You may have the best foodservice idea since sliced bread, but if you can’t consistently execute it, your idea’s toast. Translating abstract foodservice concepts to functional realities is one of the biggest challenges c-store operators deal with daily. So CSP Kitchen turned to two leading c-store retailers to see how they handle the ups and downs of execution through structure, hiring, training, analytics and a whole lot of open communication.
[Click here to see an infographic of top foodservice execution tips.]
Starting From the Top
Rutter’s Farm Stores’ company structure makes consistent foodservice execution a priority.
“In many chains, there’s a wall that blocks communication,” says Jerry Weiner, vice president of foodservice for the York, Pa.-based chain. “There’s a lot of finger-pointing and if an idea doesn’t work, you don’t really know why.” To really be successful in foodservice, he says, the corporate team, field workers and store staff all must be on the same page.
Rutter’s has organized its chain of command such that no wall exists. Five operations supervisors divide the company’s 60 stores, managing roughly a dozen each. They work closely with the company’s two foodservice supervisors, who have been hired out of the stores and also have experience in restaurant management. Operations supervisors are responsible for the bottom line of the entire building of each store they oversee, but foodservice supervisors have a profit-and-loss responsibility as well. “Everybody shares in the outcome,” Weiner says. Having the operations staff actively involved in foodservice is central to Rutter’s strategy. “The relationship I have with our vice president of operations is paramount,” Weiner says. It sets the example for the company’s middle managers in parallel roles and helps define a company culture in which food is a priority. The emphasis trickles down to store managers, who are all ServSafe certified.
Weiner handles all foodservice product development, marketing, packaging and pricing and then introduces his concepts to the foodservice supervisors. They then act under the direction of Rutter’s vice president of operations, Jere Matthews, to implement the rollout, coordinating with operations supervisors to organize training and execution in the stores.
“Training is a moving target,” Weiner says. “We want people who work in the c-store side most of the time to be able to make someone a sandwich, and people who work in foodservice most of the time to be able to stock a cooler door.”
Weiner says getting an idea out there and teaching employees about it is relatively easy; it’s following up that’s difficult. All of Rutter’s field staff, both foodservice and operations supervisors, are expected to formally report to both vice presidents every quarter—another sign that no walls are up. But frequent informal reporting is important when troubleshooting new menu items. It falls on the foodservice supervisors to know if stores are having trouble with something, and they involve operations supervisors and store managers to get the problem solved.
When Rutter’s introduced a new short rib last November, it required significant training. It took time and communication to ensure that employees were capable of cutting the ribs so that each portion was a consistent size.
“This had a lot more steps than usual getting the product from the box to the bag, but the rollout was smooth,” says Weiner. The ribs were featured in a Rutter’s Super Bowl ad along with a fried-shrimp item with a special “Bada Bing” sauce. The foodservice supervisors distributed highly specific procedural steps for counting out shrimp and mixing the sauce, and the rollout was seamless.
But when that isn’t the case, Rutter’s is ready with a problem-solving procedure. The company systematically examines product design, employee training and implementation, looking to identify the problem.
Weiner advises not to hold onto a problem with no solution: “If you’ve gone through the process and it’s still not working, you take it out and try the next thing.”
Spreading the Word
Perry Cheatham, chief operations officer for Fenton, Mo.-based U-Gas Inc., says his company’s foodservice execution hinges on communication, and for Cheatham that includes letting the numbers have their say. U-Gas uses an Enterprise Project Management system from Pinnacle, which allows it to track everything about new items sent to its 19 stores in the St. Louis area.
When the chain recently introduced a new cookie, Cheatham monitored it using the system, watching sales vs. shrink. “We have this magic spot where we know we want to be,” he says.
And when you’re rolling out items with shorter shelf lives, that sweet spot is even more precise. When he introduced a series of specialty pastries that required investing in separate pastry cases, he watched the pastries’ four-day shelf life carefully to determine if they were worth it.
On the human side of things, U-Gas finds its smaller size to be advantageous. The stores are geographically close, so upper-level managers spend plenty of time in the field, as do the two operations mangers who help oversee foodservice rollouts and report to Cheatham. “They solicit feedback and I solicit feedback,” Cheatham says.
It was by a store manager’s suggestion that Cheatham temporarily moved the specialty pastry treats to a prime up-front location to improve customer awareness. And it was through customers’ feedback that Cheatham decided to reintroduce a meatless breakfast sandwich that he had pulled five years ago.
Cheatham also believes the company’s small size is what allows it to successfully operate the commissary that supplies foodservice to the stores. “The commissary started as just a couple of guys making sandwiches,” but it’s grown to fill a building attached to company offices, he says. The commissary manager and foodservice director are involved in monthly meetings to make sure the execution of all items, new and old, is going well.
The commissary also allows U-Gas to control the quality and perception of its food brand, Gigi’s. “Not everybody smokes, not everybody drinks, but everybody who comes in our stores eats,” Cheatham says. “We try to capitalize on that. We’ve tried to make our Gigi’s brand count.”
Building that brand has taken some time, but Cheatham says it has paid off: “You have to have patience for foodservice. Patience equals dollars.”
CONTINUED: Managing Expectations
Managing Expectations
Accurate expectations are essential to successful execution, says Ieva Grimm, president of Synerge, a new convenience consulting firm led by the former retailer with headquarters in Duncansville, Pa. Having realistic expectations of the true timeline of successful foodservice keeps convenience operators from pulling out too early, an avoidable executional error, she says.
Grimm seconds Cheatham’s sentiments that patience is key. “Food is a habit. If you’ve done everything right, you have to remember that it still takes time for your customers to develop a habit of turning to you to eat,” she says.
Grimm also emphasizes the importance of accurate financial expectations. Are you prepared to invest in foodservice for the three to five years Grimm says it takes for a new fresh-food program to take off? “From a corporate standpoint, the biggest pitfall is looking at the financials in the middle of it and starting to pull back on things you put in place for a reason,” she says.
Communicate accurate expectations with your store-level employees as well, so they don’t get discouraged and sloppy with execution. “Periodically encourage them and reward their progress,” Grimm says. “Remind them of the idea they once believed in and convince them that corporate isn’t always full of it.”
Allow employees to sample new food items during training to generate excitement and drive trial, and look for people in the hiring process who deeply enjoy food.
“You can’t have somebody who hates food,” she says. “It’s like having someone in customer service who hates people. Ask in interviews what they like to eat; you can tell pretty quickly how they feel about food.”
Also look closely at the cleanliness standards of potential hires, Grimm suggests.
“Employees with high personal cleanliness standards tend to be better at executing the cleanliness standards that are stepped up around foodservice,” she says.
Finding the right people and keeping their expectations accurate will give c-stores the stamina they need to execute consistently, even when results aren’t yet visible. As long as walls are down and lines of communication are open, time is on your side. From there, believe in what you’re doing.
“You have to actually like the food you sell,” Grimm says. “No matter how much of a mess your operation may be, if you love your food, you can work it out.”
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