Jack in the Box is outsourcing drivethru order-takers overseas

[Seen the light]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/494615.htm...

That crackling voice taking your order at a fast-food drive-through may come from a lot farther away than the restaurant: Try Texas, or even overseas.

San Diego-based Jack in the Box has tested outsourced drive-through order-taking since mid-2008 at seven of its 30 Charlotte-area restaurants. Spokeswoman Kathleen Anthony declined to specify the locations, though workers at the Cotswold restaurant in Charlotte recently said their restaurant uses the system.

The technology is intended to improve speed, accuracy and service, freeing up restaurant employees to process orders, accept payment and address other needs, Anthony said. The chain has not reduced staffing as a result of the remote order-taking, and the restaurants can turn the system on and off as they wish, she said.

Still, it's piqued curiosity among local customers who have encountered heavy accents with order-takers, then rounded the bend to find different people handing them food.

There's more at the link if you're curious.

Just when I thought I'd seen it all.

[dsc]

1. there are some things you need people who speak the language well for

this is one. I can't see restraunts thriving having Indian order takers.

[hamsterjill]

8. Just had a phone call with a tech support person

I'm assuming someone located in India. It was SO frustrating. The gentleman was trying to help me, but many times during the conversation, I had difficulty understanding what he was trying to direct me to do. I want to speak to someone in America who I can understand. It's a total waste of time to have to spend time on the phone and not be able to communicate effectively.

[dsc]

23. I have a hearing problem anyway so it gets off the charts irritating

I may wind up with one of those typing phones some day.

[recoveringrepublican]

31. I'm deaf also, accents I'm not use to make it even harder. OT, instead of TTY, try this

you can use www.i711.com for free. It's a relay service. You type in the # you want and then an operator will type what the person you called is saying. You type your response and operator will tell the person what you wrote.

[dsc]

70. hopefully that will be years down the road

though too many more of these impossible to understand tech support people and who knows. I usually use the online support instead.

[hamsterjill]

86. I try to use the online support

But in my recent experience, the problem WAS that I couldn't GET online!

[dsc]

99. that does become a problem

fortunately I haven't had that problem.

[Hawkeye-X]

33. ttys are soooo '80s

Videophone is the rage now!!!!1

[tblue37]

38. I also have a severe hearing loss. You might enjoy one of my

websites: I'm Listening as Hard as I Can!
http://www.deafnotdumb.homestead.com/index.html

I post essays (mostly humorous, though not all) about coping with hearing loss in a society that is unaccommodating--and often downright rude--towards people who don't have perfect hearing.

[silverojo]

53. Society is unaccommodating to ALL people with disabilities

It really is disgusting, how simple civility has gone the way of the 8-track tape. Reagan and his "survival of the fittest" bullshit made it OK not to care about your fellow man.

[struggle4progress]

57. Just read about a dozen of the posts there: that was really informative

Thanks

[musicblind]

103. I have severe hearing loss as well. And I CANNOT understand people with even the slightest accent.

I am totally deaf in one ear and wear a hearing aid in the other ear.

I cannot stand getting someone from India who does not speak clearly enough for me to understand them. I get nothing done when I call a number like that because I can't hear what they are saying.

It has gotten so bad that I have had to get my mother to call and then translate with me standing next to her.

[Justpat]

81. I no longer speak with them.

If you ask to be connected to someone in the US - you will be.

I have had terrible problems getting computer things worked out with people I cannot understand.
I ask to be connected to a tech in US and they do it.

I ditched earthlink over this issue. I told them I would not support any business that did not
support US workers.

[hamsterjill]

85. I've asked before and they've simply hung up.

It's totally infuriating.

I love it, too, when this person with a very thick definitely NOT American accident gives his name as "Bob".

I wish it were law that companies which provide tech support would have to put the country of origin on the location of their call centers. I would definitely take the time to buy those products with tech support that was worth my time.

The way it is, the tech support person gets frustrated because I can't understand...and I get frustrated because I can't understand his speech. All around waste of time.

