Driving across the country the past few days, I got the chance to sample some road food. We hit a Culver’s because we don’t have that in Las Vegas, although we do have In and Out.
Restaurant labor has been hard hit by the Covid kerfuffle and aftermath. One thing that I noticed was the rampant and excessive government spending around Covid not only was it hyperinflationary, but it allowed the far left-wing unions to get their “Fight for $15” and turn it into “Fight for $20”. We saw restaurant jobs advertised for $22 an hour. Who needs minimum wage?
Let’s get this out of the way first. There are some local delicacies that are worthy. You want to seek them out because they are actually great! Chicago hot dogs and Chicago Italian beef comes to mind when you are traveling through the Windy City.
Some local delicacies are popular locally, but you should never seek them out and try them. Here are three, but you can add more in the comments.
Also, Kwik Trip > Kum and Go.
I was flummoxed at a couple of stops and was forced to go to McDonald’s.
McDonald’s is trying to use a screen-based app instead of a person to take orders. I have used it before this trip. But I was forced to use it this trip since I didn’t have any other option.
Frankly, the McDonald’s app user experience sucks. It is poorly designed. Maybe it’s a beautiful piece of engineering, but it feels like it is designed more for the benefit of McDonald’s corporate suits than it is for the benefit of the customer. That seems on point since Mickey D’s has gone lefty at the top ranks and lefties highly value central planning and the nudging of behavioral economics rather than freedom of choice. McDonald’s and other restaurant apps are simply blatant attempts to get more data about you without paying you for it. There isn’t much convenience about them.
In our little town of Grand Marais, MN, some restaurants have developed online ordering apps. Last night, one place just shut it down. I drove to town and ordered, then did some errands, picked up my meal, and drove back like you would before technology. The person behind the counter said the app overwhelms them in the kitchen.
The more I learn about behavioral economics in actual practice, the more I want to rebel against it.
McDonald’s “nudges” you into choices that they want rather than choices you want. Want cream and sugar with your coffee? Sure, you order it and they prepare it, rather than giving it to you black so you can prepare it. Want Stevia instead of Equal? Not on the menu. Do you want an Egg McMuffin without hash browns? Hard to order so you get so frustrated you just settle and pay the higher price.
The WSJ had a nice article on the restaurant industry. Here is one quote:
Forty-two percent of consumers who dined out in May were frustrated by the lack of staff, down from a peak of 45% in February but up from March and April levels, according to a national online survey by food-service research firm Lisa W. Miller & Associates LLC.
Of course, the quote includes sit-down restaurants and fast food.
When I was in Chicago for our family wedding, my wife and I went to Frontera Grille for dinner. Frontera is simply the best Mexican food in the US. We sat at the bar and had dinner. When I received the check, I noticed there was a 20% tip added. Personally, I am cool with that as long as they do it before tax, and it is only on food. There needs to be some accommodation for alcohol. 20% on a margarita vs 20% on an expensive bottle of wine when the labor is similar is a big difference.
From the same article:
With a service charge, staffers working in the company’s dining rooms typically make about $25 an hour, plus often an additional $5 to $7 an hour more, if customers leave extra tips, Bayless said.
Robots will enter the industry soon. They will deliver your meal and have artificial intelligence that will take your order. The real creativity will get a lot better in the kitchen and behind the bar. As Bayless said in the article, working in the restaurant industry can be a real career. If you get the front of the house right with robots/AI, you can pay more to the people in the back of the house.
Higher pay will attract better people, and just like every industry when technology enters, the cream will rise to the top and earn more of the consumer surplus.
When news of the installation those soulless McD's kiosks first cam out I swore I'd never use one. However, the IQ of today's employees is about 15 points lower than it was pre-Covid and even though it's common for the kiosks to freeze up it's still often less frustrating than dealing with counter personnel.
Runza (unfortunate name) and Maid Rite are both delicious (although Canteen Lunch is much better). I'm not sure I want to hear the culinary opinions of someone who willing eats at Culver's.