David Blackburn has been in the foodservice business his entire adult life. Since 1979, the McAlister’s Deli franchisee has cataloged more than 25 years of experience in the casual-dining sector, spending 16 of those as regional vice president of operations at O’Charley’s.

Blackburn now owns and operates 23 McAlister’s Deli units across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Missouri.

He attributes his success in the quick-service sector largely to his casual-dining experience and expertise, from which he brings a focus on high levels of customer service and particular attention to staff training.

Blackburn discusses how franchisees can leverage these tactics to build quick-service success.

1. Find opportunities to engage

When I worked in the casual-dining sector, there was a focus on creating more opportunities to truly engage with the customer. This translates into the very thing that sets McAlister’s Deli apart, and that is our table service.

For a fast-casual concept, there is usually only one opportunity to engage with the customer: at the register. You’ll try to get as much dialogue in that situation as you can, but this is a short-timed affair.

At McAlister’s, we strive to engage with the customer three additional times: when bringing the food to the table; when refilling drinks and pre-bussing the table; and when proposing the idea of dessert.

These actions might be associated more strongly with casual dining, but it’s the engagement and service we are seeking to improve.

These additional engagement opportunities aren’t just for selling product; they are for servicing, too. By offering guests a refill, we have the chance to show the customers the appreciation we have for the business, and that’s really the core strength of the brand. Furthermore, we spend a lot of time training our staff on how to make the most of these instances with regards to service language—what things you want to say, or don’t want to say, to a guest at each particular moment.

Even with all those instances combined, it’s still a very short time span you actually get to interact with the customer, and we want to make the most of that.

2. Train your staff relentlessly

There are very few stones left unturned when it comes to staff training, even at the casual-dining level, and quick service is no different.

McAlister’s Deli has a very solid training program for employees and has specific training for each and every position, whether front or back of the house. The difference comes down to the commitment you have for the training and then, primarily, a relentless pursuit.

These are the individuals who run the engine on a daily basis. You need to ensure that it’s a good fit for your needs as a brand and that their specific needs are also met.

For instance, the training program we have for some of our younger managers has a big focus on courage—having enough courage to say to another employee, “That bread isn’t toasted enough,” or, “Only an hour more to go; let’s keep the good attitude going.” That can be really difficult for some people, but it’s a key factor in the daily success of the units.

The difference, again, comes down to a commitment to both your staff and your stores. You need to work on the character of the staff members, especially those who are managing other employees to the right and to the left.

It is always, and will always remain, a work in progress for your business. However, this type of commitment can take you from good to great.

3. Take advantage of your resources

A big challenge for me was leaving an environment that had a department for everything. When I left O’Charley’s, I had about 72 stores and what seemed like an infinite amount of resources available for every possible situation or scenario. From marketing and training to culinary, I had lots of people to help me troubleshoot.

When you’re a smaller franchisee, the lack of departments might seem alarming, but don’t cower in fear. The manpower might not be there, but the knowledge is, and there still are people to help.

I rely heavily on my multiunit supervisors at McAlister’s. These individuals are the experts in everything deli-related and can help me with anything I need in any department of the business. As a business owner, this is a relief. Only having to deal with one department, rather than several, is a time-saver.

4. Focus on relationships

As I mentioned, it’s no secret that in quick service, you have a very brief moment with the customer. Even with our additional engagement services, the 10 or 15 seconds that each instance provides might come out to a whole minute of interaction with the customer, and that could be on a good day.

Your staff must strive to make the most of the small window of one-on-one time they have with the guest. If one of your locations has regulars or a more talkative customer, try and keep the conversation going. Let other customers see it. This displays that atmosphere you’re striving to obtain.

McAlister’s Deli is a pretty savvy brand in and of itself. I studied it for about two years prior to getting the deal done, and it had everything I needed to make a successful transfer from one area to the other.

However, I brought in another casual-dining idea, the “alley rally,” which is a lineup that includes all the staff and any additional employees, such as managers. Here, we can talk about features, specials, and competitive challenges that you might have going to stimulate staff behaviors. It would also include focuses and goals for the day, week, or month.

