Topic: McDonald's shoots down fears it is planning to replace cashiers with kiosks (Read 2382 times)

i heard new york is pushing for $15 minimum wage.  i think its absurd but seeing as how devalued the usd has become it probably makes sense.  not sure how franchisees can afford such labor costs across the board without switching to kiosks for faster ordering.  or else say goodbye mcdonalds dollar menu. 

It is not the responsibility of the franchise owners to provide jobs for everyone. If someone want a good job, then he should get quality education and the necessary skills. If automation / robots can reduce the prices, then I am supporting it. Banning the usage of technology, with lame excuses such as unemployment is retarded. McDonald's is not the only job provider in the United States. If you can't get a job with McDonalds, then try the USAF or the local supermarkets.

I think that it's just an excuse by the franchise owners; they are businessmen and are out to maximize profits. They don't provide the jobs because they feel charitable, instead they were waiting for the technology to improve to a point where they could replace humans with automation/robotics; just that the minimum wage issue timing gave them the lame excuse to make the switch.

This will spell the end for McDonalds. People like to serve by humans with a friendly smile not by machines!

This will spell the end for McDonalds. People like to serve by humans with a friendly smile not by machines!

http://burgerbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/McD_Aussie_BYO3.jpg


McDonald's is rolling out self-service kiosks in restaurants across the US that allow customers to order and pay for their food without ever having to interact with a human.

"At least half of the operators in my region are on the verge of collapse," one franchisee wrote in response to a recent survey by former Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski. "With minimum wage for fast food workers potentially increasing to incredibly high levels, we are facing a crisis situation."

Another franchisee wrote, "We are in uncharted waters. The minimum wage issue is a major threat to the survival of the operator community." The franchisee said McDonald's should be "putting every resource available" into finding labor savings, through technologies such as kiosks and automatic fry dispensers.

The price increases needed to offset any added labor costs "would cause a complete collapse in guest counts," the franchisee added. "I see no other options but the company paying to keep operators alive until they figure out how to reduce labor required by 30%."

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonalds-shoots-down-fears-planning-202513285.html

My take - From a profit standpoint, it makes sense. I do feel bad for potential cashiers, but technology is going to do it's thing. While I'm all about higher pay for retail and fast food employees, I don't want to prevent companies from taking advantage of cost saving technology.

Not only has that been debunked, I believe some of that debunking was done on this forum. But maybe you can explain how almost doubling the cost of 1/3 of your business expenses leads to a mere 4.3% increase in product costs?

why don't you price fast food within an airport or stadium? As costs go up, so must the prices. Airports are a great example of how high prices become when costs go through the roof.

Some bag fillers do get paid 13 an hour. They still (*)(*)(*)(*) up.

Maybe if the bag filler got paid $13/hr instead of the below poverty wage average of $7.75, they would try harder to ensure everything's correct since it would be a valuable job to lose.

If only they could roll out a robot that could actually get an order correct...then we'd have something. It's easy to type the order in correctly, but to get the person filling the bag with food to do it right...that seems a challenge beyond decades of trying.

http://burgerbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/McD_Aussie_BYO3.jpg


McDonald's is rolling out self-service kiosks in restaurants across the US that allow customers to order and pay for their food without ever having to interact with a human.

"At least half of the operators in my region are on the verge of collapse," one franchisee wrote in response to a recent survey by former Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski. "With minimum wage for fast food workers potentially increasing to incredibly high levels, we are facing a crisis situation."

Another franchisee wrote, "We are in uncharted waters. The minimum wage issue is a major threat to the survival of the operator community." The franchisee said McDonald's should be "putting every resource available" into finding labor savings, through technologies such as kiosks and automatic fry dispensers.

The price increases needed to offset any added labor costs "would cause a complete collapse in guest counts," the franchisee added. "I see no other options but the company paying to keep operators alive until they figure out how to reduce labor required by 30%."

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonalds-shoots-down-fears-planning-202513285.html

My take - From a profit standpoint, it makes sense. I do feel bad for potential cashiers, but technology is going to do it's thing. While I'm all about higher pay for retail and fast food employees, I don't want to prevent companies from taking advantage of cost saving technology.

If the minimum wage were increased to $15 an hour, prices at fast food restaurants would rise by an estimated 4.3 percent, according to a new study. That would mean a McDonald’s Big Mac, which currently goes for $3.99, would cost about 17 cents more, or $4.16.

The study from Purdue University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management also found that in order to compensate for the higher cost of employee compensation at limited-service restaurants, or those without table service or tipping, if they decided to change food sizes rather than prices, the Big Mac would shrink somewhere between 12 and 70 percent.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/08/03/3687171/15-minimum-wage-big-mac/

Yepper - a whole bank account busting $.17 more for a Big Mac. Kinda sets your hair on fire, doesn't it?

This will spell the end for McDonalds. People like to serve by humans with a friendly smile not by machines!

Get rid of jobs that the kiosks can handle, but pay the fry cooks and burger flippers a wage that keeps them just above the poverty line.

when did i say anything to the contrary ? i'm ok with these self service machines.