This episode features an interview with Roger Goldstein, Executive Director of Facilities and Energy at Panda Restaurant Group. Roger directs facilities for more than 2,200 stores across the US. On this episode, Roger joins us to talk about how he invests in experiences, accomplishes what Panda calls “ambience with pride,” and how facilities innovates together with operations.
This episode features an interview with Roger Goldstein, Executive Director of Facilities and Energy at Panda Restaurant Group. Roger directs facilities for more than 2,200 stores across the US.
On this episode, Roger joins us to talk about how he invests in experiences, accomplishes what Panda calls “ambience with pride,” and how facilities innovates together with operations.
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Guest Quote
-Ambiance with pride—that’s a fundamental core value and tenant at Panda. That’s the mindset. That’s the lens they look at our stores through; creating a guest ambiance that we’re proud of at all times.” - Roger Goldstein
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-Time Stamps
*(0:18) Meet Roger!
*(2:09) How Roger’s career has evolved
*(4:28) A deepdive on Panda Restaurant Group
*(6:18) Panda purchases more what than any restaurant?
*(7:21) Segment 2: Across the Goal Line
*(10:39) Finding your “ambience with pride”
*(13:51) COVID-related consumer shifts
*(19:10) Panda’s new technology: The Panda Auto Wok
*(23:44) Segment 3: How We Do It
*(29:28) Panda’s mindset for a great customer experience
*(31:07) A hurricane hurdle of a story
*(36:21) Segment 3: Future Forward
*(39:07) Final advice from Roger
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Sponsor:
Wouldn’t you like to rest easy knowing that your brick and mortar locations are offering the best possible guest experience? It’s time to partner with ServiceChannel for peak facilities performance. Check out Servicechannel.com to learn more.
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Links
Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar.
A podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance.
This episode features an interview with Roger Goldstein, Executive Director of Facilities and Energy at Panda Restaurant Group. Roger directs facilities for more than 2,200 stores across the US. On this episode, Roger joins us to talk about how he invests in experiences, accomplishes what Panda calls “ambience with pride,” and how "facilities innovates together with operations".
But first, a word from our sponsor.
Wouldn’t you like to rest easy knowing that your brick and mortar locations are offering the best possible guest experience? It’s time to partner with ServiceChannel for peak facilities performance. Check out Servicechannel.com to learn more.
Here’s your host, Industry and FM technology thought leader and Chief Business Development Officer at ServiceChannel, Sid Shetty"
Sid: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining. Really appreciate it. Welcome to the show I'm here today with the Roger Goldstein. Roger. Welcome. Thank you for being here.
Roger: Hey, good morning, Sid. Happy to be here. Great, seeing you.
Sid: Likewise. How are you?
Roger: I'm doing well. Thank you.
Sid: Awesome. So let's dive right in. ~Um,~ Roger. ~So~ what is your role and what are you.
responsible for? We've known each other for a long time, but we'd love the audience to know this as well.
Roger: Sure. Um, I, my title of my role is executive director of facilities. I'm at Panda express Panda restaurant group, and, um, basically support our, uh, our facilities function, which includes all the facility, maintenance and crew for the taking care of the stores around the nation. It includes our remodel, our refresh, and our rollout team that handles all existing store work and our utilities, water, gas, electric, and waste.
So that's this kind of the scope of our team. And then I have the honor of supporting all those people.
Sid: Fantastic. You know, um, Roger, something that I think most people in our industry would agree with is that most folks don't necessarily choose, uh, to go into facilities on day one. Right. Everyone kind of falls into it. Um, that at least that's how it used to be right now. It's a different story. Um, there's a lot more programs and, and, and schools are supporting this, which is fantastic.
Um, how did you end up in facilities management?
Roger: Yeah, that's a really good question and an interesting path. Um, because I started that I've always wanted to be a cowboy Sid, and I grew up in the country and I went to Texas a and M and got a degree in range science, taking care of ranches and pasture lands. Um, but, um, after ranching for awhile, things kind of change, and that was, uh, quite a lot younger, then went through a few different career choice, trial and error, um, everything from, um, payroll processing and financial planning to, uh, ultimately end up in the restaurant equipment repair and maintenance business.
So I was, I was working in Albuquerque New Mexico for, uh, a very close friend who was developing a new accompany he'd had for a long time, but it was very. And I'm primarily focused on restaurant H vac and, and in that company, I was able to help to develop, uh, a hot cooking food equipment, service branch part of the company.
And then from there, um, really expand to where we, we were kind of the premier restaurant equipment service company in the state of New Mexico. Um, and as such Panda express was one of our customers. And so I had been taking care of the stores for quite a few years, learning about the company and developing a relationship with the facilities manager for Panda.
So, um, one day he, um, came in town and we had lunch and he said, Hey, we have an opportunity opened in the Southwest. Are you interested? And, uh, kind of slept on it, decided not to leave, uh, uh, an opportunity on the table made a few phone calls in. 1516 going on 16 years ago, the rest is history. I've been with Panda and been, I at Panda, a facility manager, a senior manager, a director, and executive director has been my career path.
And so that's kind, kinda how I got started in it. And it was a bit, but this, um, uh, opportunity or, or, or haphazard and, you know, didn't, didn't really plan to be a facility manager.
Sid: And that's pretty fantastic. I think one of the best ways I have found, um, in our industry group to know our audience is to ask folks how they entered facilities, because there's some great stories out there. Uh, thanks for sharing your journey as well. Um, tell us more about Panda and, and more about the, the program that you run within the organization.
Roger: Sure. Um, you know, we've grown right along with Panda. Um, 16 years ago, we were seven, six to 800 stores and, uh, about a six or seven person facilities team, uh, Panda has continuously growing, um, the Panda express brand primarily over the, over these years at about a hundred stores a year, which, um, really lands when you say we opened two new pandas every week 15 years, you know, I wished it was that smooth, but, but you know, in this, you know, if you look at it that way, that's a, that's a lot of growth.
That's a lot of development. Uh, and as such, um, uh, you know, Panda has supported a robust and an active facilities model. ~Um, you know, from the start, when I came to Panda and what I mean by that is it it's it's~ it's facilities managers located regionally throughout the United States that are there in their local community to, to work closely with the operator train and develop the operators, to understand their store work closely with local and regional vendors in the market to develop, you know, trusting relationships, to repair and take care of the equipment and the building and the site.
