Departmental Summaries ...

The Franchise Support Center

Great food and attractive stores are not enough to succeed in the fast food business. It takes great customer service, too.

So at the Taco John’s Franchise Support Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, we have a plaque that says, "If You’re Not Serving The Customer, You’re Serving Someone Who Is." To the Support Center Team, our customers are our franchisees, their employees, and their customers.

Everything we do is aimed at helping franchisees better serve their customers.

The following is a brief summary of the different departments at the Franchise Support Center and the services that they provide. Each department is staffed with experienced professionals that are ready to help you deliver the Taco John’s Promise and The Fresh Taste of West-Mex™ to each and every customer.

Franchise Development

Assistance for new restaurant development begins with your initial inquiry and continues through the site selection process, facility design and construction, and most importantly, your restaurant opening.

Potential locations for a Taco John’s Restaurant include undeveloped properties, existing restaurants and other buildings, shopping malls, shopping centers, and some non-traditional locations too. Property for a site may be purchased, leased, or contracted for through a third party (as in a "Build to Suit" opportunity).

A lot size of approximately 22,000 to 26,000 square feet is necessary to accommodate our T20 Restaurant, a traditional freestanding quick-service restaurant.

The T23 requires 22,000 to 26,000 square feet. A smaller version, our T16 Restaurant requires a lot of approximately 14,000 to 20,000 square feet.

Many criteria are considered when evaluating a potential location. These include, among others, population demographics, retail activity, employment, traffic patterns, environmental issues, residential density, competition, and other intangible factors.

Taco John’s Real Estate Committee must review any proposed sites to assure they meet our Real Estate Standards prior to the beginning of construction.

The design of our restaurants is the result of careful, independent research and hands-on development with company-owned prototypes. We provide conceptual floor plans and site sketches which must be adapted to your lot, verified and sealed by an approved architect before you submit them to your local Building Department for a Construction Permit.

We also provide constrction consultation during the project to help with building completion and the installation of equipment and furnishings. All exterior elevations must comply with our most current design and color standards. Our Franchise Development Department must review and accept all site, building, and remodeling plans before any restaurant project begins.

Marketing and Advertising

Taco John’s Marketing Department is responsible for planning, producing and distributing effective and impactful programs and materials to help you grow your business and build the Taco John’s Brand Image.

Marketing support activities occur several ways: We work with our national advertising agency to develop a National Calendar of promotions that are supported by television, radio, newspaper, outdoor and extensive point-of-purchase material. This program is funded from multiple sources: by Taco John’s International, Inc.; supplier marketing allowances; and our franchisees, who contribute an Advertising Production Fee based on a percentage of monthly Net Sales.

Each Restaurant may also belong to a regional marketing co-op, which helps individual franchisees participate in advertising that would otherwise not be cost-effective for a single restaurant. Each co-op determines for each member an advertising media fee based on monthly net sales to fund co-op advertising. This fee can be at or above the standard required 3% media fee.

Field Marketing representatives consult with co-op groups and individual franchisees to assist in developing marketing plans and the efficient use of advertising budgets. Special promotions for individual restaurants are part of Taco John’s Local Store Marketing (LSM) program. We provide consultation, ideas, and graphic support for a multitude of LSM campaigns.

The overall goal of marketing is to project "One Message. One Voice." throughout the Taco John's system, thereby creating greater synergy and effectiveness.

Franchise Business Consultants

Each Taco John’s Restaurant is assigned a Franchise Business Consultant (FBC). The FBCs provide ongoing support (utilizing other corporate resources as necessary) to help franchisees acquire, develop and mature their business and operational skills to build sales, retain customers, and maintain profitability. The FBC is the key communication link between Taco John’s International, Inc. and Taco John’s franchisees.

Human Resources

Our Human Resources Department will provide you with materials to help you attract, motivate, and retain the people you need to consistently deliver the Taco John’s experience and The Fresh Taste of West-Mex® to each customer that enters your new restaurant. Special, proprietary programs and systems have been carefully developed to ensure your crew will be the very best it can possibly be.

The Human Resources Department refers to their efforts as the harnessing of "People Power."

Training

The Taco John’s Training Department teaches franchisees and their team members the Taco John’s Operating System and how to effectively deliver The Taco John's Promise to every customer. This ensures consistency from restaurant to restaurant in all aspects of the dining experience.

Taco John’s initial training, known as the "Taco Tech" Training Program, involves intensive classroom and restaurant training. It is designed in two-week modules allowing a training program to begin every other week, year round. You, and at least one other person from your team, will spend time at the Taco John’s Franchise Support Center in Cheyenne, at your expense. There you will learn how Taco John’s Restaurants are operated and how to achieve our standards for quality, service and cleanliness.

During formal training you receive a complete set of manuals including the restaurant Operations Manual, the Restaurant Management manual, and operations support including portion charts, recipe cards and menu assembly material. You’ll also receive instruction in restaurant business management, where instructors cover topics like employee selection, coaching skills, financial management and local store marketing. A People Tool Kit and a series of Crew Training Videos are also provided to help you educate your new employees in all aspects of operating a Taco John’s Restaurant and delivering The Promise and The Fresh Taste of West-Mex®.

Your New Restaurant Opening

A Grand Opening Team will work with you in your restaurant, just before and during your opening. They’ll help train your crew in all aspects of restaurant operation from preparing recipes to serving your first customers. The Taco John’s Opening Team will remain in your restaurant for up to one week to help you make that first important impression on your customers a positive one.

Menu Development

Taco John’s Menu Development Department’s primary activities include conducting consumer research, coordinating operations testing and evaluation and documenting customer feedback during initial in-store testing. Additionally, extensive outside resources are engaged to monitor food safety standards, quality and accuracy of all recipes and ingredients.

Menu Development works closely with the Marketing Department in innovative menu development to ensure new products and improvements to existing products are market-driven and represent the Taco John's Brand Position and The Fresh Taste of West-Mex®.

Menu Development is also responsible for identifying new and/or improved packaging and equipment.

Purchasing & Distribution

At Taco John’s, purchasing and distribution personnel use their best reasonable efforts to negotiate with manufacturers and distribution centers to make sure our system receives the best possible quality, service, and purchase prices.

A nationwide system of approved distributors warehouse all products necessary to operate a Taco John’s Restaurant, including proprietary items such as our special seasonings. Weekly orders are delivered to each restaurant’s door. Information on the market for certain crops like lettuce, tomatoes, and onions and products like beef, chicken, and cheese is provided regularly to help franchisees understand cost fluctuations and plan their purchases.

You can't deliver The Fresh Taste of West-Mex® unless you have the right ingredients for the right price.