BEHIND THE COUNTER

By Kaitlin Wells & Alex Anderson

Colorado Springs• In this chapter, Behind the Counter,

Eric Schlossen compares subdivision in Colorado Springs, Colorado to the numerous fast food restaurants aligned on a 20 mile strip in the artery of Colorado Springs.

• In 1967, Colorado Springs had a total of twenty chain restaurants. Now it has twenty-one McDonald's.

• People from southern California moved to Colorado Springs. This changed the conservative atmosphere.

Attraction

• In order to attract customers from far distances , companies build large signs and depend of traffic flow

• Other restaurants look where McDonald's sets up a new location and follow because they assume it's a good location

• More than 70% of fast food visits are impulsive

• In 1980, McDonald's became one of the world's leading purchasers of commercial satellite photography. Steve Bryan directed the purchase of Quintillion, McDonald's leading satellite.

• Colorado Springs is the test site for this restaurant technology

• Teenagers are most likely to work fast food because inexperience is easier to control and they are more likely to accept low pay

• Throughput or studied scientific management increases the speed of assembly and ability to produce more

• Fred Turner created a production system of unusual thoroughness and attention to detail, today it is called the "handbook“

• Example: fries must be .28 inches thick and burgers are to be placed precisely in six rows

McDonald’s English

• McDonald's and many fast food joints facilitate for all languages.

• Many employees know "McDonald's English" therefore knowing only English words based off the menu

• Burger King, McDonald's, and Tricon Global Restaurants (Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut) combined employ 3.7 people worldwide, operate 60,000 restaurants, and open a new fast food restaurant every two hours.

• A typical fast food worker quits or is fired every three to four months

• The First Labor Standards Act established the first federal minimum wage

• The National Restaurant Association (NRA) opposed any rise in the minimum wage at the federal, state, or local level.

• A typical fast food joint has 35 crew members• Many times an employee works overtime but is

rarely paid it.

Protecting Youth

• The labor structure of the fast food industry demands a steady supply of young and unskilled workers

• At an upper-class high school, a few students worked at clothing/shoe stores; they want “good jobs” and don’t care about the pay or hours

• At a “rough”/low-class high school, most of the students work at fast food restaurants

Harrison High School

• The students go to work right after school and stay til close

• The teachers worry about the students’ hours because students often neglect homework and come to school exhausted

• WHY? Some students help out their families, while most want to be able to purchase their own car

• Because they work all of the time, most students don’t participate in school sports/activities

Harrison High School• 30 years ago, businesses didn’t pursue teenagers to work

so aggressively • In Colorado, teenagers begin dropping out of high school

at the age of 16 because they are working in the “real world”

• A teacher said that with a class of 400, half graduates, and fifty go to college

Elisa Zamot

• 16 years old; junior at Harrison• Works at McDonald’s on the weekends and

two days a week (30-35 hours/week; minimum wage)

• Many customers look down on fast food workers; Elisa is often yelled at and treated with disrespect

• The fast food industry seeks out teenage, part-time, unskilled workers like Elisa, because they're willing to accept low pay, are cheaper than adults, and are easier to control due to their inexperience.

Working effects

• Studies have shown that students who work 20 hours a week, benefit from their job

• But students who work more, are more likely to cut classes and drop out. This trend relates mainly with poor teenagers

Jarelle Gray• A McDonald’s manager was charged with aggressive

assault• 17-year-old Jarelle Gray says his manager wanted him to

work past the end of his shift Monday. Gray says after he clocked out and grabbed free food he says he was owed, Martin lost control. Gray says Martin punched him, kicked him and threw his head against the counter.

It’s a cycle

• The personality of the manager depends on whether or not work is enjoyable

• When kids don’t like their working conditions or the manager, they quit and find a job at another restaurant, and the cycle goes on and on

Inside jobs

• The injury rate of teenage workers in the US is about twice as high as that of adult workers

• Injuries include slips, falls, strains, and burns

Dangers• Fast food restaurants are now more attractive

to armed robbers than banks and gas stations• Fast food restaurants use cash, while other

stores are starting to use credit cards • Fast food robberies occur when only a few

crew members are present (opening or closing)• Teenagers and a young manager are normally

around• About 2/3 of the robberies involve currents or

former employees• In 2000, two men robbed $7,000 from Burger

King• In 2005, five Wendy’s employees were

murdered