Commentary

The undeniable – but often ignored – link between training and service excellence.

Nobody can deny that the Mexican wave has swept across Australia over the past few years and we have been part of the conversation since the first fast casual Mexican outlet opened in Australia. Whether you like the cuisine itself or not, there’s no ignoring the fact that it has become a rapidly expanding sector of the dining scene in this country and its fast becoming a favourite choice for many Australians. In the BRW Fast 100 list published in late 2011, only three food businesses were listed, two of which were Mexican brands and one being #12 on the list, Mad Mex our client. In an increasingly competitive market it becomes even more crucial for any brand to stand apart from its competitors both with potential franchisees and consumers which is where the public relations message can be a very cost effective way to influence conversations. Integrated into a strategic marketing plan, a targeted and tailored public relations campaign is essential to remain ahead of the curve.

Never before have we seen the huge disparity in consumer spending habits that we are currently experiencing.

Expert Steve Champion, whose specialist employee relations consulting firm ER Strategies has a number of Fast Food clients on board, is very worried that the industry will fluff the fast approaching chances to impact its industrial relations environment.

The face of retail advertising and promotion has completely changed in two short years. For the first time in advertising history, advertisers are chasing consumers and are desperately trying to keep up when traditionally, consumers have followed the trends set by advertisers. Strong and confident consumers, spoilt for choice, are now demanding much more from their traditional retail encounters.

I’ve recently returned from the Murtec (Multi Unit Restaurant Technology) conference in Las Vegas. For those of you who haven’t heard of Murtec, it is the coming together of company Presidents, CEO’s, CTO’s, COO’s and IT Directors prepared to share their own personal knowledge of wins and failures across many workshops and networking events.

I saw an article recently in the Sydney Morning Herald entitled, “Service, where the bloody hell is it?” Gave me a chuckle I must admit. The article https://www.smh.com.au/travel/service-where-the-bloody-hell-is-it-20110414-1deuo.html (also published in the Melbourne Age) by Jane Fraser suggested that Australian hospitality businesses display endless examples of poor training and poor service standards, and that the industry needs “some lessons how to be hospitable.”

This title won’t mean a thing to you if you aren’t embracing social media. The online community that takes up a ‘minor’ 96% of the 30 year old generation, which is a large portion of people who visit QSR’s on a daily basis. Did you know that it is not only the young generation with now 55 -65 year old women being the highest demographic of people connecting to the world of social media…. Suddenly organisations are realizing this is not a passing fad but a substantial shift in the way we communicate, which is why now is the time for QSR’s to create a social media presence.

This article follows up on the points in my previous piece, where I provided an introduction about a fairly the new and multidisciplinary field of practice and research known as ‘Service Management’. The previous article discussed the importance of customer service, yet acknowledged how complex it is and how difficult it is to embed “service mindedness” into a workplace culture (culture referring to the attitude and behavioural norms in a business – that which under the surface tends to guide activities more than anything else). It was also pointed out that many of the world’s best companies leverage their positive and service-oriented organisational culture as central to their competitive position in their marketplace.

Click here to view the case study.

This business is one of the most innovative and impressive franchise businesses l have seen in almost 30 years of franchising.

How easy the words flow, “our company provides great service” and “service is what makes us better than the competition….” You’ve heard it before, and probably even said it yourself a few times!

For years the Australian QSR industry has been dominated by major players that flex their marketing muscles to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each year, using TV commercials, sporting sponsorships and celebrity endorsements to build their brands.