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Percy (company)
Percy was a Canadian technology company that specialized in providing virtual cashier services.[1][2] The company's system utilized videotelephony technology to employ remote workers, often from developing countries.[3][4] It was based in Toronto, Canada.[5] HistoryPercy was founded in 2021 by Matthew Corrin, Angela Argo, and Ali Aqueel.[6][7] The concept of Percy originated as a response to staffing shortages experienced by Freshii, a fast-food chain. It was named after the character of the "reliable and eager-to-please" tank engine from the children's television series Thomas and Friends.[8] In an effort to mitigate these challenges, Matthew Corrin, then-CEO of Freshii, initiated a pilot project in November 2021.[9][8] The project involved the deployment of Percy devices: video-calling units attached to cash registers at selected Freshii locations.[9] These devices would activate when customers approached, connecting them to cashiers who were physically located in distant locations, such as a call center in Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Pakistan.[10][11][6] The remote cashiers, equipped with headsets, managed customer orders from their offshore locations.[9] This system allowed for operational cost savings, as the wages paid to these virtual cashiers were significantly lower than the minimum wage in Ontario.[9] Despite being part of the customer service process, these remote employees were distinctly separated from the on-site staff who performed tasks such as food preparation and maintenance.[9] In February 2022, after its initial testing and development phase, Percy was officially launched.[11] In January 2023, Crazy Pita, a local restaurant in Las Vegas, started using Percy.[12][13] In August 2023, Freshii announced its decision to discontinue the use of its virtual cashier system, Percy.[14] ControversyFreshii, a user of Percy virtual cashier system, faced controversy for replacing some Ontario-based in-store cashiers with Nicaraguan workers operating remotely, at a wage of $3.75 per hour.[15][16][17] Labor organizations, including the Canadian Labour Congress, condemned the move, highlighting the negative impact on local employment and international labour laws.[16] References
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