[Justpat]

107. If you start asking about where the tech help is located

before you buy a product, you will find that a very small percentage of companies employ US workers anymore.

I'm sick of it.

remember in the 80's and 90's when college people were urged to go into computer and tech studies
so they could get jobs? Not anymore. We need to demand of our government that they stop this
but I do my part as much as I can by not doing business with companies that won't hire US workers.
I tell them that if their jobs can't go to my fellow citizens, my dollars won't go to their pockets.

[awoke_in_2003]

105. Just one more reason...

to buy an Apple. Tech support is in Austin, TX. Wait, that might just be a problem for some

[L0oniX]

82. It's plot by the phone companies to make you rack up more minutes.

[Drunken Irishman]

17. Yup, especially when you add in the interference their speakers get.

[awoke_in_2003]

104. You should visit Texas....

I would defy you to walk into any burger king and find anyone in the kitchen who speaks or reads english. If you make a special order, you better hope the cashier can speak spanish so the people know how you want your burger.

[Marrah_G]

2. I am very glad there are none of those restraunts around here

[OhioChick]

3. Same here, n/t

[DRoseDARs]

5. Don't you worry. Like cancer, it'll spread... n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

4. That's just stupid.

It's been a while since I risked my arteries on an Ultimate Cheeseburger. Guess it will be a while longer now.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. I used to joke about this.

I hate it when the outrages of reality outstrip the ones in my imagination.

Like Lilly Tomlin said, "No matter how cynical you get, you can't keep up."

[Nevernose]

7. You could pay more money and hire better people

I'm sure the reason they're having problems is because they're having trouble finding reliable employees for 7 stores and this way they only have to hire enough employees for one store.

But if you'd pay the order taker a living wage, give her retirement and medical, and got her a new comm system that was clear enough for both parties to understand, you'd have college graduates fighting over the job.

Which reminds me of an old joke. The first sentence you learn when embarking upon an English degree is, invariably, "You want fries with that?"

[blondeatlast]

66. Last time I checked, In 'n Out Burger was STARTING at $8 something an hour and

I've never seen one where the drive-thru line was not several cars deep.

Good food, excellent service--don't tell me it can't be done. People are willing to drive out of their way for one. Just build fewer restaurants and make the food better.

[CreekDog]

76. The In and Out near here has the busiest drive thru's, but also the fastest

When the line backs up, they send staff out into the lines who with pad and paper and I think a headset, take down your order and they go through the line until they get to the last car. As they catch up on orders, the line starts moving and then starts moving fast.

But that's In and Out.

[Regret My New Name]

89. Jack in the Box near me had a sign up awhile ago saying $9.50/hr

Obviously not great, but better than I was making when I worked at a fast food restaurant when I was 16...

*that was 10 years ago... Dammit, I'm getting old.

[RC]

9. If I have to eat at a place like this, I always go inside.

If nothing else you can point at the menu for what you want.

[Orrex]

12. Bad news for you, then--they're outsourcing the inside

You step through the door, and POOF! You're in Bangalore.

[OhioChick]

14. .......

[DRoseDARs]

18. Or they could outsource the food prep...

Mmm, reheated crap from India. Yummers...

[Angleae]

62. I swear they already have.

It would explain a great many things about Jack-in-the-Crack

[blondeatlast]

67. There's be a problem with the preppers handling beef. On second thought,

might not be a problem at all--who could tell the difference?

[RC]

65. HEY, I want one to them things!

Step through the door and "POOF" I'm in Kansas City or home. No 4-5 hour airplane trip each way. Gotta link?

[blondeatlast]

68. DUzy! nt

[susanna]

25. I started going inside fast-food joints about ten years ago, when I go at all.

The drive-thru lines have grown much longer since they were first introduced. Usually, I'm in and out in a flash while the drive-thru patrons wait in the never-ending line. Thanks but no thanks.

As for outsourcing overseas, we don't have that franchise here, so I am saved the decision-making process of whether or not to boycott. Small pleasure, and I take it where I can get it.

[ChromeFoundry]

10. Gone are the white and blue collar jobs...

Now our service jobs are leaving?
What will be left?

[Seen the light]

15. To be fair, the article mentions that they haven't reduced staff because of this

At least not yet. I'm sure that will follow soon enough.

[CLANG]

39. But would they have hired more people in that time if not for the furners?

[OregonBlue]

74. Haven't reduced staff but doesn't say they haven't reduced American staff.

If you know you're talking to India when you place your order, just keep repeating gibberish until they're forced to put an American on the intercom.

[begin_within]

11. So will my order come out like this?

[That Is Quite Enough]

16. I'll try the bacterium with chicken.

[gungadin]

48. Bacterium with chicken...

Heck, if they want us to be OK with the outsourced order takers; just give us the option to have outsourced beef in our patty!

As in, I want the Swedish beef patty with .5% salmonella bacterium instead of the US beef with 5% salmonella or the even worse British beef patty with both salmonella and a side of Mad cow bacterium! I would be happy to pay more and would return to eating "heart attacks-on-a-bun" again.

I wonder if they got a tax break for this out-sourcing?

[Nia Zuri]

21. Our house bear thang!

[Mind_your_head]

26. ROFL

Where in the h*ll did you find that one! OMG, I've got tears of laughter streaming down my face!

[begin_within]

42. Go to Engrish.com

[Seldona]

52. Mmm, Blood Rice served in soup. I can't wait!

I'll have the Fatty cow in the United States in dad in sand in please. Hold the second in please. Oh and put dad on the side for me will ya?

*Edited to add I think this is ridiculousness gone to ridiculous lengths.

[Mind_your_head]

58. If you've ever spent any time in any country in Asia it would all make sense....

Trying to learn any of THEIR languages/writing with characters is a monumental task.

I think the "fun" we are making of it, is with a 'due measure of respect'.....b/c we (english speakers) would do 'far worse' trying to learn an asian language (with character writing ~ and I know that's not the correct way to say it).

[Seldona]

61. I am not making fun of anyone's language.

Only into how it translates into our own. I understand the structural differences etc, that make this so. Sorry if I come across as bashing 'asian' languages simply because I find literal translations amusing. I can assure you this is not my intent.

[begin_within]

80. I think Engrish.com is not making fun of Asians or their language,

they are pointing out funny mistranslations into English. And it's not just Asians translating badly into English, it's all over the world, really. "Our wines leave you nothing to hope for" was on a menu in Switzerland.

[Seldona]

119. Agreed.

Didn't think this sort of humor had a hint of racism. As you pointed out, it isn't just Asian languages. I am sure there are sites dedicated to mistranslations of English in other countries in their native lanuage. Doesn't bother me.

[RB TexLa]

13. As long as you get your food, what does it matter where the person taking the order is?

[Drunken Irishman]

20. Maybe you've been one of those lucky ones...

Who haven't ever dealt with tech support coming from another country. It's hell, seriously. Very difficult to understand them at times. Imagine that but behind a fast food speaker, we're talking nightmare.

Of course, it also takes away jobs for AMERICANS.

But yeah, who cares, right?

[RB TexLa]

32. No actually it's not hell to speak with someone providing tech or other support from another country

I've done it many times, no problem.

At a fast food place all they say is if they can take your order, that's it. You then give them your order and drive to the window. There isn't much interaction.

[Drunken Irishman]

37. Then I want the people you're speaking with.

Because most times I have a very difficult time understanding what they say. Often I have to ask them to repeat it a few times before it clicks.

But maybe that's just me (which doesn't seem to be the case, after looking through the replies on this thread).

Really, though, that shouldn't be the major point. The major point is that more American jobs are being outsourced because of cheap corporations. That should be the problem you see in this. Maybe you don't think working fast food counts as a job, but for millions of Americans, it does.

