Quick-service restaurant (QSR) franchises are some of the most successful – just look at Burger King and KFC. Much of this success is down to the specific standards they must adhere to. For instance, all aspects of operating should be documented in detail and followed to a T by franchisees and staff alike. This rule goes a long way in ensuring brand criteria is consistently met across all outlets.
It sounds like a lot of work but really, so long as you keep these four tips in your back pocket running your own QSR can be the dream it’s made out to be.
(1) Find your niche”
To hit the ground running you should evaluate whether you’re offering a type of food enough people want to pay money for. Sure, burgers, fried chicken and pizzas are incredibly popular but the competition within these sectors is stiff. Having a distinctively different offering adds to the success of a QSR brand.
For example, Harper’s British Classics, the QSR franchise, specialises in classic British food, a segment of the market that’s significantly under-catered for and as a result has much less competition within the QSR marketplace.
(2) Quality
Irrespective of what kind of cuisine you’re specialising in, there must be a strict quality standard. This could mean anything from insisting all food is prepared fresh on the premises through to ensuring products are only purchased centrally or from approved suppliers. The taste, presentation and portion control should be the same across every franchised restaurant. Just imagine how it would be if you ordered a Big Mac and didn’t get the iconic special sauce and you can see why this last point is vital for every QSR franchise.
(3) Customer service
No matter how good your food is, poor customer service can and will drive people away. Worse still, dissatisfied consumers will tell their friends about their experience, making them less likely to go and try your food – no matter how delicious it is.”
The key to achieving first-class customer service is to train you staff. However, one training session won’t be enough to last for the foreseeable future. Most people only remember a fraction of what they’ve been taught. Training therefore should be viewed as an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Training, or indeed the lack of it, plays a crucial role in either making or breaking a franchise’s reputation and the ultimate success of any business, especially ones providing a customer-facing service. You should therefore ensure franchisees continuously refresh their teams’ skills. Creating and referring to a coherent operations manual to reinforce the lessons is important and essential in this respect.
Documented evidence of teaching that’s taken place, signed by both parties, should be kept available as proof.
(4) Management”
There’s little point in training people properly only to then manage them poorly, so setting standards for the management style you want to achieve is another critical area. After all, poor management results in a high and costly rate of staff turnover, wasting everyone’s time, energy and money in the process.
Maintaining the above standards will go a long way to ensuring you build a successful business within the QSR sector.”
