French Fryers should be getting more pay

[NomadPatriot]

because....

McDonald’s Response to $15 Minimum Wage: Automation in Every Store

So the fast food giant is rolling out self-order kiosks, mobile pay options, an updated interior design, even table service. The changes are already starting to show up at locations in Florida, New York and Southern California, where 500 restaurants have been updated. Restaurants in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, D.C. and Seattle will get upgrades in early 2017. Now, McDonald's loyalists will be able to place their customized order on a touch screen, take a seat and have their meal brought right over. Next year, they'll even have the option of mobile ordering.

That means that, eventually, more than 20 million customers every day will place their own orders at a kiosk or on a mobile device and then have them delivered by a human to their table. And it’s just a matter of time before those humans will be replaced by machines as well.

https://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/economics/item/24699-mcdonald-s-response-to-15-minimum-wage-automation-in-every-store

[tzor]

Although I would not be surprised that the last person to be automated will be the one who has to clean the fryer.

[NomadPatriot]

did you notice the article says " eventually, more than 20 million customers every day will place their own orders at a kiosk or on a mobile device and then have them delivered by a human to their table"

if the thing delivering the item is being described as a human.. why isn't the customer as well..

interesting choice of words there..

who or what are these 'Customers' they are speaking of...

[Dukasaur]

The automation has been coming, regardless of the minimum wage. Management begrudges every penny they give the worker. If minimum wage was 15 cents/year, the automation would still be coming.

[tzor]

The automation has been coming, regardless of the minimum wage.

But generally it is a different type of automation. In that type the human's position is shifted, allowing them to do things more effectively by eliminating job functions that could be easily replaced. Minimum wage automation generally shifts the work from the worker to the customer and while it is generally easier it still takes some getting used to. So instead of having 5 regular check out lines each staffed by 1 (2 if you want to really splurge and include a bagger) you have 5 self serve checkout systems and one person who basically has to be a patient person to explain to the frustrated customer all the unwritten laws of self service checkout.