Common sense might say a restaurant’s food is more important than its facilities management. The quick-service restaurant executives that I talk to, however, report that facilities problems generate blaring noise. They tell me it can drown out their efforts to keep daily operations and productivity aligned with strategic initiatives.
In fact, delicious food, focused employees, and a thriving brand all depend as much on reliable facilities as food. Fortunately, a facilities management partner knows how to:
- Prevent equipment failure that impacts food quality
- Eliminate noise
- Help deliver a positive customer experience
- Equipment failure and food quality
The goal of every quick-serve is great food, every meal, every time. But food can’t even be prepared unless grills, fryers, ovens, refrigerators, and other critical kitchen equipment keep running under heavy use and even misuse. Equipment downtime puts the whole equation in peril, turning an otherwise great dining experience into a missed customer opportunity.
In addition to timely, cost-effective repairs, a facility management partner can help prevent equipment downtime by building a data profile for equipment. Analytics extracted from the equipment provide holistic visibility into each asset, giving quick-serve executives and managers a detailed view of maintenance costs and performance.
Take the noise out of facility management
When an air conditioner, refrigerator or other equipment fails during business hours, many employees will be seriously distracted. No matter how committed, these employees can’t stay focused on the guest when they’re working on facilities issues. By shifting the operational burden of facilities management to an experienced partner, quick-serve executives free their managers and other employees to focus on what really matters—an outstanding plate of food coupled with a positive guest experience.
Freedom from the daily grind of repair and maintenance allows quick-service restaurant executives to look at their strategy and operations with a fresh new perspective. By getting rid of facilities distractions, their attention shifts to growth—enabling employees and high-value programs such as menu development and guest loyalty.
Brand loyalty and guests’ impressions
Restaurant managers point out that seemingly minor facility problems can ruin the impressions guests take home with them. If the sign outside the building won’t stay lit, if one of the front doors has a “broken” sign taped to it, if floors seem dirty and worn – a guest can see these problems, perhaps without even being fully aware of them, and downgrade their impression of a restaurant.
Just as they would at a full-service restaurant, quick-serve guests base their impressions on a complete dining experience. Store managers may find themselves overwhelmed by the wide range of restaurant expertise and technical skills that make that experience possible. To stay one step ahead of the competitor, who may have just built a new restaurant down the street, smart operators turn to their facilities management partner for solutions to showcase their brand. Guest impressions, the quick-service restaurant’s most valuable asset, shouldn’t be put in the hands of anyone else.
Consider a new approach
Modern facilities management has become more and more complicated. The challenges can overwhelm store managers and leave executives struggling with technical questions. A facilities management partner, on the other hand, specializes in those questions and keeps tabs on them all day, every day.
One quick-serve executive admitted, recently, that she often reminds herself not to underestimate the complexity of her facilities. She says she appreciates having a partner who’s lifted a burden from her store managers and configured a facilities management solution suited for her business. As a result, costs have become controllable and guest approval has dramatically improved. Case in point, facilities management is just as import as food and leads to quick-service restaurant success.
