Ignorance is after all truly bliss!
Leftyhunter
Chain stores and independent retailers
- Thread starter SOTG
- Start date
Leftyhunter
They cost next to nothing. Especially when compared to the markup on coffee. Very few items are as profitable, even with labour and coffee trays counted in.
Going back to the discussion, I lvie in Mexico and malls are very much a thing here still. So are "mom & pop" shops, tienditas etc. But all of those are giving way to chain stores, Walmarts, Costco's etc.
Joined Dec 2015
9,459 Posts | 1,223+
As far as the mind can reach
One thing is: sales of products do not always require onsite services.
Let's consider things that require onsite services:
Dental works and certain medical checkups
Hair salons (OK, we have been cutting our own hair for a while.)
Nail works
Cosmetic
Massage and other forms of therapies
Please add to the list; I am not particularly imaginative.
Joined Aug 2014
10,465 Posts | 4,802+
Australia
Last edited:
There is no list. In time these machines won't have to be used onsite; they will be available to rent out to people's homes.
A Chinese robot dentist operated on a human patient for the first time ever
Robots and AIs have also completed brain surgeries.
futurism.com
This Guy Didn't Want to Get a Haircut in Public, So He Built a Robot Barber
Give a machine scissors, they said. What could go wrong, they said.
I Tried Clockwork, Target's Robot Manicure—And I Have Some Thoughts
Clockwork, an AI-powered robot manicure, is coming to Target stores nationwide. Here's my honest review of the high-tech service.
The Robots Are Coming… to Do Your Hair
Manicure, makeup, even lash-extension robots are coming to salons near you sooner than you might think.
The robots are coming. No job is safe.
Of course, if you'd read to the bottom, or quoted to the bottom, you would see that I actually covered that reality. My best commercial year was the one coming in to ..... because I'd adapted and personalised my business, changed demographic and targeted older customers in different ways.......that allowed survival and growth. Multiples can try but the problem with the multiples when it comes to bricks and mortar is that they are faced with the Internet. Personalised and local can outflank the latter in many many ways
That depends. I don't like self checkouts, and I don't want to be at the mercy of a robot when it comes to haircuts or dental work either. There's always market for human interaction.
Joined Jan 2021
4,992 Posts | 3,605+
Conch Republic. "WE Seceded where others failed"
... unless your job is designing, programming, and maintaining robots and automation systems.
Was a time I thought nothing of traveling by car to Melbourne (452 miles) for a weekend. It too between 8 to 10 hours, depending on who was driving. We always stopped at The Murray Bridge Road House, about 50 miles from Adelaide. Terrific breakfasts and hamburgers
. Over the years here we've seen the casualisation of industry, especially in retail and hospitality. Here we currently have the 0 hours contact. That means a person is not guaranteed any hours but is always on call.
My local shopping centre has the alleged "Food Hall" where vendors sell all sorts of things, invariably kept warm in bain -maries. Does the idea of buying Chinese food from a bain-marie seem oxymoronic to anyone else?
This last six months, my local supermarket has done away with check-out staff, replacing them with self serve stations, which I hate. They claim not to have sacked anyone. They don't need to. Staff losses will be by attrition.
Funny thing is, I understand self serve check outs have already been abandoned in the US (?) Apparently due to a massive increase in theft. Gee, who'd have thought? Good, serves the greed b------s right.
Joined Aug 2014
10,465 Posts | 4,802+
Australia
What self checkout? We will be selecting what we want from an app and the stuff gets delivered to our door. Yes there will always be a market for human interaction. As already said in earlier threads, the percentage of the population filling these roles will be tiny.
Joined Aug 2014
10,465 Posts | 4,802+
Australia
Robots and AI are already starting to do these tasks.... unless your job is designing, programming, and maintaining robots and automation systems.
Joined Dec 2015
9,459 Posts | 1,223+
As far as the mind can reach
Due to NVLD (non-verbal learning disability), I decided not to drive (both visual-spatial ability and reaction are compromised).
Retail and hospitality usually mean "minimum wage earners" and often enough, these are temporary, short-term jobs for young
people instead of careers.
Someone mentioned previously that many fast food franchises are so unprofitable that they are scams.
We usually call such dishes "chop suey" in North America.
As for Chinese meals, we had relatively decent Chinese dinners in Washington, DC, Las Vegas, and Montreal.
I recall that you have purchased from Ebay and Amazon, and I am aware that Amazon Australia is much worse than Amazon Canada.
Joined Aug 2014
10,465 Posts | 4,802+
Australia
Last edited:
No need to go to a store for a shoe fitting.
www.outsideonline.com
Robots and AI are being used for optometry as well. They are already starting to get good enough to not require an optometrist.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
We don't need bartenders any more either.
thebarsys.com
Are Robots Invading Specialty Outdoor Retail?
Superfeet’s FitStation automates the fitting process, for better or for worse
www.outsideonline.com
Robots and AI are being used for optometry as well. They are already starting to get good enough to not require an optometrist.
