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malvolio · Mar 12, 2005, 01:13 PM

Look Who's Talking at the Drive-Through

Fri Mar 11, 8:42 AM ET
- Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp. wants to outsource your neighborhood drive-through. The world's largest fast-food chain said on Thursday it is looking into using remote call centers to take customer orders in an effort to improve service at its drive-throughs.

"If you're in L.A.... and you hear a person with a North Dakota accent taking your order, you'll know what we're up to," McDonald's Chief Executive Jim Skinner told analysts at the Bear Stearns Retail, Restaurants & Apparel Conference in New York. Call center professionals with "very strong communication skills" could help boost order accuracy and ultimately speed up the time it takes customers to get in and out of the drive-throughs, the company said.

OwlBoy · Mar 12, 2005, 01:53 PM

whoa.

Now thats a scary thought. The whole "what technology can do these days" thing.

-Owl

SimpleLife · Mar 12, 2005, 01:59 PM

Originally posted by OwlBoy:
whoa.

Now thats a scary thought. The whole "what technology can do these days" thing.

-Owl

This is not the only place where this is occuring. I am in the business of Call Centers myself and you'd be amazed about what is going on. This is the tip of the iceberg.

demograph68 · Mar 12, 2005, 02:15 PM

I don't eat there.

CollinG3G4 · Mar 12, 2005, 02:50 PM

Originally posted by demograph68:
I don't eat there.

Neither do I.

Imagine how interesting ordering will be when the jobs move overseas.

sugar_coated · Mar 12, 2005, 02:53 PM

This may create more jobs.

hyperb0le · Mar 12, 2005, 03:21 PM

Originally posted by CollinG3G4:
Imagine how interesting ordering will be when the jobs move overseas.

I was just reminded of the conversation in Seinfeld about how difficult it is for a Spanish person to order Sulsa and not get Salsa

Anyway, I don't eat at McDonalds, so this really doesn't affect me. Though, it would be weird to be in the North and hear a redneck taking your order

spiky_dog · Mar 12, 2005, 03:33 PM

"call center professionals"

effgee · Mar 12, 2005, 03:34 PM

Methinks it'd be much cooler if they outsourced those jobs to an Indian call center.

hyperb0le · Mar 12, 2005, 03:49 PM

Originally posted by effgee:
Methinks it'd be much cooler if they outsourced those jobs to an Indian call center.

"Thank you, come again"

God, I watch too much TV. :/

paul w · Mar 12, 2005, 03:51 PM

Originally posted by effgee:
Methinks it'd be much cooler if they outsourced those jobs to an Indian call center.

Agreed. I mean, you order the Big Mac Extra Value Meal and get Lamb Vindaloo instead and a Mango Lassi instead of a Milkshaek..

Fine by me.

anthonyvthc · Mar 12, 2005, 03:53 PM

P/T position available. Fast food company seeks highly motivated individuals to join our team. We have over 95 billion customers. Fast paced call center experience preferred. Must be able to operate multi-line phone system. Knowledge of MS Office a must.
Compensation: $5.15/hr

SimpleLife · 04:13 PM

Originally posted by spiky_dog:
"call center professionals"

That is the whole point.

People sitting in front of a computer with different screens (and suggested scripts) to answer in accordance to the service the client is calling for. It usually requires training (from one day to 6 weeks) to grasp the various systems and how it interacts with the different contracts.

It has been around for a long time already. The outsourcing is a logical consequence, just like it is cheaper to buy bananas from the tropics than it is to buy them from greenhouses.

There are teams of people with a BA or a MA in Law, Psychology, social work etc. answering the phone to deliver services everywhere in North America, and Europe will follow in no time.

Having a few people answering a drive-thru is peanuts and requires low skills, therefore, anyone available at the cheapest price will do. All you need is that they respect some basics of the business, and especially this one, for America: candidates have to have no accent but having an American accent will be considered an asset.

That is how the business is ran. And yes, in India, there are lots of people who can respond to these criteria.

