Best Drive-Thru Initiative
256’s Order Center Project
Kevin Fritton is the executive vice president of 256 Associates,
a New England-based Wendy’s franchisee group. Like most Wendy’s
operators, 256 does 65 percent of its business out the drive-thru window.
It’s an area Fritton pays close attention to, and in early 2006,
decided to improve upon with the help of order solutions provider Exit41.
Six of 256’s stores now operate with two or three drive-thru lanes
and process drive-thru orders through a common call center run by Fritton
in Amherst, New Hampshire. Fritton considers the initiative a success
and has the numbers to back the claim: Volume at updated stores increased
by 12 percent; sales grew by 7 percent; food costs dropped by 5 percent.
One store managed 40 cars in 15 minutes. The industry average in 2006
was 1.37 cars in 3.3 minutes. The remaining eight stores in the 256 system
will be integrated in the spring. By then Fritton will have traveled
to Georgia, Florida, D.C., Rhode Island, and California, helping fellow
franchisees implement the system. Each will pay a fee to plug into his
call center.
Best Cultural Shift
Wendy’s Eliminates Trans Fats
Wendy’s was not the first national quick-service
brand to reduce trans fatty acids (tfas) in its food. That honor belongs
to Jason’s Deli, which rolled out a completely trans fats–free
menu in April 2005. However, it was Wendy’s June 2006 announcement
that put the rest of the industry on notice. When the chain switched all
of its U.S. and Canadian stores to non-hydrogenated cooking oil in August,
the pressure was on—and felt—by its rivals in Oak Brook and
Miami. Unlike Jason’s Deli, Wendy’s is not yet 100-percent
TFA-free. The chain is working with fry suppliers to remove the last .05
grams found in its large fries. Still the company deserves credit as the
first of the big chains to make the switch menu wide. Kudos to its supplier,
Cargill, too. Frying in the new soy and corn oil blend has reduced Wendy’s
total saturated fats by 20 percent—an added bonus that the company
is leveraging through its packaging.
Best Rollout
Chick-fil-A’s Handspun Milkshakes
Introducing handspun milkshakes at Chick-fil-A in May
2006 was as much about refining the chain’s procedures and processes
as it was about choosing the right four flavors. The challenge lay in
delivering the handmade product Chick-fil-A wanted without compromising
the brand’s commitment to its core competencies—speed, quality,
and service. Speed did suffer a bit; wait times at the drive-thru window
increased by about 23 seconds from 2005 to 2006, according to Insula Research.
Order accuracy at the window, however, improved from 93.4 percent in 2005
to 98.1 in 2006. Seems the careful engineering analysis Chick-fil-A conducted
while prepping the shakes’ rollout had positive ancillary effects
on the rest of operations. Everything from the flow of cars through the
drive-thru to the placement of cups was considered. The payoff was found
at the register. At the peak of the 2006 summer, shakes accounted for
almost 6 percent of Chick-fil-A’s sales.
Best Simple Solution
Jody’s Maroni’s Sunproof Menus
Jody’s Maroni’s beachside culture meant
going through lots of menus. Sun damage had the chain replacing faded
menuboards twice a year. Fade-resistant boat paint was originally used,
but as Jody’s Maroni’s began to grow and evolve that option
no longer made sense, economically or operationally. Plexiglas helped,
but the sun eventually won out. In 2006, Jody Maroni’s found a solution—matte
lamination. The photo-quality menus hanging inside the sausage chain’s
2x3 menu boxes are coated with it. Now the only time Jody Maroni’s
replaces a menuboard is when a new item is added.
Best Use of WI-FI
Free (Kind of) WI-FI at Caribou
Nothing in life is free except WI-FI service at independent
coffee houses across the country. So when you’re a national brand
trying to position yourself as just as intimate and invested as those
local shops, you can’t go charging customers for internet access
without coming across as “corporate,” with all the negative
connotations that come along with it. Caribou Coffee found a way around
that quagmire. Since August, WI-FI service is free at Caribou Coffee—for
one hour. After those 60 minutes are up, customers must enter a code good
for another hour of service. Once that second hour passes, another code
is needed. And so on and so on. But here’s the good part: to get
a code you must purchase at least $1.50 worth of merchandise. Caribou
builds sales; customers feel valued. Aah, the power of the internet. end
