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Restaurant workers quit at record rate

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421–430 of 961 posts

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#421

Wages/insurance/tips are an ongoing concern of food service work, but I want to set that aside and talk about the other half of the article. Customer entitlement is out of control and anybody who works with the general public will tell you it’s gotten even worse since the pandemic—and it wasn’t trending in the right direction before. Flight attendants, park rangers, government clerks, the anecdotes are everywhere, in…

> Customer entitlement is out of control It's not just customer entitlement. It's been a steadily rising thing throughout society for my whole life. People are less and less willing to accept responsibility for their choices, and more and more it's always someone else's fault. For example, a person who chose to go $300,000 into debt to go to Columbia film school, where the starting salary upon graduating is $30,000,…

That person clearly is not a victim of the school, rather that person is the victim of a predatory loan.

Just think about it. A degree doesn't have to cost $300000 but the bank financed it anyway, with the clear intention of working that person down to their bones. Why would a bank let someone take a debt that takes 10 years of work to repay? Because they want to force that person to work for 10 years. If the law were sane the debtor would default as soon as possible.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've changed my mind on this a few times, but I think schools or creditors should have some duty to not give out loans of this magnitude to 17-year olds with little to no financial literacy. The same way that a bank would not give you a huge loan with bad credit. Schools should also be extremely upfront about this type of financial information.

These were Masters degree students, not 17 year olds. They had SIX years to type this into google: Starting salary for film degree I would think an educated student would know how to use google? But I bet they actually did know this, and went ahead anyway, and now just want to blame others.

A loan of that magnitude is a very sharp knife. Some people will injure themselves and it's inevitable. Some want people to injure themselves.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#423
post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and here they are agreeing with Karl Marx that a capitalist system can't survive without a slave-wage class to prop it up. The employers aren't obligated to employ anyone. What do you think happens to the "slave-wage class" when the job disappears entirely?

Issue is that the only reason this slave wage class exists in food services is because of a coordinated lobbying campaign to influence politicians to keep it like that. Most people in this thread would be pretty upset if all tech companies got together tomorrow and decided to artificially cap salaries and bought politicians to enforce it.

>Most people in this thread would be pretty upset if all tech companies got together tomorrow and decided to artificially cap salaries and bought politicians to enforce it.

Are you claiming that wages in the restaurant industry are kept artificially low because of companies artificially capping salaries, and that politicians are enforcing it? If so, is there a source for this? AFAIK the pay is bad purely because of market reasons (ie. there are more people willing to do it than there are positions).

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#424

I've gone to multiple restaurants of late that have had to close early (even very early, like 3pm) because they are so short staffed. Other restaurants have people waiting but have empty tables because there is no one to work them.

There are plenty of people to work them, the owners are just not willing to pay a market wage.

It's difficult for one restaurant paying living wage to compete with those relying on people working poverty wages. The businesses paying good wages will not be able to compete on costs and that benefit might not be passed to the customer. Certain businesses, for whatever reason, are more effective at hiring and retaining workers at low wages. Instead of forcing businesses to do the right thing and try and compete with lower prices due to horrible wages, we need to mandate living wage so all the competition has to move together.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#425

Wages/insurance/tips are an ongoing concern of food service work, but I want to set that aside and talk about the other half of the article. Customer entitlement is out of control and anybody who works with the general public will tell you it’s gotten even worse since the pandemic—and it wasn’t trending in the right direction before. Flight attendants, park rangers, government clerks, the anecdotes are everywhere, in…

General entitlement is out of control. There are also plenty of restaurant workers who just don’t get jobs right now because of “free” money from the government. Their problems will compound with that Great Inflation, where everything consumer will cost more. Also, service generally blows. Even at your doctor friend’s place. I bet he has an 8 page HIPAA form that’s only fillable on paper and has duplicate entry requi…

>There are also plenty of restaurant workers who just don’t get jobs right now because of “free” money from the government.

What are we going to do about it? End the program? How about in september?

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#426
post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like a wild take to be honest. Humanity over the generations remains much the same beast, it's just that as you get old you forget the lessons your generation had to learn by experience (rose tinted glasses so to speak). You also fail to see that the context of the humans being raised today is different from yours, and their experiences / opportunities different as well. Heck, even those in your generation…

Common or not, I regularly see stories about this in the newspaper. The students change, the stories are the same "but nobody told me I couldn't get a decent job in this major, look at all the debt I have now."

Always consider why you should trust them or what their ulterior motive is (selling papers, stoking outrage, etc.).

Talk with some folks from the new generation and build a connection beyond what someone else wants you to feel / think about them, you might be surprised what you have in common.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not slavery, that's a ridiculously naive and dumb statement. It's a shitty job, but it's not slavery.

Where's the line, if a "shitty" job is about the only one you could get, and you can't even afford to stay without one for say, one month?

How many people are we talking about here? How many restaurant workers literally have no other job or other option available to them whatsoever? Have you ever actually looked into that, or are you just hypothesizing based purely on feeling-inducing narratives? Or is it just a trolley-problem style hypothetical, not meant to represent real world conditions?

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#428

Why not bring back the Automat to take the increasingly-rude public out of the equation?

Isn't that basically what online restaurant pickup ordering is? If I order from Chipotle via the app, I don't have to interact with a human at all unless there's an issue with the food. There's a bag on the rack for me to grab.

I'd say there's a slight difference. The food is prepared without your interaction in an automat. You would just walk into the store and open the door for the food you want. Everything is pre-made but replenished only when someone takes it.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#429

Maybe this will lead to adoption of automation in kitchen and front of house? There are a number of startups and concepts in this space and this might be the catalyst for meaningful adoption. Not sure I find it appealing as a guest.

Anecdotally I've seen "counter service" restaurants and fast-casual eats popping up more and it definitely helps without sacrificing all of the human element. I'm sure it helps drive down personnel costs allowing you to have a single front of house and just runners for the food

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it depends how often you expect to eat out. If it’s once a month, I think most can afford more expensive restaurants

Once you learn to cook you won't eat at anything less than the most expensive. It is really hard to enjoy a meal when you are thinking "I could have done this better myself at less cost". Chains and fast food just don't provide the quality I demand for the most part, and even the independents are hit and miss.

In this case you're trading out your effort for the cash. I'm happy to trade my money, which I earn much more efficiently at my job than I can save by cooking, for the food so I don't have to put in effort and can enjoy my evening out with friends. I'm also more than happy to pay a couple of dollar premium to eat fast food than try to recreate it on my own while I'm running to work.
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