Can robotics be the future of ophthalmic surgery? - PubMed
The future of robotic ophthalmologic surgery looks promising. Innovations in robotic technology and artificial intelligence may provide an ideal machine-human interface with planned and precise movements minimizing unwanted tissue damage and improving clinical outcomes.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
We don't need bartenders any more either.
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Is Australia like USA in the sense that everything depends on cars? I can see that maybe working out there, but it's quite different when you actually live in a walkable city.
I do order from Amazon regularly, but that's when I know exactly what I am buying. But if I go to supermarket I usually plan what I am going to cook on the spot. I've checked groceries, costco, walmart etc on apps, and it doesn't work for me at all. So I don't think the future is quite as bleak as you think. I mean, peopl still go to cafes even though we can make coffee at home.
Joined Jan 2021
4,992 Posts | 3,605+
Conch Republic. "WE Seceded where others failed"
I've heard of "0 Hours Contract" as an actual "employee" as opposed to "Independent Contractor", but I think that's mostly a UK/Commonwealth thing. I don't know of anyone in the USA working a 0h contract or any employers using them. I'm not even sure it would be legal in the USA as a "contract" unless the purported "employee" gets at least some sort of minimum stipend just for being "on call". The essence of US contract law is that "something of value" must change hands; 0$ for 0h is not a "contract" in any meaningful sense of the word. THAT SAID, I'm sure employers informally do this sort of thing...."we'll call you if we need you".... it just wouldn't be a "contract" per se in the sense of obliging the employee to be "on call".
"On Call" in US Labor Law generally means "engaged to wait", especially if the employer puts any restrictions on time or movement i.e., "You must stay within 30 minutes of the office between 8 and 5 in case we need you" "you MUST answer the phone if we call" . It's distinct from the informal concept of "waiting to engage", "we'll call you if something comes up" which incurs no obligation to actually BE there to take the call.
(I've condensed into 2 paragraphs at least 100+ pages of employment law with myriad nuances. but that's the gist of it.)
(One nuance involves "minimum wage". You CAN put someone "on-call" for $0 extra if the total compensation for ALL hours (both at-work and on-call) is at least minimum wage and doesn't violate 'overtime'. That is, you can't make a person be at-work for x hours at minimum wage and then be on-call for ''y' hours at $0 extra. But you CAN do if the person is a skilled employee such as a service technician making, say, $60/hr at-work.... as long as tacking on the on-call hours doesn't average it out to less than minimum wage.
And FWIW, JM Business law, Emory University But I'm NOT a practicing lawyer and this is NOT "legal Advice" but merely friendly chit-chat.
Joined Aug 2014
10,465 Posts | 4,802+
Australia
It doesn't really matter what we think. What matters is how the current generation thinks. These kids do everything they can to avoid human interaction. Their ideal job is something they can do alone in their room.
Good question. The answer is many. Firstly, in my own case I was able to put my name above the door and link it to the area that I was trading in. Secondly, I was able to select the entirety of my stock offer with no reference to a central multiple management source and provide services that I thought were missing locally. Part of this involved things like selling concert tickets for local promoters, selling the produce of local bands and the like. Scale-outs are common with Multiples but I used my individual expertise and local knowledge to good effect. Local businesses are also not fixated with targets and margins. They can introduce different forms of criteria into the pot and this might even include things that have nothing to do with business but provide a social capital. Most importantly, decision making can be quick and decisive. Whilst major chain stores can do many/most/all of the things that local sellers actually do, they usually don't. I introduced a form of barter into my business equation allowing customers to part-exchange media product against new items, opted to deliver items in the area, created loyalty schemes and car parking initiatives, even opted to talk in local schools to aspiring entrepreneurs about business.
The point about this is that Multiples rarely factor stuff like this into their offer
Joined Dec 2015
9,459 Posts | 1,223+
As far as the mind can reach
I forgot which book it was; the idea was that localization and personalized services are probably more beneficial than globalization.
Let's talk about our brief stay in Marcon and old town Venezia (and a few islands):
In the old town of Venice (or Venezia in Italian), most of the shops (if I recall correctly) were local businesses.
Marcon is a modern town near Venezia; we did not venture off that far from Antony Palace hotel and ate at Bavaria fest.
I recalled that they had goose pizza on menu. How common is eating goose in Italy?
This was probably the mall we visited there:
https://www.valecenter.it/
From the sheer number of reviews on google map, I speculate that Marcon is probably quite popular for tourists. (Marcon is both small in geographic size and population.)
How typical is Marcon as a town in Italy?
We had a brief trip to Murano (this only to the glass factory), Burano (a brief walk) and Torcello (a brief walk as well).
My experience with cruise ship excursions and visits to towns: these were extremely brief trips and the experience is rather swallow.
Is self checkout worth it from a social point of view as it induces theft at least per Michigan judge Middletown ? There have been lawsuits involving people falsely accused of theft by using self checkout so maybe it better to avoid using it.
Leftyhunter
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