McDonald’s criticizes US restaurant industry for uneven wage policies
McDonald’s criticizes US restaurant industry for uneven wage policies
apnews.com
McDonald's criticizes US restaurant industry for uneven wage policies
9 comments
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... because it costs them money, to be clear. They can't get their customers to tip enough to allow them to underpay their employees, that's the complaint. This is not McD calling for fair wages on behalf of others.
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Not exactly, but they’re not doing it for altruistic reasons. Their motivation is that as they’ve raised prices they’re starting to get competition from places that might be considered higher-quality and believe that one of the reasons is because the full-service restaurants can pay (some of) their employees less than McDonald’s can pay its employees.
As the average price of a combo meal has crept above $10 across the U.S., McDonald’s and other fast food chains are competing more directly with sit-down chains. Chili’s, for example, currently offers an entree, drink and appetizer for $10.99.
But Kempczinski implied that sit-down restaurants can offer deals like that in part because many pay their servers a sub-minimum wage.
They’re doing it for self-serving reasons, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong.
I’m not even sure there are any McDonald’s—or any other fast food restaurants for that matter—that are paying as low as minimum wage around me. Petty much everything seems to be advertising starting pay at $12/hour or higher. Maybe tipped jobs are still below the federal minimum for non-tipped wages. The federal minimum wage has stayed so low for so long that market forces have actually pushed the practical minimum wage higher in my area.
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Turning that M into a W
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WcDonald’s?
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9 comments
The trouble with tipping in restaurants is that it unfairly targets servers for unhappiness with the entire experience. Food over/under cooked? Too salty? Lights too bright/dim? Too much noise? Express your opinion by cutting down on the tip.
I worked as a cook for years, and I learned that my mistakes caused problems for the servers, not me. Eliminating tips is a great first step in making service work fair. The next step is raising the minimum wage.
I think Gordon Ramsay said he doesn’t allow tipping in his restaurants.
He pointed out that if there is a problem they take it out on the wait staff instead of reporting it so the problem can be fixed.