re: Five Guys, Chic-fil-A, Panera Bread vs. McDonald's, BK, Taco Bell (not food related)

I think it's pretty simple. The first 3 take pride in their customer service and demand the same from their employees. As a result, they don't just hire any broke-dick off the street. The others don't really care who they hire as long as they can dunk french fries and fix a hamburger. They know their usual caliber of employee won't be all that reliable or invested in the job, so they just have to deal with constant turnover as efficiently as they can. Thus, they hire basically anyone off the street.

At least in some locales, McDonald's, BK, etc would be better off going with almost full automation. Quality and efficiency would increase almost 10 fold in many places.