And so, um, as such, you know, we're now at over 32 people on our team, um, about 20 of those being all field people and facility managers, and they're not handyman, we don't run an internal handyman service, their managers, they, um, they take care of, of training and developing and vendor management and budget management and overall oversight of all of our. Sid: ~And curious at how often do your reasonable facility managers visit the actual restaurant? ~
Roger: ~um, it's getting more difficult for the, for the actual to see every store depends on the regional breakdown and our staffing, but ideally we want them to visit every store that they're in their span of responsibility one time per year. Um, and, and they're either going to do a site audit during that time and evaluate the condition of the overall store and everything in it.~
~Or they may do a, a survey that collects data and information about the store or about assets, um, that we kind of rotate what their responsibility is each year in their store visit. Um, and then our, our guys will visit some stores multiple times. Um, and they'll, they'll go into regions and into areas and they'll do.~
~Um, so they, the target is to train every general manager, at least one, one formal training session per year.~
Sid: ~Understood. ~Um, I want to talk more about some specifics with regards to Panda, but before we do that, um, you and I have had a lot of conversations in the past where you've shared some pretty interesting and surprising statistics about the company and the industry. Um any, any fun stats you want to share?
Roger: ~Um sure. Um, and ~you've actually surprised me. Sid with how many things you remember I said over the years, we've known each other. I had no idea you were listening so closely. So I'm quite impressed.~ Um, you know, I was thinking about, uh, in thinking about that, I think, um, just like I mentioned, a hundred stores a year, kind of as close to two stores every single week.~
~If you, if you break down some of the things our facilities team is responsible for, um, with 2002 to 2300 locations, that's 6,000 air conditioners. And that because right, that's three air conditioners per site. Um, on average, um, that's a lot of equipment, you know, that's, uh, it, it puts it in perspective of, you know, how many at any given point in time, how many are working perfectly, how many are struggling or have a problem?~
~What do you need to do to take care of them? Um, same thing with exhaust systems, you know, all of our stores have, have at least two hoods and fans. And so you've got well over 4,000 exhaust systems that, that you're responsible for. So the, the kind of the multiplier in that. It is like, don't always think of it that way.~
~Uh, when you think about what a facility manager has to do and what, what, you know, an individual store they're taking any, but how many pieces of equipment in that store add up to how many, uh, items they may be addressing at any given time. Um, and then~ a cool Panda thing is, is, um, we're told that we are the largest single restaurant purchaser of broccoli, uh, in the, in the produce world.
Um, you know, you don't get broccoli on a burger too often, but you know, we have broccoli and two or three dishes and our broccoli beef has always been a staple. And so, um, oddly enough, we, we purchased more broccoli than any other restaurant, uh, in the fast food or quick service industry, fast casual, uh, in the nation.
I thought that was kind of cool.
Sid: Yeah, definitely. I love that, that, that, that stat, I know you mentioned it to me years ago. Um, and it stuck with me. It's, it's funny, but also really, really impressive. Um, so let's, let's jump into the next segment. Um, we've worked with you and Panda for a long time now, and it seems like Panda has a very good culture right.
Internally. Um, and that kind of is reflected in how you treat your customers and the kind of customer experience you want to deliver. Can you share a bit more about that? Like, what are your brands goals and, and how do you want your customers to perceive, um, you know, your, your, your value, um, and, and what you think.
Roger: Sure. Um, I do think it really is tied to the culture at Panda and, and where that starts as being a privately held family run business. So our founders actively operating the business. Their eldest daughter is our chief brand officer and, and they're really maintain that level of control and consistency around the whole company and, and foster and develop people to live that, you know, so our operators are aware it's all starts and being able to walk into a Panda express anywhere in the United States and get the same greeting and the same care and concern and care and the same quality of food, uh, it's critical to our brand.
And, and it's very well controlled because we are a privately held company with such a involved, you know, ownership in the company. ~And, you know, then I think, um, you know, knowing what the needs of the guests are and, and having a marketing and branding team that constantly looks at, at what's relevant to the guest, what are the guests.~
~Love and want more of, uh, and, and providing that. And, and so lots of different ways through food offerings through, uh, limited time, you know, special menu items, uh, uh, one of the cool things we just did. We, we partnered with our first national brand studio and, and Pixar, and we are supporting, and part of the turning red movie, um, with the it's a little panic, it's a little girl who gets excited when she gets nervous.~
~She turns into a giant red Panda. um, yeah, w our, our kids' meal, we have the first kid's meal with Panda toys in it that related to the movie and stickers. And, um, and then we did a, um, a $10,000 scholarship contest, uh, in conjunction with the movie for that people can apply for and, uh, and gain educational scholarships around the country.~
~Uh, so some really cool things like that, that just really solidify. As being a family owned fam American Chinese brand out there for the, for the public and to come to. Uh, but when I, yeah, ~
Sid: ~yeah, Sorry, go ahead. ~
Roger: ~no. And I turned that to, what I mentioned earlier is, is just the, you know, unquestioned support of a facilities team model that, that is all over in the field connected with the operator, you know, and not just a crew sitting behind desks in the office, taking service calls or fielding issues, but actually partnerships with operations in their, in their own home market.~
~Uh, I think that's a game changer. I think that that's what sets our brand apart in many ways is, is that, that, um, level of service to our operators and meeting their needs by being their forum, um, and really having the mindset of not teaching them, you know, giving them a fish, but teaching them how to fish, you know, certainly.~
Sid: ~yeah, I think, um, it's pretty phenomenal to hear the kind of support the facilities team has within the organization.~ Um, you know, what are your thoughts on whether. All facilities teams across all organizations have the kind of support that they need. Like, do you think they have it, Uh, do you think, um, they're able to articulate the value they bring in and tie what they do to the overall goals of the organization?
Roger: Uh, I really don't. I don't think so. I think what I know of, of other companies and, and through peer relationships and, um, uh, involvement in the restaurant facility management association, um, uh, I think some facilities teams are bigger than ours and some are smaller than all. But I, I don't know that there's as, as, uh, kind of a unified uniform, uh, um, model that, that emulates the way our team does it in the field.
