Robot Replaces Workers At Fast Food Restaurant

It's doesn't "have" to be one way or the other, nor does it "have" to be a combination of both. Whatever peaceful acts and voluntary transactions the business owner wishes to engage in, he or she should be at liberty to do so. It's not about deciding was "has" to be done, it's about allowing free people to dispense of their property in a peaceful and mutually voluntary manner, period.

 

You think the technology is that computer is American made? What a quaint notion.

 

Errrrr an profits. Compare to fast food companies profits and you'll see where the money goes.

 

Yeah right I worked in fast food for years. They make Penny Profits.. in fact when I was in the businesses we used to joke by calling it "Ghetto gold" .. that average profit on a double stack at wendy's is around 2 cents and for a premium sandwich maybe a quarter or so.

You know how many double stacks one has to sell just to make payroll?

If you want the continuation of the 99 cent value menu, better hope its a robot making it.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13160649

 

Me personally? No, I'd happily see the 99 cent meal end. There are cheaper ways of filling my stomach, with better, tastier food.

BTW, I work in "automation", as a child I had the choice, (*)(*)(*)(*) about at school and become a labourer or work hard, get a trade, study, go to Uni and stay in work. Guess what I did? And guess what, I believe in the government staying out of my private life, UHC, tax on food stuffs with negative nutricianal value, the free market, capitalism, social service safety nets (not as a lifestyle, but for those who need it), giving the 3rd world a fair go, peace and love - not war, colaboration, not confrontation.

Am I starting to make some sense Magic? Do you start to see that I'm not some bleeding heart liberal? That there is in fact a mid-way, that there are somethings that we could agree on, IF you decide to discuss and consider other options?

 

All well and good until it breaks down. Then its back to that warm friendly smile you get in fast food restaurants," May i take your order sir? Sorry the breakfast menu finished 30 seconds ago".

 

Thank you.

Structural unemployment doesn't account for most of the currently unemployed. There's a huge difference between people unemployed because the economy is shedding jobs, and people unemployed because their skills have become obsolete. All the latter group needs is job retraining, the former need the entire economy to recover.

There's always going to be some unemployment in a healthy economy, stemming from frictional unemployment (people who are unemployed because they're moving from one job to another), and from structural unemployment (people who are unemployed because their skills don't match up with demands in the labor force). Both groups of unemployed people are relatively easy to bring back into the workforce, compared with those displaced by cyclical unemployment.

Joblessness caused by a deficiency in aggregate demand for labor is the problem in the US today, not people getting displaced by machines--because someone has to build the machines, or program them, or sell them to companies. Those are all new opportunities created as a result of a movement away from low-wage service work in restaurants.

It would be better to give them a full ride through college than it would be to force our economy to be less competitive by restricting mechanization. Less expensive in the long run, and better for the unemployed person.

 

Ha ha! That reminds me of my hippy friend who chastised me once for using the self checkout line at a local grocery store. She said that every time that I use that line, I put one more person out of work. I told her that I'm paying for my danged food, I know how to bag my own stuff, so why let some lowly urchin do it for me? She had nothing to say to me after that.

The way I see it, if they were more efficient at their jobs, their employer would have no need for a self checkout line. Watching those slow and listless cashiers with their long lines of paying customers yawning and waiting impatiently while they overload grocery bags or put the eggs at the bottom of the bag is the reason why I use the self-service lanes in the first place.

 

I totally avoid places like this and will continue to do so , I want a person helping me , I was happy the self check out lines were eliminate and I suspect this will go the same way.

 

A) Under a proper economic regime, the displaced worker could just move to where it was being produced. That's not going to happen because of differences in labor & wage laws, and immigration barriers. It's why free trade must incorporate labor & wage standardization and open border agreements to be successful.

B) Someone's still got to import it, sell it, ship it to the restaurant, provide service for it, localize it, etc.

