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The middle class is ever increasingly being eroded in this country. These chain restaurants and supermarkets rely primarily on the middle class for it's sales. Getting rid of more jobs just shoots themselves in the foot. Of course most retailers and even restaurants are more increasingly accepting SNAP benefit cards
Rank and file jobs in restaurants and retail establishments never provided many jobs that could support a middle class lifestyle.
It already has. In Mass retail employees that are hourly make time and a half on sundays and the new minimum wage to kick in three years from now is $11/hr.
$11 * 1.5 is $16.5.
So yes $16.5/hr is going to be the minimum wage for retail employees on sundays and holidays (52 weeks a year one sunday a year and 12 or so holidays...) That's about two months out of the year in terms of time or 1/6th 17% of the time they will be making that.
Smaller retailers are going to be crushed by this. Either they'll close or lay people off to become a internet site. Technically the way the law reads they don't have to really show up for these days. So if one works for a smaller one that cannot afford it they'll go to walmart or somewhere else to work there.
Walmart wants the minimum wage to go up. Why? Because they can afford it and others cannot.
Talking about time and a half for Sundays and holidays seems pretty disingenuous to me. As far as the protestors "demanding" it...it's called Negotiation 101. Start asking high, and expect to get something in the middle.
And I haven't heard anyone from Walmart's corporate office actually advocating for a real raise in the minimum wage. Not sure where you've pulled that from.
Rank and file jobs in restaurants and retail establishments never provided many jobs that could support a middle class lifestyle.
Yes, but now that's the only option many people have. Pretending everyone can create their own successful business or become an engineering major is silly. The days of someone being able to get a decent factory job in order to enjoy a decent middle class lifestyle are long gone, I'm afraid.
The days of someone being able to get a decent factory job in order to enjoy a decent middle class lifestyle are long gone, I'm afraid.
Those days never came for most people, except in a few specific capital intensive industries like steel manufacturing. And then only for a brief period between the end of WWII and the 1970's.
Lots of factory workers in the 50's 60's and 70's made low wages, enough for a low class American lifestyle. People who worked making plastic waste paper cans or manufacturing sheets here in the US did so for very little money.
We (my family) have used them at Sheetz and WA-WA convenience stores and at a supercenter traveler stop in Texas called Buccee's. The ordering process was great. Everyone chose what they wanted (burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, drinks, etc), any condiments they wanted, any sides that were offered, and sometimes more. The order went to the grill or kitchen area where it was prepared by a person, not a machine. We were given our food and went up to the cash register to pay. A person ran the register, but like at any quick stop store we had to choose to pay with cash, or use the reader device to pay with debit or credit card. Our experiences still utilized people behind the counters, it was just the ordering process that was automated and that went so much smoother than having to tell a person what we wanted on our food.
As for paying at the time the automated order is put in, I haven't encountered that. Yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by John13
That's what you say now.
In my area many grocery stores are forcing you to use them. Either use them or wait in a very long line (in many cases) to pay for a few items. I remember the days where one use to be able to make a living being a cashier at a supermarket. They would provide decent customer service too but those days are long over.
WAWA also has the automated cashiers to order food. If fast food chains are forced to pay their workers a higher salary look for this to become common almost everywhere.
Greedy CEO's will be laughing all the way to the bank.
That's true but it still takes people to make the sandwiches or burgers or drinks or sundaes, etc. But the CEO's will find other ways to laugh all the way to the bank. They always do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CSD610
It should at least cut down on the consumer complaints when the sandwich is fixed according to what the customer themselves put on the order.
That of course won't help the consumer who put the order in right and the one preparing the order got it wrong.
That's true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wolf39us
I also agree this would have happened anyway. WaWa is a local example here that just came to town last year (Clearwater, FL) and their automated ordering system is pretty darn awesome.
We have WAWA here in Virginia Beach and some of the adjacent cities and we like their system.
Talking about time and a half for Sundays and holidays seems pretty disingenuous to me. As far as the protestors "demanding" it...it's called Negotiation 101. Start asking high, and expect to get something in the middle.
And I haven't heard anyone from Walmart's corporate office actually advocating for a real raise in the minimum wage. Not sure where you've pulled that from.
Doesn't matter if it is disingenuous. We have a 24/7 business cycle so for some employees to be making overtime 16-17% of the time adds up. Or to suggest they do not have to work which means it would cost even more capital to cover them.
"Wal-Mart Stores Inc. chief executive H. Lee Scott Jr. called on Congress to raise the country's minimum wage from $5.15 an hour, saying the company's customers are "struggling to get by."
Scott, head of the world's largest retailer, which has been criticized for paying low wages, providing few health care benefits and causing the demise of small businesses across the country, ticked off a list of changes he said the company plans to make and called for a higher minimum wage in a speech to directors and executives Monday."
"Some supporters of increasing the minimum wage embraced Scott's statement. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, released a statement saying, "If Wal-Mart can push for an increased minimum wage, so can the House and Senate leadership."
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), said in a statement, "If the CEO of Wal-Mart can call for an increase in the minimum wage, the Republicans should follow suit on behalf of the millions of working men and women living in poverty."
Walmart has enough capital to pay more. Smaller businesses do not. It's just a fact of business. Look at the tech industry. Price drop all the time as r&d constantly makes for faster processors and making everything cheaper. Economies of scale mean that you can pretty much outspend and outlast a smaller rival. Amazon of an example of a company that was more efficient in various markets (books, movies and music) rolled that money into r&d of the kindle, kindle fire, amazon prime and selling anything under the sun.
In games of chess you might sacrifice a rook or a bishop in order to gain a better spot to get a queen and of course the king. Likewise for walmart to eat a small cost to them but a huge cost to others much is gained.
It's mentioned in the screen, but in Europe, we have seen those machines for quite a long time now. Mainly for take away but I think it could work for any situation.
Does McDonalds REALLY need to make savings in this way?
Why wouldn't they? A company is out to make money.
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