Restaurant
Are KFC a victim of the Credit Crunch?
True Story: I was walking down Baker Street today towards the tube station, when I passed a KFC restaurant and thought of the delicious, 11 herbs and spices chicken burgers they have on offer. Of course once that thought entered my head there was no walking past. So I walked up to the counter half expecting a queue and a £5.50 per hour person ready to (cock up), I mean take my order and then take 10 minutes to get it right and serve it to me, but it didn’t happen becase….
There were no servers or cashiers. Instead there were four self service touch screens lined up from one side of the counter to the other. Wow!!!! Just like at Tescos, ASDA or Sainsburys. The entire menu was on the screen and all one had to do was press the screen and select the food you wanted. Placing an order took about 15 seconds and they even accepted debit card. Once payment was taken, a slip was issued with a number, and the was a slight wait for the food to arrive. Of course the whole process relies on the one or two humans who prepare the food behind the counter. I guess give it a few months and they will be replaced by a robot who can server up the burger and fries in under a minute. So overall the whole experience was incredibly efficient and a real pleasure.
![06082009020[1]](http://www.crunchvictims.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/060820090201-1024x768.jpg)
Touch screen self service at Baker Street
Which begs the question, is this form of technology and advancements cheaper to run than a human being? I am guessing the answer is a resounding “YES” at Baker street KFC, but I wonder if it’s come about because of the Credit Crunch and it’s KFC’s way of cutting costs, because in the long run these self service kiosks never stop working, never take breaks, don’t argue, don’t go slow, don’t make money mistakes, don’t need to speak back rudely to the customer, can just work (provided there is electricity) forever. They don’t need training, and can be programmed to change menus quickly and easily. It almost common sense to have them in the restaurants.
For me, getting exactly what I want in a timely fashion under my own instruction is the perfect recipe.
Whataburger closes shops with the loss of 400 jobs.
Whataburger are laying off about 400 people who work in 14 stores in the Tampa Bay, Orlando, Ocala and Gainesville areas, when the stores lock their doors for good at 3 p.m on May 31.
Total losses = 400
Jack in the Box Inc. lays off 64 drivers.
There will be 64 jobs lost at the 4721 Mountain Creek Parkway distribution center in Dallas. The roles are mainly drivers. Jack in the Box is an American fast food restaurant and is cutting the jobs due to the company’s decision to outsource its transportation needs to a third party. Other jobs cut included 4 distribution supervisors and 2 customer-service representatives.
job losses = 64
May day Monday!
It might be a May day holiday in the UK today, but it seems the job loss announcements have not abated.
- London-based advertising company WPP Group Plc will cut a total of 7200 jobs this year, hurt by cuts in client companies’ advertising spending amid the recession. Of the total planned job reductions, about half has already been lost, with the rest expected to go by the end of 2009.
- Software group Sage will announce 1000 job cuts.
- Plumbing giant Wolseley is axing more than 250 jobs at two sites in Lancashire and Oxfordshire. The bulk of the losses will be made at its distribution centre in Chorley with 133 jobs going when the lease on the building expires this August and it is also closing a distribution centre in Didcot with the loss of 76 jobs.
- XFM and Gold radio stations will be losing at least 20 jobs. Redundancies are expected online, in marketing and design departments too.
- Global defence giant BAE Systems announced the loss of 500 jobs and the closure of three sites, partly because of the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq. 50 jobs will go at its Newcastle plant on Scotswood Road, while sites at Telford in Shropshire, Leeds and Guildford in Surrey will close by June next year, with some compulsory redundancies expected.
- Five Pizza Hut restaurants are to close with the loss of around 130 jobs after the company which holds the Northern Ireland franchise went into administration.
- Vestas Wind Systems will slash it’s workforce by 1900. The company that makes wind turbines will make the redundancies mostly in Denmark and the UK, include 450 at it’s factory on the Isle Of Wight.
Drop Celebrity from Antony Worrall Thompson and add Business Fool!
It’s good to see Antony Worrall Thompson in the news again and I am quite surprised he is not making a big hoo haa about his poor business skills. I did a short post on AWT not so long ago (10th February 2009 – Celebrity chef ‘Antony Worrall Thompson’ goes into administration) and he also appears in my CCV (Celebrity Crunch Victims) page.
He was making a big fuss about the banks not lending him more money for his FOUR DOOMED RESTAURANTS. As if they would? Just because he is a so called “celebrity“, he thinks he is special and should get a lot of media attention and help from the banks. At the time I said he must have run his businesses very poorly to have gone into administration.
Well I stumbled upon this intresting article today. It seems his administrators believe he ran his business poorly. Isn’t that interesting?
Read the full article here – How celebrity chef cooked up financial mess?
Related Web Links:
Celebrity chef ‘Antony Worrall Thompson’ goes into administration.
Here is a story getting a lot of news today and all because AWT is a “CELEBRITY”, which in layman terms means he is somehow better than you and I.
Forget the fact that four of his restaurants have gone into administration. Why has he got four restuarants in the first place? Why not run two and ensure they are doing well and then open another one or two when the others are firmly grounded? Businesses go into administration for a reason, because they are badly managed, can’t pay the bills, are most likely running at a loss. Dah…
Just because it’s been the cool thing in the past to cook up masses of debt, doesn’t mean it’s right Mr Celebrity. I think AWT has been a bit greedy and now it’s come back to bite him on the arse. Yes the banks have been at fault as well, but 4 wrongs don’t make a right.
AWT said: It makes me cry. It is just appalling. I am furious, to be honest, that the banks didn’t support me.
Stop winging about your losses. Think about those poor staff that you have made redundant. They should be the ones crying.
Job losses = Unknown
