You'll Love It or We'll Eat It (taco Bell)

The restaurant our group has chosen to observe and study is Taco Bell. We visited four different locations which are Plano East, Midway Road and 635, Marsh Lane, and Garland. Here is some basic information about Taco Bell Corporation. The first Taco Bell was built in Downey in 1962. The first franchisee was Kermit Becky, a former Los Angeles police man, in 1964. Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., (NYSE: YUM), is the nation's leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant which serves more than 35 million consumers each week in more than 6,500 restaurants across the United States. In 2003, Taco Bell generated sales of $1.6 billion in company restaurants and $3.8 billion in franchise restaurants. Yum! Brands, Inc. is based in Louisville, Kentucky, with four company's restaurant brands. This are KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Long John Silver's, which are global leaders of the chicken, pizza, Mexican- style food and quick service seafood categories respectively. Over 80 percent of the restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees. Currently, there are over 280 restaurants operating in Canada, Guam, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, and some parts of Asia and Europe. Taco Bell believes in serving people with good quality food, fast and at low cost.

With the more that 6,500 Taco Bell locations, 80 % of the restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees. Taco Bell, just like any other restaurant is looking for highly qualified franchisees to become an owner or operator. Prospective franchisees will need a minimum net worth of $750,000, and liquid assets of $360,000. Franchisees must also have a minimum of five years restaurant management experience as a multiple unit operator for more than 5 restaurants. Strong business background and financial management are also a requirement. An owner's immediate family cannot franchise any other Mexican style food concept or be a franchisee of a national hamburger fast food chain.

Taco Bell practices an analyzer type of strategy, introducing new products and defending its existing ones. They dominate the global fast food industry. Global dominance means they are setting the performance standard for customer satisfaction and increasing their market share and profitability. They are doing this through successfully implementing the convenience, value and execution strategies. They improve gross margins and lower overhead costs while achieving moderate sales growth. Also Taco Bell is increasing the productivity of every person in the company.

Taco Bell employs over 166,000 employees in company-operated and franchised units, and corporate offices across the United States. They have a standard hiring process. It begins with the standard application followed by an individual interview. Off course they prefer workers with prior knowledge of food service industry.

On the average, 147 million people see a Taco Bell commercial once a week - more than half of the U.S. population. Over 4.4 million tacos of all varieties are served in Taco Bell restaurants each day.

The employee's attitude seems to be favorable, they were occupied and staying busy, also customer walked up and employee stopped what he was doing to assist customers. Employees were also very informative and knowledgeable about different options. Depending in the area we visited, we found more Latinos than African Americans, or more Asians than Whites, etc. They were very attentive and they greeted each customer as they approach the front counter. Employees explained the menus and were able to answer customers' questions about the menu. They kept the restaurant clean and free of any trash. Even though it's a fast food restaurant, the tables and chairs were very modern and colorful.

The strength of their attitude is above average. They were not very happy, but they were still doing their job or you can say they are not really joyful but not angry. And differentiation characteristics of the employee attitudes found in the Taco Bell which are; they all working as one but they has their own position and some have more tasks than others. In every Taco Bell we visited, we observed different attitudes, values and personality differences.

The 4-P model of strategic result is apparent in the restaurant.

Products

* Greater customer satisfaction- competitive salads, new items,

* Better quality goods- real cheddar cheese used

Processes

* Technological advancement- use an LCD monitor for their register, now accepting credit cards, contemporary furniture in eating area, head phone communication

Productivity

* Reduced waste- We saw no trash lying around the entire place, all customers cleaned up after themselves and if not an employees did

* More efficient use of resources- while we were there we saw no one complaining and no food was thrown away

People

* Skill development- no questions being asked, very well trained

* Motivation- more customers, more sales

* Team work- take turns in positions, rotate

* Acceptance of change- one of the locations includes an additional service which is Pizza Hut; they seem to be as knowledgeable and skilled in the pizza making as for the tacos, very well adjusted.

In regards to products, Taco Bell has tremendously tried to expand their product line along with exceptional customer service. These expansions are being done by introducing new meat, combos, and salads. Since the American population is becoming more and more health conscious, Taco Bell did not want to be left out. They are taking a big step by introducing healthier menu options. This is for those who still want a Mexican style platter but are watching what they eat. Even though new items are being develop and tested, Taco Bell still wants to maintain the popularity of its current items. For example, the Mexican Pizza has become one of the favorites, to keep and satisfy these particular customers Taco Bell must maintain the quality and quantity of their Mexican Pizza. Taco Bell also has plans to expand their Kids Meal and 99 cent menu. In return, Taco Bell hopes for a great response to the eating public, satisfied customers, higher market share for its share holders and higher profit overall.

The locations we visited, the employees seem to be very knowledgeable and self manageable. Each employee had a certain task,