Fast food is an easy job everyone can do...

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: TheBlackTiger

Is that the fault of the business (franchise) owner who is making a "living wage". Only just that, in many cases.

You are mistaken.

A franchisee for McDonald's must have a million dollars in cash and/or assets, above the monies required to secure a loan, to buy a McDonald's.

Even a below average McDonald's guarantees about 5% to 10% ROI (return on investment).

The same can be said for nearly every "established" fast food, convince store or other retail outlet with a franchise model.

Even a Subway can be more than a 500,000 investment. And the average return is over 10%.

The only way to get millionaires to buy your business is to guarantee them a 10% ROI, with the chance at substantially more. Because it is not hard for millionaires to find investment opportunities in the 5% to 10% range.

I was a business consultant to such franchisees, so I am very aware of their PNLs.

I do not however blame the franchisees for poor wages. The only way to complete is to pay min wage. The franchisees are following a broken system.

I have many friends (online) who work in Mcd's and BK who regularly put body fluids and leakage and nasal manufactured crusty's in your order. Same goes for a well know Pizza parlour. Enjoy.

a reply to: Isurrender73

Even a below average McDonald's guarantees about 5% to 10% ROI (return on investment).

Gosh.
Is that part of the contract

The franchisees are following a broken system.

No. They are entrepreneurs. People who want to own and operate their own business.

a reply to: darkbake

Phage, companies that could afford to pay their employees a living wage purposefully don't because they know that the welfare state will pick up the slack.

No. Companies that don't pay a "living wage" do so because the economics of doing so don't compute. They don't actually give a damn if the "welfare state" contributes anything.

a reply to: Phage
Wow. For the first time ever, I have to say, phage's opinion is crap. The economics of doing so don't compute. I hope none of your kids or grandkids are ever in that position. But I suppose you would probably just disown them if that was so.

a reply to: TKDRL

I hope none of your kids or grandkids are ever in that position.

Me too.

But I suppose you would probably just disown them if that was so.

You suppose wrong.

originally posted by: Gothmog

originally posted by: ketsuko
It's not about how worthwhile you feel at the job. It's about how many other people on the planet at that time can do the very same work you are doing that determines the pay.

If I can go out and pick up random schmo off the street to do what you're doing with next to no training at short notice (and pretty much all fast food jobs are those jobs), then the job doesn't command much pay.

But feel free to start your own fast food joint a pay people what you feel the jobs deserve.

But what my parents told me when I used to loathe my fast food job was that it was training me for the future an teaching me what I definitely DID NOT want to do for the rest of my life so stay in school.

Not entirely correct . I was hired on at the very high-tech place I work (many years ago) with no training whatsoever . I did it with no degrees nor certifications relevant. Within a month I had won various awards and bonuses. Explain that one.(In other words I was a random schmo off the street)

Well, for one I honestly don't believe you. Secondly, this never happens because there are people with training who come in and do better, any company with a position of need in a skilled field who hires someone with zero experience... good luck.

Imagine if our pay was based on what you actually do for society? .
Good moral jobs get crap pay but selling guns makes mega bucks no wonder aliens will never come for tea.
Lol.
All cogs in the wheel and we should get laid accordingly.

a reply to: boymonkey74

Imagine if our pay was based on what you actually do for society?

I guess lawyers wouldn't do so good.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: TheBlackTiger

The point is that if you spend a majority of your life working at ANY job, no matter how dumb, you should be able to live on it.

Why?

Because we weren't born to just work, pay bills, and die.

It drives me insane that people can't see that other people are human beings too. Even POOR people have emotions as complex as yours....

Indeed. But how does that have anything to do with the economics involved in the fast food business? It's a bummer that there aren't enough jobs which provide a "living wage". Is that the fault of the business (franchise) owner who is making a "living wage". Only just that, in many cases.

But taxpayers are having to top-up their pay so they can survive, it's not their fault the franchisee/business owner can only afford to pay just himself a living wage. If it weren't for his low-paid workers who actually do most of the work where would he be? Is it right that the taxpayer loses out, the workers lose out, and only the franchisee/business owner benefits from running that business? Any profits he makes he keeps to himself instead of paying his workers more with some of it, but he's happy to lumber taxpayers with that cost.

What good is a business that can't afford to pay its workers? How does the taxpayer benefit from paying workers of a private business? How does an employee benefit from a wage he can't live on? In what way is that business successful?

It isn't that these businesses can't afford to pay more, of course they can afford it, they just don't want to. Everyone knows they wouldn't pay even minimum wage if they could get away with it, otherwise we would have had no need to introduce minimum wage legislation.

A successful business doesn't need taxpayer money to pay its workers. If a boss can't operate his business without a regular free gift of other people's money, then what use is that business to anyone but him? It's a liability to everyone involved except him. If it were private money paying his workers he would have to provide a return on that money and/or pay it back with interest, or no-one would invest. But the taxpayer hands over millions every month to top-up workers wages, and gets nothing back in return, not even the money back.

What happened to the business models years ago, unskilled work paid on piece-work rates, top-up benefits didn't exist, everyone who worked wasn't rich but could afford a decent living standard, businesses were productive and profitable and no-one lost out in these businesses, not taxpayers, not bosses, not workers, no-one. Everyone involved benefited from their existence. Isn't that what a successful business should be?

a reply to: Phage

I would be a rich man but alas maybe I will get it all when I come back as a monkey.
As minions say "bananas! ."

