The dynamic duo of franchising

Black Enterprise, Sept, 1995 by Valencia Roner

Then Taylor joined Burger King in August 1993. She was assigned to one of the toughest districts to manage: Southern California, whose restaurants received the company's worst ranking in store performance and customer satisfaction. Taylor quickly formulated a business plan for each of the district's 23 franchise groups and prepared quarterly business reviews to monitor progress. She also developed customized restaurant marketing programs and specialized sales and operational strategies. Her efforts led to a 22% increase in customer traffic and a 15% increase in sales for her district in the first year.

"Our 99 cent Whopper promotions allowed franchisees to increase revenues substantially," says Taylor. And to make sure quality standards were maintained, Taylor visited each store "to communicate the importance of quality to my franchisees, letting them know we could not afford to compromise Burger King standards."

Taylor's former manager, Charles Dooly, a former Burger King Corp. vice president, says, "Ardena demonstrated an excellent use of a strong business skill base and effectively handled the everyday business decisions as a franchise sales and service manager." In addition, Dooly says Taylor's uncanny ability to win the respect and cooperation of her peers and co-workers allows her to achieve optimum success.

Taylor passed on her expertise in sales and service management to the franchisees she managed. Earl Norsworthy, one of the Burger King franchisees in Taylor's old territory, says, "Ardena showed me that the little things--customer service, quality control and store cleanliness--can make a big difference in my sales."

Norsworthy, who also owns a Denny's franchise, was so impressed with Taylor that he recommended her to be considered for Denny's Fast Track program. After four months of extensive application reviews, background checks and interviews, Taylor was accepted into the program in June. According to Sandy Gyenes, human resources director for Denny's West Coast in Irvine, Calif., "Ardena's a natural." Gyenes says that Taylor is accelerating through the training using her successful experiences managing Burger King franchises. Upon completing the program, Taylor will be offered the opportunity to own and operate a Denny's franchise, which could be located anywhere in the U.S. Annual sales for company-owned stores total $1.25 million.

Flagstar Companies Inc. would certainly welcome Taylor's success. The $2.7 billion restaurant company has been struggling to halt three years of declining customer traffic and stagnant revenues at Denny's, its largest subsidiary. Denny's operates around 1,000 of Flagstar's 2,700 moderately priced restaurants, which also include the El Pollo Loco and Hardee's franchise chains.

Denny's hasn't added many franchises during its slump. Revenues have remained virtually unchanged since 1992, growing slightly from $1.49 billion to $1.55 billion in 1994.

Some believe Denny's doldrums are directly related to a series of racial discrimination claims in 1993 for its alleged mistreatment of African American customers. Two of the 4,300 claims, filed by African American customers who said they were required to prepay for their meals or were refused service, resulted in settlements totaling $54 million. Denny's also struck a Fair Share Agreement with the NAACP shortly after the settlements, promising an estimated $1.01 billion in business and employment opportunities to minorities over the next seven years.