Economic Reality
 

The Villages is a densely populated, rapidly growing community of mostly retired people which is located in a relatively isolated part of central Florida. By isolated, I mean we are not adjacent to any major metropolitan area such as Orlando.
So where are we supposed to obtain a seemingly never ending supply of low end wage earners (such as restaurant workers, store clerks, etc.) to service our demands??? Characteristic of most retired seniors, we want it goog, we want it now, and we want it cheap.
I think the number of recent post complaining about slow or poor restaurant service is evidence of this problem. And it's only going to get worse as we continue to grow. How we are going to adequately staff new establishments, such as in Brownwood, is worrisome to me.
Any comments?

oh boy, howdy!

my guess is that there are lots of local folks willing to work the restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops, etc - but they just are not willing to accept low end wages for serving your demands. demands! yikes!

what does it mean?
 

"Characteristic of most retired seniors, we want it goog, we want it now, and we want it cheap"-- sorry I don't know what "goog" is please enlighten.

This is made worse by the fact that many businesses only want part time employees, so they don't have to pay benefits.
How much income do you have being on welfare, versus how much income with a part time minimum wage job?

Sorry, typo....
Goog means good.

One of the draws to working here is the good charter schools we have that are made available to the people who work in The Villages.

I am very grateful for the people who work here and appreciate what they do.

One of the developers I worked for in southern FL had a phrase he used when hiring sub-contractors that I think applies here in many ways. "Good, Fast, Cheap----Pick 2". Food for thought??

zoner, you have some valid points. My daughter is one of those servers. Some villagers treat the workers here wonderfully, some basically abuse them. I can't say I've really heard of any local employers truly treating their unskilled labor fairly. As you mentioned, part-time, no benefits. Sadly, this is industry- and nation-wide for restaurants and stores. It is not just a local issue.

There is still a large pool of potential employees in this area -- lots of unemployment in neighboring communities. Some will do a great job and be happy to be working. Some will have an attitude, some will be truly incompetent. Pretty typical.

No question the charter schools are a great draw. Unfortunately, they are filling up. Right now, the high school is limiting students to those parents who work for TV or on TV property. That means the strips (think non-Citizens First banks, chain restaurants not in the squares, etc.) on 466A, 466, 441 are no longer eligible and those students presently attending the high school will have to transfer to other schools in their respective communities. This does not bode well for finding good, dedicated employees for the new restaurants, etc.

So, will we end up with no one to take care of our needs? Probably not. Will we get the best there is? Probably not -- heck, probably not even close. But I do believe our needs will be met.

I worked in Human Resources and one of our duties was to compare the prevailing community wage and benefits.

As predictable the big boys on the block set the standards. So look to see who or what has a command of the community you live in. Secondly look at the type of occupations available along with educational/experience requirements. Now look at the available workforce.

One of the problems concerning our unemployment issue in this country is that we have many quality/good paying jobs not being filled because there are not enough applicants who can meet the requirements.

Human Resources people do a lot of hiring and I can attest to the fact that when an applicant is not qualified but begs you to give them a chance because they will grow into the job...they won't.

Bottom line the big employers set the pace.

This trend will probably continue as the economy improves and the unemployment rate goes down. Young people may have to relocate, but hopefully will be able to find higher paying jobs with benefits.

Perhaps more seniors will have to step out of retirement and take these low paying, no benefit jobs in the service industries. Your next server could be your next door neighbor.

There are many sixty something servers at Bob Evans Restaurant. They do a great job.

I have never been a server or hostess and think I would enjoy doing that job; however, the first geezer that started acting like a fool would get slapped upside his head so I probably should just stay retired!!!

Gomoho, probably best you stay retired ... I think your hand might get sore from overuse. :jester:

I think Brownwood will have no problem finding staff, since Wildwood is very close by.

Keep in mind tha the turnover rate in the service industry and primarily in the restaurant business is higher in comparison to other industries.

i know some of the servers at bob evans go else where when high season is over