Pull off Interstate 55 near Cape Girardeau, Mo., and into the drive-through lane of a McDonald's next to the highway, and you'll get fast, friendly service, even though the person taking your order is not in the restaurant — or even in Missouri.
The order taker is in a call center in Colorado Springs, more than 900 miles away, connected to the customer and to the workers preparing the food by high-speed data lines. Even some restaurant jobs, it seems, are not immune to outsourcing.
Cheap, quick and reliable telecommunications lines let the order takers in Colorado Springs converse with customers in Missouri, take an electronic snapshot of them (smile for the camera) display their order on a screen to make sure it is right, then forward the order and the photo to the restaurant kitchen.
In other news...
July 28th is National drive-thru day
The order taker is in a call center in Colorado Springs, more than 900 miles away, connected to the customer and to the workers preparing the food by high-speed data lines. Even some restaurant jobs, it seems, are not immune to outsourcing.
Cheap, quick and reliable telecommunications lines let the order takers in Colorado Springs converse with customers in Missouri, take an electronic snapshot of them (smile for the camera) display their order on a screen to make sure it is right, then forward the order and the photo to the restaurant kitchen.
In other news...
July 28th is National drive-thru day