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Some came in the form of headlines that would unnerve any parent concerned about where
his college…age children are going to fit in。 For instance； Forrester Research； Inc。；
was projecting that more than 3 million service and professional jobs would move out
of the country by 2015。 But my jaw really dropped when I read a July 19； 2004； article
from the International Herald Tribune headlined： 〃Want Fries With Outsourcing？〃
〃Pull off U。S。 Interstate Highway 55 near Cape Girardeau； Missouri； and into the
drive…through lane of a McDonald's next to the highway and you'll get fast； friendly
service； even though the person taking your order is not in the restaurant…or even
in Missouri；〃 the article said。 〃The order taker is in a call center in Colorado
Springs； more than 900 miles； or 1；450 kilometers； away； connected to the customer
and to the workers preparing the food by high…speed data lines。 Even some restaurant
jobs； it seems； are not immune to outsourcing。
〃The man who owns the Cape Girardeau restaurant； Shannon Davis； has linked it and
three other of his 12 McDonald's franchises to the Colorado call center； which is
run by another McDonald's franchisee； Steven Bigari。 And he did it for the same reasons
that other business owners have embraced call centers： lower costs； greater speed
and fewer mistakes。
〃Cheap； quick and reliable telecommunications lines let the order takers in Colorado
Springs converse with customers in Missouri； take an electronic snapshot of them；
display their order on a screen to make sure
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it is right； then forward the order and the photo to the restaurant kitchen。 The photo
is destroyed as soon as the order is completed； Bigari said。 People picking up their
burgers never know that their order traverses two states and bounces back before they
can even start driving to the pickup window。
〃Davis said that he had dreamed of doing something like this for more than a decade。
'We could not wait to go with it；' he added。 Bigari； who created the call center for
his own restaurants； was happy to oblige… for a small fee per transaction。〃
The article noted that McDonald's Corp。 said it found the call center idea interesting
enough to start a test with three stores near its headquarters in Oak Brook； Illinois；
with different software from that used by Bigari。 〃Jim Sappington； a McDonald's vice
president for information technology； said that it was 'way； way too early' to tell
if the call center idea would work across the thirteen thousand McDonald's restaurants
in the United States。 。 。 Still； franchisees of two other McDonald's restaurants；
beyond Davis's； have outsourced their drive…through ordering to Bigari in Colorado
Springs。 （The other restaurants are in Brainerd； Minnesota； and Norwood；
Massachusetts。） Central to the system's success； Bigari said； is the way it pairs
customers' photos with their orders； by increasing accuracy； the system cuts down
on the number of complaints and therefore makes the service faster。 In the fast…food
business； time is truly money： shaving even five seconds off the processing time of
an order is significant；〃 the article noted。 〃Bigari said he had cut order time in
his dual…lane drive…throughs by slightly more than 30 seconds； to about 1 minute；
5 seconds； on average。 That's less than half the average of 2 minutes； 36 seconds；
for all McDonald's； and among the fastest of any franchise in the country； according
to QSRweb。com； which tracks such things。 His drive…throughs now handle 260 cars an
hour； Bigari said； 30 more than they did before he started the call center 。 。 。 Though
his operators earn； on average； 40 cents an hour more than his line employees； he
has cut his overall labor costs by a percentage point； even as drive…through sales
have increased 。 。 。 Tests conducted by outside companies found that Bigari's
drive…throughs now make mistakes on fewer than 2 percent of all orders； down from
about 4 percent before he started using the call centers； Bigari said。〃
Bigari 〃is so enthusiastic about the call center idea；〃 the article noted； 〃that he
has expanded it beyond the drive…through window at his seven restaurants that use
the system。 While he still offers counter service at those restaurants； most customers
now order through the call center； using phones with credit card readers on tables
in the seating area。〃
Some of the signs of flattening I encountered back home； though； had nothing to do
with economics。 On October 3； 2004；1 appeared on the CBS News Sunday morning show
Face the Nation； hosted by veteran CBS correspondent Bob Schieffer。 CBS had been in
the news a lot in previous weeks because of Dan Rather's 60 Minutes report about
President George W。 Bush's Air National Guard service that turned out to be based
on bogus documents。 After the show that Sunday； Schieffer mentioned that the oddest
thing had happened to him the week before。 When he walked out of the CBS studio； a
young reporter was waiting for him on the sidewalk。 This isn't all that unusual；
because as with all the Sunday…morning shows； the major networks…CBS； NBC； ABC； CNN；
and Fox…always send crews to one another's studios to grab exit interviews with the
guests。 But this young man； Schieffer explained； was not from a major network。 He
politely introduced himself as a reporter for a Web site called InDC Journal and asked
whether he could ask Schieffer a few questions。 Schieffer； being a polite fellow；
said sure。 The young man interviewed him on a device Schieffer did not recognize and
then asked if he could take his picture。 A picture？ Schieffer noticed that the young
man had no camera。 He didn't need one。 He turned his cell phone around and snapped
Schieffer's picture。
〃So I came in the next morning and looked up this Web site and there was my picture
and the interview and there were already three hundred comments about it；〃 said
Schieffer； who； though keenly aware of online journalism； was nevertheless taken
aback at the incredibly fast； low…cost； and solo manner in which this young man had
put him up in lights。
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I was intrigued by this story； so I tracked down the young man from InDC Journal。
His name is Bill Ardolino； andhe is a very thoughtful guy。 I conducted my own interview
with him online …how else？ …and began by asking about what equipment he was using
as a one…man network/newspaper。
〃I used a minuscule MP3 player/digital recorder （three and a half inches by two inches）
to get the recording； and a separate small digital camera phone to snap his picture；〃
said Ardolino。 〃Not quite as sexy as an all…in…one phone/camera/recorder （which does
exist）； but a statement on the ubiquity and miniaturization of technology nonetheless。
I carry this equipment around D。C。 at all times because； hey； you never know。 What's
perhaps more startling is how well Mr。 Schieffer thought on his feet； after being
jumped on by some stranger with interview questions。 He blew me away。〃
Ardolino said the MP3 player cost him about 125。 It is 〃primarily designed to play
music；〃 he explained； but it also 〃comes prepackaged as a digital re