YUM! holds an annual competition in Latin America and the Caribbean for the purpose of evaluating its KFC restaurants that are located throughout the region. This competition is known as C.H.A.M.P.S. Team Challenge. And this year, KFC Costa Rica, with a five-person team, earned First Place as Regional Champion for the second time in just three years.
A total of 32 franchise operators representing over 700 KFC restaurants in 36 different countries participated in the initial competition. However, only the best franchisees whose restaurants fulfilled a series of pre-determined requirements and tests made it to the regional finals. These included teams from Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica. After a difficult five-hour competition held in the Dominican Republic, where a series of brand processes and standards were evaluated, the Costa Rican team—consisting of an area coach, restaurant general manager, and three team members—out-performed all others to take first place. Since 2011, when YUM! initiated the Regional C.H.A.M.P.S. Team Challenge competition for the Latin American and Caribbean regions, KFC Costa Rica has taken top honors twice and has placed as runners up twice.
The competition evaluates many operational and service procedures starting with food preparation on signature products such as Original Recipe Chicken, the famous Original Recipe sandwich, french fries, and coleslaw. It also evaluates every aspect related to customer service, such as service steps and speed of service.
KFC Costa Rica’s president, Jed Silver, says “personal presentation, food safety standards, and all operational and service procedures aimed at providing every KFC customer with a 100 percent satisfying experience are evaluated.”
The winners were presented with a trophy for the restaurant and each respective team member was awarded a medal. The teams also received gifts and cash prizes. In addition, by qualifying for the final round, each participant was given an all-expense paid trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
The team from Costa Rica, which beat more than 700 other competing KFC regional restaurants and ultimately won the competition, was from a KFC restaurant located Cartago, Costa Rica.
“I could not be prouder,” says Richard Eisenberg, president of KFC Costa Rica’s parent company, QSR International. “Winning this grueling competition makes us all very proud and shows the enormous commitment our great, hardworking employees have for our valued customers. Winning for the second time in just three years shows their dedication for meeting and exceeding KFC’s global procedures and processes. I am also extremely proud that the Area Coach and Restaurant Manager from Brazil, who came in second place, were trained by our highly-experienced team in Costa Rica.”
