As convenience stores increasingly invest in their foodservice programs to compete with quick-service restaurants (QSR), they face the challenge of equipping employees with the expertise needed to deliver high-quality, consistent offerings while navigating an industry known for its high employee turnover. In this environment, c-store retailers are finding the training programs they implement can make or break the success of their food program.
“Quality and consistency are essential in foodservice,” said Jeff Carpenter, director, Cliff’s Local Market, which operates 22 locations in central New York. “With a labor-intense operation in a high-turnover industry, you have to ensure you have the right people in place — team members must be supported, enjoy what they do, and believe in and be proud of the food they prepare and sell.”
Domino Food & Fuel, which operates 23 locations in Oklahoma, began the delicate balancing act of building foodservice excellence and ensuring employees are well trained amid turnover by first making foodservice “its own entity and a complete priority,” said Dustin Kreizenbeck, director of operations for Domino.
The majority of Domino convenience stores feature proprietary food offerings, which include items like fresh-breaded chicken strips, chicken club sandwiches and even whole chickens. Two locations feature a proprietary diner offering called Double Six Diner, which provides a full diner menu, including smoked barbecue, fried-onion burgers and fresh cut fries. It also has two Subway franchises and two Papa John’s.
As the company shifted its focus toward foodservice, it overhauled its training program for foodservice employees. Now, the chain has foodservice district managers that identify “foodservice champions” at each store, who then oversee the training of foodservice team members at that location. To become a foodservice champion, employees must first meet the requirements on a readiness checklist.
“This ensures uniformity across the network of our stores so customers can get that same great experience at any of our locations. Our focus has been to drill down versus take it as a whole-chain approach,” said Kreizenbeck.
The foodservice champion oversees a team lead server, who is responsible for the presentation of the food. There is also a kitchen lead, who is responsible for preparing the foods to make sure they are presentable for the customer. The chain has a big focus on its hot cases, so it has someone dedicated to managing that area as well.
The foodservice champion handles the majority of training “hand in hand, side by side,” Kreizenbeck said. “We found that just to be more effective.”
Then, the trainee is expected to demonstrate to the trainer that they have retained the information on how to create the item, etc.
Rather than having employees switch back and forth from the retail side to the food counter, Domino found it more effective to hire dedicated employees that predominantly handle food.
“Turnover being a challenge, you do have to blend a little bit, but we have found that if they come in daily knowing they’re going to own that task in the food area, it raises the bar and quality of our foodservice tremendously,” Kreizenbeck said.
During the hiring process, Domino asks a series of questions it calls the “Core Five” to determine if a potential hire would do well in the foodservice area of the store. That includes asking about previous foodservice experience and their likes and dislikes in the food area.
