Grown from a small, family-run business in Guatemala, Pollo Campero, the Central American chicken franchise with nearly 100 units in the U.S. and another 270 worldwide, certainly knows the importance of community and connection. As it grows, the brand will continue to impact more franchisees, build a larger system of restaurant-level team members and serve an even greater number of guests. Through this expansion, LJ Rodas, chief operating officer and managing director of Pollo Campero, says that the culture that has been ingrained in Pollo Campero over the course of 50-plus years will be crucial to maintaining its community-first approach as the network expands.
“We’re very people-oriented. If you’re a franchisee who needs help, you don’t just call a call center and talk to someone you’ve never met,” said Rodas. “We have a very consistent communication system at every level. Our team is very clear about two things: Everyone is on the same ship, and at the end of the day, we want the experience to be the same for the guest whether it’s a corporate or franchised location. In order to do that, we need to be very connected from a personnel perspective.”
Rodas explained that, through all of the franchisor’s efforts, the team is working to ensure that each local owner feels that they truly belong in and are a valued part of the Pollo Campero family and that guests have a similar experience — when they visit any Pollo Campero location, they are visiting the Pollo Campero family.
To deliver this type of experience, Pollo Campero works to exceed the baseline franchisor-franchisee support dynamics. Rather than simply passing along a handbook and hosting a mandatory annual convention that focuses on supplemental training, the leadership team repeatedly emphasizes the value franchisees bring to the system.
“We have franchise conventions as everyone else does, but the main purpose is how we can be a better support team for the franchisees,” explained Rodas. “That’s usually the main topic of focus at our events. We want franchisees to feel that we hear them; we never want them to feel that everything we say is just mandatory with no possibility for discussion. We take into consideration, with a very high level of priority, how the franchisees feel and what they think, because at the end of the day, they are the ones doing these processes every day and bringing firsthand experience to the table.”
One recently-launched effort that is reinforcing this ideology is Pollo Campero’s Service Day. This is a designated day in which members of the corporate team visit local stores and work alongside unit-level employees to interact with team members and local guests personally and gain firsthand experience of the demands of in-store operations.
Service Day is mandatory for all corporate employees and requires more thought than simply donning a uniform and working behind a register for a single shift. After Service Day is over, the corporate and unit-level teams converge to debrief, and fill out a survey to share feedback.
“When I did my Service Day, I had to report to the General Manager — she was my boss for the day,” said Rodas. “I was doing rice, breading chicken, and I was the cashier for two or three hours. I was just another employee, and the store manager was my direct supervisor. It’s very important that the team members don’t feel like it’s the boss coming to the restaurant. During the shift, I act as a standard employee because that’s what allows me to have the most realistic experience and understand where issues come up.”
In addition to helping long-standing corporate employees understand unit-level challenges, Rodas says Service Days also help corporate employees who may not have interacted with restaurant employees, managers or franchisees better understand the impact they have. As members of the franchisee support team, being a part of the Pollo Campero experience and truly understanding the love and affinity guests have for Pollo Campero associates more meaning and service with the everyday requests received from franchisees.
All of Pollo Campero’s franchisee support systems and strategies revolve around “REIR,” the Spanish word meaning “to laugh” or “to smile.” Through respect, excellence, integrity and responsibility, the Pollo Campero team ensures there is connection and support at all levels that allow the internal network to remain well-connected, just as a family would, and prepared to provide a welcoming, family-style experience that makes guests feel that the team is always ready to take care of them with a laugh or smile.
“We insist on ‘REIR’ a lot. For some, it feels very repetitive, but the only way to truly inject those values into the entire system is to behave in accordance with them,” said Rodas. “Everything is done with those core values in mind and treating each other like family. We make sure that everyone has the support and resources they need to perform the way we expect, because when we are secure in this, we feel confident that everyone is working together and there will be no potential for damage to the brand.”
For more information, visit https://camperofranchise.com/.
