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Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout
- karmasimida 5y agoI don't understand the reasoning. If the inflation is up, why won't the employees demand more wage to cover the rising cost? It isn't like Applebee is a high-sought after career, isn't it?
- _jal 5y agoThe core idea is the more desperate people are, the lower you can push their wages. Same reason exploitive employers oppose increasing the minimum wage, single payer, etc. Keeping people wretched means a steady supply of new bodies if the ones you're employing start thinking they can negotiate.
- karmasimida 5y agoCurrently it is definitely not a good time for those employers to talk about slashing wages or adding up hours, when there is literally a labour shortage in US. The talk to exploit the high gas prices to their benefits sound nothing but delusional.
- bladegash 5y agoThink the premise is that people who work there don’t have many alternative options other than continuing to work for them. In addition, greater financial pressures presumably contributes to forcing them to remain employed where they already are. These are not employees who get paid time off and can take days off to go looking for other jobs/interview. Meaning any time they take to find another job might be eating into their finances even more, and really be more of the same (e.g., another restaurant).
- fundad 5y agoThat's your BS detector tingling, they're making up any reason to pay people less and keep more money. Alternatively, they're projecting more people will need second jobs and take the lower wages if offered.
- colinmhayes 5y agoEconomic analysis has shown the low skill labor market has monopsony power. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10353046211042427?journalCode=elra https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/103530462110424... This means the workers at applebees don't have much leverage to demand higher wages. Their options are accept a shitty job or don't work. This manager believes higher gas prices will force them to shift towards the "accept a shitty job" part of the spectrum.
- danielmarkbruce 5y agoIts some dude at a franchise. He isn't an economist.
- crate_barre 5y agoIs it better that this was said or left unsaid?
- aluminussoma 5y agoExactly. He is not the only person thinking this; he was just the only one who put his thoughts on paper. I remember when American capitalism was about succeeding by making other people successful. This kind of business - succeeding by sucking the blood out of your employees - should never be tolerated.
- freeone3000 5y agoWhen, exactly, was American capitalism about anything other than extracting maximal value from labor?
- rpmisms 5y agoHenry Ford, capitalist extraordinaire, famously paid his workers $5 a day, double the average automaker's wage at the time. This extracted maximum value from said labor.
- gruez 5y agoI know the popular story is that: 1. pay workers extra (ie. above the market rate) 2. workers are richer now 3. they use that money to buy the stuff you make 4. ??? 5. profit! Has this actually been studied empirically? If you had to choose between paying your workers $1000 more and pocketing it, surely the latter option is the better one? Sure, they might use some of that money to buy your product, but they're not going to spend all of it, and after your own costs (eg. cost of goods sold), you're going to end up with less than $1000? How is that extracting "maximum value from said labor"?
- Lammy 5y agoWhat if we lived in a world where we were nice to people because we wanted to be, and not just when we get more numbers out of it?
- metadat 5y ago> Wayne Pankratz, executive director of operations for Applebee’s franchisee Apple Central LLC. > “The advantage this has for us is that it will increase application flow and has the potential to lower our average wage. How you ask? > “Most of our employee base and potential employee base live paycheck to paycheck. Any increase in gas price cuts into their disposable income. As inflation continues to climb and gas prices continue to go up, that means more hours employees will need to work to maintain their current level of living.” Just wow, what a soulless scumbag. Not that I ever went to Applebee regularly, but seeing as how this is the kind of person the organization promotes, I will never return. I'd even rather starve. Utterly disgusting. Thank goodness for HN today, because with this broadcast I know that by tomorrow or the next day the news feeds will be awash with this story. Is it just one worm, or is this Apple is rotten to the core?
- toomuchtodo 5y agoOfftopic: These people are everywhere, which is why policy guardrails to defend against sociopaths is so important.
- profile53 5y agoAgreed. One of the things that surprised me the most working in healthcare was how many people have a flagrant disregard for anything but self interest — even human life. Sadly the policy mechanisms have failed to keep these people out.
- metadat 5y agoYes, I've been appalled by the pervasivness of the self-interest mentality throughout big healthcare. An unfortunate side-effect of capitalism and top-down management structures. Even if the workers want to do better things, they don't have the power to enact meaningful change within the organization. The health insurance companies are even moreso this way. Anecdotally, Kaiser is easily the worst offender, not even trying to hide it.