I guess I see it this way... (and call me crazy if I'm off base here)..

Do you require food in order to keep living?

Yes?
...
Then food-service workers are not beneath you.

Are decent trades or careers fairly easy to come by right now?

No?

Then pay the people who make your food enough to live on.
.....
Do you like paying taxes out to the welfare system so these "stoopid burger munkeys"
can buy tattoos for their toddlers and do crack cuckanes?

Then see that these GIANT corporate franchises pay out a wage for these people,
so YOU don't have to buy their food.

You want quality service, then you might try treating them like fellow humans.
That goes for all of society.


I get "survival of the fittest", but problems can arise in society when you go around assuming that you're the fittest.
--- A dude with a stick up his arse.

na

I am 20 years old and I live in the UK (wales). I've been working in McDonalds for a year now and I started due to moving in with my partner and it was in close proximity to my college. I have finished college now and I'm going to work in maccys until I can afford a car. They pay me £5.15 an hour at 20 years of age. They where supposes to give me 2 pay rise to bring my wage up to £5.40, yes its a small pay rise but in my eyes every little helps. This was 5 months ago and I have still not seen my wage increase! I have had past jobs in construction at the age of 17 onwards and was getting a decent hourly wage of £6.50. So I was bringing home £300 each week, this i could easily live on. Working in McDonalds is a lot harder and draining than working in a building site mentally and physically. I've had back problems since working there from standing still for 10 hour shifts, when I was on building sites I was lifting 3 stone concrete blocks for 3 years and not a single back problem just a sreally muscular back haha. The point in trying to get at is I absolutely hate my job at the moment and I see it as a prison sentence until I get myself a car so I can reach better jobs such as construction again. I would not recommend this industry for anyone. The managers sit in a room together and play candy crush saga on their phones, the wage is terrible for under 21's, people laugh at you just because you work in maccys, customers treat you like # and don't even acknowledge you when your trying to be polite at the end of a 11 hour shift, you stink like freakin pickles 24/7, you don't even get free meals haha and if your restaurant you work in is as old as the one I do the air con doesn't even work so you melt before the end of your shift anyway.

Peace

a reply to: gosseyn

I don't have long to go, in my 60's. But, I will never be fed or nursed by a robot. I swear. I will pull the plug on it first.

I am 20 years old and I live in the UK (wales). I've been working in McDonalds for a year now and I started due to moving in with my partner and it was in close proximity to my college. I have finished college now and I'm going to work in maccys until I can afford a car. They pay me £5.15 an hour at 20 years of age. They where supposes to give me 2 pay rise to bring my wage up to £5.40, yes its a small pay rise but in my eyes every little helps. This was 5 months ago and I have still not seen my wage increase! I have had past jobs in construction at the age of 17 onwards and was getting a decent hourly wage of £6.50. So I was bringing home £300 each week, this i could easily live on. Working in McDonalds is a lot harder and draining than working in a building site mentally and physically. I've had back problems since working there from standing still for 10 hour shifts, when I was on building sites I was lifting 3 stone concrete blocks for 3 years and not a single back problem just a sreally muscular back haha. The point in trying to get at is I absolutely hate my job at the moment and I see it as a prison sentence until I get myself a car so I can reach better jobs such as construction again. I would not recommend this industry for anyone. The managers sit in a room together and play candy crush saga on their phones, the wage is terrible for under 21's, people laugh at you just because you work in maccys, customers treat you like # and don't even acknowledge you when your trying to be polite at the end of a 11 hour shift, you stink like freakin pickles 24/7, you don't even get free meals haha and if your restaurant you work in is as old as the one I do the air con doesn't even work so you melt before the end of your shift anyway.

Peace

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: gosseyn

I don't have long to go, in my 60's. But, I will never be fed or nursed by a robot. I swear. I will pull the plug on it first.

So you actually believe the things you buy at your supermarket are all hand made ? You are already fed by machines, you just don't know it.

And maybe that's what those corps don't really want you to know ? They don't want you to know how easy it has become to produce those things, they don't want you to know how advanced technologies have become, because they don't want any community to be able to have access to those possibilities because that would make those corps obsolete..

a reply to: gosseyn

No, I am speaking of replacing the touch of a nurse or an attendant serving my food in a restaurant. We have had manufacturing long before I was born, so I get that.

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: gosseyn

No, I am speaking of replacing the touch of a nurse or an attendant serving my food in a restaurant. We have had manufacturing long before I was born, so I get that.

The thing is, even in a fully automated society, there will always be humans who want to do things. For example I like to cook, and even if I had a robot at home which would cook everything faster and better than me, I would still cook from time to time, because I like it and even more to cook for others. The same goes for nearly everything. That's why there are people all over the planet volunteering to help others, because that makes them feel good about themselves and they want to try different things.

But let's talk about efficiency for 1 minute. Imagine the almost perfect nurse : a nurse that never makes any mistake, a nurse that can work 24/7 and is never tired. You want a soothing female voice ? Sure that's possible.

a reply to: gosseyn

They willnever have the empathy a nurse or carer will provide.
Not a chance could they look after the mentally ill or learning disabilities.
Far too many variables if us humans can not understand why we do things sometimes a robot will never grasp th.e basics.