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More Fast Food Restaurants Are Now Automating (qz.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
Wendy's is adding self-service ordering kiosks "to at least 1,000 restaurants, or about 15% of its stores," reports the Los Angeles Times, while McDonald's and Panera Bread are now planning to add kiosks to every restaurant. "Lots of restaurants, not just fast-food chains, are really trying to mitigate the costs of higher wages," says one market research firm, while also citing a survey which found 40% of millennials willing to use kiosks (compared to 30% of restaurant-goers overall).
But in some cases this means more work for human employees. Quartz points out that McDonalds doesn't plan to reduce its workforce after installing kiosks, and Panera Bread "has said that at some locations where it has ordering kiosks, it has actually increased human hours to help the kitchen keep up with the higher number of orders that come in through the more efficient ordering system."
But in some cases this means more work for human employees. Quartz points out that McDonalds doesn't plan to reduce its workforce after installing kiosks, and Panera Bread "has said that at some locations where it has ordering kiosks, it has actually increased human hours to help the kitchen keep up with the higher number of orders that come in through the more efficient ordering system."
... automated post.
after going to japan where many of the major chains had at-table ordering device of some sort and no tips, i cant go back
Unskilled labor is going to mostly disappear except for those tasks where it just isn't possible to automate. A "livable" wage for a task that can be done by a machine is a pipe dream. That's just reality. All the kicking and screaming and class warfare rhetoric isn't going to change it or delay the outcome.
So to that I say, please do go ahead and keep raising the minimum wage. That may actually accelerate the process. The displaced workers will either skill up or you'll see a reverse migration to places where the cost of living and level of automation will make it possible for unskilled workers to survive.
There might be more human work at some locations. Faster service using kiosks might bring in more customers in that restaurant, but the total number of meals people eat always stays the same, which means other non-automated restaurants are losing customers. Since the automated restaurant is serving more people with the same number of employees, the overall effect is a decrease in labor.
All these people whining about minimum wage increases causing more automation like it's a bad thing. You've all got it backwards. Human labor has been undervalued, so nobody bothered to put effort into being more efficient. If anything, this suggests that we need to raise wages globally so we'll actually quit wasting so much human effort.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Libertarians would have us live in a dog-eat-dog society. They ignore the rule of law that allows them their freedom. And they'd like everyone armed to the teeth to defend their property.
They'd like everyone to have the right to be bankrupted due to medical issues. Social Security and Medicare keep Grandma off the Libertarians' front lawns. In Ayn Rand's world, airlines could allow for a certain number of plane crashes a year consistent with their profit margins due to customers deciding not to fly and employees finding alternate jobs. Smog and pollution would exist only up to a threshold number of deaths due to pollution. Mercury would not be a controlled pollutant; if you ingest too much, it be your own fault. What? You didn't know you were eating it in that seafood? How come you didn't pull out your home chemistry kit and do your own testing?
What Libertarians do not get is statistics. If you ignore statistics, then you get the every doofus for himself mentality. If you pay attention to statistics, a lot of government programs make sense.
What Libertarians do not get is statistics.
Just taking a good look at the Prisoner's Dilemma and Tragedy of the Commons should be enough to understand that you need government programs to enforce cooperation for the benefit of all.
My family had Chick-fil-A the other day. Placed our entire order on my smartphone through their app. The app can optionally track your itinerary via GPS so that the food is prepared just in time for your arrival.
Humans are far too smart, innovative, aspiring and complex
You need to meet more humans.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
How terrible! We should stamp out morals and ethics right away.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
is brutal repression of those people. That's what's going on in Mexico & South America. But good job making yourself feel better by suggesting the problem will naturally and painlessly take care of itself. The best part? There's an excellent chance you'll get caught up in that repression too as the government expands it's powers to do nastier and nastier things to it's citizens in the name of keeping order.
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