Analysis of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.
For the last thirty years, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. has been offering people on the highways of America an alternative to the fast food pit stop. Their restaurants serves home-style food, has quality gift shops and, most of all, a friendly and accommodating environment all go in to create a welcoming atmosphere. Making the guest comfortable is what makes them different. The waiters and waitresses let you take your time. You are seated and promptly drink orders are taken. They give the customer sufficient time to gaze over the menu. There are peg games on the table to occupy you or your young ones. If it is a game of checkers you wish, there is always a table in the corner ready to play.
The main consumer characteristic that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store sets their standards on is “Pleasing people”. (Etzel, Walker, Stanton. 2001 pg. 204) A review of the Cracker Barrel Old Country store states, “This restaurant has a combo of good food, good service, and atmosphere. The gift shop is trendy, and affords one a place to browse. Do your browsing after the meal, for service is fast and efficient. One dines among country antiques that serve as decor. The country plates are a delight, and one must try the daily specials. Don't order dessert if you're not hungry. The blackberry cobbler and lemon icebox pie are superb. This is home cooking with affordable prices and great atmosphere.” (http://stlouis.citysearch.com/profile/3855636) Cracker Barrel stores appeal to both the traveler and the local customer and have consistently been a consumer favorite. Cracker Barrel was ranked as the top family dining chain for the eleventh consecutive year in the 2000 Restaurants & Institutions magazine "Choice in Chains" annual customer survey. It was also named “Best Family Dining” restaurant by Restaurant & Institutions magazine for the tenth consecutive year. The R&I award is based on a national consumer survey that evaluates chains on seven separate attributes: food quality, menu variety, value, service, atmosphere, cleanliness, and convenience. For 2000, Cracker Barrel scored highest among family dining establishments on every one of the attributes.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has accomplished the pleasing of people by capturing a bit of the past...back when time seemed to move a bit more slowly, and folks had more time. They have captured a time gone by through their atmosphere, country store, and most of all, through their country cookin'.
Peak Garage Door Inc. has set a goal to increase their sales for 2004. Garage door industry is expecting a growth of 2.4% while the management of Peak is looking to increase company’s sales 26.4%. The company currently has 50 exclusive dealers and 300 non-exclusive dealers. Management has three proposals in front of them. The first suggestion is to increase the number dealers in their existing markets. The second recommendation is to develop an exclusive franchise agreement with existing non-exclusive dealers. The third recommendation is to decrease the number of dealers and focus company’s resources on increasing support for the existing dealers. Of course there is an option for them to leave everything as it is. My suggestion is to go with the second recommendation due to the fact that exclusive dealers produced 70% of company’s sales and non-exclusive dealers contributed only 30%. In order for Peak Garage Doors Inc. to reach their sales goal for ‘04 they will have to gain more exclusive dealers since they contribute much more profit to the company.
The term “fast-food” is usually distinguished by food served very quickly to a customer by drive-through or carry-out. Fast-food restaurants are highly associated with low-cost and malnutrition foods with brief consumer and employee interaction, and below average cleanliness based on restaurant health inspection reports. Chick-fil-A has changed the usual perception of fast-food restaurants. Rather than burgers and potato fries, Chick-fil-A serves chicken sandwiches and waffle fries. Chick-fil-A also shows their appreciation for employee to customer relations, rather than ignoring the social aspect of serving customers when operating at a fast pace. Chick-fil-A’s menu selection, customer interaction, and clean eating
When Maddie thinks of eating pizza at a restaurant, similar to most people, she thinks of Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut has always been known as one of the leading pizza restaurants because it is spread across the country. Almost anyone can say that they have eaten pizza from there before including Maddie. However, there is another pizza restaurant that is starting to shove its foot into the pizza industry. That restaurant is Pizza Ranch. Pizza Ranch has only begun spreading its roots across the United States, therefore, it is not as widely known as Pizza Hut. In Maddie’s opinion, Pizza Ranch is a better restaurant than Pizza Hut because it has some of the many traits that make up an excellent restaurant. The most important reason that Maddie loves pizza ranch is because it is a friendly environment. From the first minute someone walks through Pizza Ranch’s door to the last, guests are treated like family. Another reason that Maddie enjoys pizza ranch is Buffet Your Way. Buffet Your Way allows Maddie to order anything that she wants and not have to pay any more money for it if she is eating the buffet. This is one of the best features of Pizza Ranch that puts it above Pizza Hut. Furthermore, Pizza Ranch always has a clean environment because the workers care about how the place looks. This restaurant also is more efficient about getting food to its customers than Pizza Hut. However, some people might argue that Pizza Hut has better tasting pizza than Pizza Ranch. Although Pizza Hut is one of the most popular Pizza restaurants, Pizza Ranch is a better restaurant because it has a friendly atmosphere, Buffet Your Way, a clean environment, and fast service.
According to Gibbens, Robert. The Gazette, he states that, past 20 years Dollarama Inc. and chief architect have built 721 unit of national retail chain exceeding $4 billion market value from a small discount store in Matane in Quebec’s Gaspe region. As per the article Rossy open his first store in Montreal in 1992 and was the head buyer besides being the chief executive. “Rossy also innovated on the buying side, cutting deals with the manufacturers, not the distributors that most retailers deal with. He scouted out competitive retailers for items worth $5 and $10 that his suppliers could copy for him to sell for a Lonnie. This enabled Dollarama to offer higher-quality $1 merchandise than most of its competitors, while offering a more attractive (and predictable) shopping experience than most low-end discounters. In early 2009, Dollarama added additional price points of $1.25, $1.50 and $2, but offered loyal shoppers new, higher-quality products at those amounts, rather than simply raising the prices of existing inventory”, according to Gibbens, Robert. The Gazette. The passage states non grocery items will gradually be introduced by August at $2.5 and $3. In the article, its state that introduction of new electronic inventory management system and productivity program by 2014 and 2015 will prove beneficial. Subsequently will reduce most of the increased cost resulted by working through the retailing industry which includes transportation and energy as well. The article also tells, China covers majority part of Dollarama’s supply needs and the rest is spread around other countries including Canada and US. Yet buying is done directly in order to reduce the cost. “You need top rate regional managers but also dedicated indivi...
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is the fourteenth largest retailer in America, and overall the world’s second largest home improvement retailer. They are the 108th ranked corporation on the Fortune 500 top corporations list. With an impressive in store stock of 40,000 home improvement items on hand, ranging from lumber to Home décor items, plus an additional 400,000 home improvement items available through a special order program. Lowe’s provides a onetime stop for all home improvement needs, for both the Do-It-Yourselfer, and the ever-expanding market of the Commercial Business Customer.
Creole and Cajun cuisine has been around since the mid 1800’s.[] The best place to trace its origin is New Orleans, Louisiana. The Cajun and Creole recipes are influenced by: French, Spanish, German, African and Italian contributions.[] New Orleans is a place where people live to eat and the living is easy going. Dinning is part of New Orleans culture and you are sure to find a place to find food love. In present day, New Orleans’ menus vary from corner to corner. There is so much to choose from, it is hard to believe that any restaurant could have survived all these years. However, there is one restaurant that has been with New Orleans since the beginning of its exquisite cuisines. Antoine’s a family owned Creole-French restaurant that has had over 174 years of success in the city.[] As we look into the history of Antoine’s, we will discover what is it about this place that keeps customers coming back.
The vision of Panera was to make Panera Bread a nationally recognized brand name as well as becoming the dominant restaurant operator in upscale, quick-service dining. The top management believed for their vision to become a reality they must depend on being better than the guys across the street. In addition Panera wanted to offer a unique dining experience at Panera so attractive that customers are passing by other fast casual restaurants to dine at their nearest Panera Bread Company. Management further implemented this strategy by following a blueprint for attracting and retaining customers. This blueprint called, Concept Essence underpinned Panera’s strategy and embraced several themes that, taken togethe...
Let us look deeper into each criteria. In the comparison of which fast food franchise serves French fries the best in terms of packaging, Chick-Fil-A was voted the best with a whopping 54% voting lead, McDonald’s came in second place with 30% of the votes, and the worst - Wendy’s and Cane’s tied with 8% of the votes. In the evaluation of saltiness, McDonald’s was voted the best with a 54% lead, Chick-Fil-A came in second at 24%, Wendy’s came in third at 14%, and Cane’s was the worst with 8% of the votes. In terms of shape, the test shows our audience liked the shape of the big Chick-Fil-A fries the most with 58% votes, McDonald’s second with 19% votes, Cane’s third with 14% votes, and Wendy’s French fries were the least favored with only 9%
During the 1970s, the Arby’s chain expanded an average of 50 restaurants a year. At this time the chain was perfecting and creating the timeless menu that is still known to this day: Beef’n Cheddar, Jamocha Shakes, Curly Fries, and its signature sauces. How did Arby’s become so popular so quick? Not only was the menu very different from any other fast-food menu, but also the logo and design from the inside to the outside was different as well. Of course, this brought a lot of attention because of how they differentiated themselves. In 1981, they introduced chicken to their already extensive menu and in 1993 they were the first chain fast-food restaurant to have a “Lite Menu”, which included salads and sandwiches under 400
Checkers®/Rally’s® is the nation’s largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants. With two drive-thru lanes and a walk-up window at our more than 800 locations, we are ideally positioned for today’s on-the-go guest. Known for our full-flavored, hand seasoned burgers, thick shakes and famous fries, Checkers/Rally’s provides the great tasting, fresh food with the robust flavors you crave – making our brand slogan, “little place. BIG TASTESM,” undeniable.
In September of 2004, four months after the settlement of the justice Department’s lawsuit, Cracker Barrel reached a settlement in the lawsuits involving 42 plaintiffs, one of which was the NAACP. The allegations included, but were not limited to unwarranted extended wait times to be seated, segregated seating: in the back by the kitchen or in the smoking area, being served food out of the trash, racial slurs, and inferior service. These law suits resulted in several mandates being imposed by the U.S. Justice Department forcing Cracker Barrel to undergo and employ the necessary changes that they had been so resolutely avoiding.
7-Eleven Inc. is one of the leading chains in the convenience/ retail industry. 7-Eleven was founded in 1927 in Dallas, Texas. It is the world’s largest mover and expanded faster then any of the convenience store. It also has many stores with gas stations that are cheaper price then the competitors. (http://mbacase.blogspot.com) The name 7-Eleven was originated in 1946 because the stores were open from 7am to 11pm. 7-Eleven has changed vastly after they started offering customers service 24 hours and seven days a week. It has now become the one stop shop, where customers can get their products quickly. (http://franchise.7-eleven.com)
Sears has seen many different changes in business and has had to adjust to t...
Vitamin B-12 is essential for energy production as well as influencing the way your body uses carbohydrates.