Offering sign-on bonuses is one of the strategies many companies, including fast-food restaurants, have used to recruit employees. But Gary’s Hamburgers owner, Gary Gibson said that’s a strategy he isn’t willing to try.
Gibson has owned and operated the CSRA restaurant chain for nearly 40 years, and like many other businesses, Gary’s has been hit with a serious labor shortage. There are currently three locations in Martinez, Evans, and North Augusta.
He had planned to open a new location on Wrightsboro Road last year, but he said it will remain vacant until the workforce shortage is resolved.
“Anyone looking for a sign-on bonus will be the first one to leave you,” he said.
One of his competitors Mike Iezzi, the franchisee of 12 Wendy’s locations, uses a different kind of new employee bonus program— with his staff leading the way. Iezzi hasn’t offered sign-on bonuses either, but he offers other incentives, such as employee referral bonuses.
“What it’s done is forced us to pay higher wages,” Iezzi said.
Gibson has tried other strategies, such as running advertisements on Indeed and offering open interviews, but nothing has worked so far.
“It’s not just restaurants; it’s everybody,” he said. “It’s affected everything we do.”
Gibson said the labor shortage has also affected his suppliers, so his restaurants don’t always get the supplies they need.
He’s also been forced to close locations early when employees haven’t shown up for work, which has angered some of his customers. Some ask why Gibson doesn’t let customers know in advance, but he can’t predict when he’ll be forced to close early.
“We’ve modified our menu and hours,” Gibson said. “We’ve closed on holidays we’ve never closed on before, like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.”
The Evans location on North Belair Road is currently open for breakfast and lunch only. He would love to keep it open at night, but he doesn’t have enough employees to do that.
He said the labor shortage he and many other business owners are facing, is part of a much larger problem.
“There are millions of people not working, who were working before Covid,” Gibson said. “The unemployment rate doesn’t include people no longer looking for work.”
During the pandemic, many took advantage of expanded state and federal unemployment benefits, but some of those programs have ended. Gary’s also receives far fewer applications than it did in previous years.
“Five to 10 years ago, we would receive 125 applications in a year,” he said. “We’ve probably received about 30 in the last 12 months.”
Because of this experience, Gibson has developed a greater appreciation for people who show up for work at the businesses he frequents. He often thanks them for their willingness to work.
“The general public should have great admiration for people out there working,” Gibson said.
He said he’s not sure when the labor shortage will be resolved.
“I wish I had a crystal ball,” Gibson said. “It’s not getting better.”
Unlike Gibson, Wendy’s franchisee has seen some improvement in recent weeks.
“Since the kids got out of school, it’s loosened up some,” Iezzi said.
1 comment
The millions who were working before the pandemic and aren’t working now are largely dead, sick, or retired.
• More than 1 million people died (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_totaldeaths).
• More than 7 million are suffering from “long COVID” (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-105666).
• Boomers accelerated their retirements in huge numbers (https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/04/amid-the-pandemic-a-rising-share-of-older-u-s-adults-are-now-retired/).
Being “forced to pay higher wages” is just the free market economy doing what it does. F&B has paid poverty wages for too long.