BCE24 | Virtual Brand Ambassadors: Making Brands Personal - John Meulemans
Sps
1. Hi, my name is Alyson Bandemer and for my senior project I have
chosen to learn how to manage a standard franchise business. I have
decided to focus my research on business because it is in a recent
interest in my life. I started working at McDonald’s in September 2010,
and began to realizeabout a year ago that business fascinated me. My
whole life, I saw myself in the healthcare field, but I never knew I
would have a passion for business. I chose to learn more about business
management and found that I want to focus on business in college. I
began working as regular crew, but after about six months I was
promoted to crew trainer, a position in which I perform duties similar to
that of an assistant manager. I want to continue work my way up the
business ladder and therefore wanted to use my own work at
McDonald's for this project.
My product is merely a combination of all the work I have been
doing since the summer. Everything I took part in handlingis the
responsibility of the store manager, Norma Porta, who is also my
project facilitator. I took on responsibilities such as inventory, order,
deposits, scheduling, training, running the floor, and so much more.
Inventory was the very first responsibility I took over. Before I was a
crew trainer, I was overseer of every item that needed to be counted,
with the exception of items in stock room and refrigerator. All I needed
to do was make a list of all the items outside the stock room and make
sure every item was accounted for. Then I would add up the totals and
turn them into Norma. As time went by, I wanted to learn more and
Norma allowed me to shadow her and watch what goes on after I
turned in the counting sheet. She also allowed me to work with my
other project facilitator, Eddie Benitez, who aids her in entering
inventory. That’s when I learned how excruciatingly boring inventory
is. We do a weekly census of all our products every Monday night.
Then we do an end-of-month, which is even worse. On a typical
Monday, we count only the items that are edible. End-of-month
consists of counting every item, including all cups, spoons, straws,
even napkins. Issues that typically occur would involve human error, or
even laziness. Each crew worker is assigned a group of items to count
and sometimes the crew person will not finish counting before the shift
is over or would confuse the person coming in to cover their station.
We have multiple areas for some of our most popular items, so
2. recounting some items is a typical error as well.
The order is something closely related to inventory that I also took
the pleasure of handling. Order merely decides what type of product the
store needs.Inventory contributes to the order sheet. As soon as
inventory is entered, the computer uses that information to determine
with items will run out before the next delivery. Because inventory is
easily miscounted, the order can sometimes become inaccurate. Eddie
and Norma are also in charge of the order. Eddie walked me through
the whole process of figuring out which items need to be ordered and
which ones didn’t. The computer will sometimes not provide the
correct amount of product, so a manager must double check that all
items are accounted for.
The deposit was another important aspect to cover. As I was learning
how to do it, my facilitator mentioned that it was a safety violation to
allow information about our daily revenue outside the workplace. So
we came to the conclusion to use false information and create a pretend
deposit. I counted a deposit drawer, signed the check and the deposit
sheet. Then I left the store with Eddie who brought the real deposit. He
showed me where the bank was and how to turn in the deposit. He also
mentioned that he always clocks out before he leaves the store. Many
managers will go to the bank, and then come back to the store to clock
out. This process is used most typically considering the deposit is an
action that is for the company and therefore the employee should be
paid. It was strange to me to think that Eddie doesn’t mind not being
paid while he does drops the deposit off because I feel like many
people are obsessed with making money. It feels good to know that
Eddie is my manager and that he is not worried about just making
money, but rather what’s best for the company.
Targets are another main aspect of being a manager. Before each
shift, the shift manager will print and distribute the projections for that
shift. Our restaurant has two target boards in which we write the times
we are expected to have for the next few hours and the amount of
special items we should sell. It is the job of the manager to make it
clear to all crew what our targets are and what our projected revenue is.
As the crew, we work together to meet those targets.
Training is the major aspect of being a crew trainer. When Norma
hires a new employee, he or she is assigned to a specific crew trainer
3. for a certain amount of time. Therefore, the trainer is responsible for
the new employee and determines which SOCs need to be completed
and which ones are mastered. Training is also my favorite part of being
a crew trainer. It gives me opportunity to be someone’s first friend in
the workplace and I feel I succeed at being a friendly trainer. John and
Colin were two of my latest trainees. Colin is now in the process of
becoming a crew trainer himself, and I value the fact that I could have
been the one to teach such a successful employee. Misty has worked
with me ever since the very beginning. She has also been a crew trainer
for as long as I have. Her and I work together and give each other
constructive criticism toward one another’s training methods. Misty
and I get praise for being great workers and for inspiring great workers.
