Food Franchise

Posts Tagged ‘Fast Food Restaurant’

“Hi! How are you today?!” the woman asked as I walked up to the restaurant counter.

By the tone of her voice, I could tell she was genuinely glad to see me as a customer. It wasn’t faked or forced, and to be honest it caught me a little off-guard as I ordered. You see this was a fast-food restaurant, where usually the focus is to rush the customer through the line as soon as possible and sometimes without the possibility of direct eye contact. By the time I got my food at this restaurant however, the service was also faster than I expected.

Due to the service I received that day, I’m going to go back to that restaurant more often, even though another restaurant in the same franchise is closer to my home. The concept of going above what people expect can be applied to any business, often not with more money but with a change in attitude.

I would say that the woman that greeted me at the counter didn’t make any more money than employees at other locations, but she certainly seemed to enjoy her work more. Long-term the attitude promoted by that restaurant going to turn into greater life success for the employees, success for the business, and great relations with customers. All it took was just small changes and the goal of wanting to provide quality service to customers.

As consumers, we’re almost used to being treated like numbers in many areas. All other things being equal, if a business wants to get an edge on their competition they can do it by treating people better than what they’re used to being treated. It really can be as simple as employees just being friendly and just seeming happy to see you. Customers like to feel appreciated as well. If you have the ability, learning repeat customer’s names can also begin to establish a loyal relationship. In short, when people become more than “just a customer,” your business becomes more than “just a store.”

This also applies to how you handle problems that occur within your business with existing customers. In other words, never assume you can treat a loyal customer any way you want and expect them to stick around. I recently had an error with a bank where I’d been a customer since the age of 3. In normal situations like this, it’s hard to mess up that kind of loyalty on a single mistake. In this case however not only did the manager have an “I don’t really give a care” attitude about the issue, but the problem was only half-fixed. The end result is they’ve now lost what would have been a lifetime customer, not because of the error itself but how it was handled.

In reality, customers know you’re human and don’t expect things to always be perfect. When customer issues come up however, businesses really need to listen. The situation isn’t “the customer is always right,” because they may not be in some cases. It should be more like “the customer is always respected.” Making the extra effort just to explain why a situation happened can go a long way. Often customers are just confused about policies and procedures businesses take for granted, and that’s frustrating.

In conclusion, going beyond what’s expected to serve your customers will not only impact your bottom line but help your reputation grow as well in relation to your competitors. Doing the right thing when it comes to people does pay off financially compared to cutting corners and watering-down the quality of your product or service.

Go to a fast food restaurant like MacDonalds in any US city and you have a good idea of what youre going to get in quality and selection. It is the same with franchises. Most franchises have a standardized way of doing things and therefore provide a consistent level of service and expertise. So which one should you choose? Here are some issues to consider:
1) Experience – franchise carpet cleaners hire employees to perform your carpet cleaning work. Like other businesses, there is turnover and training issues that may arise. The independent cleaner that has been around 5 years or more is generally more experienced than the average franchise cleaner. Because they are generally small owner/operators, they most likely involved in every cleaning job.
2) Expertise Many independent carpet cleaners have to receive professional training and certifications if they want to get a competitive edge on their competition. Franchise carpet cleaning companies may hesitate to spend a lot of time in advance training and education because of turnover or uncertainty of employees longevity.
3) Pricing Franchise carpet cleaning companies typically spend more money in advertising, franchise management, materials & equipment than an independent carpet cleaner. The independent carpet cleaners overhead is lower which can mean lower prices for consumers.
In the final analysis, franchise carpet cleaning companies save you the hassle of having to deal with an unknown carpet cleaner while providing a known level of service and quality. However, independent carpet cleaners can provide superior service, quality and pricing but it takes some initial research to find a good company. Keep in mind; once you have found the right independent carpet cleaning service, you may save money and get better service for years to come.

