The Consequences of Overpaying Unskilled Labor

[Renee]

We all knew this was coming....



[size=150]MCDONALD'S TO HAVE DIGITAL KIOSKS IN EVERY STORE BY 2020[/size]



America's largest food chain, McDonald's, plans to have self-order digital kiosks in every store by 2020.



The modernization announcement was made by McDonald's in an attempt to increase customer satisfaction and remain competitive in the fast-food market.



A McDonald's spokesperson told BuzzFeed that their locations will "still have cashiers — kiosks provide another option for customers to order and pay. We're finding with kiosks, customers tend to feel less rushed, take their time, browse the menu, and often order more."



The announcement can also be seen as a direct reflection of minimum wage hikes around the country. In places like Seattle and San Fransisco, the minimum wage is $14.00 and above, making the margins on a service franchise untenable.



BuzzFeed reports that the ballooning labor costs are already being felt by McDonald's bottom line, citing McDonald's payroll and employee benefits were up to 30.2 percent of sales, a sharp increase from 2017.



The national "Fight For $15" has been embraced by prominent Democrats, such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.



http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/06/mcdonalds-digital-kiosks-by-2020/">http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/06/mcdon ... s-by-2020/">http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/06/mcdonalds-digital-kiosks-by-2020/



Well thank God at least not ALL unskilled labor jobs are in jeopardy. Until someone figures out a way to develop a digital mop, Scouce's job of cleaning up the local pub's loo is safe....  

[Angry White Male]

It could also be argued that self-serve kiosks would've been implemented regardless of what the minimum wage is.



Self serve Kiosks have been used around here for years in some grocery stores, and most McDonald's around here already use them.  Seems to me that the majority of customers will still prefer to deal with a live cashier given the choice, from what I've seen.



Business has always found ways to eliminate as many paid employees as they can.



Where I live these changes won't make a difference, as fast food outlets can hardly find enough quality staff to work there anyhow.  The McDonald's down the street from me would probably hire almost anyone on the spot.

[Rancidmilko]

Truth to be told, in the future, AI, robotics and IoT will make 90% of all jobs obsolete



There's a reason for a bunch of countries experimenting with "free wages" for people



They want to see how will a society that gets paid to do nothing will behave



And of course, we've been seeing the result of that in the people who live on welfare.



As an old saying that goes around here in Brazil "An empty mind is the devil's workshop"

[Odinson]

They would have replaced them anyway..





The problem with automation is mass-unemployment...





Mass-unemployment causes violence, rioting and protesting..

[Odinson]

15 per hour is fucking insane..





Wage for an unskilled labourer is about 10-11 bucks per hour... In here..



And we are heavily unionized.. Taxes and prices are high.







Its enough for modest living.. Not for gucci hand-bags, fine restaurants and so on.

[Anonymous]

We all knew this was coming....




Nice post Seoulbro.

[Angry White Male]

Exactly, Odinson.  It all depends where one lives.



For instance, in Vancouver, full time at minimum wage would not even pay the rent for a one bedroom apartment.  In other places, it could.



This has actually created a huge problem for employers, since there's nobody left to work for minimum wage.  They can't live and stay there, so they leave.



It is not uncommon for some restaurants to actually pay around *gasp* $20/hour just to get someone to arrive.  Our minimum wage is around $12.00/hour now.  This is the market dictating wages, and trust me it infuriates employers have to pay that.  They only want to pay the minimum.



I would think you may see this in other places like San Francisco or Manhattan too, but not sure as I don't live and work there.



Our wages would even be market driven and forced even higher, but a massive and steady influx of immigrants keeps that 'problem' somewhat under control for employers.

[Anonymous]

We all knew this was coming....




I've talked about this a lot.



I don't go into any McDonald's often, but when I do they always have a kiosk . Rapid increases in minimum wages for jobs that are disappearing anyway is foolish. The better option to help low wage workers like Scouse would be to take them off of federal and provincial tax collection roles. Workers and small business owners would have more money in their pockets.

[Angry White Male]

This is nothing new from business.  From the minute they started building cars, for instance, there has been a constant push to eliminate the labour needed to do so.



It has nothing to do with wages.  If robots or machines can do it for cheaper, they will do it.  Nothing new...

[Anonymous]

We all knew this was coming....




I've talked about this a lot.



I don't go into any McDonald's often, but when I do they always have a kiosk . Rapid increases in minimum wages for jobs that are disappearing anyway is foolish. The better option to help low wage workers like Scouse would be to take them off of federal and provincial tax collection roles. Workers and small business owners would have more money in their pockets.

That would be a win win solution, but do you think provincial and federal governments would give all that revenue back to low income workers?



And yes, I've seen those kiosks in McDonald's restaurants when I shop at Walmart.

[Anonymous]

We all knew this was coming....




I've talked about this a lot.



I don't go into any McDonald's often, but when I do they always have a kiosk . Rapid increases in minimum wages for jobs that are disappearing anyway is foolish. The better option to help low wage workers like Scouse would be to take them off of federal and provincial tax collection roles. Workers and small business owners would have more money in their pockets.

That would be a win win solution, but do you think provincial and federal governments would give all that revenue back to low income workers?



And yes, I've seen those kiosks in McDonald's restaurants when I shop at Walmart.

Ottawa and the provinces work together to slash revenue? Not a chance.

[Anonymous]

We all knew this was coming....




I've talked about this a lot.



I don't go into any McDonald's often, but when I do they always have a kiosk . Rapid increases in minimum wages for jobs that are disappearing anyway is foolish. The better option to help low wage workers like Scouse would be to take them off of federal and provincial tax collection roles. Workers and small business owners would have more money in their pockets.

That would be a win win solution, but do you think provincial and federal governments would give all that revenue back to low income workers?



And yes, I've seen those kiosks in McDonald's restaurants when I shop at Walmart.

Ottawa and the provinces work together to slash revenue? Not a chance.

Here in Alberta where minimum wage becomes fifteen dollars per hour by the end of this year, tipping down..



This means wait staff are earning less money, but paying more tax.

[Frood]

It could also be argued that self-serve kiosks would've been implemented regardless of what the minimum wage is.



Self serve Kiosks have been used around here for years in some grocery stores, and most McDonald's around here already use them.  Seems to me that the majority of customers will still prefer to deal with a live cashier given the choice, from what I've seen.



Business has always found ways to eliminate as many paid employees as they can.



Where I live these changes won't make a difference, as fast food outlets can hardly find enough quality staff to work there anyhow.  The McDonald's down the street from me would probably hire almost anyone on the spot.

When supermarket staff try to herd me into self serv, I loudly ask for a uniform and staff discount. One young woman talked down to me once and acted like I was too dumb to use self serv. So I dropped the items in my arms on the floor and walked out.

[Angry White Male]

They don't try to do that here...

[Frood]

Most of the staff are young paypass junkies and glued to their smartphones. They like to stand in self serve and text their boyfriends.