Mcdonalds CallCenters

[bazooka]

http://reuters.excite.com//article/20050311/2005-03-11T134207Z_01_N10652742_RTRIDST_0_...ONALDS-DC.html

Look Who's Talking at the Drive-Through
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Mar 11, 8:42 AM (ET)

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.

[shelbyGT]

I see this as causing more headaches than solving problems.

Seriously... if they **** up your order, you gotta call a 800 number or something?

[ZAPPER]

What? Outsource to India? "Would you like fries with that thank you very much please" Just how strong do your communication skills have to be to take orders? I think that the customer should just ring up their own order on a touch screen like pulling up to a drivethru ATM. And then swipe their cash card or feed their money into a change machine. Automated machines can then cook, wrap and serve the food to the customer. Fully automated is the way to go!

[Webster]

Automated machines can then cook, wrap and serve the food to the customer. Fully automated is the way to go!

Then what would you do if after you paid, they do not give you the food, or the wrong food? It'll be hard to convince the machine that it was wrong. Ever try to argue to a vending machine???? Take it from me it's very frustrating.......... :P :P

[ZAPPER]

Automated machines can then cook, wrap and serve the food to the customer. Fully automated is the way to go!

Then what would you do if after you paid, they do not give you the food, or the wrong food? It'll be hard to convince the machine that it was wrong. Ever try to argue to a vending machine???? Take it from me it's very frustrating.......... :P :P

SLEDGE-A-MATIC


Actually Webster you raise a good point. I guess having one person there to grease the machine and handle complaints might be a good idea. Or you could call the 1-800 number to customer service in India

Actually I would rather be ripped off by a machine than an idiot. (its better for my ego and any fit of rage would only lead to property damage charges and not murder) JK

I keep making fun of the customer service from India only because of the sterotype. I actually have not had any bad support from there, only some annoying sales pitches. I tell them to call back when they figure out how to pronounce my hacked up Polish/Austrian/American name :P

[ViRaL1]

Could you really make McDonald's any worse?

[ZAPPER]

Could you really make McDonald's any worse?

I don't know. My wife can't seem to get good service. I do pretty well, but then again I check the bags before I pull away from the window. I also look the kid in the eyes and ask them if everything is in there before they hand me the bags. This tends to rattle them enough to make them start to check the order over before they give it to me. I am not a complete ******* about it, I do say "thank you" or "good job" once everything is in order.

I don't stutter or stammer or get all stupid when I order in the first place. I mean for crying out loud it is McDonalds. You know what they sell, you should know what you are going to order before you even turn into the parking lot. I pull up to the mic and place my order in plain english, they either repeat it or it shows up on a display for me to verify, I say "Yes thank you " or I correct them and then pull up to pay and get the stuff.

My old lady has to be the one that wants the fish without sause or a salad without carrots or some other thing that is sure to botch up everyones day. I swear she does it just to tempt me into slapping her in public.

Anyhow keep in mind it is McDonalds. The stuff ain't to good for you anyways.

[jackal70058]

I have to agree that if it was automated it would be much better. I remember the first time I use the Self Checkout at the grocery store. Now it is the only way I chekout at the store. Its great when they get rid of the people that fuckup.

[BJ_M]

edit

[jackal70058]

I didn't beleive this you know but it was on channel 4 the other night. Seems like a lot of trouble for a fast-food order.

[lumis]

imagine being an indian guy/gal and having to take orders all day for big mac combo's that cost more than you make all week..

i guess even fast food jobs arent safe.. and will this bring down the cost of mcdonalds food? nope..

just like the bank industry, when they fired hundreds of thousands of tellers when they installed atm machines.. now you have to pay a fee if you dont use their atm, and a fee to the atm you're using, and dont even think about talking to a teller, that'll cost ya..

things are getting cheaper for the businesses, but they arent pasing that off to the consumer.. they're buying lube so they can.. well you know the rest..

[northcat_8]

One of the Pizza places in town does this. Cassano's I think.

First time I called, I didn't know they did that and I thought the lady was being a smartass on the phone when she gave me a list of places I could pick it up at. apparently not

[pbhalerao]

imagine being an indian guy/gal and having to take orders all day for big mac combo's that cost more than you make all week..

You have no idea what salaries 'they' get in a Call Center in India.

[MackemX]

so how much do they get? I know it's not much but I bet it's good money for India

[pbhalerao]

People starting at a call center (fresh graduates from colleges) will start with a one to three months of training during which time they get a stipend of typically Rs. 6000 to Rs. 8000 (US$ 1 = Rs. 44 at today's rates) per month. At the end of the training period, they are absorbed on probabtion as Call Center Executives and start getting a regular salary of Rs. 12K to Rs. 15K.