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- endisneigh 5y agoI wonder what the USA would look like if minimum wage was defined as; two people being able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. The static (both in the nominal and inflation adjusted sense) for minimum wage doesn't make sense imo. Minimum wage should be tied to some level of living (not necessarily a great living, but something) This guy smh
- deegles 5y agoA better method is to give everyone a universal basic income enough to afford a place to live and to eliminate the minimum wage. That way jobs would have to pay what the job is worth to people, not amounts that create a poverty trap.
- vsareto 5y agoThe real estate industry would need significant overhauls before tying it to UBI. A minimum wage increase based on inflation would be vastly easier to get done politically in the US and even that bare minimum still hasn't happened yet.
- alluro2 5y agoWhy is it such a hard question? Half of the world does it this way. If implemented right, it would be a socialist democracy and function mostly as Scandinavian countries do - free market for everything, except the stuff that is affecting basic quality of life for majority of population.
- elil17 5y agoGod a one hour drive without traffic is like a inhumanely long commute Interesting thought though
- shadowgovt 5y agoApparently, a little under 1 in 10 US workers have a 1-hr-plus commute time (https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2021/acs/acs-47.pdf https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publicatio...).
- toomuchtodo 5y agoPics of email: https://twitter.com/vote4robgill/status/1506666976344784900 https://twitter.com/vote4robgill/status/1506666976344784900
- grover35 5y agoHopefully this is the moment we realize that capitalism is really not serving us in any meaningful way. As long as we have enough people brave enough to quit and take to the streets the working class might have a fighting chance at ending their exploitation.
- colinmhayes 5y agoThis isn't capitalism's fault, it's just human nature. Every economic system will have scumbags who try to exploit other people for personal gain.
- Mezzie 5y agoYes, and therefore governments and economics need to account for this to keep society running. That's what governing IS.
- cardiffspaceman 5y agoAchieving the optimum economy by allowing human nature to do its thing was supposed to be the way capitalism works. To me that would mean including scumbags, somehow the invisible hand would create paradise.
- colinmhayes 5y agoI don't think any economic system can create paradise. Some are certainly better at optimally distributing scarce resources though.
- vkou 5y agoParadise is here, it's just not evenly distributed.
- daenz 5y agoAnd capitalism's main advantage is that tries to account for the scumbag human nature (competition) and attempts to use that to its advantage (creating an economy that strives to be efficient). Other systems pretend like that human nature doesn't even exist, and everything will be fine if we ignore it.
- aerovistae 5y ago
- warent 5y ago> Please don't post comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. It's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- aerovistae 5y agoFair enough. I do already know that rule, honestly, I'm a long-time user and I've seen others fall into the trap of that thinking many times. It just happened to occur to me with this thread.
- naoqj 5y agoHe didn't say that hn is turning into reddit, he ist talking about this particular thread, and at the moment that he had posted the comment, I would have agreed with him.
- thehappypm 5y agoI agree as well. This particular thread oozes the classic eat-the-rich trope that dominates Reddit and doesn’t match the culture here.
- maccolgan 5y agoCan't an illusion come true though?
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- mxkopy 5y agoI don't think the reasoning of this individual deserves any other consideration than disgust.
- warent 5y agoThis is the reason why communities like r/antiwork are so massive. The sad fact is that working class people who don't possess rarer skills are frequently mistreated this severely. In other words it's much easier for a sociopath to exploit unskilled labor than skilled labor. This in my opinion is part of the responsibility of the government which they've been largely failing at lately, it's supposed to balance businesses so they don't just throw humans into the furnace to keep the wheels turning.
- Mezzie 5y agoMore people need to learn some labor history. The oligarchs and people at the top aren't your friend. Granted, neither are most middle managers or small business owners, they just have a smaller pool of people to throw into the furnace so it's in their own best interest to show some restraint.
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- Ekaros 5y agoAlso middle managers are out of job if they can't fulfil their goals. Slave masters have only so much use when they don't effectively extra enough out of the slaves under their control. Maybe someone else will do better job.
- oh_sigh 5y agoThe title should be "An email urging lower wages for new employees due to higher gas prices sparks walkout at Lawrence Applebee’s", per HN guidelines. The user-created title is also incorrect, because it was not an Applebee's exec, it was the director of operations for a company that franchises Applebees who wrote the email. I also find it interesting that the author of the email doesn't even get a smidgen of credit for his parting paragraph: > "Your employees that live check to check are impacted more than the people reading this email. Be conscious of that. Many will need to work more hours or get a second job. Do things to make sure you are the employer of choice. Get schedules completed early so they can plan their other jobs around yours. Most importantly, have the culture and environment that will attract people" I don't think the author is a bad person. He was just caught treating a certain business expense like one treats other business expenses, except in this case it is the wages of the employees and so looks wrong. Many people are of the mind that businesses aren't charities, have no need to pay their employees anything more than the employees accept, and through free association, if you accept an offer, that means you agree with the terms of the offer. In my mind: If you don't like the wages Applebees will pay, then don't accept a position at Applebees. Maybe there are huge structural problems with society forcing your hand, or maybe you're just a skill-less deadbeat, or maybe Applebees is shooting itself in the foot by not offering high enough wages, but regardless, that is not Applebee's responsibility to pay you more than what they view your labor as worth.
- WestCoastJustin 5y agoYour suggested title is too long for submission. Sometimes you need to use your best judgement in applying the HN guidelines.
- bjterry 5y agoThe headline is deceptive as written. It's an executive at an Applebee's franchisee with 47 restaurants, not the chain itself.
- dlp211 5y agoThis is a distinction without a difference. I don't care that different Applebee's are managed by different groups. It never ceases to amaze me the way that people with any type of power treat and think about people with less power.
- darth_avocado 5y agoRising gas prices mean we can lower wages to keep employees? Outside of the moral implication, this doesn't even logically make sense. People are already facing higher costs, if you pay them lower, they will not work for you, because you know, commuting to work at your place will eat into the budget.
- juancb 5y agoThose with exploitative mindsets have learned over time that it's easier to take advantage of those who they see as weak and desperate.
- 22c 5y agoSee also: employees on a sponsored work visa
- mistrial9 5y agoa 7-11 franchise in New York USA was convicted of modern slavery, using a non-citizen laborer and adding unpaid hours and duties.. iir
- darth_avocado 5y agoYou can’t get sponsored work visa for applebees unless you’re doing it illegally. You either get it for high skill industries or farm labor, no other employment.
- 22c 5y agoNot suggesting you would get a sponsored work visa from Applebees (although maybe at Applebees corporate) but I am suggesting that there are companies which take advantage of people who are on a work visa because those people on a work visa "need the job" in order to stay in the country.
- sour-taste 5y agoMany people will have no choice, they're force to work wherever they can at whatever wage they can get.
- mywittyname 5y ago> “Most of our employee base and potential employee base live paycheck to paycheck. Including store management.
- zitterbewegung 5y agoI believe the opposite is happening for people who do ridesharing / taxi drivers and delivery services .
- eatonphil 5y agoI don't think it's an Applebee's exec it's an Applebee's franchise exec. Unless I'm misunderstanding.
- tootie 5y agoIt also doesn't look like any sort of policy suggestion and more like an attempt to size up the situation and see if they can get away with lower wages. Market forces will still prevail regardless of what anyone predicts.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoThe former will get more clicks.
- cardiffspaceman 5y agoI agree with this interpretation. Notice that "Apple Central" is referred to at least once.
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- InitialLastName 5y agoActions of the franchisees reflect on the brand (that's the point of franchise agreements). In case I want to avoid giving this guy money (as is my right as a consumer under capitalism), how can I easily confirm which franchises his company owns? I can't, you say? Well, next time I want to eat mediocre food in a bland corporate environment, I'll have to go to Chili's instead.
- burntwater 5y agoIn case anyone is wondering, Applebee's and Chili's are in fact two separate companies, not owned by the same head corporation. https://www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/happy-hour-showdown-applebees-chilis-and-tgi-fridays/ https://www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/happy-hour-showd...
- sosodev 5y agoIt’s interesting because I’m sure many executives think these things. They just aren’t dumb enough to put it into writing.
- nostromo 5y agoEthics aside, this is bad analysis. Gas prices putting financial stress on Applebee's employees will also put financial stress on Applebee's customers, who may cut spending on things like going to Applebee's.
- jasonhansel 5y agoIt will also force employees to look for higher-paying jobs, potentially causing them to leave if Applebees doesn't raise its pay. Normally inflation is associated with higher wages, not lower ones.
- gruez 5y ago>It will also force employees to look for higher-paying jobs ...implying they weren't already doing so? I'm not sure about you, but I don't think applebees is the type of place you stick around for "the good work culture" or whatever.
- wahnfrieden 5y agoI think you overestimate the mobility of a lot of these people. For many it will push them out of work if the wages stop covering the costs
- gruez 5y agoShouldn't it be easier to look for new jobs if you have a financial buffer? If anything being more pinched => more time being stressed out and/or more time at work (trying to rack up OT) => less time/energy to spend looking for new jobs.
- warent 5y agoFor one reason or another (all of which we must be empathetic to) many people resist change even to their own benefit. I think all humans are guilty of this in some form or another to varying degrees. For some people, change in job / career is met with severe resistance. It takes a catastrophe for people to get going into finding something better.
- CobrastanJorji 5y agoWhat an odd letter. > Besides hiring employees in at a lower wage to decrease our labor ( when able ) make sure you have a pulse on the morale of your employees...Do things to make sure you are the employer of choice. Most importantly, have the culture and environment that will attract people. This is kind of amazing. Surely they know that the culture and environment that will attract people will be the one that pays better, right? The only thing more amazing is that some brown-nosing sycophant managed to call it "words of wisdom" without vomitting.
- shadowgovt 5y ago> Surely they know that the culture and environment that will attract people will be the one that pays better, right? No, it's the one that offers the most perks, like foosball tables and microkitchens. Ask any successful Silicon Valley startup. /s
- giraffe_lady 5y agoThis is the restaurant industry so it's more on the level of like, the one that lets you take an unpaid day off every once in a while.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoThese are businesses that operate on single digit profit margins. And are easily replaced by eating meals at home. They either find a way to procure cheap labor, or shut down, because Applebees clientele do not really have the will or ability to spend more at Applebees.
- greedo 5y agoWahhhh. I heard this crap from my owner/operator every time the minimum wage went up. We'd be told to cut staff hours because it would hurt the bottom line. He made roughly 10% profit after controllable. 10%. Sounds horrible. However his gross sales at our best store were over $3M/year in the 80's. So PAC was $300K. Waaaahhhh. He also owned four other McD's (though none as profitable as this one), so he was able to amortize all his corporate costs across five stores. He pulled in over $600K/year back in the 80's, yet was a Scrooge when it came to treating his employees. Cry me a river about "single digit profit margins." Tons of businesses have small margins, but make it up in volume.
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- Fargoan 5y agoIs this even real? I saw it posted on r/antiwork and it sounded fake.
- fundad 5y agoRight, What are the odds some regional manager is actually putting this out? An investment banker would predict more people taking second jobs as expenses rise and charge a lot for the information. It takes analysis, skills, a budget...
- tartoran 5y agoYou never hear about lowering bonuses or executive paychecks. Why is that not revolting people anymore?
- tclancy 5y agoYeah, corporate jets must be more expensive to fly now, so can we cut upper management salary offers?
- rekabis 5y agoThe Parasite Class cares only for profit. Human suffering? Let’s leverage that! Let’s use that as a form of control, to extract even more profits!
- jasonhansel 5y agoAt least he was being honest. I think that many corporate executives have thoughts along these lines: they want employees to be so desperate that they'll accept low wages and bad working conditions. That is, of course, why they tend to campaign against e.g. minimum wages, food stamps, and reforms that would make it easier to unionize. The only difference is that other execs have the good sense not to put such thoughts in writing.
- mateo1 5y agoYeah, this guy clearly hasn't worked in a company big enough to know he has to translate this to corporate speak for all written communications.
- willcipriano 5y agoPeople like this love food stamps. They are quite happy to have the taxpayer feed their workers for them. Many years ago I applied to work at Kmart. The wages were lower than I could get elsewhere so I pass and the manager offers to go over "the benefits", he tells me that I can get healthcare (Medicaid) and money towards groceries (Food stamps) as well as rent assistance (another government program). They had systems in place to help you apply to these programs.