I didn’t create or invent it, but it worked well in the casual sector and it can work for quick service, too. All of your staff benefits from these small meetings; more often than not, teaching the difference is the difference itself.

This article comes from QSR Magazine.com and can be found at http://www.qsrmagazine.com/franchising/what-you-can-learn-casual-dining?microsite=1703&utm_campaign=20130419&utm_source=jolt&utm_medium=email

AMC’s Easter Sunday Season 3 finale of mega-hit, “The Walking Dead”, the highest rated drama in the history of cable television, scored another ratings best when 12.4 million viewers tuned in, with 8.1 million viewers in the key 18-49 demographic. Not only is the show crazy popular, but there are some great mystery shopping tips you can pick up just from watching the example the characters set on the show.

So if you haven’t seen TWD, get your Netflix on and get caught up and come back to read this…but if you are a veteran, let’s go!

1. Walkers do not Make Great Mystery Shoppers.

What could be a worse model for a great mystery shopper than a walker? They draw attention to themselves, they are very predictable and they so obviously have only one thing on their mind. That’s like the total recipe for a bad shopper! Great shoppers are discreet and don’t stand out in the crowd. They have to act like normal people, not stereo-typed and predictable, and not obsessive about getting a look at a name tag or trying to remember all the departments to hit. A great shopper is cool, relaxed, ordinary,….and blends in. Also not a good idea to walk on the side of your foot, wear tattered clothes or attempt to eat anyone’s entrails during the shop…those may also give you away.

2. Only Take on the Assignments that You can Handle.

That poor Andrea…she was trying to save the whole world! She was in over her head for that assignment. She might have been more successful if she had started with a smaller project, but trying to keep Woodbury together and keep the prison safe was too much and she made some bad mistakes which ultimately made her an appetizer for Milton, and things went downhill from there. Not all projects are the same; and a great shopper works their way up to the more complex projects over time. There is a big difference between doing a quick service restaurant shop and doing a new home builder or education enrollment shop. If Andrea had maybe stuck to oil changes (and yes, we have plenty of those to request, please call scheduling!), she might have later been able to enjoy an upscale dining experience later on. But in her present state, she is no longer eligible for any future shops.

3. Follow Instructions!

How about that crazy Morgan shooting up that little town, all holed up in his building? He done lost his mind! But things might have been different if he had followed Rick’s instructions and got up at dawn with the walkie-talkie like Rick did, so Rick could have guided him to safety. Great mystery shoppers follow their directions to the letter, and call the scheduler to ask a question about anything that leaves them feeling unsure. That makes them successful, and ensures that the shop will go off as planned. So make sure you understand the directions and follow them closely. That way, you won’t go crazy, and you won’t drive your scheduler crazy!

4. Pay no Attention to the Lady in White!

Remember how Rick kept seeing Lori after she died? That wasn’t real. It was a distraction, in fact. As a great shopper, you pay attention to what matters to the client. If it’s not on the guidelines, don’t be distracted by it. For instance, if you are doing a dining shop and the client wants to know how long it took to get the food delivered, and if your entree was cooked properly, but is not interested in scoring desserts, don’t go there in your narrative…stick to writing about the entree. The analysis of the dessert may be written in superlative prose, but if the client is not interested in your thoughts on the dessert, you just wasted your time and some editor’s time, who will delete your review faster than Shane ran home to tell Lori that Rick was a goner and that they needed to immediately start shacking up for Carl’s sake!

5. Timing Matters.

Pay close attention to when a shop can begin and when it must be submitted by. Check the appropriate hours to do the shop. Timing matters. If you knew Phillip Blake back in the day, he was a pretty chill guy, with a nice wife and sweet daughter Penny. But today, the Governor has no wife, no daughter, no girl friend and no right eye! Plus now he literally is into finger food; just ask Merle. Timing matters.

While traveling in February I experienced a sequence of events that so clearly contrasted a group of employees who naturally displayed superior customer service with another group of workers who have lost my personal business for their company for life.