Link · Mar 12, 2005, 04:11 PM

"Welcome to McDonalds, please wait, a representative will be with you shortly, for quality assurance purposes your order may be monitored or recorded"

"Hello sir, how may I take your order today sir?"

"I'd like to order a number 5 with a milkshake"

"Yes sir, would you like to supersize that?"

"No"

"Would you like to have an apple pie with that?"

"no"

"would you like anything else?"
"no"

"Would you like another meal?"

"For the last time, no! I'm done"

"Sorry sir, but our policy states that we MUST ask you every question"

"I WANNA TALK TO YOUR MANAGER!"

"Sorry sir, but my manager is not available"

"Who is this?"

"Charlie." (Obviously not their name but one of their "assigned" names)

"Let me speak to your manager!"

"okay sir"

*doot doot... hold music*

"Your Order is very important to us. Please stay on the line" <in 4 different languages>

*redneck from texas*

"ARE YOU HAVING A PROBLEM?"

"Yes this jerk won't take my order! He keeps asking the same crap over and over"

"That's our policy"

"Will you just put the damn order through?"

"Fine, this once we'll make an exception. Your case number is 34238 and your dispatch number is D49528. You'll receiver a box at your doorstep in which you can put that piece of paper you just wrote that on and we'll overnight you your order"

effgee · Mar 12, 2005, 04:21 PM

Originally posted by paul w:
Agreed. I mean, you order the Big Mac Extra Value Meal and get Lamb Vindaloo instead and a Mango Lassi instead of a Milkshaek.. Fine by me.

Agreed.

Headline: "Finally! Healthy food at local MickeyDee's"

Mastrap · Mar 12, 2005, 06:09 PM

Originally posted by paul w:
Agreed. I mean, you order the Big Mac Extra Value Meal and get Lamb Vindaloo instead and a Mango Lassi instead of a Milkshaek..

Fine by me.

I was thinking the same thing. For a curry addict like myself that would be most excellent

paul w · Mar 12, 2005, 06:24 PM

Actually, it's unlikely that McDonalds, who slaughter more sacred cows then anyone on the planet, will be hiring hindu Indians to sell Americans beef hamburgers over the phone anytime soon.

dampeoples · Mar 12, 2005, 08:20 PM

What difference does it make as long as i get my biscuit?

turtle777 · Mar 12, 2005, 11:12 PM

Originally posted by malvolio:
Call center professionals with "very strong communication skills" could help boost order accuracy and ultimately speed up the time

Probably the same crap as when you call credit card companies and all you get is someone with a strong Indian accent...

-t

Kenneth · Mar 13, 2005, 01:28 AM

I never used drive-thru... I walk-in and make my order.

Big Mac · Mar 13, 2005, 10:28 AM

It's obvious that this proposal is not about improving customer service - it's only about reducing prices. And it makes absolutely no sense from a financial standpoint unless they're going to hire oversees. So now you'll have to put up with a VOIP connection that is further mangled by the poor speakers and microphones in the drive-thru box.

SimpleLife · Mar 13, 2005, 10:36 AM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
It's obvious that this proposal is not about improving customer service - it's only about reducing prices. And it makes absolutely no sense from a financial standpoint unless they're going to hire oversees. So now you'll have to put up with a VOIP connection that is further mangled by the poor speakers and microphones in the drive-thru box.

Yep. It's call "good business": maximizing profits with limited frequency of complaints.

kcmac · Mar 13, 2005, 10:56 AM

So, what happens when the system hits a glitch and now you can't order from the drive-thru? (Which you know will happen).

This is idiotic at best. All these franchises depend on good management at the site. Nothing the big corporation tries to do will ever change this.

What is the real point of this? That is where the story is.

SimpleLife · Mar 13, 2005, 10:59 AM

Originally posted by kcmac:
So, what happens when the system hits a glitch and now you can't order from the drive-thru? (Which you know will happen).

This is idiotic at best. All these franchises depend on good management at the site. Nothing the big corporation tries to do will ever change this.

