Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, your coffee WILL taste better - mainly because it's more likely to have been made right (beginning with a greater likelihood that your order will be correct to begin with).
Chances are the restaurant will be CLEANER (I suspect you actually CARE about how CLEAN the place is - that's kind of important when you are eating or drinking there), service will likely be faster and (as I said) your order is more likely to be correct.
Restaurant work is no different from any other type of work - motivated employees who "go the extra mile" make all the difference and it's pretty ignorant and short-sighted to assume otherwise when experience has shown over and over and over again that that's the case.
Ken
PS - just as an FYI, McDonalds doesn't ALLOW tipping (employees can be FIRED for accepting them) - apparently YOU never bother to try to tip (which is not a surprise).
Last edited by LordBalfor; 08-29-2013 at 05:57 PM..
Costco employee productivity (based on average sales dollars per employee) is roughly TWICE that of Sam's Club - so clearly those Costco employees are performing a WHOLE LOT better than the Sam's Club employees. While we can't say for sure WHY, it's a pretty logical conclusion to draw that the Costco employees are more motivated to do their best.
So, why would we think that McD's employees who are paid half as much will do as good a job as those making twice as much? That's certainly not what experience shows. People who are happy at their job, do a better job - that's just a fact - and part of being happy at your job is being satisfied with your pay.
I think I agree to some extent, however I think you have it a little backwards. I do not believe, if tomorrow all fast food employees in the country suddenly made $15 / hour, that we'd see any uptick in quality, attentiveness, accuracy, timeliness, etc. from the same people.
I do believe, however, that if an employer in a particular industry were forced to pay $15 / hour for a job that is worth at best $8 / hour, that that employer would HIRE much higher quality staff -- probably bright folks with college degrees, retirees, people like me who wouldn't mind a part-time second job, etc. And there is where your quality would come from. You would be much more discerning in your hiring choices, bypassing the high-school kids, the high-school dropouts, and the dullards.
I was listening to Marketplace on the drive home. Apparently in response to the strikes there was a big article in the WSJ (which I missed today) explaining how at $15 / hour, ROBOTS would become viable replacements for most fast food positions. Kind of like how as oil prices increase, alternatives become viable.
Japan is even piloting a robot cashier and robot cook.
I think I agree to some extent, however I think you have it a little backwards. I do not believe, if tomorrow all fast food employees in the country suddenly made $15 / hour, that we'd see any uptick in quality, attentiveness, accuracy, timeliness, etc. from the same people.
I do believe, however, that if an employer in a particular industry were forced to pay $15 / hour for a job that is worth at best $8 / hour, that that employer would HIRE much higher quality staff -- probably bright folks with college degrees, retirees, people like me who wouldn't mind a part-time second job, etc. And there is where your quality would come from. You would be much more discerning in your hiring choices, bypassing the high-school kids, the high-school dropouts, and the dullards.
You'd probably see BOTH of those scenarios occur - some of the people who currently work there would be more motivated to do better and have a stronger desire to keep their job AND the company would be more picky in who they hire with the result that those folks who DON'T perform better will over time be replaced by new folks who DO appreciate their jobs.
As I said, disgruntled employees - those who feel their efforts are not being sufficient rewarded - will tend to do the bare minimum necessary to keep their job. Those employees who feel they are being treated fairly - and thus put more value in having that particular job - will tend to perform better. It shouldn't really take a "rocket scientist" to understand that - certainly the folks running COSTCO understand that (and the company has been HUGELY successful as a result).
I was listening to Marketplace on the drive home. Apparently in response to the strikes there was a big article in the WSJ (which I missed today) explaining how at $15 / hour, ROBOTS would become viable replacements for most fast food positions. Kind of like how as oil prices increase, alternatives become viable.
Japan is even piloting a robot cashier and robot cook.
Be careful what you wish for............
As minimum wage rose, jobs such as those for cleaning windshields at gas stations, checking oil etc. vanished almost completely across the country.
There's an argument to be made that, when you raise the minimum wage, all you do is eliminate all jobs that benefit the company by less than the new amount.
I was listening to Marketplace on the drive home. Apparently in response to the strikes there was a big article in the WSJ (which I missed today) explaining how at $15 / hour, ROBOTS would become viable replacements for most fast food positions. Kind of like how as oil prices increase, alternatives become viable.
Japan is even piloting a robot cashier and robot cook.
Be careful what you wish for............
Those changes are coming anyway - and NOT just to fast food workers. In the next decade driverless vehicles will begin to appear on the roads and within 20 years many of those jobs will vanish as well.
It's pretty inevitable.
Hypothetically, I would express solidarity for the employee and pay more. It's not that I'd be giving McDonald's B more money, the important thing is that I'm not giving McDonald's A any money at all. Hypothetically.
But I don't eat at McDonald's. I patronize a Wendy's from time to time, though. But I've informed them that I won't be doing so any more until their employees are satisfied.
I'm still waiting for someone to tell me why my 19 year old son's girlfriend, who lives with her parents, will be starting her career in the Air Force in a few months, and who is currently working at Arby's should be getting paid $15 per hour for punching buttons. She doesn't need a "living wage" (which is a completely BS term). She has no expenses - she doesn't even have a car.
That same 19 year old son is currently employed by the business I own with his mother. We pay him minimum wage, on the books. We would have to fire our own son if we were suddenly forced to pay him nearly twice what he's getting paid now.
You guys are ridiculous. Keep on painting your little signs and protesting the small businessman who put everything on the line to buy a franchise and start his small business. You people have NO FREAKING CLUE what that's like, the economics behind it or what we, the small business owners, can and can't afford to do. The mere fact that you're calling for a $15/hr minimum wage demonstrates how MONUMENTALLY STUPID you are.
Nuts.
Hate to burst your bubble but McDonald's isn't a "small business"! Owning one of their franchises probably takes over six figures in assets.
That being said I think the Minimum wage should be indexed to inflation. The cost of living does rise and people need to make ends meet. I don't know how a married couple with a child makes it today on Minimum wage.
It's why people buy coffee at Starbucks despite costing 3x at a convenience store.
What is?
The people I know who use Starbucks like the fancy schmancy super cinnamon creamalicious lattes at 1130 calories (I drink office black so I know nothing of this world) and the trendiness / being seen / being part of it part of it. I can't fault them, we all have our things.
But what I know is they don't do it out of some altruistic guidance to support the barista making a decent wage. It's completely self-serving. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Starbucks seems to have a good thing going. Good for them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