Performance is evaluated at the end of six months and either they get confirmed or asked to leave (rare). At the end of a year the salary is revised and a hike of 30-40% is quite common. At the end of two years some get promoted to Supervisors.

At the end of three years a person can become a duty manager in charge of 20-50 people. A duty manager can earn upto Rs. 50K per month. This is just a starter. Beyond the duty manager is a call center manager, business development manager, etc.

A note on figures: These figures if converted in Dollars may appear to be very low but it should be noted that cost of living in India is much less also. Rs. 10K in India is equivalent to $1500 in price index terms.

[Faustus]

Thanks pbhalerao. Strangely enough you posted that with good timing. I was talking to a co worker who said he wanted to move to the new facility we have in the middle of nowhere. (built there because the labor is cheaper, but some people are trasfering for some reason). The common excuse is "its cheaper to live out there"

Personally I just want to live in or around the city. ANYWAY I suggested he move to india and he laughed and said "Yeah and get paid nothing" so I Retorted "But the cost of living is so much cheaper there"

THere is a moral to this little tale but because of the no poltics rule it will be kept 100% to myself.

[Ripper2860]

A McDonalds call center ? I wonder ...



McDonalds Analyst: Hello. Thank you for calling the McDonalds Call Center. May I have your name and phone number?...

Customer: Yes my name is Bob and my number is 818-555-1212

Mc Donalds Analyst: How may I help you, Bob? ...

Customer: Umm Yes. I'm having trouble eating my Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

McDonalds Analyst: OK , Bob -- nothing to get worried about -- we get lots of calls like this. 1st let's go through a few basic troubleshooting questions...

McDonald's Analyst: Have you removed the burger from the bag?

Customer: Yes, It was under the fries and having carefully set them aside, I removed the burger.

McDonalds Analyst: Great. Have you opened the box containing the burger? ...

Custmer: Yes. I have already tried all of those things. I'd like to speak with someone that knows what they are talking about. Could you please escalate my call to level 2 burger support? I'd like to speak with Ronald...



Could happen !!

[Ripper2860]

**delete duplicate**

[pbhalerao]

Thanks pbhalerao. Strangely enough you posted that with good timing. I was talking to a co worker who said he wanted to move to the new facility we have in the middle of nowhere. (built there because the labor is cheaper, but some people are trasfering for some reason). The common excuse is "its cheaper to live out there"

Personally I just want to live in or around the city. ANYWAY I suggested he move to india and he laughed and said "Yeah and get paid nothing" so I Retorted "But the cost of living is so much cheaper there"

THere is a moral to this little tale but because of the no poltics rule it will be kept 100% to myself.

Hi Flaystus,

Even though I am an Indian, I do not think that outsourcing of jobs to India is good for Indians in the long run. The working hours are terrible (especially for front line support), there is a very high pressure on 'doing well and matching expectancy', lot of physical wear and tear, abuse from the callers, and worst of all - there in no getting back to mainstream jobs from there on. The last is because the only other industry in India that pays well is "IT and Telecommunications". They need people with strong programming skills which the call center people do not possess.

As far as going to stay in India is concerned, it is not so bad as portrayed. I came across an American who are based out at Gurgaon (near Delhi). Gurgaon is the BPO destination of India where big companies such as GE, Convergys, etc. have set up shops. I met this guy on a flight. He told me that he has encashed his 401K benefits and has been working and living in Gurgaon for the last six months (that was a almost a year ago). I asked him how he was doing so far - he said that he was enjoying a lifestyle that he could not have in the USA. He said that the pay was certainly not equivalent to his US pay but he had a job and a steady income. Best of all he could get his girlfriend a job as well.

Yes, the heat and dust and the poverty will apall in the beginning but one can get used to it.

Regards,

[BJ_M]

thank you pbhalerao for an interisting view of the situation ..

[AlecWest]

Even though I am an Indian, I do not think that outsourcing of jobs to India is good for Indians in the long run.

This fits right in with outsourcing ... or anything else, really. In the 1984 film, "A Passage To India," a Hindu teacher (Professor Godbole, played by Alec Guinness) was watching two English persons arguing over whether to do something or not do it ... and he started laughing. One of the Englishmen told him that what they were dicussing was serious ... and asked why he was laughing. Godbole laughed, shook his head and replied, "It does not matter whether you do the thing or not do the thing. Everything will turn out the same."

