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Alpha Stage







The USA Today is running an article entitled, "'Want Fries with that?'
Could be Coming from Delaware"

The article states, "In an accommodation to evaporating profit margins
and demanding consumers, some fast-food stores are outsourcing
drive-through order-taking to distant call centers - like the one staffed
by young workers in a non-descript industrial building south of
Wilmington."

According to the article, Joe Gagnon, the chief executive of a
company that sells and set's up remote ordering systems says, "(Fast
food restaurant employees are) doing four or five different tasks,
they're trying to do it with a headset on. Their ability to execute is
challenged." In some restaurants, one major task, taking orders, has
now been eliminated.

Read the Article!!


Discussion-Starters for Younger Children

  • Ask: What is your favorite restaurant? Why do you like it
  • Consider asking students to write a few sentences
    describing their favorite restaurants.

  • What do your students think their Mom or Dad have to do to
    prepare a nice meal at home? How do your students help them
    do this?
  • Consider asking students to interview their parents to
    find out what goes into making a nice dinner.

  • Do your students think it's easier for one person to do lots of
    little jobs or one big job? Explain!! What kinds of little jobs
    might one person do? What kinds of big jobs might one person
    do?
  • Consider asking students to make a list of small jobs and
    another list of larger jobs.

  • Ask your students what the neatest thing they've ever seen is.
    Why was this thing neat?
  • Students could draw a picture of this thing.


Discussion-Starters for Older Students

  • Vocabulary terms to discuss: "Evaporating Profit Margins";
    Outsourcing; Innovation; and, "Regional Peculiarities".

  • Somebody had a creative idea to take advantage of modern
    technology and develop remote-ordering systems for fast food
    restaurants. Ask your students to create one business idea that
    takes advantage of modern technology to attain profitability.
  • Students could work in small groups to develop these
    ideas.

  • The article states, "Remote order-taking can shave drive
    through time by milliseconds, which can add up to millions for
    the industry.." Ask your students how this could be possible?
    What other tiny changes in a business can they think of that
    would generate a lot of profit.
  • This question might be connected to the previous one.
    Students could develop business plans in response to
    both questions.

  • According to the article, "nearly three of four consumers
    consider length of the line 'very important' to a satisfactory
    drive-through experience." What other variables can your
    students think of that would influence the satisfaction of a
    drive-through experience? If your students owned a fast-food
    restaurant what would they do to ensure that these other
    variables worked as well as possible?
  • These questions could prompt an interesting class
    discussion.
Do You Want Fries With That?
May 15, 2007
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