Wendy’s To Switch To Self Ordering And Automation To Avoid $15/hr Wage hike

Oh Oh !!

Wendy's restaurants is "thinking" about automation to replace the high cost of rising minimum wages !!

Looks like the college design engineers are going to put the unskilled service workers back into a sub-wage position real soon.

Another problem, according to Wendy's, is "competition" for labor.

Looks like management and technical jobs are replacing the labor ant colony jobs.


Wendy’s To Switch To Self Ordering And Automation To Avoid $15/hr Wage hike

Wages are rising in the restaurant industry. There are two reasons for this. Minimum wages are increasing in many states. And it’s tougher for growing concepts to find workers.

Consider The Wendy’s Company. On its earnings call earlier this week, executives acknowledged that wage costs are increasing — one of several restaurant chains to admit this in the last couple of quarters.

Part of this is coming from rising minimum wages. But another part is coming from competition for labor.

The Wendy's I've been to a few times recently (my mother likes to take me to lunch there, okay?!) has something new that I noticed...

A thumb print scanner.

Yep, when the guy taking your order signs onto the register that takes your order -- he has his thumprint read. It used to be when you signed onto the register you had an employee code. Apparently this is not the case anymore. Wendy's now has finger prints of its employees.

I never heard anyone from Wendy's or who wanted to work at Wendy's ever raise hell about having to give their fingerprints.

I guess it goes to show you that in a bad economy people are willing to give up biometric data and compromise their privacy for even a fast food job.

And I've also noticed not ONE teenager working at Wendy's or Taco Bell in the last 2-3 years. Where are the teenagers working these days?

originally posted by: xuenchen
Oh Oh !!

Wendy's restaurants is "thinking" about automation to replace the high cost of rising minimum wages !!

Looks like the college design engineers are going to put the unskilled service workers back into a sub-wage position real soon.

Another problem, according to Wendy's, is "competition" for labor.

Looks like management and technical jobs are replacing the labor ant colony jobs.


Wendy’s To Switch To Self Ordering And Automation To Avoid $15/hr Wage hike

Wages are rising in the restaurant industry. There are two reasons for this. Minimum wages are increasing in many states. And it’s tougher for growing concepts to find workers.

Consider The Wendy’s Company. On its earnings call earlier this week, executives acknowledged that wage costs are increasing — one of several restaurant chains to admit this in the last couple of quarters.

Part of this is coming from rising minimum wages. But another part is coming from competition for labor.

When will people learn. They have had this kiosk technology for quite awhile.

If this takes off even this Administration won't be able to spin the unemployment numbers.

As funny as it is...Real people get burned by a few and their greed.

a reply to: xuenchen

Automation is an obvious reaction to increased costs to anyone with basic understanding of economics... no surprise. Another example of progressivism getting hit with a dose of reality.

I've asked the champions of these increased wages... Is it better to have 10 employees making $8/hr or 5 employees making $15/hr?

The other result of increased minimum wage is that those with the least skills will be shut out of the lowest rung jobs - minorities and teenagers. If I am a business owner, why hire a teen and train them at $15/hr when I can get an adult?

These jobs are designed as stepping stones, not careers.

Honestly, I've had some of the worst service at Wendy's. If automated kiosks means I'll actually get my correct order, I'm in.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

The thumb print thing is the new rage. I've seen a few folks with the newest generation of smart phones and tablets using it to unlock their devices.

I don't like it.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

Oh it's one thing for your phone...I don't see a need for it or have a use for it...and using it yourself for your own gadgets is one thing...

It's an entirely OTHER thing for your employer who happens to be a multi-national corporation to have it on file!

a reply to: MystikMushroom

It's 2015... whether that thumbprint is used only to unlock your personal phone or as an employee login at Wendy's, Google and the NSA both get their records and copies of the activity. You can bank on that.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

No, it's Taco Bell. There's a very specific Taco Bell I am talking about too. I have not ONCE in over 50 orders gotten my order right. I've complained to them, and called the corporate number. I've even had them re-make my order after driving BACK to the Taco Bell in which they STILL got it wrong.

I've come to the simple conclusion that I shouldn't even bother ordering at the menu and speaker. I should just drive up to the window and throw a wad of cash at them, and they just hand me a bag of whatever they feel like.