- wave_function 5y agoAccording to this guy’s (possible wrong) view of market elasticity. More food stamps-> each person work more hours to survive-> more labor supply-> lower wages. (EDIT) Which would make him not like food stamps. There are other effects of food stamps, but in this guys view, that’s the dominant term. Maybe he’d like it for his own employees, but certainly not for the market as a whole. I guess it’s the opposite of “restaurants have to pay people more to compete with coronabucks” narrative that started a year or two back.
- greedo 5y agoAt a certain level, I'm convinced that sociopathy is a strong factor in the executive world. They don't view the workers as fellow humans, but as a cost center to be minimized. Or rubes to take advantage of. They suppress what little compassion they have and are often rewarded by owners and boards of directors for hitting the financial numbers. Not all are like this, but it sure seems like a trend. For every Dan Price, there are a thousand Jack Welch clones.
- orky56 5y agoThe whole point of minimum wage is to ensure that employer wages to employees to exceed some level of poverty. If there is still flexibility within the wage amount, then the floor needs to be raised higher so the employer can't play within this gray space.
- tenebrisalietum 5y agoThis thinking seems to assume that employers are unable to choose how, when, and where they employ people. At some point it's cheaper to automate the job than hire someone to do it, or simply put money into higher ROI generators.
- pipeline_peak 5y agoNormalize releasing shady internal executive emails
- sudden_dystopia 5y agoRegional manager is not quite “exec” but disgusting email non the less.
- sammalloy 5y agoI just don’t understand how Mr. Pankratz’s opinion is considered acceptable in modern society. It’s 2022. Isn’t it time for humanity to evolve past this kind of thing? Why are we as a civilization still mired in a culture of exploitation and incentivizing suffering?
- archhn 5y agoThese chain restaurants have always freaked me out. I know most of the people working there are at the bottom of the barrel, but their job forces them to feign a cheery demeanor. It's like underclass hell--imo.
- pvarangot 5y agoI've got friends that work those jobs and they are usually in a cheery demeanor all the time, even when they are angry. I couldn't do it because my default demeanor is like "depressed" but I understand that they get easy money out of it.
- archhn 5y agoYeah, that doesn't sound healthy. They are cheery when angry? Sounds psychopathic.
- darknoon 5y agoI appreciate the quote from corporate: “We are still scratching our head about what this gentleman was thinking.”
- toofy 5y agothis is probably uncharitable, but i can’t help but wonder if they’re true thoughts were with the addition of “We are still scratching head about what this gentleman was thinking saying this out loud.”
- bufordtwain 5y agoYeah, right. They know exactly what he was thinking.
- danielmarkbruce 5y agoI really doubt it. Can you imagine being an exec at some company and some random dude who is a manager at a franchise does something this stupid? You'd be pretty annoyed.
- baobabKoodaa 5y agoThis quote from corporate sounds insincere. It's not hard to understand what this "gentleman" was thinking. Disagree with him, sure, but _not understanding_ him? Please.
- rdiddly 5y agoAnd then he suggests doing things “...to make sure you are the employer of choice.” - LOL So if your Chotchkies franchise is in the middle of a wasteland where nobody can walk, bike, or take the bus to work, and then gas prices go up, doesn't that mean people need, y'know, more money? Won't they be looking for higher wages? Paying less just makes other employers look better and positions you to capture exactly zero of the supposed new growth in the applicant pool. Even not working at all (i.e. not driving to a job) gains a few preference points compared to working at your Flingers. Seems like when they were handing out brains, this guy thought they said trains and said "gimme a slow one."
- vmception 5y agoThis local franchise executive is an economist? From reading the full email it seems like just one sentence lacked tact, only maybe inaccurate, and the rest was .... decent management? Like the part about making schedules for employees further in advance so they could accomodate their other jobs? That's pretty good. The part about what employment trends will look like due to gas prices and competing employers having to shut down? Is that inaccurate? Mentioning directly to offer lower wages, didn't have to be mentioned... that way. Do I like that the managers walked out over that? Absolutely
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- subpixel 5y agoIf I were King of America, the tax code (and other financial instruments I can't think up on the spot) would reward companies based on the degree to which they enrich their rank and file employees.
- InitialLastName 5y agoStart off by charging them extra in taxes to cover any welfare their full-time employees qualify for. edit: with a 200% penalty for administrative fees.