~Uh, and granted, you know, at any scale, um, uh, you'll, you need tools. You need, you need service management software, you need a lot of support. And so some companies, depending on their numbers of stores can successfully use the, the, the tools that are available and a small number of people to really monitor and manage.~
~Um, but at that point, you're just managing on-demand service things that come up that need to be fixed and somebody gets sent to fix it. Um, and we're, we hope, and we really feel that we're able to manage a budget that's as lean as any I've heard of in the industry. Um, With hands-on, you know, more hands-on involvement, more ownership mindset by our operators by teaching them all about what's in their store, how the equipment works, what to know about when a vendor comes to fix something, uh, really giving them that, that power, that control,~
Sid: ~That's right. And, and to kind of further, I guess, elaborate on what you just said.~ Um, you know, I think the, the impact that facilities teams have. On the overall brand perception is tremendous, right? Because, um, you know, we've spoken about this in the past, but no one walks into a restaurant with their family, um, hoping to have a great experience and then sits down and looks at the couch that might be a little ripped or looks at the lighting and the ambience is off and the table is wobbly. no.
one's sitting there thinking the facilities teams suck, but then it's not what they're saying. What they're saying is that this restaurant is terrible. Like it's, this is not the kind of experience I want with my family. Like I want to feel special. I want to feel like the restaurant cares that I'm here with my family once a week or once a month.
Um, and I want it to be something that I can go back home and feel good about. And, and facilities has the power to either add to that experience or completely take away from it. Right.
Roger: absolutely. You know, ambiance with pride, that's a fundamental core value and, and tenant at Panda. And that's ~what our guys,~ that's the mindset. That's the lens they look at our stores through is, is, uh, that creating a, the guest ambiance that we're proud of at all times. Uh, and, and one of the ways our founders really showed how important that is, was.
We were struggling for a few years with a sound refresh or remodel, uh, strategy. And, um, we came up with a plan that would keep all of our dining rooms, no matter how old they were relevant with the current standards, with the current design, current artwork, current finishes just make it really pop really shiny and beautiful.
So we had really clean, well kept stores, but they were dated. It was like, like wearing a 1980s, um, suit coat with big wide lapels and a big tie. You know, it might look sharp, but it doesn't look relevant today. so, so we had a lot of those 1980s looking stores and, and, um, and Peggy said, uh, you know, I want to walk in every store and be as proud of it as I am a store that opened yesterday and that's our goal.
And so we do refresh remodels. We do. Light facility manager, you know, painting, um, if equipment is broken or furniture's torn and it gets replaced or repaired right away, uh, really, uh, meet the intensity of that, that demand or that, that request to be loved by our guests and to be proud of every score, no matter how old it is.
Uh, so yeah, and you're right. That's an interesting thought is, is people don't think, oh, the facilities team must be doing great here or not doing so well. They just think this brand is falling apart. It's really it looks it's dingy, and we don't want that.
Sid: that's right. And there are stories out there right. Of, of brands. You walk in and you'll look up and tiles are broken, fixtures are broken and, and in today's world, like, you know, social media and photographs that that can be posted in, in, in one second. Um, you know, consumers have a higher expectation now, right?
Consumers, uh, rightfully so consumers want to know that.
the, the brand is investing in their experience. Um, and, and when they walk in, uh, they expect a certain level, um, that, that, you know, makes them feel good about. Getting out of the house, right? If, cause if they didn't want to come into the store or the restaurant, you know, there's mult, there's multiple channels.
Now that allow you to just sit on your couch and an auto food or order for any goods, right. It'll just come to your doorstep. But someone is vested in that experience and they're getting out of their home, getting into a car and driving to your store or restaurant. And, and with that comes expectations.
Roger: That's absolutely correct. I mean, dining out as an experience. Uh, very few places can get. Just tell her outstanding food in a dingy, terrible atmosphere. And so to, to, to provide that experience to people, uh, you really do have to, to maintain a certain level of standard. Uh, we've always said from the day I started at Panda, it was, uh, something our, our, the first director I worked for said is, is always looking to be a cut above the industry.
You know, whatever the industry's out, we need to be sharper. We need to be better. We need to look that way. ~Um, yeah. And, and it's been that way forever. Even when social media didn't spread the word so fast. Uh, but it's certainly something you have to be more sensitive to now. And, and I think, um, when you see things that are in disrepair, in a dining room, what the guests can see, then what they can't see is in question the kitchen and the food, and what's going on behind a wall.~
~So, um, it's very important to, uh, to present yourself to your guests, as someone who cares about the entire.~
Sid: That's right. And, and, you know, I was, um, at a conference the other day where, um, I was a speaker on a panel, a, a thought leadership panel and, and the, the guest speaker there w was Jon Taffer. Right. Um, and in John talks about how in today's world restaurants are killing it, um, you know, pre pandemic restaurants have.
5% pick out. Um, that seems to have gone up significantly to run 15 to 20%, uh, and in room dining, uh, has gone back to, uh, pre pandemic levels. So overall it seems like the restaurant industry is seeing a 20 to 30% growth in revenues, uh, which is phenomenal. But what it also tells me is, uh, you know, customers are now ordering more and taking out food more, but it's not changing the fact that they still want to come in and sit down at your table.
And so you've got to keep that in mind, right?
Roger: It is true. A, we went through the pandemic period and we went all the way from completely closed dining rooms to walk through and carry out your food. Uh, and the shift to take out to go drive through was massive during that time. Uh, but it is, it is remarkable how quickly the dining room business has recovered and come back.
~Uh, and so you're, you're spot on there. You know, it, it, it seemed like you were, you may, we may have been trading one channel of delivery for another, but it really feels like both are holding, holding very well. Now going past 20, 21 and into 20. People are coming into the store. They want to get out. They want to get away from the house.~
~They would still want that dining out experience while the convenience of online orders and to go is, is, is, is honestly serving a whole other set of customers, um, that continue to go through those channels. ~
Sid: that's right.
Roger: crazy. So yeah, no, we have to keep the, keep the dining room, the facility, the building up.
Um, an interesting fact that came up was, um, obviously we pay a lot of attention to our dining room, the paint on the walls, the art, the furniture, uh, during the pandemic, uh, it suddenly became very aware that the new dining room, the new experience was it through the windshield of a car and in the drive-through lane.
