McDonald's outsourcing drive-throughs

Just damn people...

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1106398522172300.xml

Happy Meal orders travel 1,300 miles in name of efficiency
A Hermiston McDonald's experiment outsources drive-through window duties to a North Dakota call center
Sunday, January 23, 2005
RICHARD COCKLE

HERMISTON -- Talk about McWeird.

You can still order up a Big Mac and fries at the only drive-through McDonald's in this Eastern Oregon farming town, but you'll have to go by way of North Dakota.

That disembodied voice directing you to the next window is coming to you live from 1,300 miles away in Grand Forks.

Well, at least they're keeping the work (and money) in-country. If it was outsourced to India like so many other jobs, I'd say bad words.

Give it time...

Really, how long until fastfood is done 100% by machines?

You just key in your order and your bag of shit comes out of a little chute.

grant wrote:

Really, how long until fastfood is done 100% by machines?

You just key in your order and your bag of shit comes out of a little chute.

It more or less is. Those self-serve machines in Amsterdam are fantastic (conveyor-belt type contraptions that rotate with sliding doors).

I imagine machines do exist that operate like coffee machines - make your choice and the bugger throws your chicken patty sandwich or breakfast burrito in an internal microwave and shakes like a lamb's tail when it's ready for consumption.

grant wrote:

Really, how long until fastfood is done 100% by machines?

You just key in your order and your bag of shit comes out of a little chute.

True, but I think it'll be awhile before a place like McDonald's is replaced by machines. Building a machine complex enough to produce the largish menu would be expensive, and maintenance would be a bugger. Paying teenagers $5-ish an hour is still pretty economical comparatively.

But there is little doubt it will happen. The distaste of such automation will be bypassed by introducing the McVend in places like themeparks, and it'll have a limited menu. Over time they'll become more complex and more common, until existing restaurants become largely automated.

I'd give about 15-20 years, though.

Maybe some day we'll all just pay for the privilege of preparing our OWN fast food. We already scan and bag our groceries...a mean feat if you've little kids with you. Our "service economy" is really a self-service economy.

*hindi accent* Thank you for calling Dell Tech Support... oh... I am sorry very much... Would you like to upsize that? */hindi accent*

grant wrote:

Really, how long until fastfood is done 100% by machines?

You just key in your order and your [COLOR=DarkRed]bag of shit[/COLOR] comes out of a little chute.

Yup, that's what it is. :sick:

Brianna wrote:

We already scan and bag our groceries...

Not a chance. Oh and I want paper AND plastic. :3eye:

Troubleshooter wrote:

*hindi accent* Thank you for calling Dell Tech Support... oh... I am sorry very much... Would you like to upsize that? */hindi accent*

hindi=cows sacred<>mcdonalds

don't theenk so

McD's even lost a suit when it was found to have falsely represented it's frenchfries as "no animal products" when beef tallow was a part of the golden-ifying mix.

Do they still use beef tallow to fry in? I think they quit that.

BigV wrote:

hindi=cows sacred<>mcdonalds

don't theenk so

It wasn't something that you had to think about quite so hard. Just go with the visual.

Besides hindi is a language, hindu is a religion.

BigV wrote:

hindi=cows sacred<>mcdonalds

don't theenk so

McD's even lost a suit when it was found to have falsely represented it's frenchfries as "no animal products" when beef tallow was a part of the golden-ifying mix.

I have to wonder why the vegetarian/budhist even bothered entering McDonald's. Did they not realize what was being served there [All soy protein jokes aside]?

well, if you got off on protesting and being offended by stuff, and nothing fell into your path, you could always go out of your way to be offended.

Hey, it's a hobby here in Seattle. :cool: