Lessons Learned & Growing When Challenged

A few weeks ago we hosted a Discovery Days event where I had the opportunity to connect with our valued partners from Ozark Technical Community College in Springfield, Missouri. What impressed me about these partners were two things:

1. Lessons they learned along the way

2. Their growth mindset, even in the midst of market challenges 

Lessons Learned

Ozark Technical Community College has served up Champs Chicken to hungry college students for about 10 years, but not 10 consecutive years. They left the program to try to go at it alone, only to realize after a few years that they had cut out their key ingredient for success: PFSbrands' support.

Dave Hoffman, Director of Auxiliary Services, said that when they returned to Champs Chicken, they returned to quality and consistency. This is KEY. I cannot stress enough the importance of high quality products and excellent customer service. This means:

• Don't substitute products. When you substitute products you risk losing the lifetime value of your customers. Today's consumers are experiencing shortages and price increases everywhere: restaurants, hardware stores, firework stands, even flower shops. Not all, but most consumers will be understanding of a shortage related to industrywide issues. However, they will likely be far less understanding of a product that does not meet the high quality they expect from your branded location. Further, they likely won’t complain, they simply won’t return to your store. Your high quality chicken is your differentiator in the market.  At this time, we highly encourage you to push the Tackle Box promotion featuring items that do not have a margin or supply issue. 

  That being said, you may notice some variation in size of tenders and chicken breast fillets due to the national chicken market challenges. In order to create greater supply through our distribution channels, we have temporarily loosened our sizing specification requirements to meet the demand needs of our stores during this shortage. Despite the possible size deviations you may observe, our quality team continues to source product consistent with the high quality, marination and flavor that our customers expect.

• Continue to fight for good labor. Your success and profitability is dependent on how the program is executed by your employees. As more states are getting away from pandemic related unemployment benefits, you should begin to see your pool of job candidates increase. Connect with our HR professionals for assistance and for ways to use MDF for employee referral incentives. 
  
  
• Simplify operations. Work with your Business Advisor to see how you can streamline your operation. If you aren't updated to the SMART Menu yet, get on it ASAP. 

Growth Mindset

Despite the challenging times in the foodservice industry, Ozark Technical Community College is adding another branded food program to their operation: bluTaco. Adding a food program isn't going to take away business from the current program they have, it's going to help them build loyalty and capture more customers through product variety. The goal is to get customers coming back to your location multiple times a week. And with such a diverse product offering, when there is a shortage of one item, there are still plenty of options for your loyal customers to choose from.

Stay the course, focus on quality and customer service, and let us know how we can support you.

Shawn Burcham

Founder & CEO

Our Support. Your Success.

The benefit of being a PFSbrands partner is that you have a dedicated team ready to support you. Let us know how we can help you as you navigate the market changes. Our Customer Success Team is here to help!

Customer.Success@PFSbrands.com |(855) 632-3373