So are you looking at beautifully manicured bushes and a clean parking lot and, you know, spotless exterior of your building with no damage or no, you know, that's what people were looking at. So we suddenly, as a facilities team, we shifted a lot of attention to the. And pretty much walking through those drive-through lanes.
Um, recognizing if there was anything that we, you know, wouldn't be proud for our guests to sit and look at for the three to five minutes that they're going through the line.
Sid: that's right. That's right now. That's that's that's a great point. ~Um,~
~excuse me. Um,~ so Roger, what do you think has been one of your greatest challenges? That your program has faced, um, in kind of realizing the full potential, um, and, and the value that you bring, uh, towards the overall goals of Panda.
Roger: ~Um, you know, the challenges come in and, uh, there's no, there's never just one. Uh,~ Turnover of associates and, and the amount of time you have to spend training and developing people. Um, which as I mentioned, that's probably our number one focus as facility managers in the Panda universe. Um, other challenges are just, you know, costs and, and, you know, we're, we're entering kind of inflationary times.
We've had the supply chain issues that are the result of the pandemic. But even before that, um, just the challenge of, of maintaining a good vendor partners for every, every aspect that needs to be handled or taken care of at the store, um, at all times, and, and, and getting that at a value, getting that at the best cost, uh, and the value and the best cost is also it's, it's not at the, at the expense of those vendors.
Right. It's getting to know them too, so that you're, you're working off of when. And they're making a good living, you're getting value. Uh, so overcoming that challenge mean it's just constant, right? You have to work for that. That doesn't happen automatically. You can easily find someone who doesn't really care or is, is, um, uh, uh, not invested in your brand for service, but then you don't know what you're getting and you don't know at what price.
~So, um, that kind of answer that as some of the, some of those challenges.~
Sid: ~yeah, absolutely. I think so. Uh, give me one second. Roger. Sorry. Yeah. And I think, I think that that addresses what I was, what I was asking about, because it's been an interesting, aren't challenging two, two and a half years. Right. Um, a lot has changed. The world has changed. Um, tell me if there's anything that stands out as, um, something that has changed, improved or gotten worse, um, because of the world that we live in, right.~
~What has gotten tougher or better over the past three years? Uh, when you look at, you know, what you do to manage your facilities, um, and the contribution that you have to make to ensure the customer experience, uh, within that physical space is where it should be. ~
Roger: ~Sure. You know, we learned to do things, um, I'll speak towards facilities, right? We learn to do things, uh, that we didn't even know. We didn't know. We could be doing, um, very, very quickly because of the pandemic because of the, the nature of not being able to try. Uh, social distancing. So we implemented for instance, virtual training, right?~
~We all got up to speed on teams and zoom and all that. Um, and it was great for meetings, but we were able to adapt it. And, and instead of training eight managers at a single store, you know, that that happened because someone flew in a plane somewhere and stayed in a hotel, met them in the morning and conducted a training with the eight people we could now from anywhere in the United States have two or three FMS manage 80 people on a virtual training course and go through everything they would do in person, uh, including questions and, and showing parts on, you know, videos and, and the works.~
~So we, we, you know, those are the kinds of things. Like probably nobody even would have bought into virtual training until we learned how valuable it could be because we had to. Um, so that's one area. Uh, the other is we had been creating a series of do it yourself videos and, and for our managers, we call them DIY and FYI.~
~So the FYI are just a lot of knowledge-based videos to teach them about elements of their store that they're responsible for and the DIY or actual, you know, instead of calling a handyman, maybe you could change the filter out. Maybe you could change the hinges on the door. Um, um, kind of what we would consider safe and simple repairs.~
~So the videos, you know, were, were utilized when someone would ask for some help and we could send them a video post pandemic. They're like, like now they go license. I go into YouTube. They just go to our internal video library because, oh, I want to change my own valve on the sink. What do I do? Um, . They are, they have adapted to a new way of getting something done.~
~Um, and they know that we've provided the resources for them. So those are some of the real positives that came. Um, you know, the tough things have been supply chain and vendor labor. You know, we had periods of time when entire crews were out sick and, and you've got a broken air conditioner in July on a rooftop and, and they can't respond for three days or they don't, they can't even tell you when they can respond.~
~And the best that the vendor can do is recommend you call someone else. Who's probably in the same boat. So there was a real struggle. Um, it's tough for an operator to understand why, you know, they're dining rooms at 86 degrees and nobody's coming out for them. And it puts a lot of pressure on the facilities team to, to sort find somebody that.~
~Uh, so both the it's getting better now, even though there's the ongoing labor shortages, of course, the, the illness components, not as, as, as bad as it was, um, rising costs in labor is, is not going to go away. Um, that's there, you know, the material costs rose for a while. I think some of that's leveling off a little bit and, and we'll see changes there too, but, but, uh, surprise too.~
~We also suffered, you know, couldn't get a fryer for six weeks to 12 weeks, sometimes even longer, uh, certain pieces of equipment, you know, so we had both, a lot of good learning, um, in how to communicate and work remotely with people and still be effective. And a lot of challenges around getting things done at the stores, by the folks we rely on to go to the store.~
Sid: ~Yeah, it's definitely something that we're seeing across the board when it comes to parts and, and, and, uh, and equipment, um, it's requiring a lot more planning. And even after doing all the planning you want, um, the, the world supply chain issues are affecting businesses all around, right. In, in, in ways that you'd not think they would affect you.~
~Um, and, Um,~
~it's, it's still hasn't yet completely, uh, got solved. Right. ~Roger: ~no, it has an, and, and actually every day, something new pops up, uh, recently a chemical that's necessary to make foam is in short supply globally. Well walk-in coolers that keep everything cold, big, giant refrigerator are filled with foam. And so like, and it's been pretty common that the vendors or the suppliers and manufacturers like, Nope, we don't have a problem.~
~We're buying ahead. We're predicting, we're predicting everything. it's not. And then, then they, it's not that they don't want to be honest with you. They just don't know yet. And then all of a sudden, something like this pops up where we said, well, you know, we just went from a three three-week time, lead time to 16, 18 weeks because we're being rationed, the materials we need to build our product.~
~And so that happened, uh, recently, um, and throughout the year, it's, it's like, oh, we can build your whole refrigerator, but we can't get a compressor for the ones we use for it. So, um, yeah, it's been, um, it's daily. I'm sitting on an email right now that I don't want to open. Cause I know it's, it's also a supply chain.~
~What's next, uh, issue in the beverage world. So.~
Sid: ~I think. We like all industries in some way or form are facing this. And I think collectively the more we share with best practices and the more we share about how we can solve for some of these challenges, the better off the industry and the better off everyone who works in our space is going to be so, um, yeah, absolutely.~
~Uh, valid points and I hope our audience that's, um, that's listening knows that they're not alone. Um,~ let, let's talk about the next, uh, point, which is when you look at some of the big investments you've made and the impact they've had, um, within your operations and facilities, is there anything that sticks out as, Um,
as something that made the biggest impact to your team and how You could deliver.
