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[Shockeye]

McDonald's May Outsource Drive-Thrus

Mar 10, 2005 — LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp. <MCD.N> wants to outsource your neighborhood drive-thru.

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-thrus.

"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-thrus, the company said.

[HaemishM]

If the "remote call centers" of tech support and Pizza Hut delivery are any indication, I can look forward to outsourced fuckups as opposed to pimply-faced, barely English-speaking fuckups at the drive-thru. If they are going to take the time and money to outsource the idiot's job of order-taker, they should just put up touchscreens at the drive-thru and pay someone minimum wage to take our money. Hell, they could do the self-serve aisle thing the grocery stores are doing. That thing will take my cash, and unless I'm buying beer, I don't need to talk to anyone to use it.

[Furiously]

Why not just go to vending machines outside at that point?

[Samwise]

If the vending machine could make my McBurger not taste any worse than it does when I get it from a drive-thru, I'd definitely use the vending machine.

[Sky]

Hello, my name is Apu. You will be very much enjoying the McDonald today, yes?

[Murgos]

North Dakotans have an accent?

[stray]

North Dakotans have an accent?

I really hate to ruin a good joke (?):

You're not serious, are you?

[MaceVanHoffen]

Hello, my name is Apu. You will be very much enjoying the McDonald today, yes?

Silly customer, you cannot hurt the twinkie hamburger!

[Murgos]

North Dakotans have an accent?

I really hate to ruin a good joke (?):

You're not serious, are you?

Eh?

[Sky]

North Dakotans have an accent?

Yo, wut up, G? Yo wan' sum FRIES widdat?

America is gaining a new accent. And language.

[Llava]

I don't care if they're in another building, this is a bad idea.  Ever been to a fast food place where they've run out of shakes?  I have, quite often.  What happens when the people taking the order don't know that they're out?  I know we'd like to say that McDonald's will take precautions to ensure that the people taking the orders know the state of things in the store, but we all know they won't.

This is a crappy idea and will cause a shitload of chaos and unnecesary confusion.  Sure, customers will get past the little talking box more quickly, but they'll spend 3x as long at the window correcting their order.

[Mesozoic]

Phase 2 will be potato guns filled with blended cheese and meat byproducts, shot in the general direction of your house following a phone call to a customer service rep in Punjab.

[SirBruce]

This will never work, because the call center won't know what the local supply situation at that McD's is.  When I worked at McD's for a few months, we ran out of stuff all the time.  Also, different restaurants run different menus, and sometimes don't participate in a particular promotional special.

Drive-Thru times are actually very short most places; it's the food perperation that takes the most time.  McD's spent years optimizing an elaborate queueing system that allowed for how long you could keep something around and it still be considered "fresh", but when the competition started making everything when you ordered it, they were forced to move to the same system, which slowed down food delivery times.

Bruce

[Paelos]

I went to a McDonalds in an airport where they had touchscreen order terminals just like those you see at the quicklane of your supermarket. You'd put your order together, customize it, and then insert the money or swipe a card. It would print a receipt and then you'd wait for your order number. It was extremely efficient and I loved the system. Drive-thru would be awesome if it worked like that.