Outsourced Fastfood?
McDonald’s Hermiston, Oregon branch has gone a step farther in going the distance to serve fast food: calls placed through the drive-thru window are now patched to a call center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Highway 395 restaurant is on what appears to an “outsaucing” campaign. In a move aimed at pegging savings to go, the Highway 395 restaurant has outsourced its drive through orders to Grand Forks, North Dakota to take advantage of its $5.15 minimum wage. More than $2.00 per hour makes the difference with Oregon’s $7.25 minimum wage. Tim Nesbit, head of Oregon AFLCIO confirms this rate difference.
McDonald’s side hasn’t given its comment yet as a McDonald’s media relations person from the corporate headquarters in Illinois has yet to return calls placed for comments
This is yet another facet of the outsourcing operations, not just in the name of cost-cutting. With the offsite but inshore outsourcing, operations are hastened without incurring the additional expenses and considerations of moving operations to foreign shores.
However, it does prompt people to take a deeper look at how much outsourcing has evolved from what was once viewed as a simple cost-cutting strategy to a way of life in itself. Beyond the political and economic implications, it has found its way past the hustle and bustle of instant food and instant life to fulfill the fast food promise – to deliver food fast.
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