The the right kind of, uh, brand, uh, preservation, uh, that is in line with your company goals.
Roger: ~Um,~ You know, related to, to the last few years we've gone through. Um, I think we, one thing from a facility standpoint, we w we solidified the value that we offer, uh, you know, said that, that the team was out there. They were out there ready to implement barriers and, and plexiglass, you know, support and change the store to contact lists.
So, um, you know, some of that was the initial, like response and, um, uh, really quickly investing in, in, um, what it took to support stores in that environment. Um, but then coming out of it, how to adapt to the, you, you, you mentioned earlier, uh drive-throughs and the increased percentage of drive-through and online ordering stuff.
So, um, you know, our team could, could participate in support, um, drive through optimization. Projects that are going to improve what we do in, in those areas of the, the, that are so much more important to the, to the sales channel at this time. Um, and you know, I guess it's from an investment, you know, technology, um, you know, through our CMMS platform, implementing, um, um, modules that will help control projects and manage, uh, for instance, our remodels in our refreshes in a, in a simpler, more efficient way.
Um, we are implementing things like energy management systems that, um, ops simplification is a, is sort of a, uh, I don't know if you'd call it a buzzword or a mindset, right? Is, is when you have labor challenges, what do you need to do? You need to look at how people have to do things and see if there's ways for, to, to make the.
Easier. Um, we have invested in the Panda auto walk. It's a, it's an automated robotic walk that cooks fried rice and noodle dishes. And that's our starch that, you know, your order, right? When you come to the front of the line, you want rice or noodles or vegetables, but the rice and noodles can be a extremely labor intensive process to cook it.
You, you, you have to stir, um, sometimes a double or triple order being prepared in a big 36 inch walk. Um, and, and it's hard. It's a lot of hard work. So our team went to work, um, all the way back to 2017, developing a joint partnership to invent our own automated walk that does all the stirring and mixing with, uh, uh, with the machine with motors and wands and scrapers and bowls.
It all turns it's pretty. It goes from just a static piece of equipment. That's a bowl sitting there. You do all that. To a very sophisticated piece of equipment that, but th but simplifies the operator's job takes that physical element to offer their back. And it's still run by a human. It doesn't replace a person.
You know, robot always means, oh, no, the robot will do it. I won't have a job. No, the, the chef still starts, the machine adds the ingredients, monitors, the cooking process. And, um, and yet now they just have to wait for the beep to know the next step, to when to put the vegetables, when to pour the oil, when to shake the seasoning.
It's, it's a great innovation. And so we've invested a lot of time and energy and, um, um, this is the year of the auto walk. We're rolling out. Uh, we'll roll out hundreds of them this year into our stores.
Sid: That is fascinating. So, um, wow. So, so the official term for that is called the Ottawa,
Roger: Yeah, we've coined it. The Paul Panda auto Panda auto walk.
Sid: Okay.
Roger: Yeah, it took a while we call it the robot walk, we call it the robo shaft. We call it a bunch of different names, but, um, yeah, I'm not sure whose idea that was, but the PA is the Panda auto walk. And, um, uh, we we're, we're very excited about it. And we had a lot of support from the founders to, to make it happen.
Uh, if you go to Japan, you could buy a little miniature fried rice cooker that sits on the counter, but the size of a microwave. And, and so that's the, the product existed at that scale, but to blow it up into a large commercial stainless steel cooking appliance and, um, and make it function and have it approved, um, it, it was quite an endeavor.
It was a partnership with a company in Japan.
Sid: That's amazing. I mean, you're, I think you're a hundred percent, right? I mean the, the, the more time all the associates and anyone in the restaurant has to be in front of the customer, the better off you are, right? If, if the, if you take them away from being able to service the customer, help the customer and help the customer have the best seamless experience, um, you know, the better, like the more they do that, the better you don't want them at the back, trying to figure out how to do something or, or, um, or working on a technology platform that is complicated.
You want them to get in, get out, do what they have to do and get in front of the customer. So the, the, the auto walk is, did that come out of. Kind of simplifying the process, um, and having, Uh,
less training for the, for the chef or did it come out of, um, FA making the, the orders go through faster or a combination of both
Roger: Um, it's, it's a bit of a combination of both, right. With, with growth and increasing sales in, in a, as a brand, more brand recognition, better successful stores. Um, the amount of cooking that has to be done, Panda stands pretty unique in the industry that every dish is cooked on a Chinese walk for the guests to have.
Yeah. You know, it's, it's brought to the serving line, but it's very quickly served in a whole new, fresh batch is cooked from scratch food. And so, um, for fast casual, that's pretty unique. And so the busier, we got the more batches and, um, we do, it's like a batch one batch to batch three, depending on how much is needed at that moment.
That's anticipated to be served to the guest and, um, you know, Trust me. If you talk to a chef who's been cooking batch threes, you know, all from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Um, it's a lot of work. It's pretty rough. And so it, like I said, we started the development, um, around 2017. Um, and it's still only prime time now with all it takes to invent a new device.
Um, but it w so it wasn't pandemic driven, but it was driven by the company seeing that there's a need here to make something, um, then a machine could do it better. The life of our show send our chef home without sore shoulders, you know, help people live a better life. Yeah. Yeah.
Sid: I love that. I love that. Um, so, so let's jump into the next segment. Um, you already kind of alluded to some of this, but, um, w you know, would love to kind of follow up on that. Um, clearly your teams interact and, and work very closely with restaurant operations, construction, and finance. Um, can you share how you do this?
