Marketing Wendy's and the Church
Wendy's is discontinuing their "red pig-tail" ads saying that they didn't generate an increase in falling sales. Marketing can certainly work to help turn a business around, but marketing really isn't the key. When was the last time you went to a Wendy's and got great service? When was the last time you went to a Wendy's and it seemed that they were happy people and happy to see you?
Starbucks does this well. Who oversees the hiring process for Starbucks? Whoever they are they are genius. If you show up at 6:30am or late at night the folks at Starbucks are always willing to engage in witty, fun, lively conversation. The last two times I've been to Wendy's I've felt like I've somehow offended the woman handing me my food and don't get me started about asking for extra BBQ sauce. There was a rolling of the eyes, a quick meeting about how many kids meals I ordered and if I deserved an additional BBQ sauce. BTW - I'm not a BBQ hound, I ordered 5 kids means with chicken tenders... er ... chicken nuggets the voice from the sign corrected me.. and with my 5 kids meals I received 1 BBQ packet. Thus the meeting of the minds about whether I deserved more. Finally she handed me four more and when I said thank-you she said, nothing... she actually didn't even acknowledge me.
Wendy's my friends. The red-pigtails are the least of your problems.
Churches have something to learn from this as well. You can pay folks to mail out slick looking advertizing, but the heart of the average church's problems isn't an advertising issue. It's a people issue. It's heart issue. My friends in progressive churches would say it's a vision issue. Regardless, marketing isn't the solution to the church's problem either.
Starbucks does this well. Who oversees the hiring process for Starbucks? Whoever they are they are genius. If you show up at 6:30am or late at night the folks at Starbucks are always willing to engage in witty, fun, lively conversation. The last two times I've been to Wendy's I've felt like I've somehow offended the woman handing me my food and don't get me started about asking for extra BBQ sauce. There was a rolling of the eyes, a quick meeting about how many kids meals I ordered and if I deserved an additional BBQ sauce. BTW - I'm not a BBQ hound, I ordered 5 kids means with chicken tenders... er ... chicken nuggets the voice from the sign corrected me.. and with my 5 kids meals I received 1 BBQ packet. Thus the meeting of the minds about whether I deserved more. Finally she handed me four more and when I said thank-you she said, nothing... she actually didn't even acknowledge me.
Wendy's my friends. The red-pigtails are the least of your problems.
Churches have something to learn from this as well. You can pay folks to mail out slick looking advertizing, but the heart of the average church's problems isn't an advertising issue. It's a people issue. It's heart issue. My friends in progressive churches would say it's a vision issue. Regardless, marketing isn't the solution to the church's problem either.
posted by mark at
11:22 AM
4 Comments:
Wendy's sure went down hill when Dave Thomas died. I wonder what will be the result of our repective legacies when we are gone. Enough to have you say....hmmm
David Robbins
I ate lunch with my family at Wendy's yesterday. As I was placing my order, the guy behind the register started yawning.
cory,
that made me laugh out loud.
I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but I did spend fourteen years in the fast food business, and I would be willing to bet that the difference between the service you get at Wendy's and at Starbucks can be principally attributed to pay scale.
I used to fight this all the time. It seems like District Managers (and higher) in some companies can only see one thing: your average hourly wage. If it's too high, they'll kick about it, no matter how little sense it makes. I used to be able to run my shifts with fewer people than "the book" called for, with better service, because I employed the best people I could get. I could get them because I would pay them as much as I could possibly get away with. I seldom had a problem making my labor budget, but I'd still hear about my average hourly wage being too high.
It's not that pay rate is the only thing that goes into the good service equation, but it sure does help not to be constantly in the business of trying to "rescue" marginal employees. The old saying that you get what you pay for applies to employees, too.
One story from the end of my time in fast food gives you an idea of the mindset involved in some places: the company was terribly short of management staff, and all of us were working sixty-seventy hours a week (on salary! No extra money for this!) and I proceeded to gripe to the District Manager about it.
"But Dan, you don't understand, it's just really hard to get people now."
"Oh? Every time I go into Quik Trip, they seem to have plenty of managers, and they seem pretty happy to be there."
"But Dan, you don't understand..."
and I'll remember these next words 'til the day I die...
...Quik Trip pays more and has better benefits!"
I quit not long after that conversation. But it may give you a feel for just how clueless restaurant ownership and management can be about how to staff their businesses.
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