How does Dick’s Drive-In pay workers $19 an hour with a menu completely under $5?

[neurosis]

This is a bit of an interesting take on burger joints paying decent wages and offering decent benefits.  Remember when Dan Price in Seattle took a pay cut and rose his lowest paid employees salaries to 70k a year? Everyone said that he was going to go out of business and that everyone was going to quit over that?  

I'm curious to know if anyone has changed their perspective now that several places in the greater Seattle area are paying at least $20 per hour just to flip burgers.  Some even offer paid vacation, health insurance, help with college tuition, etc. The prices didn't skyrocket like everyone said.  Dicks raised their prices .01 - .25 cents per burger and they haven't seen a drop in sales.  

https://mynorthwest.com/3177050/how-does-dicks-drive-in-pay-workers-19-an-hours/">https://mynorthwest.com/3177050/how-doe ... -an-hours/">https://mynorthwest.com/3177050/how-does-dicks-drive-in-pay-workers-19-an-hours/

"I give them the same advice my grandfather had when he was starting the business," Donovan recounted. "A business, first step, is it has to make a profit. The next step is to invest in your employees. They'll take better care of your customers, which will help you earn more profit. When they move on from your business and do other things, they're evangelists for your company and that helps you make more profit."

"Once that virtuous cycle is going, you can also invest in your community because if your community is thriving, your business will thrive," she continued. "And so for these businesses that come to us asking what they should do first, the biggest thing that I tell them is talk to your employees. Ask them what is it that your employee population would want. Talk to them! Maybe it's child care, maybe it's a transportation stipend, maybe it's more flexible schedules. Start with that. And if you can't do it for everybody or everything that they would want, just do some part of it, then work your way up from there."

[YoDoug]

The average big corp CEO pay has gone from 30x of their average employee wage to 300x in the last few decades. Capitalism as a theory is great. Capitalism in reality breeds greed and leads to increased wealth gap. Don't get me wrong, socialism fails every time and is not the answer. The problem is we need to call out excessive greed instead of all the poor conservatives cheering on and praising greedy elites that don't give a crap about them or their ability to provide for their families. When they defend this greed they are just condoning the next jump to 3000x income gap and the further diminishing of the middle class. The other huge problem with income inequality is the stock market. Executives are driven by stock prices. One of the easiest ways to keep the bottom line in the black is keep down wages. If you don't perform today you will lose investors. There is no making of long term strategic decision if they don't show immediate results.

As to how this rant relates to your post about paying decent wages and still making profit, it is possible if the greed isn't pulling all the money to the top and investors aren't demanding instant returns.

[neurosis]

As to how this rant relates to your post about paying decent wages and still making profit, it is possible if the greed isn't pulling all the money to the top and investors aren't demanding instant returns.

I think what you're saying relates to the post perfectly.  Those are some of the things that Dan Price has been pointing out ever since he decided to raise the wages of his low earning employees.  

The surprise to me came in that places like Dicks and some other places in the area, haven't had to raise their prices almost at all to pay the higher wages and offer these benefits.  Most of the price increases being seen are because of the break in the supply chain and the rising cost of goods.

I do wonder how this all affects single family owned smaller bars and restaurants. I'm guessing that they can't compete with the wages and benefits and will eventually have a difficult time finding employees.

[YoDoug]

As to how this rant relates to your post about paying decent wages and still making profit, it is possible if the greed isn't pulling all the money to the top and investors aren't demanding instant returns.

I think what you're saying relates to the post perfectly.  Those are some of the things that Dan Price has been pointing out ever since he decided to raise the wages of his low earning employees.  

The surprise to me came in that places like Dicks and some other places in the area, haven't had to raise their prices almost at all to pay the higher wages and offer these benefits.  Most of the price increases being seen are because of the break in the supply chain and the rising cost of goods.

I do wonder how this all affects single family owned smaller bars and restaurants. I'm guessing that they can't compete with the wages and benefits and will eventually have a difficult time finding employees.

I think a group of happy, appreciated, decently compensated employees will out produce 1.5-2x employees that don't care. On top of that in customer oriented businesses like restaurant the customers will have a better experience and sales will grow.

[Jim at Gentex]

The surprise to me came in that places like Dicks and some other places in the area, haven't had to raise their prices almost at all to pay the higher wages and offer these benefits.

They obviously absorbed the wage and benefit increases as part of the cost of doing business.
It's not that they haven't HAD to raise prices, but rather they chose not to.