However, there have been a couple of mishaps, with both John and
Colin. Knowing the buttons on the register is extremely crucial for
instances in which all crew is busy and there is a customer who is
ordering too quickly and the employee can’t keep up. Great attention
needs to be paid to each customer, and it is difficult to satisfy
customers when the crew is confused or behind. John was rushing and
didn’t know where a certain button on the register was. He had to ask
for help, even though he had been working at McDonald’s for some
time. The simple question slowed the serving process and a few
customers became upset. After the instance, the manager asked why he
didn’t know the answer to the question; John answered, “Ally didn’t
teach me”. Of course because I am a trainer, I can gain respect easily. If
I don’t do my job to the absolute fullest, some pieces of information
fall through and problems are easily created. A similar situation
happened with Colin a few months ago. Though I can’t remember the
exact incident, I do know that it was a crucial point I should have
covered during his training. I have learned from both employees how to
cover every detail, no matter how big.Sam was the first person I was
ever assigned when I began my training. She gave me all the
information quickly, yet effectively. Even though she trained me about
a year and a half ago, I remember much of what she said and how
diligent she was as a worker. I looked up to her from the very
beginning and only hope that my trainees will soon see me the same
way.Norma has definitely contributed the most to both my senior
project and my management abilities at McDonald’s. She is always so
4. happy to help and never quits giving me advice or aid. Ryan was a
close friend of mine when I started working in September. Then, he got
promoted and had to transfer McDonald’s. I was so excited when I
heard he was transferring back to my McDonald’s because I still had
training left to do before my promotion could be possible. I knew that
Ryan would be the best person to train me on the station I was missing:
grill. He’s extremely patient and supportive and I would like to adopt
those features as I train my crew.
One thing Norma loves the most about being a manager is
congratulating her crew. She goes above and beyond to make sure her
crew knows how much she appreciates them. She has crew recognition
chart that tracks the progress of each crewmember. Once an employee
completes and masters a station, she marks it on the recognition chart
for the whole crew to see. It’s a great way to track everyone’s progress
and to display what each person needs more training with. Issues are
inevitable with the recognition chart because many employees believe
they are worthy of more recognition than they truly are. In those cases,
employees desire more training, and that also improves the store and
it’s customer service. I wanted to include the picture of Jon for
employee of the month because I believe his case is special. I love it
because it shows that Jon could be proud of his accomplishments.
That’s exactly what we aim for specifically for the crew: to make them
feel accomplished and appreciated. SOCs are a huge part of training as
well. It stands for station observation checklist. Each station has an
SOC that describes how that station works and is also a grading sheet
used to determine if an employee has mastered that station. Norma has
divided each of us into groups with a manager at the head of each
group. I was chosen to co-lead my team. It’s an amazing privilege
because I will have even more responsibility for training new
employees. I am looking forward to the summer when we begin to
distribute SOCs and improve the store.
I love this last slide because it shows how much fun employees
can have together while working. It is an amazing feeling to be
surrounded by people who love and care about you. I have learned
about stores that do not allow any talking unless it is strictly related to
the restaurant. However, if there is no personality, there isn’t much
room for enjoyment. When people are so constrained to certain limits,
5. freedom appears untouchable and the crew is less content. I want to be
a manager who can relate to and understand my employees. I want to
teach them that we are all here for help and support. When employees
are comfortable with each other, they are more likely to respect one
another and have a desire to do better. The positive and friendly attitude
will rub off on customers giving my restaurant a pleasant ambiance.
Because of this project, I have been forced to learn about
business management and therefore found it to be a seemingly perfect
opportunity for my future. I have learned how much work my managers
have to do to keep a business successful. This project made me realize
that, regardless of the extensive work, the enjoyment of the words “I
own a business” is all too fulfilling. I have also learned that I will only
work at McDonald’s for about another 2 years. I love and enjoy the
company and have a guaranteed promotion in August, but I would like
to expand my experience beyond just fast food. I am excited to see
what the future has in store for me.
Thank you for your time, I hope you all have a wonderful
evening. Goodbye, and thanks again.