Many entrepreneurs see kiosks as an affordable way forward, an outlet that frees them from the restrictions of renting retail space. Many experts in the food franchising world figured that quick service industry would seamlessly integrate into kiosks into their business schemes, but for some reason there has been some lag time.
Industry insiders are beginning to wonder why. QSR magazine has investigated the subject in a recent article. While they admit there has been some movement in restaurants introducing kiosk services, there seems to be a general reluctance on the part of the big QSR providers to deploy intensive kiosk services.
“We’ve been doing this for six years, and every year our restaurant revenue has gone up 40 to 50 percent. It’s been good, sure, but it lags a lot behind other industries, which have doubled in that same time,” Tommy Woycik told the website “We thought it’d be higher at restaurants – both in the fast casual and quick-service segments – but it’s just not at the same rates.”
The sense is that it is the franchises, not the consumers, who are holding back a more robust introduction of self-service kiosks at restaurants. American consumers, like eaters all over the world, enjoy using machines that make service faster, but insiders feel that that franchises are slow to remove that human face at the end of the food production chain.
Interestingly, anyone fearing that the presence of kiosks in QSR’s signals the end of humans is mistaken.
“The kiosks are not replacing employees. There has been no elimination in labor. In fact, restaurants can actually earn more labor if they facilitate higher transactions. We believe the kiosks can enhance the guest experience by giving them an additional option for ordering, and freeing up restaurant labor to focus on other areas of service,” said Brian Luscomb, corporate communications vice president at Jack in the Box.
I’ve read a lot lately about the rise in entrepreneurs from outside of America who’ve set up franchises in recent years. A lot of these people come to the country purely for the chance to earn a fortune. Others, though, arrive fleeing genuine oppression.
I always thought the concept behind Sport Clips – a hair cutting franchise geared towards sports-loving men – was fascinating, but the back story behind one of its franchisees Shahin Ebadi Urias, which is told in the latest issue of Franchise Times, is even more interesting. Born along the Iran-Azerbaijan border, Shahin’s family faced oppression in the years following Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.
You often hear the stories that inspire entrepreneurs to success, that kind of greeting-card inspiration story from, say, working at the nearby country club. Shahin acquired the mettle for business success at the age of 10, following the death of her mother, when tending to her family became her chief responsibility.
Shahin moved to Houston in 1991. After a number of setbacks, Shahin enrolled in beauty school and started cutting hair. Slowly, she worked her way up the ranks and assumed control of a local Sport Clips franchise.
“Shahin has a can-do attitude, she’s positive and willing to go up and beyond,” Gordon Logan, CEO of Sport Clips, told Franchise Times.
All in all, it’s a hugely inspiring story and proof of what foreigners can bring to franchising.
We’re always happy to highlight franchises that are making a difference in the community, and with the first day of school looming, it’s exciting to see one franchise initiative aimed at promoting health and fitness reaching a wider audience.
Jamba Juice, the California-based retailer has announced the expansion of its “Sip to Support” 10% give-back program. With this program, organizations who partner with Jamba Juice receive a number of swipe cards, which are distributed to the organization’s supporters. Jamba Juice then send 10% of every purchase made with those swipe cards to those back to the organization.
It’s a smart scheme designed to reward strong organizations and advocate healthy diets. With the growing movement around healthier school lunches, a number of PTAs have signed up. The company say it is going down quite successfully.
“The response has been very positive, so we wanted to offer the program to other community-based organizations — youth sports leagues, after-school programs to name a few — to have greater impact by creating an easy, fun and healthy way to feel good about giving back,” a Jamba Juice spokesperson told MediaPost.
Any organization or a PTA with a local Jamba Juice should look into the possibilities of the ‘Sip To Support’ campaign.
One of the most important documents for anyone seriously interested in franchise ownership is the Franchise Disclosure Document.
Perhaps not every entrepreneur is aware of the vast amount of information on offer in these documents, so it’s helpful to see Crain’s Detroit advocating a pretty thorough analysis of a franchise’s FDD before signing the dotted line on the franchise agreement.
The article breaks down many of the benefits of the FDD, and especially stresses on focusing on the turnover section.
Anyone looking for more background information on the FDD should read our breakdown on important form. And of course, with Franchise Direct, you can access the FDD’s of some of the best franchises in the world.
As Hispanics become more involved in American society, many are launching their business dreams by opening small businesses and franchises. They face the same problem that all American entrepreneurs face at the moment: how to receive the money that will get the business off the ground.
The News and Observer newspaper ran an interesting story recently about a novel solution of many Latino entrepreneurs. They’re turning to credit unions small banks for microloans. The paper tells the story of entrepreneur Christian Ruiz, who has started his own Jani-King business with the help of a $6,000 loan from La Cooperativa Latina de Crédita.
We hear so much about the struggles from franchisees to get funding. While immigration is a very divisive subject, it is undeniable that people flock to America with the hope of finding work and making money. These loan programs facilitate that entrepreneurial spirit.
So while it’s exciting to see a new business class emerging, other entrepreneurs should also keep in mind that with a bit of creativity, business funding can be attained.
Loading ...
Your Request List