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Minimum Wage Vs Automation

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  • Minimum Wage Vs Automation

    Had a very interesting talk with a friend who is the owner/franchisee of a McDonald's.

    He told me that he has cut his labor costs by 31% by giving raises to his best workers, and letting a bunch of others go, and hiring these four guys....

    2018-02-20 13.26.26.jpg

    He said they never call in sick, or show up late for work, or wanna go home early, they don't take smoke breaks, they're not constantly on their phones, they are all 4 bilingual, they are never rude to customers, they get every order exactly as the customer orders, and he only had to give them a sign-on bonus and a monthly maintenance fee which is WAY below the cost of employees.

    He also has a whole automated french fry baptizing system, so no "fry guys", and he said his kitchen runs a whole lot smoother.
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

  • #2
    Automation will create jobs as you have repairs, programming, product testing, and the legal and patent work.
    sigpic

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    • #3
      Originally posted by TheWall View Post
      Automation will create jobs as you have repairs, programming, product testing, and the legal and patent work.
      But those will be skilled jobs, not just baptizing french fries.
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
        But those will be skilled jobs, not just baptizing french fries.
        True. I have to wonder if low skill jobs will only become viable if minimum wage is erased.
        sigpic

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        • #5
          My local McDonalds has about 8 of them. I never see anyone using them. The last time I was there the queue for the counter was long (~10 people) so I thought "why not skip the queue and use an ordering machine?". I spent 5 minutes trying to navigate the menus on the thing, couldn't find the items I wanted, gave up, and joined the queue at the counter which was shorter by then.

          I suggest asking your friend in a few months time what proportion of customers are using the machines vs ordering at the counter. Might be less than 1%.
          "I hate him passionately", he's "a demonic force" - Tucker Carlson, in private, on Donald Trump
          "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism" - George Orwell
          "[Capitalism] as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of evils. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy" - Albert Einstein

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          • #6
            Originally posted by TheWall View Post
            Automation will create jobs as you have repairs, programming, product testing, and the legal and patent work.
            not nearly enough to make up for the jobs they replace
            "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." Isaiah 3:12

            There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Starlight View Post
              My local McDonalds has about 8 of them. I never see anyone using them. The last time I was there the queue for the counter was long (~10 people) so I thought "why not skip the queue and use an ordering machine?". I spent 5 minutes trying to navigate the menus on the thing, couldn't find the items I wanted, gave up, and joined the queue at the counter which was shorter by then.
              So, you're not as smart as the average American?

              I suggest asking your friend in a few months time what proportion of customers are using the machines vs ordering at the counter. Might be less than 1%.
              He's had them for over 2 years. I just stopped to visit him today. I suggest you're dumber than a 5th grader.
              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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              • #8
                mcdonalds here has them too and i see people using them all the time (well, all the time i go to mcdonalds, which is almost never because it's a terrible chain). there's nothing complicated about using them, and I doubt the ones in NZ are made extra hard to navigate just to frustrate starlight.
                "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." Isaiah 3:12

                There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Darth Executor View Post
                  mcdonalds here has them too and i see people using them all the time (well, all the time i go to mcdonalds, which is almost never because it's a terrible chain). there's nothing complicated about using them, and I doubt the ones in NZ are made extra hard to navigate just to frustrate starlight.
                  I've seen them elsewhere, but never had the opportunity to ask an owner or manager about the economics. And, another factor in Texas is language - a lot of times the cashier doesn't speak enough English to make the transaction tolerable.
                  The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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                  • #10
                    Even though I'm an introvert, I always choose not to use the kiosks wherever I go. Partially, so that people continue to have jobs, and that partially so that the payroll taxes still go to the state. I support bills that propose an automation tax to make up for the lost revenue from fired human workers. Flame away!
                    "Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
                    Hear my cry, hear my shout,
                    Save me, save me"

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by guacamole View Post
                      Even though I'm an introvert, I always choose not to use the kiosks wherever I go. Partially, so that people continue to have jobs, and that partially so that the payroll taxes still go to the state. I support bills that propose an automation tax to make up for the lost revenue from fired human workers. Flame away!
                      Ummmm.... you really think that NOT using a kiosk that's already installed is going to prevent managers from laying off people that the kiosks have already replaced?
                      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                        Ummmm.... you really think that NOT using a kiosk that's already installed is going to prevent managers from laying off people that the kiosks have already replaced?
                        Nope. It is my personal, if pointless, protest.
                        "Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
                        Hear my cry, hear my shout,
                        Save me, save me"

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by guacamole View Post
                          Nope. It is my personal, if pointless, protest.
                          That's fair! I have some of those.
                          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I don't eat out much. That said, if I went to one of these places and there were both automated kiosks and human clerks, I would pick whichever would get me my order the fastest (and then invariably be wrong, as the other line always moves faster).
                            I DENOUNCE DONALD J. TRUMP AND ALL HIS IMMORAL ACTS.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Zymologist View Post
                              I don't eat out much. That said, if I went to one of these places and there were both automated kiosks and human clerks, I would pick whichever would get me my order the fastest (and then invariably be wrong, as the other line always moves faster).
                              The old traffic line paradox. The other traffic line always seems to be moving better so you switch, then the new line you're in is slower than the first one.
                              "Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
                              Hear my cry, hear my shout,
                              Save me, save me"

                              Comment

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