To all those that think higher minimum wage is the answer, I offer you the picture below. I was at Lowes this morning and took this picture of how they have replaced an employee that used to cut keys with this self-serve kiosk where you insert your key and your credit card and you get a duplicate key made. One more job eliminated (per store) due to government regulations which make it more cost effective to hire a machine than a person. Keep up the good work Democrats!

 

 

 

Just waiting on these...

Well, to be fair, I can't count the number of times i've walked out of a Lowes or Home Depot with an unduplicated key in hand, because for 30 minutes or more they couldn't fine anyone who could copy a key.

 

Those machines would have to store the key blank information, for inventory purposes.  I wonder if they keep a digital record of the key cut dimensions?   That, along with the credit card address info (the machine does not appear to take cash) would make yet another attractive target for hackers.

I saw those things before the minimum wage increased in the state.  I don't know if they are really related, could be though.

I saw those things before the minimum wage increased in the state.  I don't know if they are really related, could be though.

Lowes is a global company, the machine is a reaction to government induced costs all across the country (world) and not predicated on NJ laws alone.

maybe it'll cut my key right the first (or second, or third!) time.

I used to work at Lowe's.  Trust me when I say that they do not hire an employee for the specific purpose of cutting keys.  Nobody lost their job over that machine.

I used to work at Lowe's.  Trust me when I say that they do not hire an employee for the specific purpose of cutting keys.  Nobody lost their job over that machine.

While there is not a dedicated employee that only cuts keys, they are eliminating labor hours by using a machine.  I can assure you they are not doing this because it is "cool" it is being done to save on labor costs.

Yeah..there is not a specific "key guy" but you will see more machines in place of people very shortly. Either that or my salary increases greatly since the minimum wage has increased

 it is being done to save on labor costs.

and losses due to bad cuttings, bad blank selection, inventory control and re-ordering.

Well, to be fair, I can't count the number of times i've walked out of a Lowes or Home Depot with an unduplicated key in hand, because for 30 minutes or more they couldn't fine anyone who could copy a key.

 

 

 

maybe it'll cut my key right the first (or second, or third!) time.

 

 

This, over and over.  If anyone loses their job to a key cutting machine, I'm sorry but odds are you did your job very poorly.  I've taken to going to locksmith shops, as few and far between as they are because dealing with the home improvement store key making is basically throwing your money and time away in my experience.

 

 

Additionally, this is a global problem for most menial jobs. Just like we don't have elevator operators driving you up or down anymore, or telephone operators making your connection, or lamp lighters, or milkmen, eventually a lot of jobs will disappear.  Traditionally we invented new ones to replace the old ones, I'm not sure we are still doing that at the rate at which we grow the population, but if your chosen profession was making keys at Home Depot, you have chosen poorly and it is time to retrain, quickly.

A similar frustration....."self-service checkout" -- I pointedly will NOT use them.  What gets me is the human checkout ppl who praise the things...thats your JOB going away!

Machines don't call in sick, complain, ask for a raise, need a 2 week vacation, require health insurance, etc.  Even self checkouts are an advantage. Stats show less loss than with a cashier.  But, it still takes a human to open and close the door to the business everyday.  This is the small side of the problem.  Loss of domestic production jobs are a much bigger problem.  We cannot survive as a country with service industry based jobs.

A similar frustration....."self-service checkout" -- I pointedly will NOT use them.  What gets me is the human checkout ppl who praise the things...thats your JOB going away!

 

I use them exclusively if given a choice. If I wanted a surely teenager ignoring me while texting her friends, I'd could always have kids.

THE LOWES IN LAWNSIDE  has had one of these for somewhere around a year now. home depot still has people doing it.

I use them exclusively if given a choice. If I wanted a surely teenager ignoring me while texting her friends, I'd could always have kids.

LOL!

I use them exclusively if given a choice. If I wanted a surely teenager ignoring me while texting her friends, I'd could always have kids.

I go to Stop and Shop whenever possible because of their machine checkout system - it is the best.  You either use their scanner or your smart phone to scan UPC codes as you place items in your shopping cart.  When you get to the checkout line you scan a bar code that basically says you are done and instantly it prints out a tape of everything you bought and you either pay with cash or credit card and you are done.  It is fast and accurate.

