The state of the restaurant industry • Hacker News Board

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#561

Post by veggieburglar » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 3:45 PM UTC

repsilat wrote: post #555

anovikov wrote: post #510

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't even know how to comment on this. The restaurant industry isn't just about food. It's about life. It may make just 3.5% of world's GDP but for many people it's most of what they do outside of home. I feel it more acutely than ever now when all restaurants are closed due to the quarantine, in our place.

Sure, it's a big part of life for many, but my question is whether it'd be better if it were cheaper. If all of the staff were replaced by robots and prices dropped by 20% GDP would go down, but society as a whole would be richer.

“Richer” is an interesting word here, with the connotations to food and pleasure. I, for one, would not find a world of robot restaurants to be a “richer” experience.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#562

Post by yibg » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 4:09 PM UTC

Chris2048 wrote: post #544

yibg wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I'm aware people in most / all Chinese cities can go get groceries. At least that was the case in Beijing. Not sure about Wuhan itself though.

> As far as I'm aware To what extend do you expect your awareness of what's happening in China to be accurate?

To the extend that my company has employees there and I talk to them regularly.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#563

Post by veggieburglar » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 4:40 PM UTC

gerland wrote: post #526

IMHO the state of the restaurant industry is - why does it still exist? I would have expected it to move to a service oriented model a long time ago. Taking into account how underpaid are the workers comapred to how overpriced they usually are it's nothing short of a miracle. I guess there are SOME restaurants that are necessay, but there is a few of them on almost every street near the place I live in.

Simple- people other than you enjoy going to restaurants and find value in them.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#564

Post by linuxftw » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

mft_ wrote: post #409

linuxftw wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Really don't know what to do People are trapped at home, itching to get out. You run aggressive promotions right now to drive up your customer base since everyone is sitting at home bored with nothing to do.

Would that be a socially appropriate action to take? Encourage people out of their homes at a time when it seems that the exact opposite is needed to start controlling the spread of the virus?

People are still going out and doing things. Grocery store is open, home improvement stores are open, Walmart is open. It sounds like their business is currently open, so they might as well bring in more customers.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#565

Post by bsder » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 5:14 PM UTC

senordevnyc wrote: post #423

bsder wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In addition, restaurant supply chains aren't impacted by idiots doing panic buying. So, you can get pad thai takeout from a restaurant. But you may not be able to get a box of noodles from a grocery store.

People are buying triple or quadruple their normal weekly amount in anticipation of being locked down and not being able / willing to go out. That’s not “panic buying”, it’s quite prudent given what has happened to China and Italy.

You buy a bottle of Tylenol every week? I feel sorry for your liver.

You buy a 24 roll of toilet paper every week? I feel sorry for your ... well, you know.

Those are panic buying. The other explanations aren't as charitable.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#566

Post by Godel_unicode » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 6:50 PM UTC

senordevnyc wrote: post #548

Godel_unicode wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not prudent, or cautious, it's exactly panic. People are irrationally afraid, and as a consequence are buying crazy amounts of things with little reason. Even in Wuhan the lockdown wasn't severe enough to make that type of hoarding necessary. The only common thread in discussing quarantine in the US is that Wuhan is far more drastic than would ever happen here. Consider for instance the absolute run on bottled w…

Grocery stores don’t need to close for me to not want to visit them. I’m safe and sound at home with supplies so I don’t need to go to the store for awhile. I feel calm and prepared. The only person spinning out of control here is you.

Your panic buying to build up a supply lead to others not being able to buy what they need. Actions have externalities.

The problem with panic buying is it breeds panic.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#567

Post by foota » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 6:57 PM UTC

repsilat wrote: post #557

foota wrote: post #506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the most important thing is that they're both a net wealth transfer to local food service workers (who by and large are relatively low income) and fuel demand down the road. Most people will be able to cook for themselves just fine, but by doing so they'll be saving money, which would otherwise have been spent locally. This means that that money won't go on to restaurant workers to be spent, and the remainder…

> So honestly, I would argue that paying people to dig ditches (vs do literally nothing else, though at that point you might as well just give them cash) is in and of itself beneficial This is the point -- paying people to dig ditches breaks down into two activities: - Paying people, which is net zero benefit. (Otherwise we could all sit in a circle and pay each other to riches.) - Doing useless work, which is net ne…

Paying people is only net zero if the people being paid go and do the same thing the people paying would have done with that money.

In this case, I'm arguing because of the economic class of the ditch diggers that this is not the case. The ditch diggers will spend the money locally, rather than saving it, on things that give them greater utility than what the people paying for ditches would have gotten (which is most likely just saving it).

I agree asking people to dig ditches for the money is stupid, but in reality they'd either be doing something productive that wouldn't have otherwise been done for structural reasons (building national parks, windmills, solar panels, etc., things where there is a positive externality that prevents the market from doing it) or receiving the money for free.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#568

Post by Godel_unicode » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 6:59 PM UTC

Chris2048 wrote: post #543

Godel_unicode wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not prudent, or cautious, it's exactly panic. People are irrationally afraid, and as a consequence are buying crazy amounts of things with little reason. Even in Wuhan the lockdown wasn't severe enough to make that type of hoarding necessary. The only common thread in discussing quarantine in the US is that Wuhan is far more drastic than would ever happen here. Consider for instance the absolute run on bottled w…

> are buying crazy amounts of things with little reason Seems like there is a good reason to buy more than usual - what constitutes "crazy amounts"? > Consider for instance the absolute run on bottled water Water being one of the most essential requirements for human life beyond breathable air?

There's no reasonable scenario in which the water supply is interrupted by this current flap. All this panic buying means is there will be a huge amount of unnecessary plastic waste this year.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#569

Post by himinlomax » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 7:09 PM UTC

pinkfoot wrote: post #537

himinlomax wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many victims?

170. But you quickly sequed from "hasn't" to "well, they do but it did't kill enough to count."

Once the practice causing the problem were identified, they were outlawed.

The problem with wet markets has been known for decades. They've done nothing.

Besides, mad cow disease was not an epidemic, let alone a pandemic.

Re: The state of the restaurant industry

#570

Post by charwalker » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 7:38 PM UTC

dillonmckay wrote: post #436

charwalker wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Various headlines as different states open up application options, see below. A reduction in hours or cuts to zero may be considered constructive dismissal and allow collection of benefits but many states are allowing expedited collection or no wait times. Layoffs have hit hard and these types of headlines have floated around for a lot of states. https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/1... https:/…

Thanks for that info. I had assumed there was some Federal coordination, but I see it is up to each state to take initiative.

If it is a state managed program it will go through the state government/governor however they may appeal to the federal government which may have further help now that various emergency measures are in place.