Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2014 | Page 72

Loyalty THROUGH SERVICE By Eddy Goldberg Front-line training keeps customers coming back W hen a customer ordered a sandwich at one of Mike Knobelock’s restaurants in North Carolina, it came with pickles on it. “They didn’t like pickles,” says JJ Villafranca, COO at Knobelock’s company. “They were a little irritated about it, but commented on how friendly the employees were.” So how did the company respond? The manager contacted the customer and asked them to come back and be treated to a lunch or dinner with him. Sometimes the area supervisor will make the offer. Villafranca says they are working on implementing this policy in all their restaurants. Regardless, he says, “We answer all our complaints.” “We preach that there’s always something we can do inside of our four walls to make the experience for the customer better,” says CEO Knobelock, whose company, MSK Enterprises, operates 47 Mike Knobelock 70 Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue I, 2014 Church’s Chickens, 20 ]H