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 twentyone 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, parttime, 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