As it is, that's pretty much what happens anyway.

This is just natural progression business.
The harvester and tractor replaced the horse and field hand.
bulldozers replaced shovels.
etc etc etc
Automation has been replacing people for a century.

Nobody complained when the atm started replacing bank tellers.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

Well I just thought of something.

From my limited time using a cash register w/an employee code to login ...

If I wanted to steal and have it blamed on someone else, if I knew another person's employee login code I could type that in. The register would think someone else was stealing from it. With a fingerprint, it's a little harder to do that.

I know at fast food places you might have someone login as you if they forget their code or something.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

If you were to drive away from Taco Bell without any food, your gastrointestinal tract would certainly think more highly of you.

a reply to: Bluntone22

And for small grocery store runs I think those self-checkout lanes are awesome.

Although I do hate how sensitive the scale in the bagging area is. I can't tell you how annoying it is to hear:

"Please place the item in the bagging area..."

I HAVE! IT'S THERE!!!

They're also a godsend for people with social anxiety, who don't like dealing with other human beings.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

It's not an often thing...I'm on a pretty strict diet. Every now and then though on a "cheat" day I'll want some garbage food.

I don't know, am I the only one who never gets sick or gas from Taco Bell? I've never had a problem with their food.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
a reply to: burdman30ott6

No, it's Taco Bell. There's a very specific Taco Bell I am talking about too. I have not ONCE in over 50 orders gotten my order right. I've complained to them, and called the corporate number. I've even had them re-make my order after driving BACK to the Taco Bell in which they STILL got it wrong.

I've come to the simple conclusion that I shouldn't even bother ordering at the menu and speaker. I should just drive up to the window and throw a wad of cash at them, and they just hand me a bag of whatever they feel like.

As it is, that's pretty much what happens anyway.

So am I to assume...

You are not "Going to make a run to the Border" anytime soon.

My McDonalds takes the orders and gives you the total from Utah.

Then spells it out to local non-English speaking undocumented citizens.

Can you imagine how well that works out ?

First of all lets not pretend that companies have not been looking at ways to do this forever. Even in boom profit times with low wages companies always look for ways to cut and replace with machines. Second, none of this ever works. Self check outs were all the rage at one time and now they are going away. And cost effective technology just does not exist. What they will do find ways to process more orders quicker. More ways to order and ways to speed up the back of the house. However they day of machines replacing fast food workers is not going to happen any time soon.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

With most fast food, it really depends on the situation with me. If I am on a truly empty stomach and have spent the day doing something strenuous or active, I can eat fast food with no negative consequences. If I grab pretty much any fast food as a lunch for a day when I'm sitting in the office, however, I feel like crap.

Seems to be my body's way of saying either "OK, we need the calories, so we'll get through this, buddy." or "Yeah, you know we didn't really need all this sodium, grease, and particle board they call 'meat' today, so I'm going to make you pay."

originally posted by: MystikMushroom


I've come to the simple conclusion that I shouldn't even bother ordering at the menu and speaker. I should just drive up to the window and throw a wad of cash at them, and they just hand me a bag of whatever they feel like.

As it is, that's pretty much what happens anyway.

My solution was to avoid fast food joints and patronize mom and pop restaurants and bars. I would much rather my money go to people I know than a corporate franchise operation.

Having my own retail store might have something to do with my decision.

originally posted by: MrSpad
Self check outs were all the rage at one time and now they are going away.

Where are you? Here in Anchorage they have renovated several of our supermarkets over the past couple of years and they installed a lot more self-checkouts in the process. Fred Meyer's has as many self checkouts as cashiered checkout stands and usually they only have 3 or 4 of the cashiers working at any given time. One cashier, however, can man the counter for 20 self-checkouts. Usually the self-checkouts are seeing a lot of use, too.

a reply to: xuenchen

Time to invest in automated food service items!

*cha-ching!*

Wendy's per se, is not the issue. The issue is that when wages are raised, often artificially by fiat, they approach the cost of automation. When it's cheaper to automate, it will happen and those jobs will go away. It's not just service jobs, either. Lot's of so-called "professional" jobs, such as much of what lawyers do, can also be automated.