The whole minimum wage thing is just an unfunded mandate from the government that no one benefits from. If you raise the minimum wage you increase costs. These are costs passed on to the consumer including the consumer who works for minimum wage. The increased costs eat up that raise in the minimum wage. Nobody wins and the Liberals feel all touchy feely good about all they have done.

I use them exclusively if given a choice. If I wanted a surely teenager ignoring me while texting her friends, I'd could always have kids.

i've yet to have a cashier do that. the cashiers at both home depot, and lowes have always been attentive and very friendly with me. at home depot, there's a REALLY cool vet works in the hardware dept, and one of my customers works there too.

 

 re: auto check outs.....i refuse to use them. if they went to give me a DEEP discount EVERY time i go there for using them, i'll consider. otherwise, i'm dealing with a human being.

The whole minimum wage thing is just an unfunded mandate from the government that no one benefits from. If you raise the minimum wage you increase costs. These are costs passed on to the consumer including the consumer who works for minimum wage. The increased costs eat up that raise in the minimum wage. Nobody wins and the Liberals feel all touchy feely good about all they have done.

don't forget that that worker may well get booted up into the next higher tax bracket too, also taking more money out of his check.

don't forget that that worker may well get booted up into the next higher tax bracket too, also taking more money out of his check.

That could happen for part-time workers, and they do make up a good percentage of the minimum wage workforce--but a full-time worker would have to more than double their hourly wages to get bumped into the 25% bracket.

There was a research into effect of increase of minimum wages some time ago. It was between PA and NJ (increased minimum wage) restaurants on different sides of river. If I remember correctly there was about 50 restaurants on each side in research. Minimum wage increase did not affect NJ side in any bad way; in fact their numbers were better across the board comparing to PA's.

I am pretty sure copy-key machines with a different design were in lowes for several years now. Has nothing to do with government, but with owners thinking about their bottom line. 

Until cashier brainiacs can figure out how to scan and bag my fruit without beating the shit out of it, I'll do self checkout

 

A similar frustration....."self-service checkout" -- I pointedly will NOT use them. What gets me is the human checkout ppl who praise the things...thats your JOB going away!

don't forget that that worker may well get booted up into the next higher tax bracket too, also taking more money out of his check.

The only way that would happen is if their spouse was already borderline of the next tax bracket.  The lowest tax bracket is wide enough that any minimum wage job, even with an increase, wouldn't kick you into the next bracket.

You mean this little fruitcake is out of a job?

 

There was a research into effect of increase of minimum wages some time ago. It was between PA and NJ (increased minimum wage) restaurants on different sides of river. If I remember correctly there was about 50 restaurants on each side in research. Minimum wage increase did not affect NJ side in any bad way; in fact their numbers were better across the board comparing to PA's.

Waitstaff in most places don't get paid minimum wage, they are paid much less as most of their wages are based on tips so I don't understand what this survey has to do with the claims that are being made.  Further, even if they were covered by minimum wage the river negates most of the value of the story.  There are only a certain number of bridges across the river, thus a business on either side has natural protection from competition by the business on the other side of the river.

my lowes has had this machine for well over a year, they also didnt have a key maker specific job, they would just grab the guy from hardware dept, dont think any jobs were lost due to this.

 

Checko can be more specific of time frame

All companies look to reduce costs.  Doesn't have anything to do with raising of minimum wage.  Raising the minimum wage will put people out of work (less workers but company will spend same on labor), make more people dependent on the government (unemployment benefits, food assistance, etc) and pass long any increased cost of doing business (real or perceived) to the consumer.

 

If the powers that be were interested in helping the less fortunate they would look at ways to create more jobs rather than forcing employers to pay more for the workers they already currently employ.  More "feel good" legislation that is counterproductive but looks good to those who don't think about it or it's consequences for more than 2 minutes.

Until cashier brainiacs can figure out how to scan and bag my fruit without beating the shit out of it, I'll do self checkout

 

More than once I've let the little bastards have it over that.