Louisiana QSR (POPEYES)
Background
In 2011, Louisiana QSR, the brand that operates Popeyes, was in its second year of operations in Singapore, with a total of eight outlets, when it started its working relationship with Universal Stage.
The first project between Louisiana QSR and Universal Stage was the Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI). The project yielded excellent results, with a significant improvement in the ratio of customer compliments to complaints (3429%), increased customer loyalty (200%), higher sales per worker (239%), and improved employee remuneration (219%). The company was awarded Singapore Service Class (S-class) recognition with band 4 results.
Another excellent milestone that Louisiana QSR and Universal Stage have achieved was the successful implementation of a holistic self-service concept at five outlets. Performance improved after the first month of implementation at the pilot outlet at Punggol East. Comparing the performance of Dec 2015 to Dec 2014 at the Punggol outlet, outlet sales improved by 17%, transaction counts increased by 9%, and the average cheque improved by 7%.
Universal Stage was also engaged to conduct service training.
The Challenge
Louisiana QSR Pte Ltd, established in July 2009, experienced rapid expansion, opening a total of eight outlets within two years. The ability to improve service performance and differentiate from the competition became a priority. Louisiana QSR engaged Universal Stage to jointly tackle this challenge.
Over time, the number of outlets increased to seventeen by 2015. Like other F&B businesses, Louisiana QSR faced manpower issues, particularly due to tightening foreign labour quotas and increased levies. These constraints resulted in operational issues, as there were insufficient cashiers to handle customer orders at the outlets. Consequently, long queues formed, causing frustration among customers, particularly during peak periods.
Observations revealed that customers who joined the queue after the tenth position typically left the queue if it moved slower than their expectations. This situation was undesirable and led to massive potential revenue loss. The management of Louisiana QSR was cognisant of the operational constraints and the urgent need to improve customer experience and service performance so as to capture sales.
Our Solutions
After the initial meetings with the management to understand the primary objective, which was to be differentiated from competition through service, Universal Stage was engaged to implement an Integrated Service Management System by tapping on the Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) for Louisiana QSR. This involved organisational analysis, diagnosing service levels, formulating service-driven strategies, blueprints, standards and systems, developing customer-centric initiatives, implementing service-driven initiatives, and putting in place a service monitoring framework for the brand. A five-phased customer-centric approach was adopted to guide the project's implementation. Service-related training was deployed simultaneously to bring in optimum results.
Building on the trust and confidence gained, the management of POPEYES invited Universal Stage to explore solutions to increase revenue while addressing the existing manpower constraints. This led to the introduction of a holistic self-service concept with self-ordering kiosks and self-return stations. The Technology Innovation Programme (TIP) by SPRING Singapore was recommended to Louisiana QSR as a means to implement the self-service concept so as to differentiate itself from competitors and provide exceptional customer service by transforming into a technology-centric organisation. Implemented in phases, the project encompassed process studies for ordering steps and back-end support, job analysis for frontline service crew, job and concept redesign for improvements, technology implementation, and customised training for service ambassadors.
Pleased with the positive impact on sales from the pilot implementation of the self-service concept, the Board of Directors initiated the rollout of the same concept to other outlets.
