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Customer service is key for McDonald’s franchisee

Sarah Stowe

Warwick Boyd’s career has been interesting and varied to say the least. He spent many years travelling the globe with Qantas, has worked in residential real estate and in 2012 he joined the McDonald’s brand.

During his time as a flight attendant with Qantas, Warwick learned the importance of customer service, a skill that can be applied to life at McDonald’s.

“I took up a position with Qantas Airways as an international flight attendant in 1989. Ten years travelling the world locked in a metal tube for up to 14 hours at a time with 300 plus passengers helped me understand how to deliver consistent ultimate customer service,” he says.

“Sharing this ultimate customer service knowledge in developing our young crew has been incredibly rewarding.”

A family background in the building industry later saw Warwick and his wife Leanne build their own company in residential real estate.

“In the year 2000 with two young children, property development became our full-time career. For the next 12 years planning, financing, managing, building and presenting properties for sale positioned us financially to realise our McDonald’s dream,” Warwick explains. 

Choosing the right brand

So why McDonald’s? “It was due to a combination of factors, including our love of the brand, the success of the McDonald’s business model and the knowledge that we are in business for ourselves but not by ourselves,” he says. 

Warwick has a genuine passion for the brand, which he explains developed from an early age. “As a seven year-old child I fell in love in the back passenger side seat of my family’s car when I cracked open the box of my first Big Mac. Since that day, the relationship has become a part of my life.

“Whether it was in Japan as an exchange student or in London as a flight attendant or simply at home for dinner on a Friday night, the McDonald’s brand has always been there, providing a clean, safe, friendly and quality dining experience.”

Warwick believes McDonald’s is in a league of its own, and recognises passion for the brand in which you invest is vital – particularly given the length of the franchise term at McDonald’s. 

“There was no other brand for us. There are none that compare. There was never a fall back choice, we always wanted to be part of the best.  

“Entering into a franchise partnership of 20 years for us was similar to marriage. The importance of love (of the brand) and the mutual respect and trust in the partnership are critical for success and longevity.” 

The #1 challenge

While running a business no doubt has its daily challenges, Warwick explains he and Leanne have faced one key challenge in particular. “Our biggest challenge to date has been projecting sales patterns and volume in advance.

“Being reliant on projections for inventory ordering and crew rostering in a new and growing restaurant with limited previous sales data or trends has been a little tricky at times,” he adds. 

The training and support

McDonald’s takes its training incredibly seriously, and Warwick says its commitment to the Registered Applicant Training Program is second to none.

“For me personally the confidence gained from training for 12 months with one of Australia’s leading McDonald’s licensee’s at Gosford on the Central Coast of NSW absolutely set us up for success, for which we will always be grateful.”

Warwick recognises support from the McDonald’s brand as well as its licensees has been invaluable. “The day we first walked through the front door of our own restaurant we were absolutely prepared and confident we could handle all that lay ahead. The knowledge that we are not alone, with the franchisor and hundreds of licensees all by our side, is the true strength of the system.

“The franchisor has an abundance of incredibly talented people all working together for the growth and success of the business. To have access to this level of experience and expertise on your own would be cost prohibitive and unattainable, but as part of the system it is at our fingertips,” he explains. 

Moving forward 

Looking to the future, the customer will remain a key focus for Warwick and Leanne. “With this business we will continue to delight our customers, immerse ourselves in the system, work hard and love what we do every day,” he says.