[JANdad]

88. I swear to Christ...

You are nothing but s shit stirrer...right?

[treestar]

95. True and DUers always overlook the tech jobs that must exist

To create and maintain the system. Of course, some of those may be in India too now. It has to stop somewhere or we won't have the $$ to buy this stuff and the Indians and Chinese will end up unemployed.

Something has to be going on here or the economy of half the planet could fall!

[SOS]

97. It matters because Americans need jobs

nt

[treestar]

101. The in-country movement is OK, then?

Say you live in Michigan and your job is sent to Tennessee.

[reggie the dog]

100. It is about keeping jobs in the USA.

[Mind_your_head]

19. Stupidest...Idea...EVER

Q) Why does Jack in the box hate the american low-wage worker? A) his/her wages aren't LOW enough! But hey, jack-in-the-crack can afford to buy/set-up/maintain the technology to have some poor guy/gal eating noodles out of a hotpot in a foreign/underdeveloped country asking, "due yu wan flys wif tha"?

Ridiculous! Totally ABSURD!

[rainbow4321]

22. Let me tell ya..I'll take the overseas folks before I'd take the Texas based ones

And I say this as someone living in TX.
Rule # 1 after going to ANY of our local drive thrus...pull away with your order and park. Check the order and then proceed BACK to the drive thru and get what you REALLY ordered. 70% of the time we get the wrong food/drink given to us the first time around. How a side order request of "new potatoes" sounds ANYthing like "hot cinnamon apples" still has us going "WTF??".

[Skittles]

29. OH I FUCKING KNOW IT, RAINBOW

we frequent all kinds of drive throughs when at work (5:30 PM to 5:30 AM) - nine times out of ten they are wrong

[CLANG]

40. If they are that undependable

why not check your food BEFORE you drive off?

[rainbow4321]

44. Out of *courtesy* to the people behind us in line, we go park...

Re-read my post..I said that we go and PARK to look at our order. No reason to hold up the people behind us in line just because the people handing out the orders screwed up.

[Stevenmarc]

41. Excuse me I ordered the Chicken nuggets not Chicken tikka

[begin_within]

46. In my experience, Wendy's has the most screw-ups

I don't know why though. I can't recall a time in the last 2 years that I have gone to a Wendy's (about 6 or 7 times) and actually gotten in the bag exactly what I ordered. They always leave something out, or put the wrong item in, or they tell me "oh we're out of baked potatoes right now" long after I've paid for it, or whatever. It's gotten so that I have to check the bag before leaving. They always apologize and if the manager on duty happens to be around, he/she will also apologize and give a free drink or something. But it's so weird when the list of what to put in the bag is right in front of their face but they still can't get it right...

[Azlady]

24. Burger King & McDonalds have been doing this for awhile...

Some of the call centers are here in the USA, but boy, trust me you know when you get one out of country. If the order center was based in the States, I don't care..... I DO care if the order center is out of the country, we need those jobs here

[Regret My New Name]

90. Even if in the US...

It would still be taking a way local lower waged jobs. A lot of high school and college students lose out then.

[Azlady]

98. Very true, I stand totally corrected - I guess I am just

so focused on keeping jobs in the USA that I lost sight of the local based jobs... man, sorry.

[Waiting For Everyman]

27. There's something wrong when a long distance phone call costs less than

a loud speaker 20 feet away. I'm not seeing that on MY long distance bills.

These are low paying jobs anyway - what's the point of outsourcing them?

Any company that does this will not be getting a dime from me.

[Incitatus]

50. It must be over the Internet.

But I agree. Screw any company that does this. Outsourcing is completely out of control.

[Hippo_Tron]

54. As far as I know, companies that outsoure calling just buy the phone lines

[csziggy]

115. Not defending the practice but it may be a matter of size of the restaurant

Some of the local fast food places have older, very small buildings. Most of those do mostly (or in some cases only) drive through orders. At least one got to the point that no orders were taken by people inside the restaurant, instead at peak lunch time they had one or two order takers working the lines of cars outside. I sometimes eat at the place next door and see them out there in all kinds of weather, rain & shine, hot & cold. That will be ending soon - they are building a larger facility at another location nearby.