- gruez 5y ago>Start off by charging them extra in taxes to cover any welfare their full-time employees qualify for. Isn't this equivalent to raising the minimum wage? I'm not sure what's the point of policies like this other for the cathartic effect/grandstanding.
- function_seven 5y agoNot only that, but it incentivizes hiring discrimination based on family status. Are you going to hire the 19 year-old college kid or the 24 year-old single mother of 2? Guess who's more likely to qualify for AFDC?
- erik_seaberg 5y agoIt’s a bounty for firing any employee who falls on hard times.
- gruez 5y ago>would reward companies based on the degree to which they enrich their rank and file employees. How would this work? How is this different than a payroll subsidy or the EITC?
- Mezzie 5y ago
- dragontamer 5y agoReading down to the later parts of the article, this sounds like a bad game of telephone from upper-management to middle-management. Central Applebee management puts out vague message about inflation affecting costs and revenues. That hiring managers need to work harder to retain their employees by giving potential employees more flexible schedules (which may have a benefit of cutting costs: some employees may be willing to take a lower pay if they can have a different schedule). Some middle-manager reads that statement as having to do with gas-prices making prospective employees more desperate for a job. And the rest is history. ------------ Upper-management always issues vague strategic-level statements. Its the middle-managers who have to translate the vague statements into something that connects with the lower-level employees. This middle-manager colossally failed at the job.
- bremac 5y agoAs much as I am not a fan of Applebee's, the article title on HN should probably be fixed. The executive who sent the email works for Apple Central, a mid-sized franchisee with less than fifty locations. They do not work for Applebee's itself, nor do they represent a major franchisee. (Though in this case, it sounds like their views aren't even representative of their own franchise.)
- tyingq 5y agoA walkout at one franchise, though I suppose the press value is helpful.
- rileyphone 5y agoTitle is wrong, wasn’t a corporate executive but instead “Wayne Pankratz, executive director of operations for Applebee’s franchisee Apple Central LLC”, from franchisee that has 47 locations, out of 1787 total. In conclusion, this was corporate sabotage by Chili’s.
- a4isms 5y agoWhen you run a business, you choose a location. If the landlord does something that causes a noxious smell, it's on you to fix it. We don't say, "Well, that's the landlord's fault." Your business, your leasing arrangements. When you run a business, you choose employees. If an employee does something noxious, it's on you to fix it. We don't say, "Well, that's the employee's fault." Your business, your employee hiring, firing, and training. In conclusion: When you run a business, you choose franchisees and set standards of behaviour. If a franchise does something noxious, it's on you to fix it. We don't say, "Well, that's the franchisee's fault." Your business, your franchisee selection, training, and standards enforcement. There's no weaseling out. You run a business, the buck stops at your desk. If you don't like that, don't run a business. It's 100% on you to choose your vendors, landlords, employees, franchisees, contractors, &c. All your responsibility. In exchange for which, you enjoy the benefits when you get it right. p.s. Your conclusion is speculation. It's fine to speculate, but I reject the claim that your conclusion follows from your argument. Your speculation could be correct, maybe Chillis bribed the manager to send a bad email, or heard about the ruckus and put their PR machine into high gear to publicize it. All possible, but it doesn't follow in any way from the relationship between franchisor and employee of a franchisee.
- stickfigure 5y agoThis is a stretch. The corporate office may or may not have the contractual ability to intervene; they can't just cancel franchisees because they feel like it. More importantly, it's up to journalists and even randos on HN to avoid trying to confuse the relationships involved. If some McD's manager said something stupid and offensive, we can't indict the whole chain. Individual humans have agency.
- glitchc 5y agoWhy do folks like this always end up with a sleazy-sounding name? It can’t be a coincidence.
- yalogin 5y agoThis is textbook example of a bad manager. These kind of people are the reason why employees leave. The person should be removed from that position and made into an individual contributor.
- slantedview 5y agoThe only reason this new story became a problem for Applebees was the suggestion to exploit high gas prices. But the suggestion to hire people at lower wages is par for the course, unfortunately.
- patientplatypus 5y agoThis doesn't make sense. If the cost of gasoline rises then they should be raising wages. The labor market is tight right now, I don't understand.
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- cwkoss 5y ago"that means more hours employees will need to work to maintain their current level of living." Wayne really should have had someone who isn't siloed in an upper class bubble proofread this, because 'maintain their current level of living' really sounds like "in order to not die", which is worse than what he meant - even though what he meant is still super gross.