What is the real point of this? That is where the story is.

Call centres have overflow systems to prevent such situations. Profit is assured.

See, locally, someone calls sick, and you have the manager struggling to compensate. A Call center has one hundred people for staff. One falls sick, 99 others are there in replacement for the same price and no slowing of the process.

It's called progress.

kcmac · Mar 13, 2005, 01:23 PM

Uhhh. Someone gets sick where I work and we fill in. It's called teamwork and good managment. Progress my A..

lasvegasgamer · Mar 13, 2005, 01:32 PM

Everyone talks about efficiency and such, but they miss the real reason they are doing this, a few critques of it popped up on the net a few weeks ago, so I'm suprised it hasn't been mentioned. The real reason they are doing this is because it benefits them because they have to hire less 'real' employees from the local pool and can instead outsource it to somewhere to pay less.

McDonalds isn't going to do this in the busiest McDonalds in LA, that simply doesn't make sense (technically difficulties would cause a lot of lost $$$) and most of those McDonalds (especially the ones that have been doing it for a while) run a relatively tight ship. The plan that was reported when I first read this story is for rural McDonalds out in Oregon and such where minimum wage is higher then other states to get rid of all the drive thru operators and have call centers in other states where the number of illegal immigrants (Possibly, I am sure some call centers have legal works) that want to work is high and the minimum wage is much much lower.

Its just bad business practice, McDonalds wants to take profit out of the local community without putting anything back in. Sad really. It's just another reason I've stopped eating there.

His Dudeness · Mar 13, 2005, 01:36 PM

Besides the fact that the food tastes like ****.

Gankdawg · Mar 13, 2005, 01:42 PM

Originally posted by dampeoples:
What difference does it make as long as i get my biscuit?

Exactly. Who cares who takes the order?

SimpleLife · Mar 13, 2005, 01:59 PM

Originally posted by kcmac:
Uhhh. Someone gets sick where I work and we fill in. It's called teamwork and good managment. Progress my A..

Duh! Teamwork is counterproductive; good management is isolation of individuals yet keeping them focuse on the production objectives.

Your small local team cannot keep up with high demand; having a huge, cheap pool of replacements means improved production even though one of the team is off sick.

SimpleLife · Mar 13, 2005, 02:01 PM

Originally posted by lasvegasgamer:
Its just bad business practice, McDonalds wants to take profit out of the local community without putting anything back in. Sad really. It's just another reason I've stopped eating there.

Who cares, as long as they keep their margin high?

SimpleLife · Mar 13, 2005, 02:03 PM

Originally posted by Gankdawg:
Exactly. Who cares who takes the order?

Exactly! Give what the consumer wants. Forget the rest; it is none of your business! The Corporation provides what the client is looking for; how they do this does not matter!

finboy · Mar 13, 2005, 02:45 PM

Originally posted by SimpleLife:
Exactly! Give what the consumer wants. Forget the rest; it is none of your business! The Corporation provides what the client is looking for; how they do this does not matter!

Obviously. I don't see long lines of folks protesting the low prices at WalMart.

torsoboy · Mar 14, 2005, 12:06 AM

i think they may have a harder time opening new restraunts if they do this. the cities look at the money and jobs that each new business will bring in to the community, and make their decisions based on that. this would seem to lessen the positive aspects of allowing the business to be put in the city.

DarwinX · Mar 14, 2005, 12:36 AM

I can't say much but from what I know it works and it works well. In fact, my guess is there are quite a few of you that have had the experience and have no idea that it happened. There are various of these operations as relates to McDonalds already in place. This includes big cities.

anthonyvthc · Mar 14, 2005, 12:42 AM

Originally posted by torsoboy:
i think they may have a harder time opening new restraunts if they do this. the cities look at the money and jobs that each new business will bring in to the community, and make their decisions based on that. this would seem to lessen the positive aspects of allowing the business to be put in the city.

While I agree with you, I can't think of a single place in the US that is not within 30 mins of a McDonalds. I don't think they're too concerned with expansion.