McDonald's, Outsourcing, Call Center

May I take your order? Local McDonald's outsources to a call center

McDonald's throughout the United States have difficulty finding and retaining good workers; but in a place like Gillette, Wyoming, the search for any help can be nearly impossible.

So Vahid Abbaszadeh turned to outsourcing to solve his labor shortage issues at his McDonald's.

Abbaszadeh now uses a call center in Santa Maria, California, to take orders at his drive-through.

"I didn't have anybody to take the order," he said. "As long as we are short-handed, we have no choice."  The center takes the place of a task that used to require six employees a day at the Gillette McDonald's, one of several dozen using call centers.

Abbaszadeh said he knew the system would benefit his store when he visited a McDonald's in downtown Denver that uses a call center. He said some of his employees had difficulty adjusting to the concept, but they soon found that it made their jobs much easier.

Though call center employees rarely get orders wrong, Abbaszadeh admits that "it happens."

Still, he said the benefits outweigh any minor inconveniences. "First, they are really polite," he said. "Number two, their response time is really low. As soon as a car comes, they can order."

The call center's average time to respond to a customer waiting to order is less than 5 seconds. That's compared to up to 30 seconds previously.

Source: Billings Gazette