's sadder, the fact you actually seem to think $15 an hour is a lot of money, or how quickly you side with what you perceive to be corporate interest to gleefully shit on fellow laborers.

Lol, you believe they aren't doing this to reduce labor costs? Are you one of the miserable schleps that bought Fat Al's carbon credits too?

Do you think they're going to come out and say it in a press release and excite the liberal lunatics, or do you think they will just downsize labor, over time, as the kiosks allow?

 

[TBoneJack]

Life choices? What was your life choice at birth, if your mother could hardly read because of the educational system in this country, that supposedly is equal to all. Total line of conservative bull shit. What about if your father was in jail for selling, because all the job's went to fucking China, like they HAVE DONE. How about stop CUTTING taxes for individuals making over $450,000 a year, and put that money into an educational system that IS ONE OF THE WORST IN THE FUCKING WORLD. This country is designed for niggers to do the work, while the powers that be sit on their white asses, and complain about government interference, and the green quality at their country club. Fuck capitalism, it is designed for a few to profit, and counts on the rest not so fortunate to deal with it. It might have worked at one time, but look around and you can see that the less fortunate are getting fucking sick of it.
Oh yea, I'm a big fan of Marx, if you couldn't tell, and you know what, his foresight doesn't seem that far off the mark, after all look at China. LOL

I respect the plight of the poor. And I'm certainly no defender of the rich paying so little in taxes.

But I don't know what the answer is. I can see both sides of this argument. I just don't think any economy can survive when every job in the whole country has to pay enough salary to fully support someone. What about a person who has 6 children, working at McDonald's at the cash register. Is that job supposed to pay enough to support that person plus 6 children?

Far be it from me to keep people from getting paid what they deserve to be paid. I have opinions, but certainly no answers.

 

[texasjack]

And like SUBSIDEEZ, increased wages are free and the money supply is endless, right?

Unfortunately for your position, businesses can't operate like the Federal government. The increased wages actually have to come from somewhere and it won't be less profits to the owners/stockholders. They will fire your buddy or reduce a majority of the employees to part time. You will end up making less and it's more likely the business will fail as a result.

YAY, arbitrary minimum wage increases.

fuck them, if they can't afford to do business while paying a living wage they're insolvent anyway.

 

[mollymcgrammar]

Sounds like communism is making a comeback.

 

[Rrog]

Back enough people into a corner... they'll explode when they come out. Just sayin

 

[texasjack]

Sounds like communism is making a comeback.

socialism and yes. That always happens when the average person sees how unfair things are getting.

 

[mollymcgrammar]

Did we forget that McDonald's is franchised out? Most of that profit from sales goes to franchisees, who independantly own and operate the stores.

These are small buisness owners aren't they?

So lets punish the folks who bought a buisness to make a profit by allowing others to make a skilled workers wage for an unskilled job..... Sounds legit.