 

There are two chains of convenience stores that I've seen in NJ, VA, and eastern PA - Sheetz and Wawa - that have the touch-screen ordering for the deli's they have.

Actually, I kind of like it! Instead of having to tell the counterperson what I want and they punch it in, I actually get to look at the menu and see what my options are.

So I'll order something like a Philly cheesesteak sandwich, get the confirmation number for my order, walk around the store and get a bag of chips and a soda, pay for it all, and when I return to the deli my sandwich is ready, and off I go!

If you ever happen to find one of these stores, give this system a try - I hate self-serve checkout at the grocery store and will not use it, but this something different, and better!

 

Good question. Where would you shop, at some place that has human customer service, or one that is entirely robotic?

Should my belief in such a thing lead me to conclude that the only alternative is government intervention to impede progress? If not, then my belief in such matters is irrelevant.

What about it? Should labor rates remain high and safe from competition? Labor is a commodity, like anything else. Demanding that wages remain high to protect workers is like demanding that the price of oil remain high to protect oil companies.

I use the automatic checkout because I can't stand the slow people in line. Not the cashiers, but the people who spend several minutes digging for change, or don't have the checkbook out before the total is given, or who have food stamps, or who want cigarettes from the cage. Safeway, if you are familiar with them, has a policy of keeping as few cashiers as possible at the front, meaning very long lines before they'll open up another register. I've observed this for years, which is why I try to find their stores with self-checkout.

 

It's not inefficient checkers that bother me. I think they are pretty good at the stores in which I shop. Certainly much better at it than I am since they do it all day. It's the inefficient customers that drive me nuts. I would far rather spend 10 minutes sorting through my items in self-checkout than waiting 10 minutes in line while the old lady gets her change purse out and counts out the pennies to make exact change, then asks if she can go out to her car and get her checkbook instead while we all wait (and yes, I've seen that happen and the checker agree.)

 

The new rage in Japan is using a similar system for grocery. The order screens are in the subways and when you get to the grocery store, all of the items are bagged and ready to go for you.

 

If machines are cheaper why not use them? Eh? Also machines don't attack customers with clubs. Machines don't go on strike. Machines don't take breaks. Machines don't steal from the cash register. Machines speak whatever language you need them to. Machines don't put cheese on your double whopper when you don't want cheese on your (*)(*)(*)(*) double whopper.

 

I would go along with that for canned goods, toiletries, and sundry items, but I think I'd rather select my own produce, meat, and bakery items.

I'd really have to trust the store to allow them 100% selection of my groceries.

 

It is assembled elsewhere, but the technology is in the US, i.e., where do you think most of the software is produced, and I am referring to the high end software technology.

Intel - CPU
Hard Drives - Ref: http://www.pcworld.com/shopping/browse/category.html?id=10040&filter=|popup2[],1:394&src=sem&tk=pcw_01_SHOP-STORAGEDRIVES-INT-SRCH&utm_source=SHOP-STORAGEDRIVES-INT-SRCH&utm_medium=SHOP-STORAGEDRIVES-SRCH&utm_content=SHOP-SRCH&utm_campaign=Google-CPC
Quite ubiquitous
OS - Microsoft, Apple

Smart phones and iPhones - it is that removable "battery looking" cube that is the phone, the rest is just for the end user.

 

And besides, you won't get Hepatitis from a robot.

 

This is a different situation than the printing press. This will be in every sector, and humans will no longer be needed to do useful work. I also said it was an analogy. The future with robots running society vs. now = now vs. the stone age. What you said about socialism is just not true. Who said I promoted violence to push morals onto everyone else?

 

That's not a "robot". THis is a robot.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSbZrQp-HOk&feature=player_embedded"]AlphaDog Proto - YouTube[/ame]

 

If robots are producing other robots, then it would only lose jobs. Jobs don't make an economy run, technology does.

 

What if people do choose to be lazy? Are you going to deny them that right?

 

For every robot, a mechanic finds work.

 

What if robots are the mechanics?