It could be much cheaper to send order taking to another location than to enlarge or replace the existing one!

[kwenu]

28. What a nightmare! Now even simple service jobs are under attack.

These entry-level service jobs are important for a lot of Americans and outsourced customer service frequently ends in terrible service. I have just dealt with outsourced customer service for my high speed internet. I spent half the conversation saying "WHAT" and wanted to just hang-up and work it out myself. Effective communication is important when you're paying for the service.

[cabluedem]

56. Outsourse customer service? Its simlple. Write CS and let them know why you are quitting!

[leftofthedial]

30. I think Taco Hell outsources their taco "meat" to Indonesia

or someplace.

[bulloney]

83. Actually, a friend who purchases meat for a PET FOOD company says Taco Bell often buys their rejects

[ihavenobias]

34. I'm incredulous.

If there's ever been a better example of outsourcing run amok, I haven't seen it.

[tblue37]

35. A couple of years ago I went out to dinner with some friends. Our

order was taking far too long. One of my friends said, "How could it take this long to cook?"

I replied, "Oh, didn't you hear? They've outsourced their chefs' jobs. The cooking is being done in India now. Soon they will outsource the waiters' jobs, too."

I thought I was being funny in an absurdist sort of way. Now I think some Jack-in-the-Box executive must have been sitting at the table next to us thinking, "What a great idea! I wonder how we can implement it!"

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

36. the call center is probably people working at home via computer and phone

virtual outsourcing is growing in our country.
People work at home using their computer and a phone that they dial into
their employer's main phone system.

But the Jack In The Box calls going oversees are probably going to an
actual brick and mortar call center.

[madville]

43. Wendy's does it in some states

Wendy's has been doing it for awhile at some locations.

[ColbertWatcher]

45. I don't see how this improves service or saves money. n/t

[Telly Savalas]

93. It doesn't.

But it does give the opportunity for an MBA to earn a paycheck making power point presentations trying to claim that it does improve service and save money.

[ColbertWatcher]

102. Ah. How could I be so obtuse. n/t

[NYC_SKP]

47. Good frikkin Grief. Boycott these cheap labor exploiters. nt

[Obamarama]

49. Would you like an order of tandoori chicken with that cheeseburger?

After spending 45 minutes with "Bob" from Bangalore, an ATT "technical specialist" the other day and getting NOWHERE with my DSL issues, all I can say to outsourced drive through ordering is WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS?

[Urban Prairie]

51. "The chain has not reduced staffing as a result of the remote order-taking"

Yeah, suuuure they didn't!

Just like getting rid of pump jockeys and changing to self-serve at gas stations and installing ATMs and reducing tellers at banks and credit unions was going to save the customers money...heh!!

[Hannah Bell]

55. you thought they said "save *consumers* money"? well, you weren't

listening then, were you? they said "save *capitalists* money."

[McCamy Taylor]

59. Why not a voice recognition computer? That is even cheaper.

And more like Idiocracy

[conspirator]

63. Humans like to talk with humans. Unless a machine that can talk back is perfected,

the business is better with human voices. Don't you get pissed off when you call a number and have to hear a recording?

[sfpcjock]

60. OMG

...and the greasiest sickest food in the world. I'm amazed.

[Le Taz Hot]

64. I'm sorry but anyone eating at fast food restaurants

deserves what they get. Sorry if that sounds harsh but PAYING for slow suicide is just something I'll never understand.

[varkam]

71. So then if they're already paying for slow suicide...

why punish them more?

[BulletproofLandshark]

79. Slow suicide is soooo delicious!

As long as you just do it once in a while and not make a routine of it, then I don't see the problem.

[treestar]

96. Most of them have at least one salad type item

They don't want to lose the weight conscious as customers, because that includes everybody.

