Freshii

Freshii is a Canadian chain of fast food restaurants that serves burritos, rolls, soups, salads and frozen yogurt.

History

2022: The chain of restaurants began using cashiers working via video link

At the end of April 2022, the Canadian restaurant chain Freshii began using cashiers working via video link. The device is attached to cash registers in several restaurants throughout Ontario. The company plans to further develop a labor optimization program that will further help partners in managing costs and protecting profitability within the business.

Unlike Freshii workers who wrap up burritos and wash floors, virtual employees are not near the store. Remote staff process orders from near 6,000 Nicaraguan Call Center km away, where they earn far less than Ontario's minimum wage. The program is only in the early stages of testing, but Freshii virtual cashiers are part of a wave outsourcing and automated technologies that are gradually changing Canadian retail.

The Freshii restaurant chain began using cashiers working via video link. They are three times cheaper than normal

In North America, Freshii, as a rule, hires positions with a salary of $12 to $16 per hour, according to data collected by the American job search site Glassdoor. In Ontario, where the minimum wage is $15, the Freshii virtual cashier program can save companies $10 or more per hour. However, the program provoked outrage from labor organizers, who see this practice as a way to circumvent Ontario's minimum wage laws.

The Freshii chain, with 343 restaurants throughout North America (by May 2022), refused to provide The Star with detailed information about its virtual cashier technology. The company only noted that the devices are managed by a third-party company.

The growth of outsourcing and automation may prove to be one of the economic legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic. From factories to fast food restaurant chains, enterprises turned to technology to support their activities afloat in the face of physical distancing measures and a tough labor market around the world, the publication says.^[1]

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