Sponsored by R.F. Technologies, Inc.
Think of all the systems that run a restaurant. There are the obvious and absolutely necessary—such as POS, cooking equipment, and scheduling and accounting software—plus the myriad of ancillary services that help make customers’ dining experiences safer and more enjoyable, such as surveillance and music streaming services. Dealing with separate vendors for all these services can be a hassle, particularly as a quick-service operation grows in size.
“Our philosophy is that there are two distinct groups of restaurant owners,” says Maurice Vincent, director of sales for R.F. Technologies, Inc. “The first group consists of franchisees with a small number of stores. These restaurant leaders don’t have private equity money, so if an employee calls in sick, they may have to roll up their sleeves and work the fryer or cash register to keep business flowing. Group two is a different animal—fast-growing franchises scattered across a region, the country, or the world. Each group has its own unique set of challenges, and one-size-fits-all solutions simply don’t work when it comes to running a successful restaurant.”
R.F. Technologies offers custom solutions to a restaurant’s drive-thru needs with three tiers of service based on group size: Customers can choose from online only, customer service, or direct consulting options to fit their individual needs. As the franchise grows, the package can grow along with them. “When you are in the ‘dating’ phase of acquiring a client, you break out all the bells and whistles,” Vincent says. “But after the contract is sold, the true treatment is tested because we must deliver and provide repairs, maintenance, and support. For us, it’s about a company or group staying with us for the life of their business.”
Understanding the differences and challenges between small and large operations is critical to R.F. Technologies’ success because it allows the company to be nimble in the market. That understanding comes, in part, from the company’s own history. Over the past 30 years, the family-owned business grew from one to four locations to become a major player in the drive-thru solutions market, offering a range of services from headset repair to digital surveillance and new technology like LIO (Listen-in-Only). “Recently, we’ve been working with bigger franchises with 200–300 stores,” Vincent says. “But we also know how to communicate with customers who own one or two restaurants—that’s where we started and where we grew from.”
The company also offers both pay-as-you-go and monthly maintenance packages, and the ability behind these plans to help identify specific challenges, pain-points, or trouble areas for stores. If a location needs to be on a maintenance plan, for example, that can be identified in a timely manner. The key difference between R.F. Technologies and similar companies, Vincent says, is the ability to service any size operation. “We cater to the small guys and the 400-location franchise group,” he says. “It doesn’t matter who you are or how many restaurants you own—you’re important.”
By Davina van Buren
