How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
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Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#2Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us.
What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this with traditional restaurants and/or fast casual spots. I wonder if they will catch up or if this sort of wage inflation or shove McDs out of the fast food category.
Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#3Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us. What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this wit…
Those are very similar to the prices we’re paying in Houston, for what its worth. Generally about $12 per person for a basic fast food meal. McDonalds, What-a-burger (our version of In-n-Out), Wendy’s, Raising Canes, its all about $12/pp.
Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#4Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us. What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this wit…
I see the same thing re: not seeing this with traditional restaurants. I'm always shocked that taking Chili's to go is cheaper than fast food.
Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#5Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us. What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this wit…
I see the same thing re: not seeing this with traditional restaurants. I'm always shocked that taking Chili's to go is cheaper than fast food.
> I'm always shocked that taking Chili's to go is cheaper than fast food.
That's because the quality is even worse. Chili's (and Applebees) make almost zero profit on their food, it's just a loss leader to get people in the door and keep them drinking. The entire business model is real estate + cheap booze. The food just allows them to operate as a restaraunt instead of a bar, which is much easier to license in most places.
Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#6Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us. What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this wit…
I've also noticed that the economics of fast food make no sense anymore compared to groceries and casual restaurants. Inflation has hit everything, but fast food has not retained the relative discount.
A footlong basic chicken sub at a Subway near me is $13. A "Supreme Meats" is over $18. A "Beast" (whatever that is) is $21! All without a side or drink.
Taco Bell and Wendys are similarly out of my guilty pleasure rotation. The discount was part of the basic contract we had with bottom tier food.
Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#7Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us. What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this wit…
> What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this with traditional restaurants
I think they've buffered against this a little by reducing wait staff and/or coming up with novel justifications to skim their earned tips.
Also restaurants downgrading to fast-casual (a brewery near me now makes customers dispense their own soft drinks, leaving the single bartender to bus food and tend bar).
Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#8Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us. What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this wit…
Considering that the USA has higher salaries overall than Norway or Switzerland and comparable cost of living, it seems like the USA is just catching up and being on the level one would expect it. In those countries, a fast-food meal is around US$20.
Traditional restaurants and/or fast casual spots in the USA involve “mandatory” tipping, so even if menu prices are lower, I would assume that the total meal price is higher once one includes the tip, which nowadays is up to at least 20% if not 25%. I remember a Facebook thread that drew some angry wait staff posting things like “You better tip X% or you’re going to get some nastiness in your food next time”, and they were mainly coming from low-end chains.
Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#9Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us. What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this wit…
Considering that the USA has higher salaries overall than Norway or Switzerland and comparable cost of living, it seems like the USA is just catching up and being on the level one would expect it. In those countries, a fast-food meal is around US$20. Traditional restaurants and/or fast casual spots in the USA involve “mandatory” tipping, so even if menu prices are lower, I would assume that the total meal price is hi…
Fast casual does not have 'mandatory' tipping, but traditional restaurants do. Fast casual and fast food have started to include the tip options on credit card POS machines, but it's running into some public backlash.
Re: How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California
#10Most of the McDs around me are already paying $17-20 (in Minnesota, including rural areas) and the menu prices reflect it. We recently have begun to pay >$50 for a family of four. For context: the two cheeseburger meal is now just under $11. Subway is the same thing, with most sandwiches topping $10/ea and totals coming out around $50 for four of us. What is interesting, however, is that we're not witnessing this wit…
I've also noticed that the economics of fast food make no sense anymore compared to groceries and casual restaurants. Inflation has hit everything, but fast food has not retained the relative discount. A footlong basic chicken sub at a Subway near me is $13. A "Supreme Meats" is over $18. A "Beast" (whatever that is) is $21! All without a side or drink. Taco Bell and Wendys are similarly out of my guilty pleasure rot…
What I've noticed is there there is a huge "app subsidy" (drive through tax?) for many fast food chains. For example, Taco Bell has a $6 online-only combo that's probably 40-60% discount over the drive-thru menu equivalent. I've noticed similar things with other chains as well.
As a business strategy, this makes some minor amount of sense since the app orders are transparently more efficient than drive through orders (say name and get food vs read menu and then "can I get uhhhhhh"). I also suspect online orders probably on average larger than drive up orders because it's easier to order more. On the other hand, there is very very minimal advertising of the app at the store. That sort of makes sense too - App orders probably have lower margin because the price sensitive customers are using it. So you don't want to steer your price insensitive customers to it if you don't have to. Overall, it's actually a nice case of price discrimination.