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While issues and complaints for tots and burgers seem pretty innocuous, customers have very specific expectations of their orders. In the moment, any alteration of what they anticipate can cause an instant backlash response that can range from disappointment to outward hostility. The faster a customer problem is resolved, the less likely a situation will escalate and the more forgiving a customer will be going forward.

The restaurant brand and the local store experience are inexorably linked. To the customer, the experience is the brand. So, it is crucial to identify any endemic problems within the franchisee system or with any particular operator group as early as possible.

This solution required a comprehensive Customer Support initiative that could address a wide variety of different situations. Named after one of their popular deep-fried potato side dishes, we created the “TOT LINE.” It is essentially a general brand crisis line where customers could easily connect with the brand and avoid the awkwardness of having to deal directly with store management. Mobile app issues were able to be dealt with instantly, diffusing customer dissatisfaction. The TOT LINE was built to be scalable based on seasonality.

Our TOT LINE team members were trained to address almost anything from orders being delivered cold to actual crisis management situations: assaults or health emergencies.

We armed a front-line defense of coupons and gift cards. Where these tools proved inadequate, usually pertaining to a personnel conflict rather than a product matter, a higher-level supervisor stepped in to help resolve an issue.

Our system was set up to advocate on behalf of the operators as well. We maintained a database of all inbound interactions, which populated franchisee scorecards. Franchisees participated in a bonus system. They could be penalized based on the number of complaints received. Sometimes those complaints were caused by supply issues or circumstances beyond their control. Within our model, franchisees could request reclassification of complaints so they were accurately reconciled.

We pushed much of the customer care traffic into digital channels, such as SMS or other text-based apps, which dramatically lowered the cost of resolution. Much of this type of interaction is handled offshore.