Pollo Campero
SPONSORED
The Central American chicken franchise nurtures a family-type connection in the system through its core values: respect, excellence, integrity and responsibility.
Grown from a small, family-run business in Guatemala, Pollo Campero, the Central American chicken franchise with nearly 100 units in the U.S. and another 270 worldwide, certainly knows the importance of community and connection. As it grows, the brand will continue to impact more franchisees, build a larger system of restaurant-level team members and serve an even greater number of guests. Through this expansion, LJ Rodas, chief operating officer and managing director of Pollo Campero, says that the culture that has been ingrained in Pollo Campero over the course of 50-plus years will be crucial to maintaining its community-first approach as the network expands.
“We’re very people-oriented. If you’re a franchisee who needs help, you don’t just call a call center and talk to someone you’ve never met,” said Rodas. “We have a very consistent communication system at every level. Our team is very clear about two things: Everyone is on the same ship, and at the end of the day, we want the experience to be the same for the guest whether it’s a corporate or franchised location. In order to do that, we need to be very connected from a personnel perspective.”
Rodas explained that, through all of the franchisor’s efforts, the team is working to ensure that each local owner feels that they truly belong in and are a valued part of the Pollo Campero family and that guests have a similar experience — when they visit any Pollo Campero location, they are visiting the Pollo Campero family.
To deliver this type of experience, Pollo Campero works to exceed the baseline franchisor-franchisee support dynamics. Rather than simply passing along a handbook and hosting a mandatory annual convention that focuses on supplemental training, the leadership team repeatedly emphasizes the value franchisees bring to the system.
“We have franchise conventions as everyone else does, but the main purpose is how we can be a better support team for the franchisees,” explained Rodas. “That’s usually the main topic of focus at our events. We want franchisees to feel that we hear them; we never want them to feel that everything we say is just mandatory with no possibility for discussion. We take into consideration, with a very high level of priority, how the franchisees feel and what they think, because at the end of the day, they are the ones doing these processes every day and bringing firsthand experience to the table.”
One recently-launched effort that is reinforcing this ideology is Pollo Campero’s Service Day. This is a designated day in which members of the corporate team visit local stores and work alongside unit-level employees to interact with team members and local guests personally and gain firsthand experience of the demands of in-store operations.
Service Day is mandatory for all corporate employees and requires more thought than simply donning a uniform and working behind a register for a single shift. After Service Day is over, the corporate and unit-level teams converge to debrief, and fill out a survey to share feedback.
“When I did my Service Day, I had to report to the General Manager — she was my boss for the day,” said Rodas. “I was doing rice, breading chicken, and I was the cashier for two or three hours. I was just another employee, and the store manager was my direct supervisor. It’s very important that the team members don’t feel like it’s the boss coming to the restaurant. During the shift, I act as a standard employee because that’s what allows me to have the most realistic experience and understand where issues come up.”
In addition to helping long-standing corporate employees understand unit-level challenges, Rodas says Service Days also help corporate employees who may not have interacted with restaurant employees, managers or franchisees better understand the impact they have. As members of the franchisee support team, being a part of the Pollo Campero experience and truly understanding the love and affinity guests have for Pollo Campero associates more meaning and service with the everyday requests received from franchisees.
All of Pollo Campero’s franchisee support systems and strategies revolve around “REIR,” the Spanish word meaning “to laugh” or “to smile.” Through respect, excellence, integrity and responsibility, the Pollo Campero team ensures there is connection and support at all levels that allow the internal network to remain well-connected, just as a family would, and prepared to provide a welcoming, family-style experience that makes guests feel that the team is always ready to take care of them with a laugh or smile.
“We insist on ‘REIR’ a lot. For some, it feels very repetitive, but the only way to truly inject those values into the entire system is to behave in accordance with them,” said Rodas. “Everything is done with those core values in mind and treating each other like family. We make sure that everyone has the support and resources they need to perform the way we expect, because when we are secure in this, we feel confident that everyone is working together and there will be no potential for damage to the brand.”
For more information, visit https://camperofranchise.com/.
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