Steak &b Shake--Never Again! (Page 6): I think we can both agree that this is not the forum to debate issues like this.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

stanikon wrote:

I have several differences with your point of view but not worth pursuing here. One point that is, I think, significant is that just because the customer has a choice does not mean that labor cost is not being transferred. If the customers were coerced into using self-checkout would that make a difference?

For every customer who uses self-checkout, whether voluntary or involuntary, there is a transfer of labor cost from the store to the customer.

I think we can both agree that this is not the forum to debate issues like this.

BebuLamar

Reuss Griffiths wrote:

I think we can both agree that this is not the forum to debate issues like this.

Why not? Isn't it just chit chat? as in the tittle of the section of this forum?

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

scallihan wrote:

I never ask staff how a dish is, other thanbto ask how large are the portions. They probably haven't tasted it, and they certainly aren't going to steer you away from something unless it's toward a more expensive dish. I read reviews in Trip Advisor (never Yelp) and read between the lines of bad reviews- some people live to find fault. If you're looking at a local restaurant, check reviews on Nextdoor Neighborhood.

In a good restaurant, the servers would have tasted the dishes and be able to comment about them firsthand.

Red6

jerryc41 wrote:

Anything to cut down on the staff.

I am not sure they are "cutting down" on staff, I think they just cannot find anyone who wants to work.

We eat out a couple times a week while running errands and I do not think we have been in a restaurant in months that does not have a sign somewhere saying they are hiring.

I think many of the restaurants are caught in a bind. They pay low wages because they want to keep their expenses low, making it hard to hire people. When was the last time you talked to someone aspiring to be a busboy at a local eatery? If they raise the wages to an acceptable level, they must raise prices which in turn results in low traffic in their restaurant.

We had a local restaurant which was quite popular and had been around for years. A few years ago they made a big announcement that they were going to give all their servers a raise to current wage levels with hopefully reasonable increases in prices. They were out of business within a year.

Americans love to complain about low wages and wanting more money but we keep complaining about prices we have pay for items we want. We are more than happy to buy the "cheap" junk made in China and other sweatshops around the world as long as the prices are good.

This model does not work in the restaurant business as they have to hire Americans and purchase their inventory here at American prices. At best they get people to work for a few weeks and then move on to the next minimum wage "opportunity."

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

stanikon wrote:

True, but what they are actually doing is maintaining their profit margins without increasing prices. FYI, "profit" is not a dirty word. It is a necessary component of the free market system.

Every change a business makes is to increase profits and earn more for the people at the top. The reason for profit is to "feed the greed." The free-market system works just one way - toward the top. Thousands of American workers were canned so companies could hire cheap Chinese labor. Were prices cut by half - or more? Rather, CEO salaries are now in the millions. They make $2,000/hr, but say they can't afford to pay $15/hour.

Somewhat related: In today's newspaper, two cousins are going to jail for six months for conspiring to avoid paying taxes on $500,000 earned by the 76-year-old millionaire father of one of them. The father is a former stockbroker, and he had previously gotten into trouble for not paying taxes on millions. Previously, the cousins had failed to report several million dollars in stock income. Not having learned his lesson from his first attempt, the father sought the cousins' help to avoid paying taxes on half a million he got from Crackerjack.

BebuLamar

jerryc41 wrote:

Every change a business makes is to increase profits and earn more for the people at the top. The reason for profit is to "feed the greed." The free-market system works just one way - toward the top. Thousands of .

The free market system in which the customers decide. It's the way it is because the consumers let it be that way. Did Steak&Shake lose any business because of their use of the kiosks? Did companies years ago moved production to cheap labor China lost any business by doing so? The consumers bought into that. I saw it coming but I was only one man..

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

BebuLamar wrote:

The free market system in which the customers decide. It's the way it is because the consumers let it be that way. Did Steak&Shake lose any business because of their use of the kiosks? Did companies years ago moved production to cheap labor China lost any business by doing so? The consumers bought into that. I saw it coming but I was only one man..

If one store sells an item for $100, and another store sells it for $50, most people would choice the $50 store. If different stores price the same item at $100, $99, $95, it really doesn't offer a choice. "Free market" is a meaningless term. The consumers determine nothing. Prices are set, and we pay them.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

jerryc41 wrote:

If one store sells an item for $100, and another store sells it for $50, most people would choice the $50 store. If different stores price the same item at $100, $99, $95, it really doesn't offer a choice. "Free market" is a meaningless term. The consumers determine nothing. Prices are set, and we pay them.

This is wrong on so many levels.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

stanikon wrote:

This is wrong on so many levels.

Nope!

BebuLamar

jerryc41 wrote:

If one store sells an item for $100, and another store sells it for $50, most people would choice the $50 store. If different stores price the same item at $100, $99, $95, it really doesn't offer a choice. "Free market" is a meaningless term. The consumers determine nothing. Prices are set, and we pay them.

The fact that most people would choose the $50 that caused companies to outsource their production to China. I would choose the $100 item made in the USA. People have choices but the choices of the majority. If the majority choose one thing everyone has to follow.

Finn Man Loc: wisconsin

There is no Steak&Shake near me so I can not comment...K.A.N.

RCJets Loc: Virginia

jaymatt wrote:

Last night after an outing to see Christmas lights, we stopped at Steak & Shake. At the "new" versions of the restaurants, over half the menu is gone, one must order from a kiosk, no waiters, no condiments on the tables, only three employees, dirty tables, etc.

Note to self: Never, ever eat at Steak & Shake again. It used to be one of my favorite so-called fast food places to eat. Quote the raven, nevermore (apologies to E.A.Poe).

I now feel the same way about Taco Bell, and for the same reasons.

trapper1 Loc: Southside Virginia

I frerequnt a locally owned and operated restaurant that is always so busy duing the usual morning, afternoon, and final hour that more times than not you have to wait for a seat. It is an extremely popular family sit-down restaurant. They have always operated 0630 - 2030 Monday-through Saturday. 60 days ago they annonunced that that they would no longer be open on Saturdays. I asked the owner why the change and he said the staff was being worked to death on a 6-day schedule and that it is impossible to get any one to work even part-time.

Trapper1