I was traveling with my four children in England, and we had rented a car to drive from London to Stonehenge (and to visit HighClere Castle, site of Downton Abbey, but that’s another story!). We made a reservation with a major international car rental company that has more vowels than consonants in its name (and shares its name with a top tourist attraction in San Antonio, if you can “remember”).

On Sunday, we walked from our flat to the Central London branch that we had booked our car from and arrived at the scheduled time only to be told there were no cars available. But we had a reservation. She simply shrugged and said that that didn’t mean that she now had a car available. I asked if any other London offices had cars available, and she said that she was sorry, but everyone is out. The best she could do is honor our rate for the next day.

Well, with no other choices left, we scrapped our Sunday plans and reinvented new ones. We also ditched our Monday agenda to return to the car rental office the next morning.

This time, there was a car as promised. To give credit due, we were given a token apology for the rebooking by that day’s agent before leaving the office.

After exploring the mysteries of Stonehenge and pretending to be heirs of HighClere Castle, we stopped for a quick pub lunch at Windsor on our way back to London. Not long after we got back on the road and entered the M4 highway, I felt a gradual, then more demanding, tug on the steering wheel to the left. I took the first available exit, pulling off the road into the Marriott Windsor/Heathrow Hotel parking lot. Here we were, in a foreign country, with no cell phone, and a flat tire.

I walked into the lobby of the Marriott and approached the concierge, who greeted me with a warm smile. I explained our situation and asked if it was possible that I might be able to use the phone to call the designated roadside assistance company. He asked if I minded if he made the call for me and asked for the paperwork. Smiling still, he then invited the children to sit and relax in the lobby.

He explained the situation in phone calls to both the rental car company and to the roadside assistance company. He then told us he was told that it would be up to two hours before the mechanic arrived (which he disgustedly felt was ridiculous), and invited us to relax in the hotel lounge. He promised that he would personally come and get us when the mechanic arrived.

Unfortunately hours came and went, and no mechanic. The concierge made several phone calls back, asking where the mechanic was, complaining that there were children stranded here with me. Still no mechanic.

Eventually at 10pm, five and a half hours after pulling into the parking lot…the concierge’s shift was over and he was going home. He called one more time, and they told him “within the hour”. He said to me he had made arrangements for us to stay at the hotel overnight if we needed or wanted to, at a rate that was very fair indeed. He brought waters and sodas to the children. And he introduced me to the security manager, who would help us out if need be after he left.

Am I clear that we were not even guests of this hotel?

When the mechanic finally showed, going on midnight (we pulled in to the hotel at 4:30pm), he changed the tire and then reported that the two back tires were bald. The security manager explained that it was illegal to drive with bald tires in Britain, and that those tires could cost us over $3,000 in fines if pulled over and written tickets. The mechanic agreed, but said my issue was with the rental car agency, which was true.

The security manager asked if I minded if he called the rental car agency for us, and after getting my permission, he made the call. He tried to explain to the rental company that he couldn’t understand how they could have leased us an illegal car, and that it was absurd to ask us to drive the car back to the rental agency.

I then took the receiver and tried to lay out our options. The easiest solution was to take our chances and get the car back to Heathrow Airport and go from there, so we did. At the airport, we were now dealing with all new employees who knew nothing of our painful odyssey. So I had to explain everything over again. The sales agent had to go talk to the manager who….knew nothing of our situation. The manager offered to give us a 20 pound credit on our bill and remove the drop charge for bringing the car back to a different location. (Say what??! After all that you are actually thinking of adding a drop-charge to our bill???)

I respectfully, but firmly, explained that the rental car company had, in my estimation, an obligation to get me and my children back to London, at least to their London location where we rented the car (now spoken by me at 1:30am).  The manager politely disagreed, and refused my request to send us back to London in a cab.

What were our options? Paying for a cab ourselves, at around $80 on top of everything else? Taking the Tube (subway)? Already stopped running for the night. “Well you can take the night bus…it’s just a two block walk and although there are 25 stops between here and where you need to go, it will get you there.” Gee, thanks alot. We stumbled into our flat at 3:00am, nearly 12 hours since the tire went flat.

