Quick-service restaurant operators understand consistency and compliance are critical—but when audits are conducted manually, it’s easy for standards to slip through the cracks. In fast-paced environments, paper checklists or spreadsheet-based systems can lead to incomplete records, missed follow ups, and little visibility into recurring issues across locations.
Operators may spend hours collecting data and chasing down information that could otherwise be captured in real time. High employee turnover and limited training bandwidth exacerbate these challenges, making it difficult to maintain consistent audit practices.
Datassential reports 83 percent of operators struggle to fill open positions, particularly for roles like cooks and servers, leading to operational adjustments such as reduced hours and increased reliance on automation. Without a streamlined, automated system, maintaining operational excellence becomes more reactive than proactive—costing time, labor, and customer trust.
For years, WaBa Grill faced challenges with its auditing systems, which evolved slowly and inefficiently over time. Initially, audits were entirely manual—staff used blank forms to handwrite every comment and observation, a process that was not only time consuming but also hard to standardize. Eventually, the brand transitioned to using computers and Excel spreadsheets to track audit data, but this method still lacked real-time functionality and made it difficult to ensure franchisees were following up on issues.
When looking for solutions, WaBa Grill found MeazureUp. “As an organization looking to further elevate our operations through our auditing processes, MeazureUp checked all the important boxes for us,” says Joel Buckantz, director of training and operations services for WaBa Grill. “The standards and scoring were simple to set up and easy to adjust, which gave us the flexibility we were looking for. A key factor in our decision was the ability to implement an enterprise-level system with multiple dashboards that could be sorted and filtered based on a variety of criteria.”
WaBa Grill has experienced many operational improvements since implementing MeazureUp. “Structured reporting through MeazureUp has completely changed the way we view operations by providing real time, consistent and detailed insights across all departments allowing us to quickly identify strengths, spot gaps, ensure accountability and make faster more confident decisions to help improve overall performance within our restaurants,” says Dextrel Covington Jr., franchise training consultant for WaBa Grill.
Centralized, easily accessible audit data is vital to ensuring consistency and efficiency across all WaBa Grill’s franchise locations. “At a large and growing chain with nearly 200 locations, being able to compare performance data is critical,” Covington Jr. says. “It helps identify best practices, identify underperforming locations early on, ensure consistency in operations, as well as driving systemwide improvement that would be much more tedious to manage otherwise.”
Through WaBa Grill’s continued partnership with MeazureUp, it has had a positive and personalized experience. “We’ve built such a strong relationship with the MeazureUp team that it feels as though we are their top priority, despite being one of many customers,” says Julio Ramos, operations services specialist at WaBa Grill. “It’s reassuring to know that whenever we need assistance, we can count on a quick and helpful response from the MeazureUp team. Partnering with them was truly a game changer for us.”
To learn more about MeazureUp’s auditing system, visit its website.
