McDonald's stock hits all time high as cashiers are replaced with kiosks

TIDE-HSV said:

I had to laugh. For about a decade, we had a condo in Vail, CO. Once, I found I'd lost my glove liners just as we were going out to ski. The lodge next door had a small ski shop in the ground floor and I ran over there. A clerk was there and looking a little disconsolate. I told him what I wanted and he said their computer was down. Noticing the cash drawer was open, I asked him if I could buy the liners, pay cash and he could make note of the sale and ring it up when the computer came back up. He said "I wouldn't know how much change to give you." (!?!) I said "What if I figure out the change for you?" He brightened up and said "That would work!" We did it and I left feeling sorry for him...

Click to expand...

I used to be a front end manager at a grocery store. One day a cashier called for me with a problem. A customer had paid with a twenty dollar bill, but she accidentally punched in $2 on the register and didn't know what to do next as it showed the customer still owing the original total of the sale, minus $2.

I told her to punch in $18 and it would fix it. She didn't really seem to believe me but did it. She always had a bit of an attitude and said if her drawer was short it would be my fault.

The customer gave me a look that said "They don't pay you enough to deal with idiots like this".


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think people at times lose sight of what is going on. The problem isn't that McDonalds ought to be able to pay people like a middle class job but the fact that in many areas McDonalds and other service sector jobs are the only form of employment for those outside of the trade system or knowledge work. I blame a poor educational system that doesn't validate trade jobs on equal footing to collegiate/knowledge jobs. I blame politicians that destroyed unionized labor through laws and free-trade agreements. I also blame the people who became dependent on McDonalds for a living.

A lot of people screwed up to end up in an America where this is a story. Everyone has to take a bite out of the sandwich.

rgw said:

I blame a poor educational system that doesn't validate trade jobs on equal footing to collegiate/knowledge jobs.

Click to expand...

That's one of the biggest lies public schools repeat "all kids should go to college." Billions are wasted every year by people that go and flunk out. They should be telling kids you can go make a good living as a welder, electrician, plumber, etc. Schools NEED to bring back vocational programs, but there is no money for it. People hate on unions, but I never really understood why unions don't fund the programs at schools to train people. I mean it would almost be a farm system of sorts for them to get new members.

In fact, I think the support for free post-secondary education would go up if we did a better job of guiding people towards programs that fit their abilities. For example real, comprehensive state exit exams that determine your aptitude for collegiate track or trade track. And I'm not talking about something across intelligence divides because frankly you have to have some intelligence to do many trades. A person who is good in school and has an engineering mind might get an offer to go to a state mechanical trade school and the state university engineering program. If you didn't qualify for free education in either track then you go get student loans and go to whatever track you want on your own dime. That seems like the way to balance better access to education without debt for those who take learning and skill acquisition seriously without just giving a blank check to the state colleges.

There is a lot to fix though. Universities have acquired a lot of funding they'd stand to lose but frankly a lot of those computer science professors would just end up being software engineering trade school instructors. Zero sum in the end. Clear the way and let universities go back to being about the arts and sciences. Get rid of undergraduate business programs. Maybe significantly cut back engineering programs and instead direct most education in that area toward trade schools. Its A LOT of stuff to fix...and it will cost A LOT of money but it may be more cost effective long term and better for the strength of our economy.

The big lie in college education is the "degree in X" when you spend 60-75% of your time in college on "Not X"


We don't create good junior software engineers. We don't create good junior anything in the college system. I would've loved a trade school for software engineering when I was 18yo where I spent 2-3 years learning everything it took from a mathematics, logic, and algorithms perspective to be a competent engineer by 20-21yo.


All of our educational systems are failing because they're being tasked with doing things they aren't meant to do especially at the collegiate level. College was for rich lordlings to go learn latin, the humanities, and some science while rubbing elbows with other lordlings. This system was never meant to be an educational system for the masses.

rgw said:

I think people at times lose sight of what is going on. The problem isn't that McDonalds ought to be able to pay people like a middle class job but the fact that in many areas McDonalds and other service sector jobs are the only form of employment for those outside of the trade system or knowledge work. I blame a poor educational system that doesn't validate trade jobs on equal footing to collegiate/knowledge jobs. I blame politicians that destroyed unionized labor through laws and free-trade agreements. I also blame the people who became dependent on McDonalds for a living.

A lot of people screwed up to end up in an America where this is a story. Everyone has to take a bite out of the sandwich.

Click to expand...

I've got two idiot nieces. They both did meh in high school and now upon graduation, aren't sure what to do. I recommended trades (they've both worked around construction and welding for years with their fathers.)

One thinks that's a great idea and is pursuing certs. The other thinks college (no idea what she wants to do) is the answer. I'm just gonna watch one most likely build a career and the other flounder.

rgw said:

The big lie in college education is the "degree in X" when you spend 60-75% of your time in college on "Not X"

Click to expand...

