WTF is this all about?

[Thumper]

It’s a bit of a coincidence, but a couple days ago, I read an article about the major fast food chains (Wendy’s, McD’s, etc) are remodeling and changing their restaurants to be more digital/delivery/drive-thru oriented. They’re eliminating or downsizing the dining areas, but adding kiosks for ordering, expanding/adding drive-thru lanes and building shelves to stack pick-up and delivery orders.

Ok, fine. I assume that’s called “progress”. We don’t really do a lot of chains/fast food stuff, but if we’re out and about, we will sometimes stop at McD’s or whatever. BUT, I HATE doing the drive-thru thing as I am NOT going to eat a dripping ass burger while driving or sitting in the frigging parking lot. I’ll sit my ass down in the dining area where I can be comfortable, enjoy the extra space, the a/c and if I need a drink refill or more ketchup (catsup?), it’s right there and available.

I also don’t do the Uber, Door-Dash, or whatever other delivery services are out there. Who wants to pay delivery fees to receive a cold frigging burger and cold, limp fries? I also don’t want to hit the drive-thru and take a meal home, only to find out you dragged home a cold fish sandwich, instead of the burger you ordered! We do have a McD’s two blocks from our house, so we have been known to break the “no take-out” rule from time to time.

Now, yesterday, we were out doing some shopping and since we had a couple of free McD’s burgers on our phone apps, we decided to stop in and have a quick lunch. I mentioned the McD’s next to our house, but we’re actually between two of them. The second one is over toward the more commercial side of town, but still only about 2 miles from the house.

As I pulled in the lot, I noticed something odd about the sign. It didn’t say “McDonalds”, it now says “McDelivery”! WTF? We then noticed they had a drive-thru, but the parking spaces were marked “pick-up only”. THEN I realized the dining room was closed! This particular McD’s is in front of a small shopping center and always very busy, so I parked in the main lot just to snap a pic of the sign. Have any of youse dufes seen this lately?

I guess it’s “progress”, but they won’t be seeing my business anymore, because I’m just an old curmudgeon who’s resistant to change.




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[johnboy]

Isolate people. Divide them up. Make sure they can never sit and actually talk to each other. They might discuss things that break with the narrative. Social media is great for this.

[Thumper]

I’m assuming a lot of today’s changes are a result of Covid. These places learned they can still carry on their businesses with a skeleton crew and survive. Having been a business owner for the majority of my working life, I know for a fact, employees and resulting payroll, insurance coverage, etc. were my biggest expense.

With Covid, they learned they could rely on phone apps, in-store kiosks and Uber type delivery services and pick-up orders to account for a major part in reducing payroll. In this post-Covid age, they’re simply resisting the return to previous norms and streamlining their expenses as the “new normal”. Customers are already accustomed to the routine, so there are no transitional issues to deal with. JMHO


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[Hombre]

I think you answered your own questions. Businesses figured out they could run leaner, and add to profit during covid. On top of that technology has gotten way better, I'd prefer to self checkout and order via a kiosk than the alternative. Finally combine that with some states bumping minimum wage to $15 and its the perfect storm for a shift.

[Thumper]

Excellent point. If businesses are required by the government to pay a 16 year old, unskilled kid $15/hr. plus benefits to pick burgers up off an automated grill, it could accomplish the opposite result expected. Replace them with a robot (so to speak) and add to your profit margin. I think, back in the day, we referred to it as “shooting yourself in the foot”.


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[Chicken Dinner]

Would you want to pay someone $15/hour to take someone’s order?


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[DeputyDog]

I have t seen a McDonalds like that yet but there are several Pizza Huts that are carry-out/delivery only in my area.


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[Thumper]

That’s not the point. I really don’t feel a h/s kid working after school at a totally unskilled level like this should be paid $15/hr. period, whether they’re picking up those burgers, or taking your order. Ask one of them to make correct change and properly count it out to you … without the register showing them the exact change to hand out. To add a bit of “fun” to the mix, hand them $3.03 to pay a $2.28 tab and see what you get back.


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[Thumper]

Yeah Deppity, I think pizza falls into a different category. Most of our pizza joints have no inside dining. Pick-up or delivery only. Ordering 1 large pizza to feed 4 people is a little simpler than ordering 1 Big Mac w/large fries, 2 Qtr. Pounders w/cheese and a small fry, a fish sammich w/apple pie, and a salad for those same 4 people. Maybe I’m making this more difficult than it really is, but it’s just tough for me to roll with it. Like I said, maybe I’m just an old curmudgeon.


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[DeputyDog]

I’ve noticed the same thing around here, although they haven’t gone entirely pick up or carry out most of the fast food places have downsize their dining area if they have had a recent remodel.

On the other topic, my daughter just happens to be working at McDonald’s this summer. This is her first fast food experience and as expected, she absolutely hates it. On the other hand, she is getting paid $13.50 an hour, not quite 15 but still pretty damn good.


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[Hombre]

These are jobs that technology is replacing, and as mentioned, unskilled labor. I wonder what skilled labor AI will replace? Chat-gpt and Bard are already pretty good at producing code, and re-writing it to be more efficient. Those are pretty high paying jobs.