FSR March 2023

F U T U R E O F QU I C K S E R V I C E

they come in-store, are we just willing to accept the fact that they’re not? Are they going to have a fantastic experience? Maybe we can give them an OK experience? That’s not how we think about it.” THE BRAND DNA One of the defining elements of Roy Rogers is its Fixin’s Bar, stocked with fresh sliced vegetables and other adds. When COVID’s impact pulsed, the brand closed the buffet-style feature and instead allowed customers to request a “Fixin’s Cup” just as they would condiments or napkins. Roy Rogers co-president Jim Plamondon says the decision was made like so many those days— “I was thinking, ‘how do you get past the next day?’” he recalls. Plamondon wasn’t sure if it would come back, evolve, stay as a to-go product, or, really, what might await. But accelerate to 2023 and the Fix in’s Bar is alive and well. What this proved to Roy Rogers and countless chains navigating a post pandemic picture is customers might have taken on new behaviors or come to expect others, but many of the reasons they went to restaurants in the first place haven’t changed. During the pandemic, Roy Rogers’ drive-thru accounted for 100 percent of sales. It dropped to about 70 percent when dining rooms first reopened and is now settling in the high 50 percent range. So in-store represents roughly 30–35 percent of business. Pre-COVID, drive-thru was about 50 percent. While dining rooms aren’t quite where they were previously ( you have to factor delivery and pickup into the equation now) it’s unequivo cally a noteworthy percentage of Roy Rogers’ take. A good example? Look at the Fixin’s Bar again. Initially, Roy Rogers opened one side since that’s all guest traffic supported. Both are open today and customers are coming in just to access it. Plamondon says it’s as clear now as it’s ever been that Roy Rogers’ brand and experience is different from large-scale peers like McDonald’s and Burger King—chains that boasted 70 per cent-plus business through the drive-thru lane prior to the crisis. “We’re still about hospitality. I think that’s what sets us apart. We have higher quality food. And then I think our associates and our people are nicer and continue that relationship with the guest and not just funnel everything through tech nology,” he says. Plamondon admits it’s become more difficult

 ROY ROGERS’

FIXIN’S BAR WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS CUSTOMERS CLAMORED FOR WHEN DINING ROOMS REOPENED.

to provide exceptional guest experience amid the labor shortage. Roy Rogers is staffed in the mid- to high-80s at the hourly level. The brand has

ROY ROGERS / TOM LESSER

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INDUSTRY-WIDE ISSUE

MARCH 2023