Source: Blur Marketing
Prêt À Manger is a fast-food establishment based in the UK. It is now expanding to the US. Turnover is only 60% in an industry where the average is 300-400%. Prêt’s sales increased 40% in the past year. Further expansion is imminent. Customers are always served in 60 seconds or less; there is never a line. The food is always fresh.
So what’s the miracle formula? Good, great, fantastic HR.
Prêt believes that to make a great customer experience, you have to have great workers. Prêt accomplishes this through tested and unorthodox methods: mystery shoppers rate employees; rewards are many and diverse; opportunity for growth is endless; existing employees hire new employees through a vote.
I sincerely hope that businesses will take a lesson from Prêt À Manger. Prêt teaches three key principles:
- The customer is the most important part of a business;
- The employee is a top influential factor in customer experience;
- Thus, hire great employees and keep them motivated and satisfied.
Often overlooked (especially in the food industry) is the quality of employees. Even more ignored is effective motivators. In this field, Prêt is a true innovator.
(The article is lengthy but very good!)
Note: When I was in England last year I visited a Prêt location. It was fast, easy, and pleasant; it was the best fast-food experience I’ve had.
Interesting! I would love to visit one of their restaurants to see the difference first hand. I know that many McDonalds’ restaurants are changing the employee hiring and training process (http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/15/08/2008/322863/mcdonalds-hr-department-takes-credit-for-success.htm), but I feel that every location is different in terms of customer service. It may be easier to keep all of Pret A Manger’s customer service homogenous because of the size of the franchise.
A McDonalds’ near my home was recently renovated, and although it wasn’t publicized, you could tell the management and employee training was completely different as well. Compared to the service before the ‘renovation’, food arrived in half the time, and the employees were much more engaging. It really makes a difference!