Or, Bob decides to alter his business model to use less labor and scale back his business’s [gr?] activities in the more labor-intensive end of the industry.
Bob is a consumer just like you and I. If something costs more, he’ll try to use less of it.
You seem to be thinking about a two-employee business, and your arguments do work better there.
Pretend we’re not talking about Stoner’s LP and Head Shop, LLC.
Let’s think of your local Target or Best Buy.
Try to cut heads without losing more in sales than you save.
We can chart our hourly sales out REAL closely, and save 80 man-hours per week by cutting the number of registers open. Lines will be a little bit longer, but hey, gotta’ keep them prices low.
Cut back sweeping and mopping by doing it half as often. Sure, your store will look ugly, but still much prettier than the disgustring Wal-Mart on Arlington Rd in Akron, which manages to stay open and pretty busy.
Staying open to midnight? Who the heck actually shops at 11:00 except for college students? They don’t have much money anyway. Go ahead and start closing down at 10:00.
Come to think of it, Stoner’s LP and Head Shop, LLC could probably save money opening later or closing earlier. Might make one or both of the Stoner Service Representatives part-time. There’s also the option of Old Man Stoner working another hour or two per day to cut down on paid labor.
You could also stop offerring services that don’t make you money. The Tire & Lube Express at Wal-Mart basically breaks even but serves as a convenient way to keep you in the store, shopping, while your oil is getting changed. If it costs more to provide that perk, they may have to rethink having it.
I understand that if you’ve worked in small shops, wage pressures don’t seem that decisive in manpower decisions, but they do change the big labor picture.
“Hey, how much for the bong?”
“Sorry, sir, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You have to call those water pipes!”
“Fscking fascist!”