Discussion of the relative efficacy of masks, vaccines, social distancing, etc., needs to take place in an appropriate thread in https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel-773/

Thanks,

cblaisd, Co-Moderator, Dining Buzz

I thought about posting this in the vent thread but I suspect this is just as appropriate.

As I�ve posted elsewhere, I don�t eat fast food. But Mrs BamaVol does and I usually indulge her on road trips. She craves a filet-o-fish, small chocolate shake with no whipped cream and a Diet Coke from McDonalds. We had a 5 hour drive Friday on our way to Panama City Beach. I stopped at the first McD�s and spotted construction equipment in the parking lot. Sure enough, the dining room was closed (no sign of interior construction) and the drive thru had a line of 20+ vehicles. I bailed and stopped at the next, 30 minutes further. I parked and tried the door. No entry. Drive thru only. 20+ cars, so no way Jose. The dining room was open at the 3rd but there was absolute chaos inside. So I used the restroom and then got behind 5 cars in the drive thru and waited 20 minutes for food.

Possible causes? I blamed the �server shortage�. Construction may have played a role at the first. The �pay it ahead� game may have caused the slow down at the ultimate restaurant. No obvious explanation at the middle stop. I haven�t seen locked doors at a fast food restaurant since the height of the pandemic when you just considered yourself lucky to find an open restaurant with a drive thru operating.

do any of these places offer online order-ahead type service? That could also help? It could also explain why the servers (staffers) are so busy.

Two points:
- I skimmed an article the other day about how McDonald's is considering installing more automated ordering - something about how they are testing robotic drive through ordering in 10 Chicago stores. It was due to the labor shortage -- this thread is "server shortage" but the reality is that it's a labor shortage that affects all kinds of jobs, including McDonald's that doesn't have servers. So your instinct is probably right.
- The construction thing baffles me. I'm sure quite a few places used the shutdown to do work, which is smart. Why some aren't done yet is what baffles me. There are at least 2 places near me that are still doing takeout only and saying they're still doing construction. I know, personally, it's been a nightmare hiring contractors to do anything. We've had several give us quotes and then never speak to us again. I've been going back and forth with a mason to do some repair work for two months now and can't get a date on the calendar. But I wouldn't have expected it to impact businesses...I assumed that's why they couldn't do my smaller jobs.

They are still locked at all the FF chains pretty much everywhere in CA. Drive through lines are very long.

Is this full-on labor shortage? Or some CA mandate? Or something else?
I had no idea until you posted this, not something we've heard about 1600 miles away.

Thats fine if it�s the restaurant 1/2 mile from your home. Order and it�s ready when you get there. Not so much when you�re on the interstate and don�t know what�s available until you see the sign at the exit and then have to figure out where you are. And then you still have to get into the drive thru lane to pick your food up.

We have tried to get someone to do a remodel project for us this year. Prices are sky high and lead times were typically 6-12 weeks. Then after you have 3 quotes, select a contractor and make a couple small changes, the price goes up thousands because lumber prices and flooring prices continue to escalate. We�ve put it off for the remainder of this year. I�ll keep that much in the bank until the next recession eliminates the lead times and drops the prices (I hope).

We've done the same with a carpentry project. I got a fair quote for the masonry, but it's still frustrating that they won't follow up on it. I was actually planning on building a couple raised garden beds this year for herbs and chiles. I estimated each would cost nearly $200 when I priced the lumber. They should have cost about $50 each. No thanks. Bought one large piece of plywood, painted it with some leftover grey paint and put it on cement blocks - plastic planters on top . One year solution until prices go back down!

So the reason I brought up the whole restaurant re-modeling issue, is I wonder if some of them are using that as an excuse for not re-opening because they can't hire staff. Or, because they can't hire staff, they decided to remodel or take their time.

Possibly true, but the second location had no posted or visible excuse. The 20 minute wait behind 5 cars I also tentatively attributed to new/ light staffing. But I really have no idea. I just know that fast food no longer is.

Most fast food places offer the ability to order through an app, but they won't prepare your food until you arrive and tell them you are there if you select curbside or carryout. If you opt for drive-thru, they won't prepare your food until you tell them you've arrived at the drive-thru speaker.

Sadly, I know this because a certain dog has decided that he will only eat chicken nuggets and Arby's roast beef sandwiches.

I love the idea of a self-service food-ordering kiosk. Costco Sf has it for the food court although they have a human cashier for those who prefer the non-machine. As long as the business has 2-4 kiosks, it�s not so awful in case one client is struggling.

Dairy Queen in Capitola still has counter service - phew!

It's not a CA mandate. Everyone I've asked says labor shortage.

Michigan basically all the fast food stores have been shut inside since the restaurants were closed down originally. I don't think it's currently still a mandate, but we had a lot of capacity restrictions, and I think most of them just decided it was easier (and cheaper) to not open up inside. I'm not convinced it's a labor shortage issue so much as a cheapness factor (especially when you consider all the extra cleaning they'd need to do with people in the store).

Note, a number of the fast food stores (including mcdonalds) have curb-side, so if the drive through is real long, sometimes you can do that instead and beat the drive through line. Some are better than others (from a store to store, not even chain to chain) at how well they really handle it. Wendy's is particularly bad, and lately most of the ones I've been by have pretty much simply stopped offering curbside and only do drive through. As as result, Wendy's doesn't get any business from me.

Like I said, I don't really believe it's a labor issue, just plain being cheap. (Although I've finally been seeing some signs that they might start opening back up around here).

I've actually read several articles now where industry experts have said the pandemic + the higher wage issue will push the industry toward automation and away from jobs. I don't know exactly what that means, since you still need someone to bring you the food (drones? ). But I guess it means fewer staff since they aren't taking orders. Anyway, I'm not sure it's being "cheap" vs. the fact that most restaurants aren't high margin businesses. Some have found takeout and curbside bring in higher margins I'd assume.

I've done the ipad ordering in some airport restaurants. I'd still rather have a regular menu and someone to take my order, especially if I have a question.

Although, so far, I’ve refused to use iPad ordering.