Right? How should facilities work with their peers so that you're all working towards the same goal and achieve desired results?
Roger: I think said it really starts with listening to the operations, right. Everything we do is on behalf of them. So listening to their needs, what works, what doesn't work, what they'd like more of, what do we should do less of, and then collaborating as stakeholders, um, particularly in the restaurant development where all between the real estate team, the construction team and the design team and the facilities team, um, maybe a little less involvement with real estate.
Um, although sometimes, you know, just the, the, what they're looking for can be influenced in the way of sites, but really then design and construction and facilities collaborating. So we have regular, um, meetings of all three of those stakeholders to discuss and, uh, uh, what works, what doesn't the facility managers can come and say, Hey, you guys are, are putting this type curve on the roof for the equipment.
And it it's, it, it has a failure point we need to address that. Um, gives a platform for each team to, to sort of share best practices what's working, what doesn't work. Um, the other thing we do is a concept meeting, which then incorporates, uh, essentially a stakeholder representative from almost every department in the company.
Um, marketing it, I S operations support finance. Uh, facilities, construction, even accounting comes into play and finance on that. And so that group gets together on a, on a quarterly basis and, um, there's tracking documents and there's an awareness what every team is doing. Um, so that we're not working on the same thing in two separate silos.
And so that what you're doing is going to ultimately impact what I'm doing. Or if you're inventing, for instance, the company operations innovation is inventing something like a Panda auto walk. Well then at some point it's PR it's it's, they got to put it in the store, so they need to work with facilities to get it in the store.
So we, we use these formats to share back and forth and make sure we're all aware of what each other's doing. So, so we can start anticipating in preparing for the day when those guys are going to need us, um, to implement that new technology or that device into the store. Uh, pretty robust
Sid: cause someone's got to take care of what was just put in the store. Right. And the restaurant
Roger: well, and that too. That's right. That's um, uh, developing a vendor network, a warranty service, uh, all the components and pieces of, um, not only just your standard run of the mill every time, you know, every store has it equipment, but anything new that you're bringing in, you're developing whole new relationships.
Um, um, any new brand you bring in, you may not have that manufacturer set up in your system. So that is getting them onto the, um, service channel platform, getting them in as a vendor for an and registering everything. So the warranty is tracked and covered, uh, all that comes into play and, and it all has, you know, it all takes collaboration.
Uh, when we build a new store, the general, the general contractors, responsible for that store, uh, construction warranty for you. So they have to be enrolled on the facility side to be called out to do repairs. And so, uh, again, there's synergy between those departments to make sure that happens.
Sid: Uh, usually at least historically, Um,
we've seen that, you know, facilities. It's kind of involved only at the last stage of the whole development life cycle, right. The restaurant or the store gets built, uh,
or the location is found it's built there, you know, the store opening team takes over and then there's a handoff process.
Right. But clearly, like you just said, facilities has to be involved in a lot of the decision-making with the kind of materials you use, the kind of fixtures that are put in place, um, and understanding like what it'll take to actually maintain or to put in the restaurant or space, um, on an ongoing basis.
How did you, how did you get involved with your peers to make Sure. that you were at the table since the beginning? Like how did you do it? Um, any advice for those who are not yet.
Roger: Sure. I mean, I think, you know, within our company it's aligned with our culture and it wasn't always perfect. And a lot of it evolved out of, um, one team pointing a finger at another team or being, you know, misaligned on, on why something got done. Uh, you mentioned materials, you know, a facility manager hates nothing more than to have to replace a lamp that there's six lamps in the store.
And they find out that it's a discontinued spec that they bought a one-off just to do a design, try to design thing and they can't get replacement parts and that could apply to tiles or just about anything else. So, um, you know, through the need, through the, um, the, the mindset that, you know, if, if we collaborate on these.
Either we help you make improve or change the way things are done, or we understand why it's done and accept the responsibility to take care of it and handle it. So, yeah, just really elevating communication~ really, you know? Um, but rather than, um, being adversarial, the facility manager tends to be the partner with the operator.~
~You know, they live with the store for 30 years, just like the operations do. And so it's pretty easy to go straight to you. Didn't give me a good product. You didn't build a store, right? You didn't do it. Um, but nothing but that that's slow to get change and improvement, but to come at it from, Hey, let's work together because this is not working for us.~
~And we can strategize a way to change that and make it better, which you then may, you know, makes it better for operations. Um,~
Sid: that is some sound advice. So Roger changes becoming a constant now, right. Especially in today's world and, um, this ever changing environment that we'll live in. How does a brand, especially one that has as many locations as Panda does, how do you keep that compelling and consistent consumer experience?
Um, especially with all the unpredictability that involves that's involved today. Um, how do you do it?
Roger: Yeah. Um, I think one of the strongest mindsets in our culture is only better, never best. And so it's basically, um, what's the, what's the next thing I get, I'm going to do to improve what we do today.. And, and I'm not looking for a point when it's like, okay, I'm done now. I've done everything I can. And it's perfect because every step of the way, there's some way to look at it and say, I could make it a little bit better.
And so we follow the only better, never best mindset. Um, you know, we, I, I've brought up a few things along the way. Um, our founder is very involved in the design and the look of Panda. Um, I'm not sure that the guests notices it, but if you look at a 12 year old Panda and a six year old Panda and a three-year-old Panda and a two year old Panda and Panda today, th they're all different.
You know, there's never been a cookie cutter model that we just built for 15 years the same. And it's because we want to be better. We want to provide a, uh, an ever-changing and more engaging experience for the. Um, and, and keep evolving for that, that, that structure, that Panda to really represent our brand.
