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Why is the knee-jerk response to industry labor shortages always to pay more? It's stated in the article that it's been tried. One biz owner stated there was a

Why is the knee-jerk response to industry labor shortages always to pay more? It's stated in the article that it's been tried. One biz owner stated there was a $100 bonus in it for anyone who manages to rack up a hundred hours. I don't know how you were as a teenager but when I was a teen $100 wasn't living it large, but it was definitely motivating. Plenty say they offer above-industry wages, so obviously that won't fix the problem by itself. I believe what's being asked for is an order of magnitude adjustment, and that would significantly change the economics of the industry. I'll hazard a guess and say that nobody's going to really like the quick-service restaurants that manage to turn a profit in this brave new world. Then again, I've never seen a Chick-Fil-A understaffed. I'd love to see that become the new normal. Demolition Man got it wrong.

tcbawo 8y ago
Demolition Man didn't get it wrong. Just wait until Amazon gets into fast food.
maxerickson 8y ago
A one time bonus of $1 per hour isn't really all that much money. Especially decades after you were a teen, old man (I'm inferring that you must be a crotchety geezer here).
anothergoogler 8y ago
If $100 for 100 hours is supposed to be motivating, maybe the business owner should start out by raising the hourly rate by $1.
- vinceguidry 8y ago
  What makes you think they didn't? The article clearly said they tried. Why does everyone assume it wasn't tried?
  - perl4ever 8y ago
    A $1/hr raise seems like strictly more than $100 for the first 100 hours. It doesn't make sense that someone would try something and then when it failed, offer less.
madengr 8y ago
Or a Freddys. They workforce seems to be a few adults with mostly teenagers. Zero illegal labor.
perl4ever 8y ago
1. $100 when I was a teenager is ~$170 now. 2. $100 when my dad was a teenager is ~$1500 now. If nobody likes the fast food restaurants that manage to turn a profit, then they won't turn a profit and it will reduce the use of capital for fast food.
- rarec 8y ago
  That's a big crux of the issue. Why should a teenager spend X amount of hours on a volatile schedule to get a pittance of money that quite literally gets eaten up nearly as quickly as it comes in? McJobs have been a recurring joke for years, and now that minimum wage cannot actually pay for a living, what's the point?

tcbawo 8y ago

Demolition Man didn't get it wrong. Just wait until Amazon gets into fast food.

maxerickson 8y ago

A one time bonus of $1 per hour isn't really all that much money. Especially decades after you were a teen, old man (I'm inferring that you must be a crotchety geezer here).

anothergoogler 8y ago

If $100 for 100 hours is supposed to be motivating, maybe the business owner should start out by raising the hourly rate by $1.

vinceguidry 8y ago
What makes you think they didn't? The article clearly said they tried. Why does everyone assume it wasn't tried?
- perl4ever 8y ago
  A $1/hr raise seems like strictly more than $100 for the first 100 hours. It doesn't make sense that someone would try something and then when it failed, offer less.

madengr 8y ago

Or a Freddys. They workforce seems to be a few adults with mostly teenagers. Zero illegal labor.

perl4ever 8y ago

1. $100 when I was a teenager is ~$170 now. 2. $100 when my dad was a teenager is ~$1500 now. If nobody likes the fast food restaurants that manage to turn a profit, then they won't turn a profit and it will reduce the use of capital for fast food.

rarec 8y ago
That's a big crux of the issue. Why should a teenager spend X amount of hours on a volatile schedule to get a pittance of money that quite literally gets eaten up nearly as quickly as it comes in? McJobs have been a recurring joke for years, and now that minimum wage cannot actually pay for a living, what's the point?