Oh i agree. I was MIS with a CS minor and i use about 5% of what i learned in school. It's a piece of paper to get you in the door for an interview. I work in IT now, and the other 95% of what I do was learned on the job/self taught over 14 years.

2003TIDE said:

That's one of the biggest lies public schools repeat "all kids should go to college." Billions are wasted every year by people that go and flunk out. They should be telling kids you can go make a good living as a welder, electrician, plumber, etc. Schools NEED to bring back vocational programs, but there is no money for it. People hate on unions, but I never really understood why unions don't fund the programs at schools to train people. I mean it would almost be a farm system of sorts for them to get new members.

Click to expand...

I teach Instrumentation and Controls for a tech college in North Georgia. Over the last few years the state has been putting much more emphasis on vocational programs. Creating "Career Academies" that offer pretty extensive trade programs beyond just welding and shop. Even up to PLC programming. The state has also created a program called "Move On When Ready" allowing all high school students, even freshmen, to go tech colleges and earn college credit. Our county will even bus students from the high school to our campus.

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

Tider_in_GA said:

I teach Instrumentation and Controls for a tech college in North Georgia. Over the last few years the state has been putting much more emphasis on vocational programs. Creating "Career Academies" that offer pretty extensive trade programs beyond just welding and shop. Even up to PLC programming. The state has also created a program called "Move On When Ready" allowing all high school students, even freshmen, to go tech colleges and earn college credit. Our county will even bus students from the high school to our campus.

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

I vaguely remember when they passed some laws around this and 2 yr degrees. Any insight to how it is working out? Would be curious to know since I've alway said I'd rather my tax dollars go to something like this.

2003TIDE said:

Oh i agree. I was MIS with a CS minor and i use about 5% of what i learned in school. It's a piece of paper to get you in the door for an interview. I work in IT now, and the other 95% of what I do was learned on the job/self taught over 14 years.

Click to expand...

Same here, I was one of the last few graduating classes with the MIS w/ CS minors apparently.

2003TIDE said:

Oh i agree. I was MIS with a CS minor and i use about 5% of what i learned in school. It's a piece of paper to get you in the door for an interview. I work in IT now, and the other 95% of what I do was learned on the job/self taught over 14 years.

Click to expand...

I doubled in mathematics and history and minored in computer science. I use virtually everything I learned in college. What one learns in college is quite often not so literal as the particular factoids that are used in the teaching process.

Especially when the end state goal is a professional career, you learn as much in college due to the "adult life w/ training wheels" aspect as anything in the classroom. Also I think the access to data changed things considerably. I learned how to be a good google researcher. I don't need to burden my brain with the ins and outs of a finite state machine but I know enough to read the wiki and be fluent on it again. The off-board brain and how to use it is critical today.

2003TIDE said:

I vaguely remember when they passed some laws around this and 2 yr degrees. Any insight to how it is working out? Would be curious to know since I've alway said I'd rather my tax dollars go to something like this.

Click to expand...

High school student enrollment has increased pretty substantially at my college. Personally I've only had 3 students come through my program, but they've done well. I know the Gordon County (Calhoun) career academy and the Whitfield County (Dalton) career academy have high enrollment and other counties like Dade, Walker, and Catoosa are looking to create something similar. One of the biggest incentives for these counties is Shaw Inc. (among others) throwing money into these endeavors by way of donating equipment.

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

Who do you talk to if the order is wrong?

gtowntide said:

Who do you talk to if the order is wrong?

Click to expand...

Rosie?

gtowntide said:

Who do you talk to if the order is wrong?

Click to expand...

Good question. Related question is, "what if you can't figure out how to use the dang thing?" These things are already in place in Europe. While in Venice last week, the Son-in-law attempted to use the rest room in a McDonald's. Entrance to said rest room required a code from the order ticket. No problem, order something. Big problem, no one to assist in using the damn kiosk! Solution. Leave without buying anything or using the rest room.

Tider_in_GA said:

I teach Instrumentation and Controls for a tech college in North Georgia. Over the last few years the state has been putting much more emphasis on vocational programs. Creating "Career Academies" that offer pretty extensive trade programs beyond just welding and shop. Even up to PLC programming. The state has also created a program called "Move On When Ready" allowing all high school students, even freshmen, to go tech colleges and earn college credit. Our county will even bus students from the high school to our campus.

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

My daughter has been crushing it in Move of When Ready, great program but I have to drive her to her campus

I wonder how military and leo jobs will be affected over the next 50-100 years...

My niece works in a warehouse. She said that if an employee shows up on time every day for a week, she gets a $2/hour bonus. She said it is rare that employees get that bonus (She gets the bonus every week, however).