What is the end result? I will never rent from the consonant-challenged rental car company again. I will tell everyone in my network and on Facebook about how uncaring ALL of the employees were that I encountered. And my story will pass down the line.

I am also telling everyone about the wonderful service and support given to me and my children by the employees of the Marriott Windsor/Heathrow. What fantastic human beings, and clearly part of a corporate culture that values relationships, even with non-customers like we were that day. Trust me, if this is who Marriott is as a corporate culture, they are now the first place for us to look for a hotel. And I will recommend to many  of my internationally traveling friends that they stay at the Marriott Windsor/Heathrow when traveling in London and looking for a great place to stay by Heathrow Airport or near Windsor.

The point is, not only does customer service matter, it leave scars…good scars and bad scars. My kids will never forget how indifferent the car rental brand was to us; they will also never forget how kind, helpful and understanding the Marriott employees were. How many people will they influence and touch with this story over their lifetime?

This is why a company like Shoppers’ Critique International exists…to help management understand how their brand and employees are perceived by the buying public. Not every company uses customer intelligence tools to find out…maybe some are having budget troubles, maybe some just don’t get it or care. Who knows with the car rental company that we rented our last vehicle from. But Marriott gets it. Well done, Marriott, and thank you for your outstanding customer service. You have made lifetime fans of your brand. The car rental company? Yeah,….not so much. In fact, not ever again.

Were you recently reminded of those days of an “Old-Fashion Christmas”? You know, like in the days of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, where everything was smaller and easier for us to get our arms around? Back then, many store owners, managers and clerks knew their customers and what was important to them. They didn’t need to survey the customer’s opinions or mystery shop their operations. They would just ask Abner or Miriam what they thought as they rung their purchase up at the till. And they delivered personalized service.

Wow! How far away that seems in today’s over-sized and mega-competitive world! From retail to restaurants, apartment leasing to automotive sales, everything seems so much more competitive.

The good news about conducting business nowadays is that it is, in fact, a bigger world…a much larger marketplace with room for multiple vendors and millions of customers who can be targeted for the sales of computers, cell phones, steaks, full-efficient SUVs and countless other products and services. The downside: how do you maintain the feel and information flow of that 1946 Bedford Falls, NY customer connection of “It’s a Wonderful Life” in 2013 Manhattan, NY?

Today, it requires tools. Precise metrics for measuring key aspects of the customer service experience. Mechanisms for gauging customer loyalty, based on the experiences, impressions and halos, both positive and negative, received through interacting with front line sales attendants. Companies need the means to determine if corporate policy is being implemented, and even if so, to assess whether those policies are impacting the customer in the way that was anticipated, procuring the intended emotional response or not. In an era where Z-MOT, or the zero moment of truth, reigns over the first encounter, it is even more essential to measure, review, adjust and re-measure every channel by which business connects with consumers.

At the crossroads of measured performance and real, relevant data is where a customer intelligence company like Shoppers’ Critique International stands, fully utilizing its 40+ years of experience in data gathering, assessment and performance enhancement feedback to close the gaps between business and customers. It’s not one methodology; not one cookie cutter solution. Our solutions involve a personal look at the unique relationship between a company and the audience that it seeks to please, its customers. If your business isn’t taking advantage of the many assets and tools that Shoppers’ Critique can provide, chances are you might not really know what sort of emotional responses you are truly generating. Cost-effective, easy to implement: it IS a wonderful life, when you know for sure the specific impressions that you are imprinting on your customer base. This powerful knowledge supplies the competitive edge for leading brands to adjust their operations and assets, consistently now reaching that group in the manner that they always intended while maximizing market share and revenue potential. That’s powerful; that’s a Bedford Falls philosophy and an action plan for a 21st century.

We here at Shoppers’ Critique International wish everyone a wonderful and prosperous New Year! Hope to see you around the Falls sometime soon!