Of Fast Food and (Decent) Pay

The Skeptical Entrepreneur has always been skeptical of "job creators" who create "jobs" that are, at best, marginally worth having. TSE is, and remains, at a loss to understand how employers can, with a straight face, imagine that they can get gold-quality service for the cost of copper. Perhaps employers imagine that entry-level, and minimum-wage employees will work themselves to exhaustion for a pittance, simply out of the good of the employees's hearts, or in honor of the superior goodness of the employer? TSE simply cannot make any sense of the expectation of maximum effort for minimum wage.

So, this article about the Boston-based Boloco burrito chain, which pays its entry-level floor workers $9-$10 per hour, and managers $12-$14 per hour, is so fascinating. Imagine, if you will, a consumer retail chain that pays a premium wage to the grunts that actually do the work - and, in return, enjoys rising same-store sales (most years), and which enjoys a staff turnover rate on the order of 33% lower than the industry average.

Imagine a retailer paying for what it wants and, hey presto!, getting what it pays for. Fascinating, is it not>

It is, certainly, an edifying example for The Skeptical Entrepreneur.

Money, Meet Mouth. Mouth, Meet Money

The Skeptical Entrepreneur is, well, skeptical about entrepreneurs who are "all talk and no action." That skepticism extends to himself. TSE has been, and will continue to be, equally averse to hypocrisy as he is to incompetence. Holding up the sins of others to well-deserved mockery is a hollow mockery of itself, if not accompanied by positive action.

To keep the analogy short, The Skeptical Entrepreneur is stepping out, entrepreneurially. The project is Table Bistro in Bryan, Texas, "serving wholesome, real food, with impeccable, unobtrusive service." TSE expects to start a crowdsourced fundraising campaign in the next week or so, and hopes to have Table Bistro up and running by late November.

Check out the restaurant's blog at Table Bistro BCS for ongoing updates. You can follow Table Bistro BCS on Twitter:  @tablebistrobcs .

Thanks for your interest!