- n-e-w 5y agoProbably like many here, I read this and just had to vent outrage at the sheer injustice and inhumanity. This comment is for you to rage upvote. Compassionate capitalism is more needed today than ever. Sure, this is likely just some low-level buffoon at a chain mouthing off in ignorance. But that's why it's dangerous; toxic capitalism has thoughtlessly metastasized to the middle. Given the severe and extreme states most commodities markets have found themselves in of late, I expect an exacerbating withdrawal of liquidity by most market participants -- even posting margin for normal hedging requirements is beginning to require completely untenable amounts of free cash flow. I fear that severe inflation is very much looming at the door.
- hikingsimulator 5y agoCompassionate capitalism has never existed, and never will. It's not what's either in or outside the tin. It doesn't matter how much people talk about CSR or stakeholders, it's still about profit, often on the back of the most downtrodden.
- kthejoker2 5y agoEveryone in this thread ahould be required to read Das Kapital, Poverty and Progress, and Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren before commenting. Your radical ideas about society, individualism, and economics have already occurred to others. Arm yourself.
- dhx 5y agoIt looks like what needs to change most is consumer expectation for the true cost of dining at sit-down restaurants in their current format. Taking the Applebee's salmon menu item[1][2] as an example and comparing the cost if it were to be replicated in Australia: Ingredients cost ~USD$11: In Australia, fresh (never frozen) farmed salmon from Tasmania is $USD29/kg delivered to your doorstep within 24-48hrs of being pulled out of the water. Applebee's salmon menu item[1] looks to have approx 200g serve so that is USD$5.80 for the salmon. Fresh green beans are USD$6/kg (greenhouse as out of season in Australia) and there is probably 100g plated up in Applebee's item, so USD$0.60 for the beans. Premium fresh brushed potatoes are USD$3/kg and there is probably 200g plated up, so another USD$0.60 for the potatoes. Premium fresh asparagus is USD$25/kg (also out of season) and there is perhaps 75g plated up, so another USD$1.90 for asparagus. I've also seen some images of the dish plated up with broccoli instead of beans and asparagus and that is USD$6/kg (also out of season) and assuming 150g plated up, so USD$0.90 for broccoli as a cheaper option. Add two dollars very generously for sundries such as salt, paprika/other spice (not sure what I'm seeing in the photo), olive oil and the slice of lemon. All up, approx. USD$11 for ingredients if you were to make a similar dish at home in Australia. Restaurants generally get better unit pricing from the food service supply chain but the cheaper unit prices of buying in bulk are somewhat offset by increased delivery costs (premium service) and inevitable wastage of buying in bulk. Typical cost to consumers should be higher than ~USD$36 but is currently ~$USD17 (US including +25% service) or $USD26-30 (AU): An average food cost percentage for a successful restaurant business (note: still paying minimum or effectively below minimum wage to employees) is 28-35% so picking 30% we end up with this salmon dish needing to have a sale price of USD$36 or AUD$47. Instead, Applebee's are selling that salmon menu item for USD$17 (25% service included) and a salmon dish at a typical restaurant/pub in Australia would be sold for approximately USD$26-30. These sale prices would have to go up higher again to fix the already broken industry with regards to employee treatment and pay (for example, no overtime). [1] https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g34094-d465767-i453267548-Applebee_s-Boynton_Beach_Florida.html https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g34094-d... [2] https://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/applebees-prices/ https://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/applebees-prices/
- davemp 5y agoYou’re over estimating the quality of applebee’s ingredients. Also restaurants generally have higher profit margin items such as appetizers/drinks/deserts to offset entrees.
- jagtesh 5y agoClickbait title. Applebee franchise’s exec, not Applebee exec. Either way, a very low/apathetic thing to suggest taking advantage of people who are already in survival mode.
- atlgator 5y agoIt wasn't an Applebee's exec. It was an exec for a small, regional Applebee's franchisee.
- id02009 5y ago> Even the thought that anything would be communicated The fact that the director of communication never says he disagrees with the actual sentiment tells me all I need to know about their culture. He's either confused and claims he doesn't know what the email in question is. Or he's expressing disappointment about the communication. He is against communicating such things, but he failed to communicate that tearing people that way is disgusting.