Passing the increase onto their customers would certainly have had some negative effect, so they instead chose to 'eat' the loss in profit.
(Pun intended.   )

I do wonder how this all affects single family owned smaller bars and restaurants. I'm guessing that they can't compete with the wages and benefits and will eventually have a difficult time finding employees.

Yes, that's the unfortunate side of all of this.
Larger, more profitable businesses can afford to absorb increases and still make money without raising prices.

Most Mom & Pop type of family businesses operate on a much thinner profit margin, so they are the losers in all of this.

It's sad to see, but I think small family-owned bars and restaurants will eventually go the way of family-owned farms.
In my area especially, there used to be small family-owned dairy farms all over the place until .gov started setting prices, and taxing and regulating them to death.
Now most of them are either abandoned, or they have been absorbed into large co-ops.  

I think the bar and restaurant industry will eventually go that way as well, to the point where big chains will the only ones that stay in business.  

[Incogneeto]

I have heard HilLiary has child sex trafficking going thru that Place. (Dicks?? ) go figure.

Prolly keeps the prices down.

Kids Meals and all.

Pretty sure Epstein charged a bit more.....Maybe ask Bill??? (Clinton / Gates) either should know right??

[CNCAppsJames]

The average big corp CEO pay...

At least you said "Big Corp", because the "average CEO" only earns around $200k lasts stat I saw which isn't anywhere near the Golden parachute club's numbers.

[Tim Johnson]

The mom and pop restaurants with drive through access and/or delivery service were still running around here when Michigan was in lock down mode. The ones that made it through that segment of time is now open.

[byte]

This is a bit of an interesting take on burger joints paying decent wages and offering decent benefits.  Remember when Dan Price in Seattle took a pay cut and rose his lowest paid employees salaries to 70k a year? Everyone said that he was going to go out of business and that everyone was going to quit over that?  

I'm curious to know if anyone has changed their perspective now that several places in the greater Seattle area are paying at least $20 per hour just to flip burgers.  Some even offer paid vacation, health insurance, help with college tuition, etc. The prices didn't skyrocket like everyone said.  Dicks raised their prices .01 - .25 cents per burger and they haven't seen a drop in sales.  

https://mynorthwest.com/3177050/how-does-dicks-drive-in-pay-workers-19-an-hours/">https://mynorthwest.com/3177050/how-doe ... -an-hours/">https://mynorthwest.com/3177050/how-does-dicks-drive-in-pay-workers-19-an-hours/

"I give them the same advice my grandfather had when he was starting the business," Donovan recounted. "A business, first step, is it has to make a profit. The next step is to invest in your employees. They'll take better care of your customers, which will help you earn more profit. When they move on from your business and do other things, they're evangelists for your company and that helps you make more profit."

"Once that virtuous cycle is going, you can also invest in your community because if your community is thriving, your business will thrive," she continued. "And so for these businesses that come to us asking what they should do first, the biggest thing that I tell them is talk to your employees. Ask them what is it that your employee population would want. Talk to them! Maybe it's child care, maybe it's a transportation stipend, maybe it's more flexible schedules. Start with that. And if you can't do it for everybody or everything that they would want, just do some part of it, then work your way up from there."

Well mathematically, each guy is going to have to move at least 4 burgers/hr

[Incogneeto]

[quote="Thee Byte™" post_id=16923 time=1633797458 user_id=50]


Well mathematically, each guy is going to have to move at least 4 burgers/hr

I could pace myself and probably eat 3/hr :belch:

[/quote]

I could never eat Dick's

But I love In-N-Out !!!

[neurosis]

I could never eat Dick's

But I love In-N-Out !!!

The phrase "eat a bag of dicks" isn't an insult in Seattle.  

[Incogneeto]

I could never eat Dick's

But I love In-N-Out !!!

The phrase "eat a bag of dicks" isn't an insult in Seattle.  

I was impressed when Newbeeee said he could do 3/hr..

That's pretty good money.$$ or should I say a lot of Pounds??

But he has traveled well so I guess you can pick up some tips in those Denmark "coffee shops".


"Hey good lookin' can you swallow 3 burgers in an hour?"


"Why Yes But only if they are Dick's"!!

I worked with a guy from the UK he used to say "Any Mouth in the Dark."

and I said "No"......."No"....."No"

He was an absolute Friend. We ragged each other a lot. Newbeeee reminds me of him.

Just raggin ya Newbeeee....... Ya Tossrag !!!