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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyTexan
I can't wait for the iPads to come to sit down restaurants.
I'm one that actually likes technology. I use kiosks and self checkouts wherever they are available.
I also use online to check availability of products at let's say Home Depot and then reserve something for me to pick up when I get there.
I'd use the self checkouts at my supermarket but they say they are limited to 20 items.
Walmart has self checkouts for unlimited items.
We have a pretty good restaurant called BJ's here that allows you to order and pay using your smartphone.
Many restaurants we have been to lately have tablets for the servers to input your order.
I don't want to select anything. I want to SAY "I want 6 pickles" and have them appear on my burger. I want THEM to fumble around with a machine. That's built into the price of my food.
If they want ME to type in my food order with pickle amount specificity, then they'd better be paying me in the form of a very steep discount.
If you or anyone is a fan of Horse Racing they have do it yourself betting terminals along side of tellers now. The line is faster at the machines then the tellers; mainly because the more experienced horse gamblers know how to use the machines. Regardless.
Maybe they need a combination for people like yourself who want the human interaction.
I think we could all see this coming a mile away. So much for living wage!!! I wrote a letter to our newspaper about this very subject just about a week ago.
If you or anyone is a fan of Horse Racing they have do it yourself betting terminals along side of tellers now. The line is faster at the machines then the tellers; mainly because the more experienced horse gamblers know how to use the machines. Regardless.
Maybe they need a combination for people like yourself who want the human interaction.
Perhaps they are betting that people like myself are going the way of the dinosaur. I get it. They're probably right.
But til my dying day, I will never order food from an automaton...stationary or mobile. It's where I'm drawing the line.
I respect that some people like it. That's cool. I had lunch with my wife at some chain about 3 weeks ago and I can't remember which one...they had a small machine on the table that my wife pointed out that we could use to augment the order. Chili's or some dopey chain. In any case, we still had a server regardless who surely expected to get tipped.
What do you mean, you don't see the problem? Do you have any idea how many people will be put out of work or have hours cut by this? And these are people that mostly have no skills. They depend on these jobs.
I think we could all see this coming a mile away. So much for living wage!!! I wrote a letter to our newspaper about this very subject just about a week ago.
One would hope so. Europe has high wages. McDonalds installed the kiosks over there in 2011.
McDonald's is losing money and has to do something.
The same people complaining about automation probably had relatives who complained about the switch from cross-country mules to trains delivering mail.
I didn't read all the posts before me, but I think this is 100% predictable, and it is triggered 100% by increasing the minimum wage. They may have been heading this way, but they ramped up earlier than otherwise.
The order takers at a "typical" McDonalds don't generate enough profit to be paid $15.00 per hour; heck in many stores they probably don't make their current wages. If labor costs rise by fiat, all low wage shops must either raise prices (which may not raise profits, if people stop buying) absorb the extra costs (which is probably impossible in a low margin business like fast food), or drop employees, either by automation or by closing stores/reducing hours.
The people who are supposedly benefiting from the increase may well get hours cut or lose the jobs altogether, which leaves the question; is it better to make $8.00 per hour and have a job or lose that job and get nothing.
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