Underlying Principles of the Subway
Investors Business Daily [IBD] 1/13 Enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more competitive industry than Fast Food restaurants. Infinite choices abound on most every street. “It’s so difficult in today’s market to fight for that food dollar,” said Larry Feldman, CEO of Subway, which has > 37,000 stores globally vs 34,000 for McDonalds. Here’s some Food for Thought on applying restaurant principles to your business:
• Get your Numbers. Feldman says Subway franchisees know by day’s end, or at worst, by the end of the week, what their store’s labor & food costs are. “We don’t wait for our accountant to call us at the end of the quarter to tell us our costs are out of whack. By then it’s too late to do anything about it,” he told IBD. “Fine tooth-comb your Profit & Loss Statements – the truth is right there, in the numbers.”
• Scrutinize Spending. “The big question leaders must ask is: “When allocating money for whatever you’re considering, will it drive the business? “This can be applied to someone’s salary or whether to put something new on the menu. Are there other more creative ways to get the same results? ”
• Differentiate Yourself. “In the restaurant business (or any business), you stand out from competitors by having a strong, unique product or service”, he said: “A strong Brand identity is critical, not only internally to foster Employee’s pride in their organization, but also externally with Customers. You must convey it from the company name to the graphics. Subway tries to “wow” customers, so they’ll come back – again & again.
• Keep Operations Simple. “The more complicated it gets, the more skilled the labor set needs to be, the more difficult it becomes to achieve the desired results. Use the old KISS – Keep it Simple & Stupid.
• Keep Score. Subway does a full evaluation of each franchisee’s store every month by Operations Analysts. It starts with the cleanliness of the store and the friendliness of employees and ends with the quality of the food delivered. Any significant deviation can be corrected immediately. Now enjoy that Subway sandwich, because you know what care goes into providing it.
Vomments: Has Subway put together a good sandwich of principles? Is there anything you would add as dressing?