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Are all Restaurants Understaffed now (2021)?

hornian

By hornian
in Food and Travel

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Gourmand
Gourmand

Confession time: This thread for me might be the most home-hitting thread in the history of Surly, so much so that reading it almost triggers PTSD. My background is in restaurant management.

hobbes2702
hobbes2702

Anyone who looks at this problem and has the conclusion that “unemployment benefits are too high” rather than “labor is underpaid” is thinking like a fucking moron 

Hagbard Celine
Hagbard Celine

The simple solution for those getting killed on labor is to pay a guaranteed salary with bonuses on sales performance, with a posted no-tip policy and food prices that reflect cost+. This is actu

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utee94

utee94 15812

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Local wing joint jacked up their prices big time in the past few weeks. $18.99 now for 10 wings. No idea if they are paying their employees more, but they may have lost me as a customer at that price point. 

Keep in mind there's currently a chicken wing shortage, believe it or not. 

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Royalfan5

Royalfan5 2354

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9 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

I did not know that. Hopefully this is temporary because their wings are legit. 

Among other things, Tyson fucked up with their choice of rooster families so we have a divot in chicken production because of that. 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45676

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50 minutes ago, Royalfan5 said:

Among other things, Tyson fucked up with their choice of rooster families so we have a divot in chicken production because of that. 

Let me understand, you got the hen, the chicken, and the rooster. The rooster goes with the chicken. So, who's having sex with the hen?

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South Austin

South Austin 52468

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16 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

0s_cYkpU_400x400.jpg

See... the problem here is that... my little brother, this morning, got his arm caught in the microwave, and uh... my grandmother dropped acid and she freaked out, and hijacked a school bus full of... penguins, so it's kind of a family crisis... so come back later? Great.

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BurntOrange&White

BurntOrange&White 39931

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

Local wing joint jacked up their prices big time in the past few weeks. $18.99 now for 10 wings. No idea if they are paying their employees more, but they may have lost me as a customer at that price point. 

 

14 hours ago, utee94 said:

Keep in mind there's currently a chicken wing shortage, believe it or not. 

 

14 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

I did not know that. Hopefully this is temporary because their wings are legit. 

 

1 hour ago, DonkeyCigars said:

Just got an email from Pluckers; raising prices $2

Was just coming to post:

 

 

77E7528D-29CA-4AD9-8996-055121BD309B.png

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Chopper

Chopper 17230

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I was just thinking all these jumps in prices for various goods are almost all temporary as it's based on a temporary supply choke hold. Prices will reverse when supply returns. Affirmed by Pluckers, nominated chair of the Federal Reserve Board. Case complete.

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DonkeyCigars

DonkeyCigars 144

Posted
Posted (edited)
53 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Yep, temporary price increase due to national chicken wing shortage, the email said. 

yea sorry if I wasn't clear, i was responding to the previous couple of posts that were talking about the chicken shortage.

As an aside and shifting gears:

You'll notice that only bone-in chicken wings are hit. That's because boneless wings are NOT REAL! They are the fake news of chicken, a soft, processed, weird production of chicken (and I know, Pluckers boneless are more like tenders from the breast, but generally speaking).

Bone-in for men. Ladies and children have fun with the boneless. That's a hill I will die on.

Edited by DonkeyCigars
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Shaddie

Shaddie 1651

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Slightly off topic/slightly on topic. 
 

In very preliminary talks with a start up that is making a pizza robot. It is a modular system takes a pre made crust adds toppings and sauce as ordered and then bakes it. 
 

Would you guys order one?

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18006

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Posted
Slightly off topic/slightly on topic. 
 
In very preliminary talks with a start up that is making a pizza robot. It is a modular system takes a pre made crust adds toppings and sauce as ordered and then bakes it. 
 
Would you guys order one?

I don’t need a robot for the 3-4 pizzas I make at home each year.
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Texaskimo

Texaskimo 135

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18 minutes ago, Shaddie said:

Slightly off topic/slightly on topic. 
 

In very preliminary talks with a start up that is making a pizza robot. It is a modular system takes a pre made crust adds toppings and sauce as ordered and then bakes it. 
 

Would you guys order one?

I think Costco already uses something like this, at least for the sauce and possibly toppings and baking as well. This doesn't sound like something I'd invest in.

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Landomatic

Landomatic 3813

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Posted (edited)
26 minutes ago, Shaddie said:

Slightly off topic/slightly on topic. 
 

In very preliminary talks with a start up that is making a pizza robot. It is a modular system takes a pre made crust adds toppings and sauce as ordered and then bakes it. 
 

Would you guys order one?

If it tastes good (and I'm assuming is either to go or delivery)...sure, why the hell not.

Now, if I'm going in and sitting down and have a hot young Italian waitress and want to enjoy some birra o vino with the ambiance of Frank crooning in the background...that shit better be slung by some old Italian nonna who barely speaks English that you can overhear from time to time yelling in Italian at the staff while waiving the peel around.

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South Austin

South Austin 52468

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Posted
1 hour ago, Shaddie said:

Slightly off topic/slightly on topic. 
 

In very preliminary talks with a start up that is making a pizza robot. It is a modular system takes a pre made crust adds toppings and sauce as ordered and then bakes it. 
 

