1851

To <a href="http://franchise.wbu.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=wild-birds-unlimited-builds-morale-and-spreads-cheer-with-the-mistletoe-tour-7898" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">Wild Birds Unlimited</a>, the holidays are an opportunity to rejoice, reflect and plan for the future. It involves travelling thousands of miles and lots of holiday cheer. 

Manager of Visual Merchandising Jane Jones, Director of Retail Operations Amy Moore, and four other <a href="http://wildbirdsunlimited.1851franchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=wild-birds-unlimited-builds-morale-and-spreads-cheer-with-the-mistletoe-tour-7898" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wild Birds Unlimited</a> staff members take a journey every year, which they have dubbed the Mistletoe Tour. It&rsquo;s an opportunity to bond with each other, spend some quality time with a number of their wonderful Wild Birds Unlimited franchisees, leverage the holiday season and take stock of their performance. It may, in fact, be the most productive and fun activity they do all year. 

About six years ago, Jones and Moore brainstormed the idea that is now named the Mistletoe Tour. 

&ldquo;We realized how great it would be to go to the stores during or just before the holidays to wish our franchisees a happy holiday,&rdquo; says Moore. &ldquo;We decided to take pictures along the way, and from that we&rsquo;ve built a sort of library, which we share online. So as we&rsquo;re traveling, owners can track where we are, see products and pictures of owners and staff.&rdquo; 

Most importantly, the tour does a fantastic job of building morale throughout the company. Exploring the field and getting out of the office is very beneficial for the small team, which includes business coaches and their training and human resources manager. 

&ldquo;Our experience at every store is completely different,&rdquo; says Jones. &ldquo;We spend about an hour to an hour and a half gathering ideas, figuring out which products are selling best, what marketing has been the most effective, and what each location&rsquo;s upcoming marketing plans are.&rdquo;

They also take this time to recognize what franchisees are doing well and what they themselves could be doing better. 

&ldquo;We welcome, and encourage, any suggestions for improvement,&rdquo; says Moore. &ldquo;We want to really know how we&rsquo;re doing as a support team so that we can serve franchisees as best we can. It&rsquo;s good for everyone involved, and, in turn, is good for business.&rdquo;

Jones, in particular, has taken note that something they can improve on is being more explicit about how elaborate they want the decoration in each of the stores to be. 

&ldquo;I make the assumption that people know how to decorate for the holidays,&rdquo; says Jones. &ldquo;Retail is a different game than just decorating around your home. It needs to be elaborate, like a really big Christmas tree.&rdquo; 

This is just one example of a great lesson they learned during the tour&mdash;to realize that just because they think something is obvious, it may not be to franchisees. It&rsquo;s really up to them to communicate what they want and think will be best for business. 

The travelling team of the Mistletoe Tours favorite aspect of the trip, however, is the rah-rah spirit it induces. Those feelings create momentum to help them make the most of the holiday season, and still have the energy afterward to consider, &ldquo;what&rsquo;s next?&rdquo; 

While reveling in the present, yet looking towards the future, the Mistletoe Tour crew conducts some of their best ideation sessions in the car travelling from store to store. 

&ldquo;We brainstorm ways in which we can better communicate with our franchisees what will make the biggest difference to their business. Every year, we ask ourselves what we can do differently to provide anything and everything franchisees may need to maximize the holiday. I find a lot of value internally to talk shop in a less informal environment.&rdquo;

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.3800000000000001;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">&nbsp;</div>

Wild Birds Unlimited Builds Morale And Spreads Cheer With The Mistletoe Tour

1851 Franchise

6 Franchise Support Center staff members travel over a thousand miles to visit Wild Bird Unlimited stores during the holiday season

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

wild-birds-unlimited-builds-morale-and-spreads-cheer-with-the-mistletoe-tour

SweatHouz

Why This P.E. Expert Left Wall Street To Find a New Passion and Purpose with SweatHouz Franchise

why-this-pe-expert-left-wall-street-to-find-a-new-passion-and-purpose-with-sweathouz-franchise

Workout Anytime

Workout Anytime Announces National Partnership With the American Cancer Society

workout-anytime-announces-national-partnership-with-the-american-cancer-society

BooXkeeping

Max Emma Featured on the Cover of The Inc Magazine

Max Emma Featured on the Cover of The Inc Magazine’s “5 Most Pioneering Business Leaders to Follow in 2025”

max-emma-featured-on-the-cover-of-the-inc-magazines-5-most-pioneering-business-leaders-to-follow-in-2025

CapitalSpring

Graphic with orange chart and hand pointing at graph

CapitalSpring Closes on Initial $505 Million of $1 Billion Target just Two Months After the Launch of its Seventh Flagship Investment Fund 

capitalspring-closes-505m-fund-vii

Children's Lighthouse

How Families Are Building Brighter Futures Together With Children’s Lighthouse

how-families-are-building-brighter-futures-together-with-childrens-lighthouse

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

AI-related job cuts, October U.S. job cuts, American job cut record

AI-Fueled Layoffs Reshape the U.S. Job Market — And Highlight Franchising’s Resilience

ai-job-cuts-franchising-path-forward

Crunch Fitness Franchise - Sixth Street Minority Stake - CR Fitness - 1851 Franchise

Sixth Street Takes Minority Stake in CR Fitness, the Largest Crunch Fitness Franchisee

cr-fitness-crunch-fitness-sixth-street-investment

houses, Why Top Franchises of 2025 Outperform Independent Businesses

Why the Top Franchises of 2025 Outperform Independent Businesses

how-franchises-outperform-independent-business-2025-tech-data

Photo of Happinest Brands teams standing together in front of branded vehicles

Happinest Brands Continues Strong 2025 Trajectory With Major Q3 Growth and Strategic Wins

happinest-brands-q3-franchise-growth

Franchise Owners Step Up To Support Communities During Government Shutdown - 1851 Franchise

Franchise Owners Step Up To Support Communities During Government Shutdown

franchise-community-support-shutdown

Senior Entrepreneurship - Franchising - 1851 Franchise

Senior Entrepreneurship Is Rising — And Franchising Is a Key Outlet

senior-entrepreneurship-franchising-silver-startups

Thursday 1851 Franchise Agg - NASAA’s Noncompete Push

NASAA’s Noncompete Push Puts Franchise Growth on Uncertain Ground

franchise-noncompete-nasaa-advisory-reasonableness-standard

A Practical Playbook: Who To Call First When Franchising Your Business

franchising-your-business-who-to-call-first

image of jerome hanway from right at home Las Cruces, New Mexico 1851 franchise franchisee spotlight

Jerome Hanway Is Building His Right at Home Franchise Around His Mission To Serve

Wild Birds Unlimited Builds Morale And Spreads Cheer With The Mistletoe Tour

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS