To keep operations moving along briskly, it’s not unusual for corporate restaurant teams to welcome new franchisees with a remote onboarding session. But as rapidly expanding Jamaican fast food chain Juici Patties has illustrated, hands-on support still goes a long way.
The Juici Patties team does something at each launch that most big business leaders would consider unusual: It sends the corporate team to each new location to offer franchisees in-person guidance, seeing each new store through a combined one-week training period.
“We take a few days prior to launch with the franchisee to show them the role and train them,” says Stuart Levy, US Managing Director of Juici Patties. “It’s pretty much training them on the point-of-sale system. We’re showing them how to bake, how to look at their numbers, and how to manage their inventory. They’ll do that for a few days along with some cross-training at a sister location, and they’re ready for opening.”
When the franchise launches the following week, the franchisee takes control. However, the corporate team is still there to lend a hand if needed.
“Once they are operational, we’re watching from the side to help if they have any questions,” Levy says. “We’re not doing any heavy lifting. We’re just watching them and assisting where necessary, and that’s it.”
After the launch has ended, Juici Patties’ corporate team remains available to help franchisees get their bearings.
The level of corporate support Juici Patties franchisees receive is especially impressive given the company’s aggressive expansion.
“We’ve been incredibly busy with our continued growth,” says Levy. “We’ve had upwards of seven stores open within a month.” That includes the company’s first few stores in Georgia and Philadelphia.
One might wonder how the Juici Patties corporate team has the time to offer hands-on guidance to every new franchisee. Some of it comes down to the design of the company itself.
“When we conceptualized this whole thing, we knew that high turnover comes with the industry,” Levy says. “Our goal was to have an operation that didn’t rely too heavily on any one person besides the franchisee.”
“We also wanted sophisticated equipment that allowed us to focus on customer service. Now, being a baker at Juici Patties means they can be rotated to a cashier, or they could be a server.”
With a lean model like this, the corporate team can offer efficient training to the franchisee, who can, in turn, train new employees efficiently.
Even when the Juici Patties corporate team isn’t physically present in a new location, it’s helping franchisees connect with the tools they need to thrive. One of the most notable is the Juici Patties app, which allows customers to order directly from the restaurant.
The app lets customers save on the fees that come with third-party delivery apps, and it also helps franchisees protect their margins.
“The public has received it very well,” Levy says. In its first two months, the Juici Patties app saw more than 5,000 downloads across multiple app stores and now sits at over 13,000 downloads on Apple’s App Store.
As the Juici Patties corporate team can tell you, going the extra mile for franchisees pays off. The company continues to open new locations around the country, empower franchisees, and introduce more people than ever to the iconic Jamaican patty.
