Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2012 | Page 69

“Several I’ve known for 15 years. I know their work ethic,” he
says. “The people I have working for me really go above and
beyond to make sure the product’s right and the customers are
taken care of. They have the same attitude as I do.”
In some ways, Riske says working with his best friends is
great fun. However, he says, they have it tougher than some
of the other managers. “I let them know when they hired on
that they were jumping in front of people, and that I would
write them up if they’re not performing. They haven’t let me
down so far.”
The value—and importance—of teamwork is big for Riske,
who played baseball in college and in Europe. “I’m very teamoriented. That’s how I run my business.” He sent all his GMs
to all the other restaurants, before starting in their own, to see
the differences at each—and be able to pitch in at other units
if needed. “We’re a complete
team,” he says.
Riske says he pays his managers more than other QSR
businesses in the area. Managers also can earn a monthly
bonus of up to $750, depending on secret shops, cost of
labor, sales projections, ticket
times, safety audits, etc. Most
come close to the full bonus
amount each month, he says.
He also likes his GMs to
manage, not to perform the
jobs of the people they’re
supposed to be managing.
“I’m thinking three, four,
five pitches ahead,” he says, and expects his managers to do
the same. In early 2010, he says, “I was frustrated with my
team. Managers were running around getting food, not staying ahead of the game.”
So he created a guide for them and called it “Staying
Ahead of the Game”—his response to the nagging question
he’d been asking himself: “How can they know what I know
so they don’t make the same rookie mistakes I made when I
was a manager?” Once he’d learned the ropes, says Riske, “I
never walked into a restaurant without a plan. The day will
always throw you a curveball—something is likely to hit you
that day, someone calling in…” His goal i ́Ѽ