A simple strategy to keep staff happy and motivated has been the recipe to success for local business owner Taylor Kaman who operates a successful
Trios franchise at the Jam Factory.
Since opening his store in 2005, Taylor has established a loyal following of customers and increased sales by approximately 25 to 35 percent over the past year.
“I’ve always been very keen to treat my staff well because I believe customers will keep coming back if they deal with happy, smiling employees,” he said. “Our sales have really picked up over the past two years and a big part of that success has been thanks to the hard work and great customer service of my staff.
“I manage this by keeping work interesting for them and swapping their roles around from customer service to kitchen hand regularly. I also organise group activities every couple of months like days off at the movies.”
Taylor said the biggest challenge during his first year was establishing the
healthy eating franchise.
“The professional training and support I received from Trios head office field staff made the transition from hospitality worker to business owner a much smoother process but I still had to deal with finding enough staff in a tight labour market.
“In the beginning I was running the store with a skeletal crew and working long hours because I couldn’t find enough staff but that didn’t last long. I could barely cook before my franchisee training so I also had to learn how to make hundreds of Laffé wraps, salads and spuds every day.
“Now that the
fast food business is established I’m working a 32 hour weeks on average and planning to open a second Trios store in another major shopping centre within the next few years.”
Having previously worked as a duty manager in the hospitality industry, Taylor said he decided to open a Trios
food and beverage franchise because he was tired of working for other people.
“I knew I wanted to run my own business and franchising appealed to me because it’s accessible – people without previous experience can succeed without too much difficulty as long as they put the effort in.
“I researched a number of different franchises and chose Trios because the food was fresh, tasty and unlike anything I’d seen before. I also wanted to capitalise on the growing demand for healthy food and a healthy lifestyle, and Trios’ menu of Laffé wraps, salads and spuds is exactly what health conscious customers want.”
21-Apr-2008