Chapter 1

Why did General Motors want to buy trolley systems throughout the U.S.?
General Motors bought the trolley systems in order to replace them with bus lines. All of the purchased trolley systems were dismantled completely. The buses in the bus lines were constructed by GM. By doing so, people who were dependent upon the trolley system became dependent upon bus lines. GM did not have to worry about competitors: they were none. The fact that GM felt the need to secretively remove competition with front companies illustrates some of the deceit that characterizes many companies' desire to maximize profits.

What was the "Speedee Service System" and how was it different from what other fast food restaurants were doing?
The Speedie Service System was created by McDonald's and replaced glassware and silverware with disposable silverware and created a system in which each employee was only responsible for one step of food preparation. Carhops were eliminated, making customers responsible for retrieving their food; McDonald's boasted after putting in place the Speedie Service System, "Imagine - No Carhops - No Waitresses - No Dishwashers - No Bus Boys - The McDonald's System is Self-Service" (Page 20). The new system allowed McDonald's to fire skilled short-ordered cooks, many of whom were enticed to higher paying jobs before, and replace them with less skilled, minimum-wage workers. It increased efficiency, lowered prices, and increased the number of customers, having expanded to the working class.

Other fast food restaurants relied on short cooks and used carhops to deliver products to the customer in his or her car. This system demanded skilled workers and attracted teenage males, drawn by the usually attractive carhops. Many businesses followed McDonald's footsteps after seeing the profits the system brought in.

What were some of the characteristics of the men who started the fast food industry?
Contrary to the notion that men who started the fast food industry were market research-dependent MBA graduates from Harvard, these men were glass-half-full "door-to-door salesmen, short-order cooks, orphans, and dropouts" (Page 22); the millionaires among them were not necessarily the person that teachers and parents urge you to be by graduating college and working hard: the founder of Dunkin' Donuts was a door-to-door salesman; the founder of Taco Bell was a World War II veteran who decided to mimic McDonald's; a school drop-out by age 15 went on to create Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburgers; and Kentucky Fried Chicken was started by someone who dropped out of school at 12 years old and worked a variety of jobs, one being an obstetrician despite his lack of a medical degree.