LONG-DISTANCE BURGER ORDERS
by Jim Hightower
Okay, corporate America is shipping our manufacturing, high-tech, and professional-service jobs off to Lowwagehellistan – but at least they can't send our fast-food jobs away, right? After all, these require face-to-face dealings with customers, so surely they're safe.
Well... not exactly. Pull into the drive-through lane at a McDonald's, Hardee's, or Carl's Jr., and there's a chance that the friendly voice on the intercom saying, "Do you want fries with that?" is not inside the building – or anywhere near your town. Unbeknownst to customers, these fast-food chains are testing a new computerized system that centralizes order-takers in far away call centers.
Pull up to the burger window in Mississippi or Honolulu, for example, and the voice saying, "Would you like to supersize your drink?" is likely to belong to one of 125 order-takers working out of the Bronco call center in Santa Maria, California. They take your order from a couple of thousand miles away, then zap it back to your local burger flipper via the Internet.
Why? To cut labor, of course. By centralizing the process, order-taking can be regimented, sped up, and closely monitored. Each call-center worker, who is paid only $6.75 an hour with no benefits, takes up to 95 orders an hour – one-and-half per minute! As Bronco's big boss puts it: "Their job is to be fast on the mouse." Charming. Software constantly tracks the worker's speed – and even in their break room, a computer screen ticks off the number of minutes each one has been away from their station.
There are a couple of pluses to the job, however. Order-takers don't have to wear a uniform and one of those silly paper hats, and they don't go home smelling like hamburgers.
This is Jim Hightower saying... At least these call center jobs are in America – but how long before they're shipped offshore, where an order-taker can be had for a dollar or two a day?
posted by John Good @ 8:41 PM
4 Comments:
I can't believe this is what we are turning into! Before you know it, more and more similar jobs will be lost overseas! I just don't see how this can be good for our Country and our economy. When is this going to end???
And what is worse is The Democrats and The Republicans have the SAME trade policy.
Look at NAFTA...
Both Dems and Reps seem to think large trade deficits are good...
Dumb, dumb, and dumber.
Mike Sylvester
Mike,
Many democrats are beginning to talk about "fair trade" policies. It is even part of the party's 2006 Agenda (shown below). I don't think the party has done enough but I do think the New Democrats are beginning to lose ground within the party
"Fair trade. Creating jobs at home means opening markets abroad. The Democratic Party supports fair trade agreements that raise standards for workers abroad while making American business more competitive. We will also fight for stronger enforcement of our existing trade agreements."
http://www.democrats.org/agenda.html
Just as long as they don't put mayo on my burger......
And if they do who do I verbally abuse?
The other Corporate plus is that the order taker can now join the Armed Forces so they can attack the next country. Order takers/bullet takers. Same thing really.
Peace
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