| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Call center |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | Matthew Corrin Angela Argo Ali Aqueel |
| Defunct | 2023 |
| Headquarters | , Canada |
Areas served | Canada United States |
| Website | hipercy.com |
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]
Percy 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]
Freshii, 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]