January 7, 2009
For 10 years QSR® magazine has defined it: traditional quick-service, fast-casual, coffee and snacks, and related segments like full-service takeaway, concessions, and convenience stores. We serve the decision-makers who work in this market–and they're ready to hear how you can help them reach greater levels of success.
QSR magazine is the only foodservice publication that delivers this $180-plus billion slice of the restaurant industry. If you want to speak to it, QSR is the platform.
QSR magazine is about quick-service restaurants—and so much more. The restaurant industry has evolved, and rigid segment labels simply don’t work. We’ve learned to think broadly about the industry, and so should you. With that in mind, these are the 5 key markets QSR focuses on:
In complement to feature-based QSR magazine, QSR Online delivers breaking news and a decade of in-depth content about the restaurant industry. It serves as an archive for QSRmagazine and literally thousands of news stories about hundreds of restaurant operators. Find trends in drive-thru performance, the emergence of new restaurant segments, our franchisee satisfaction survey, and chain restaurant performance data.
Between 1992 and 1999, 1,317 employees were killed while working at an eating and/or drinking establishment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). More than three-quarters of them (957) were victims of homicide; 40 percent of them fatally injured during a robbery.
A statistical breakdown of how many of these homicides occurred at quick-service establishments is not available—in part, because it’s a very touchy subject in the industry. “Companies track this data, but, due to sensitivity, they won’t put [statistics] out,” says Terrie Dort, executive director of the National Food Service Security Council (NFSSC) in Washington, D.C.
Fear of civil liability resulting from allegations of negligent and inadequate security is cited by industry experts as one reason operators hesitate to release this information. But that doesn’t mean they’re not acting on it. And a growing number are starting their security due diligence at the site selection stage.
In addition to their regular demographic research, many chains commission a CAP Index crime vulnerability forecast for prospective new sites. After assessing each site and its surrounding neighborhood (the cost ranges from $150 to about $400 for a single site), Exton, Pennsylvania-based CAP provides information on the “crime potential” of the location in comparison to national, state, and/or county averages. A score of 100 would indicate that the site is equal to these averages, 200 would mean that risk is twice as great.
McDonald’s uses CAP scores as a guideline to help determine the types and intensity of the physical security measures each site may require, says Michael Peaster, the company’s senior director of corporate security.
Industry consultant J.R. Roberts of Security Strategies in Savannah, Georgia explains that one of his jobs is to help chains find the balance between a “good” location with the right demographic and traffic patterns and those that might present a “disproportionate security risk.”
Roberts says he recommends that clients nix any site that has a CAP Index of over 600. Some operators deem 300 to be above their acceptable risk level.