I recently attended a dinner where a franchise owner of a fast food restaurant spoke. The owner had been in business for several years, 25+, and told of some of the trials she encountered along the way. She was a very engaging speaker and I enjoyed it very much. After she spoke it was question time. A person in the audience was the owner of a one-year old hair salon. Her question was, “How do you go home and not take the stress and worry of the business with you?” The speaker’s answer was, “you always take it home but something that would help is to turn off your cell phone.”

Well, I agree with what she said about turning off the cell phone but there are other processes that came to my mind where the owner might benefit also. Here are some of my thoughts:

Do you have a business plan? If not, start today and put your vision and dreams in writing. It will help you to see the objectives that need to be achieved.

Join a CEO Roundtable group. It helps to meet with others that have the same type of issues.

If no CEO Roundtable, bring in a professional you can trust. Whether it is a business coach, advisor, or financial advisor. Do not hold back on the cost of good advice. They will become your confidante and friend, and will bring good advice and guidance for your business and you personally.

If you do not want professional help, reach out to your local Chamber of Commerce. They usually have a Small Business Center and have access to information that will help you to work through different processes in running a business.

As a business owner, I truly believe in a business plan. I have one for my business also. Mine is not for borrowing money but for giving me guidance as I try to grow my business to the level I have projected. I also have a marketing plan that is in constant state of change. Planning will not stop the stress and the worry, but it will help you to know what your next step is in the process. It helps to have your plans in writing, in your words, and share it with others. They are adaptable to the ever-changing growth and curves in your business. Refer to them frequently (monthly is good, weekly is awesome!). It is unbelievable how many businesses start without a plan. Start today! You have probably heard this—

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

Listed above are no sure-fire cures for stress and worry but it is a start on knowing what you need to do to accomplish your dreams. If you feel you are not heading in the right direction, modify your initiatives and plans. Dream big and plan to succeed!

Franchising in restaurants is one of the biggest opportunities for someone looking to start their own business as a franchise. Almost every day, you probably walk into a franchised restaurant. You might not even have known – sometimes what you assume is a branch restaurant is actually a franchise. Fast food restaurants, in particular, are well known for having franchise locations that are indistinguishable from each other. Fast food and full service restaurants are both very profitable as franchises, and are good for both the business owner and the local economy.

Franchising allows the business owner to give exceptional service to the customer because the company takes care of a lot of things that a small business might have to deal with, and name recognition ensures that the franchise owner does not have to worry as much as the average small business owner about losing money. This efficiency and good management frees up the restaurant or fast food business to take special orders without difficulty or provide exceptional food at a reasonable price, for example, in a buffet format. This allows the franchised restaurant to be the best restaurant possible, while offering the consumer the consistency that they desire.

Fast food restaurant franchises, in particular, are well known for having excellent service and consistent food, because their operations are controlled by a large company with the ability to coordinate and streamline everything they do.

Many fast food franchises also operate abroad now. This can present problems, because restaurants want to ensure that they have the same quality of food and service as in their home country. American companies have expanded with great success internationally, and some foreign fast food restaurants have made their way to the U.S. However, great care needs to be taken to ensure that the franchises in the international destination have sufficient raw materials to produce the food and that staff and service can be controlled from a distance. Otherwise, the exceptional service and quality that makes up the company reputation can be diluted.

Successful restaurant franchises can be extremely popular. For instance, pizza restaurants are known for having large franchising networks, and are very successful in the business. Even though other foods are equally well-liked by consumers, like pasta, they cannot achieve the status in the industry that pizza restaurants have without the kind of successful franchising you see in that industry.

The operations of some of these franchises are so streamlined that you cannot tell them from a branch location of a restaurant. Since most people frequent chain restaurants because they know what to expect from their food, it is very important for a franchise restaurant to very closely resemble a branch restaurant. If you are considering starting a restaurant franchise – keep this in mind. You will be expected to adhere to company guidelines in terms of the food you make and the way you manage your company, much more so than with some other franchise opportunities, which could offer more flexibility in the way you run your business.