~Uh, so you'll be excited to see the Panda home in the near future, which is our newest design it's. Um, uh, it's just got a different look and feel if you, till I'm talking about the free-standing drive-throughs that are the primary, the majority of our stores now are free-standing drive-through stores.~
~Yeah. It's just, it's a whole different looking feeling building, uh, really represents Panda. Um, I believe it's going to have a really cool element. So when you go through the front doors of the store, you are going to go through a circular entrance. It's still a square door, but it's a Cirque because it represents the moon gate and the moon gate is, uh, a Asian, you know, entry into, you know, your, your home or your place or, or something important.~
~And so, uh, little touches like that, that, that say from a mile away, that's panned over there. Yeah. Like I can't read the sign, but I know it's Panda. So we just keep evolving to meet the, the, the, uh, to define our brand and meet the needs of the guests.~
Sid: I love it. I love it. Um, before we jump into the next section, um, share something that is ~fun or ~crazy in terms of a story, because the one thing that I, I, I have come to learn in my many years in our space is that, uh, folks who worked in facilities always have the most interesting stories and, um, and they see some pretty crazy stuff.
Uh, anything you'd like to share.Roger: Oh, I'm certain, there's a ton of things and some of them funny and some of them not so funny. Um, um, sometimes the operator's choice of words to describe a problem can be really hilarious and, you know, cause they're just, um, they're calling something a term that doesn't make any sense at all, uh, it's pretty funny, but really, you know, on the crazy side of it, um, I hadn't experienced said when in 2008, hurricane Ike hit hurricane hit Houston, Texas, and I was just a new FM two years about maybe a little less with the company and um, what are we going to do?
Well, it wasn't my territory, but I had spent time and went to high school in Katy, Texas on the outskirts of Houston. So I knew the area and. Um, the first thing I did was just like immediately from, I was living in new, in New Mexico is get online and try to find an airplane ticket and just get there. I said, you know, we've got stores there.
We got people there. I need to get to Houston and help people. And so I volunteered to go in and do the best I could for the operators. Uh, I couldn't fly to Houston. Everything was shut down. There was no power, almost anywhere. I flew to San Antonio and rented a car. And I thought I was driving to Houston to go to a Hampton Inn hotel, um, which would not answer the phone call from the moment I left town and not in San Antonio, we wouldn't answer the phone and come to find out it was underwater.
It was not opened. The reservation system was open, but the hotel was not open. So, um, I slept the first night in my car, just outside of town because the curfew locked down the freeways and I couldn't get into the. Um, the next day I snuck in back way. Cause you know, being a high school kid, I knew all the country roads and how to get around the whole Houston area on back roads.
So I snuck into Houston and I, I, I, you know, immediately began to seek out and find operators. Cell phones didn't even work half the time. And GPS was just like Riddick. I was actually working on a Palm pilot with a GPS antenna that magnetically stuck to the top of the car. Right. Those were the days, right.
We didn't have an iPhone with it, with it all built in. so spotty, GPS, spotty cell service, and almost no power. No, no traffic lights were working around the whole city. Um, but as a result, we were one of the first brands. We had stores cute and ready to open. The second they got power and we were opening up faster than anybody in the market.
Um, really we to put our people back to work with. People that were couldn't cook at home. Some food. It was really remarkable. The, the experience. And, um, I ended up living for a week and a half with one of our operations leaders in his home. He just opened his doors and gave me a room because I couldn't get a hotel.
And so that was a pretty cool experience. Yeah. A little crazy, a little outside the scope, but good.
Sid: that's phenomenal. I mean, I think, um, thanks for sharing that, by the way, you know, that thing that, that kind of is very representative of the people that make up our space. No, Roger, like, you know, people who work in facilities are very resilient and they're very persistent. Like they will, they will do what they have to do to help the operator to help the restaurant.
And what you just described is an amazing example of that. Like you went way above and beyond. Um, and usually like in facilities, like if you, if you don't step up like that restaurant can't close or it can't open, or, you know, there's something that's terribly wrong that needs you to pay attention. And I think our industry always steps up and the past, the past two years also can, uh, showcase that right when, when COVID hit.
I don't know if, um, any restaurant or store a retailer or convenience store, um, has opened and close all locations all at once. And then in an open them all back all at once. Right? I mean, it's, it's, it's unprecedented.
Roger: it is. It is. And, and I would tell you that the story I shared, I have zero doubt that to S to, uh, to, to a person there's not a person on my team that wouldn't have stepped up or, and had the mindset to go do exactly the same thing. And they all show. When it was global, right? When it wasn't just an incident in a single place.
When, when, when the pandemic hit, um, everyone on the team just rose to the occasion. And I think the core of that's it is, is a servant leader mindset. Now, every one of them, and that's why facilities is so unique. It's not for everybody. Um, it's can be 24 7, it can be demanding, but it's also super exciting.
And you never do the same thing twice in any given day. And, and if to be successful, it's because you care about helping others. And if you have that mindset, it's an amazing career. It's really incredible.
Sid: Couldn't agree more. Um, so let's move on to our last section. Um, uh, Roger, ~um, let let's let's, you know,~ it's about the future, right? What does the future look like? ~Uh, but before we get into the future, let's get your take on the past 10 years. Like, how did we get here? Like, what do you think has evolved in our space over the past 10 years?~
~Like anything that you think excites you the most. ~
Roger: ~Um, you know, I think like for our, for our brand and even the restaurant industry, but in a fast casual it's, it's, you know, Panda evolved from malls to strip centers, to freestanding street stores. And it's, it's, it's, it's, it's attaining that brand image that you're out there on the street with big freestanding stores, serving the communities.~
~Um, that's been a big evolution and it's just been great to, to watch and follow and ride along with, um, and it's, it's a lot different store to take care of. You've got a lot more scope and you've got land and you've got roofs and you've got everything that you're responsible for. Um, so adapting to that change in the, in the industry and in our brand to that model of, of bill.~
~Um, while we still do still do some of the other, uh, to state averse, uh, and meet needs. We, you know, we primarily are focused on pre-standing drive-throughs um, I think technology, you know, that's the future, um, you know, we piloted energy management 10 years ago and you had to access it on a computer. You had to decommission the store, change one temperature number and recommission it, which it was about an hour, half an hour process to change the thermostat setting at any given location.~
~And you could do it on your iPhone now and on the plane. Right. And you could do it at 50 locations at once on the iPhone. And so, um, the technology adaptation, when you say 10 years ago to now, it's, it's, it's pretty remarkable. Um, and just the tools we have at our fingertips to do things, uh, you know, video FaceTime, um, teams and chats, you know, being able to.~
~So they see exactly what's going on. And, and so you don't have to be there with your own eyes. Um, really changes the landscape when it comes to planning and travel. Uh, we still want to be one-on-one. We want to be in market. We want to be with people, but we've got remarkable tools now that give us insight into what's going on without having to be there.~
Sid: ~I, couldn't agree more.~ Um, any thoughts about trends and consumer behavior or technology shifts or COVID related, um, shifts that are here to stay going forward as you look at the future?