Would you guys order one?

Hypothetically speaking, could you have sex with this robot?

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Deej

Deej 76759

Posted
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1 hour ago, Shaddie said:

Slightly off topic/slightly on topic. 
 

In very preliminary talks with a start up that is making a pizza robot. It is a modular system takes a pre made crust adds toppings and sauce as ordered and then bakes it. 
 

Would you guys order one?

That would look great on my counter next to a Juicero. 

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horn4life

horn4life 3760

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I think that every single restaurant I saw in Port Aransas this weekend had a help wanted sign out.  Of course who other than a immigrant is going to take an hour commute to make $12-15 an hour, ONLY for the Summer...  Maybe the new affordable housing complex coming on line in Port A will help solve this problem over time.  

 

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Shaddie

Shaddie 1651

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51 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

What happens when the robot breaks down? Do you have paid staff hanging around idle to take over or do you close for repairs and lose all income?

Every piece of equipment breaks down. Newly designed, task specific equipment breaks down constantly.

The market isn’t stand alone restaurant. It will be an additional product offering inside already staffed locations. All ingredients are kept in chilled bins until distributed on pizza. I suspect most parts will be modular so non-technically inclined can do a swap once someone offsite has dialed into system and determined issues. 

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Guest

Guest

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Because the companies are competing with a non-market entity paying their potential workers basically full 40 hours at minimum wage, without that competitive entity facing a bottom line or any quality control.  The "live by the free market if you love it so much" crowd is idiotic.

Let the teat dry up and watch with amazement as things suddenly change.

I'm talking about that non-market entity more than the workers...

Edited by slorch
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7773

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I think that every single restaurant I saw in Port Aransas this weekend had a help wanted sign out.  Of course who other than a immigrant is going to take an hour commute to make $12-15 an hour, ONLY for the Summer...  Maybe the new affordable housing complex coming on line in Port A will help solve this problem over time.  
 
Big problem in mountain communities right now, too.
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Eastwood

Eastwood 4394

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On 6/22/2021 at 6:02 AM, slorch said:

Because the companies are competing with a non-market entity paying their potential workers basically full 40 hours at minimum wage, without that competitive entity facing a bottom line or any quality control.  The "live by the free market if you love it so much" crowd is idiotic.

Let the teat dry up and watch with amazement as things suddenly change.

I'm talking about that non-market entity more than the workers...

Funny, because you could say the same thing about PPP loans. If we are going to champion capitalism, then what better way to separate the wheat from the chaff during the pandemic than to let only the strongest of companies survive? The welfare swung both ways to the tune of trillions of dollars. Companies got free money, and former employees got free money. Both spent it. Companies enjoyed lower overhead from people working from home and paying less employees and benefits while people got to enjoy more time at home, getting to know their families better, and in the process, realizing that they don't want to waste their time at a job that doesn't pay very well. Then employers wanted their low wage workers to come right back at their beck and call and subject themselves to a work environment that very few employees missed, at all.

My wife worked in the food service industry for almost two decades and all of the "lifers" she knew that were still in food service before the pandemic haven't gone back. They aren't staying home, either. They just changed careers. Turns out that jobs that pay $15 an hour are easy to replace and so they've replaced them. They get to sit in a cubicle or stock grocery shelves rather than run around a restaurant while being an emotional punching bag for miserable customers. Some went on and learned a new skill and actually improved their pay. On the other hand, finding a worker who is willing to work a bad job for $15 an hour is hard to replace. The reality is that restaurant jobs suck and a large chunk of the business depends on these "lifers" who are comfortable with the turnover and continue to accept their lot in life. The pandemic allowed those workers to see otherwise. The financial assistance allowed them to choose otherwise.

The unemployment rate is still slowly trickling back down and is currently only 5.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the numerous articles, the restaurant and service industries are still way behind on labor. The reality is that the job market is improving month over month and restaurant/service industries are lagging because their jobs suck and people are actively avoiding them. The teat has little to do with it, in the grand scheme of things.

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45676

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On 6/22/2021 at 11:15 AM, Chewbacca said:
On 6/18/2021 at 9:47 AM, horn4life said:
I think that every single restaurant I saw in Port Aransas this weekend had a help wanted sign out.  Of course who other than a immigrant is going to take an hour commute to make $12-15 an hour, ONLY for the Summer...  Maybe the new affordable housing complex coming on line in Port A will help solve this problem over time.  
 

Big problem in mountain communities right now, too.

Yep. Was just in Ouray and our jeep driver said there were no places to rent that were affordable for the service industry workers and therefore they have a labor shortage. Didn’t mention a thing about government assistance. 

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7773

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2 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Yep. Was just in Ouray and our jeep driver said there were no places to rent that were affordable for the service industry workers and therefore they have a labor shortage. Didn’t mention a thing about government assistance. 

I had a similar conversation with a server in Winter Park last weekend.  Lots of restaurants aren't fully open because they can't find staff.  And they can't find staff because staff can't find housing.

 

Meanwhile, the town of Winter Park recently killed an affordable housing project because neighbors complained that it was too dense and too tall.  Talk about missing the plot...

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