I remember not so long ago that nearly every small car order by a US manufacturer was snapped up by a Japanese manufacturing plant ... until one day, Mercury wanted to outsource production of its Capri model. Everyone expected a Japanese manufacturing plant to turn in the lowest bid. But, the lowest bid was turned in by a plant in (ahem) Australia.

I'm not sure whether the Capri is even made any more (or if it is, if it's still made down under). But, it illustrates a point. Japanese capitalists are no different than US capitalists. The more we earn, the more we want ... and the more we want, the more we need to earn ... with the spiral always going upward. Japan is losing ground to many markets now (Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, India) ... partly because workers in other countries ask for less ... but also because workers in Japan expect more. I've even heard rumblings in Japan that suggest the rise in popularity of (dirty word in old Japan) "organized labor."

Sooner or later in India, workers will begin to expect more money for what they do ... will upwardly modify their lifestyles accordingly ... causing them to expect even more money for what they do. It's inevitable and the nature of capitalism. 50 years from now (grin), it may be the USA that can do things cheaper ... and everyone we've been outsourcing our work to will find it necessary to outsource their work back to us!

Professor Godbole might be right.

[zzyzzx]

No more and then!...

[zzyzzx]

I met this guy on a flight. He told me that he has encashed his 401K benefits and has been working and living in Gurgaon for the last six months (that was a almost a year ago). I asked him how he was doing so far - he said that he was enjoying a lifestyle that he could not have in the USA. He said that the pay was certainly not equivalent to his US pay but he had a job and a steady income. Best of all he could get his girlfriend a job as well.

Yes, the heat and dust and the poverty will apall in the beginning but one can get used to it.

But can one get used to the odor?

[pbhalerao]

I met this guy on a flight. He told me that he has encashed his 401K benefits and has been working and living in Gurgaon for the last six months (that was a almost a year ago). I asked him how he was doing so far - he said that he was enjoying a lifestyle that he could not have in the USA. He said that the pay was certainly not equivalent to his US pay but he had a job and a steady income. Best of all he could get his girlfriend a job as well.

Yes, the heat and dust and the poverty will apall in the beginning but one can get used to it.

But can one get used to the odor?

Sincerely speaking, I cannot comment. Depends on where you are. Odour is a problem in Mumbai (Bombay) only and a few big cities only - that too in certain localities only.

I have been working in IT since 1990 and we have always dealt with clients based in USA, UK, Europe, Japan, etc. We have had plenty of visitors. They common complaint was bad roads and traffic.

In the IT destinations such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgoan there are plush localities with swank malls, etc. This is especially true of Gurgaon. You could be amazed and not realize that you are in India.

[jackal70058]

A McDonalds call center ? I wonder ...



McDonalds Analyst: Hello. Thank you for calling the McDonalds Call Center. May I have your name and phone number?...

Customer: Yes my name is Bob and my number is 818-555-1212

Mc Donalds Analyst: How may I help you, Bob? ...

Customer: Umm Yes. I'm having trouble eating my Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

McDonalds Analyst: OK , Bob -- nothing to get worried about -- we get lots of calls like this. 1st let's go through a few basic troubleshooting questions...

McDonald's Analyst: Have you removed the burger from the bag?

Customer: Yes, It was under the fries and having carefully set them aside, I removed the burger.

McDonalds Analyst: Great. Have you opened the box containing the burger? ...

Custmer: Yes. I have already tried all of those things. I'd like to speak with someone that knows what they are talking about. Could you please escalate my call to level 2 burger support? I'd like to speak with Ronald...



Could happen !! ;)

Mickey D's Tech Support? Thats hilarious!

I remember when they open the McDonald's in Mandeville. It was suppose to be how they were going to do them all eventually. Instead of the yak box and the 2 drive thru windows, ours had 3 windows and no yak box. It used the "face2face" ordering system. You roll up to the 1st window, a person takes you order. You roll up to the 2nd window, you pay. You roll up to the 3rd window, you get you food. It was this way for years. Last year, they install a yak box with screen to show you what you order, and they painted over the second window. The screen dosen't work any more. The McDonalds in Covington was the same. They thought "face2face" would solve the ordering problem but it didn't. Outsourcing the order probly won't work either.

So what I am trying to say is this prolaly won't work well. It will be gone just like the "face2face" ordering program. They ordering will be more complicated, more to go wrong, and it's just easier to have someone there take the order.

[glockjs]

i'd be pissed if i couldnt get a shake because their systems were down