[JI7]

117. many have healthy options like grilled chicken sandwiches, salads, etc

[MindMatter]

69. 'Hello. My name is 'Chuck'. May I take your order this day?"

"Does customer wish to have fries with that?"

[surrealAmerican]

72. Don't you just love how hiring another person locally ...

... is never even considered? If they don't have enough employees to both take orders and fill them, they don't have enough employees in the restaurant. This is just trying to save the wages of one minimum wage worker.

[meow2u3]

73. If your order taker is speaking Chinese

you'll know why. Makes me want to answer back "Fu Kew"!

[onethatcares]

75. and here I thought Jaque in deBoxe was a french restaurant

I'm shocked, totally and unabashedly shocked.

[slackmaster]

77. I still refuse to eat their "food"

They poisoned me.

[Regret My New Name]

92. I find burger king to be worse than Jack in The Box...

Arghh... The stench of BK makes me want to puke... Then again, it could just be the one I used to work by that has made it so horrible for me.

[slackmaster]

118. The closest thing to a "fast food" burger I'll eat is from In-N-Out

The quality of the meat and other ingredients, and the care taken in preparation, are far superior to any of the larger chains.

[sarcasmo]

78. If we had those in Michigan I would no long eat at the Jack in the box.

[flvegan]

84. I don't eat that shit anyway.

I don't put shitty gas in my car, either.

[lumberjack_jeff]

87. I guess the service economy isn't immune either.

Before long, they'll turn the restaurants into giant robotic vending machines.

The only one of us who'll be in demand in the economy of the future is grovelbot.

[Telly Savalas]

91. The money line of the article

A greater number of restaurants, including McDonald's and Wendy's franchisees, have tried centralized order-takers within the United States. None has introduced the technology nationally, in part because they've found it difficult to prove it saves money, Scott said.

If a process like fast food order-taking is simple and efficient, it's hard to see how needlessly complicating it is going to produce cost-savings. The only possible rationale for this is middle management trying to beef up their job security by adding to the number the things they need to oversee.

[kiva]

111. The real answer is in the next paragraph:

"The technology has the potential to eliminate language barriers between Spanish-speaking employees and English-speaking customers, said Kate Mosteller, marketing director of Massachusetts-based Exit 41, which focuses on off-site order taking."

[Telly Savalas]

112. That's a lot of effort for minimal return.

In the U.S. most native Spanish speakers have enough proficiency with English to place an order at a fast food restaurant. In all likelihood, the folks that don't speak that well live in areas with a high enough concentration of Spanish speakers that the folks working in the restaurant speak Spanish.

(Edited because my English skills were lacking in the original draft of the post.)

[kiva]

116. I suspect you are correct, but

the quote actually posits the opposite--that employees at some fast food places don't speak proficient English, and this is a way to avoid translation issues.

[treestar]

94. It's hard enough to understand them when they are local!

I go through one where the order-taker is American but speaks so quickly she makes no sense at all. Saying the same thing over and over gives her the ability to say it at warp speed. Add a foreign accent to that and they'll never make sense at all.

[awoke_in_2003]

106. Wouldn't it be a little ironic...

if they outsourced this to India? A country, made up of a majority of people who hold the cow sacred, helping to sell hamburgers.

[Vinca]

108. They claim they haven't reduced staffing, but at least one person

must be out of a job: the order taker. This is beyond stupid.

[windoe]

109. Was hoping this was an Onion article....

outsourcing while the economy is crashing is just insane.

[ThisThreadIsSatire]

110. If you're at a Jack-in-the-Box drive-through,

you very likely are less concerned about where your food comes from than where the person taking your order does.

p.s. there are none where I live -- do they still have that great deal on the tacos?

[Dragonbreathp9d]

113. that doesnt even seem practical

or cost effective

[Fire Walk With Me]

114. There's an upside. The Jack in the Box call center features prominently in "Slumdog Millionaire 2".

Heartwarming!