Roger: I I think so. I think a segment of the population learned that they can get their food through a drive-through when, um, they might not have thought that was the way they wanted to in the past, and now they, they they've done it. They're adapted to it and they love it. And it's fast and efficient. Um, same thing goes with online ordering, I think, uh, Whole segments of population that, that just never even thought about having a, uh, a rideshare car, bring your food to your house or doing it now.
And they did it for a couple of years and, and it won't go away. Why would I stop doing that when it's convenient to me? Um, you know, so, so those shifts in mindset and behaviors are going to stick around,~ I think. And, and it's up to the restaurants to, um, I think, well, I know we made miraculous leaps in time from when we would have been rolling something, a platform out, say for online ordering to it's done now.~
~And it works really, really well. And because we had to, we, we just got it done for the pandemic CA you know, to respond. But, uh, yeah, I think those kinds of things, um, QR codes, QR code used to be something that, um, you know, you kind of saw once in awhile, somebody told you there's a thing on your phone that will do it.~
~And then you used to have to have an app. ~Um, now your phone, do you shoot it at a QR code? You can get a menu. Um, we're, we're putting them in drive-throughs so that a new, a newer guest can five cars back snap, the QR code, and start looking at the menu and planning what they want to eat today before they get to that, you know, board with all the pictures in the food on it.
~So, um, it's just really like efficiencies like that, that I don't think we would've thought about using a lot of them, um, and elevating them so quickly. Uh, but we did as the that's what the pandemic, you know, forced us to need the need for. And then the response was to get it done and do it really well, really fast.~
~And then now it will stay ~
Sid: That's right. And I think, um, you're spot on restaurants are, are finding new and interesting ways to, um, firstly adapt to the world that has been the past two years. Uh, but also I think that trying a lot to. Find new ways to engage with their customer, right? The digital transformation that, that a lot of organizations are going through right now, um, they're finding new ways to interact with their consumers.
You know, the drive-throughs the takeouts, like there that's.
one such avenue and, you know, we're hearing a lot about drones being used for delivery and robots. Like, you know, you mentioned the auto walk, but, but also robots to actually serve, um, you know, uh, customers, uh, drinks, in some cases, in some cases we're hearing about robots being used to bus the tables.
So, so a lot of new, interesting things that are there that are being tested out, not all will stay. I'm Sure.
a lot of it is, uh, maybe a few years down the road, but the exciting part is. That brands are trying, they're trying new things, trying ways in which they can, um, elevate that experience. The customer has, it's not good enough to just have the status quo. Right,
Roger: right. right. I think, I think that's absolutely right. You have to keep, um, you know, elevating what you do, meeting the needs or the demand of the current consumer, uh, and the consumers and behavior shifts. You gotta be there for it. You gotta, and you don't want to catch up to it. You need to try to anticipate it ~or be equal, you know, evolving with it.~
~Um, and that, you know, I like to always resort back to some of the changes that impacted the facilities world. And we talked about the training and the virtual training, um, that could go away. Now everybody's back on the road. The airports are open and we're traveling. But what we found is like our team has.~
~Really core experts. It, you know, the guys that came up through the technical world and are great at HPAC, some of them have a plumbing background. Others have, um, just general building maintenance background. We can share their knowledge with the entire company in operations training, through virtual training, right?~
~Where if I'm an FM with a region and I teach people stuff, it's, um, I'm teaching them to the maximum knowledge that I have. Right. And hopefully I keep learning, but that's all I can teach you is what I know. But now I can pull in another team member, that's an expert in his area and he can teach and hit 60, 80, a hundred people in that session.~
~And so I really loved that, that between virtual training, um, continuous video development and, and in-person, you know, store visits and local. Um, that won't go away. That won't change because we now know we have those tools that are so effective.~
Sid: ~Love it. Um,~ Roger, you you've, um, you've shared some great information today. I'd love to leave our audience with some advice, right? You and your team clearly are, um, in a, in a more mature program. You're kind of ahead of the spectrum in terms of how you, uh, interact with, uh, your rest of your partners, your restaurant, operations teams, and construction and real estate and finance.
Um, what advice do you have for facilities, teams that are out there that are listening, um, on, on how they can start, uh, or how they can go about doing what they do every day, but find ways to make the biggest impact to their brand performance.
Roger: ~Sure. You know? ~
Sid: ~Um, ~
Roger: The first and foremost level of importance is to understand the role of your facilities team. Why are you developing it? Um, and, and that's driven by what operations needs. So you really have to start with, with understanding what the operations feel they need in the way of support related to their facilities, equipment, building, site, everything, you know, you'll educate them on what the, what facilities should traditionally do, but you have to tell her that to the needs of, of, of, of your particular operation.
And then you form a team and, and it becomes a people business, right? You, you bring in, you know, exceptional people with the servant leader mindset and then you culture and foster those people's growth and develop. Um, providing continuous education opportunities, uh, engaging them in, in national trade organizations, such as , um, that's dedicated to restaurant facilities and, and then creating a clear, uh, structure for your department and a career ladder, a place for people to go to, to develop and get better and then be promoted.
Um, if you do those things, if you align yourself with the needs of the operator, because you're their servant, you're there for them. You have no job, no need, if not for them. Um, I think brands don't often realize that the second most valuable asset they have, you know, people everything's done with people is number one, but we can't, they can't produce their product and serve the guests without that building..
Without that grill thought that walk-in cooler to keep the food cold and safe. It can't do it. So our job is to be the, um, um, ambassador to that asset for the entire company. And, and so you, you gotta find the right people that will have that mindset and then align with, um, operations on what they need and then just meet those needs.
Sid: I love it. Uh, Roger, that was fantastic. I really appreciate the time. And, um, I really enjoyed our conversation. Thank you for being here and for chatting with me today, uh, for all those listening. Uh, thank you for joining us and I hope you enjoyed this conversation as well. See you next time. Thank you so much.
Roger: Thanks everyone. Thank you said really nice.
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