When Adir Restaurants Corp. opened its first Los Angeles Pollo Campero location, people waited in line for seven hours just to get a taste of the fried chicken the chain is famous for in Central America. Its most recently opened location in San Bernardino saw 700 customers on the day of the soft opening, and at the grand opening, the line went out the door.

Adir Restaurants is Guatemala-based Campero USA’s largest franchisee, with 10 sites throughout Los Angeles and one in San Bernardino. In an agreement with Campero USA, Adir Restaurants has the rights to develop the Pollo Campero brand throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, and Oregon, and it plans to do so through sub-franchising. In fact, Adir Restaurants is the only Campero USA franchisee given the right to sub-franchise. Jose Cofiño, president and COO, expects to sell the first sub-franchises within the next few months. “We hope to open about 75 restaurants in the next three years throughout our six-state market,” he said.

Investments, not expenses
As the company continues to grow rapidly, Cofiño is working hard to maintain everything that makes up the Pollo Campero brand: satisfied employees, loyal guests, an integral role in the community—and, of course, good food. The secret behind Adir Restaurants’ high level of employee satisfaction is its conviction that employee incentives are an investment—not an expense.

“A lot of people are surprised when I say the employees are the most important people in the restaurant. If our crew members are responsible for creating a pleasant experience for our customers, we have to create a pleasant experience for our crew members.” The plan worked—Adir Restaurants’ turnover is a mere 30%, compared to the close to 100% turnover for many quick-service restaurants.

“Other companies might save money in the short term by not investing as heavily in their employees, but we are better off in the long run because we don’t have to spend as much on recruiting and training,” Cofiño said. Both part-time and full-time employees receive health benefits and a 401(k) option, and they can join in Adir Restaurants’ credit union. In addition, because the company prefers to promote from within, employees are more likely to stay. In fact, 80% of the managers in Pollo Campero restaurants were once front-line employees.

Another investment is an English-as-a-second-language course the company has developed to facilitate better communication among staff members. Cofiño said a Spanish course for its non-Hispanic employees is on the way. “We are promoting both languages because even though guest interactions are in English, Pollo Campero is a Latin concept, and we want everyone to be able to use simple Spanish phrases. Teaching our non-Hispanic employees, particularly managers, to speak Spanish can help them communicate better with their crews,” said Cofiño. “We think it is important for them to develop their language skills. Today, knowing two languages is an asset.”

He continued, “The focus is on giving the front-line employees all the support they need and making them feel part of a company that appreciates them—not through corporate slogans and mission statements on the wall, but by putting our money where our mouth is.”

Small change, big difference
The Pollo Campero brand is known for its mi-casa-es-su-casa environment, and unlike many competitors, it has an ambassador whose sole purpose is to greet customers as they enter the restaurant and ensure that the dining experience is nothing less than enjoyable. “The ambassador walks through the restaurant asking guests if their meals are satisfactory. If there is anything the ambassador can do to make the experience more pleasurable, all customers need to do is ask,” said Cofiño.

“In most quick-service restaurants, you come in contact with one, maybe two, employees. If that employee is having a bad day, the entire experience could be negative. We want to make sure our guests come in contact with multiple crew members and that each one of those contacts is positive,” he said.

The ambassador is only the tip of the iceberg. The company believes the responsibility of ensuring customer satisfaction should not fall on one person. Instead, it has to be handled with a team approach. “In a manufacturing facility, if you have a quality control person at the end of the line, you risk people feeling like they don’t have to worry about quality because someone else will catch mistakes. If you have that mentality, you will have a high error rate in production.” To that end, every employee is trained to treat customers as friends and neighbors.

“It doesn’t cost anything to smile at someone or ask if they need anything else. Adding those little touches is the least expensive change you can make, and the difference is immeasurable.”

The restaurant chain extends the friends-and-neighbors mentality into the community. “In Central America, there is a deep sense of citizenship, so we feel that we should be an integral part of any community in which we do business,” Cofiño said. Three locations are involved with their local Make-A-Wish chapter, and each new location is dedicated to a child in the community.

Recently, it made a donation to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital for the purchase of VHS/DVD players for patient rooms in the cardiac unit, and the company will continue to partner with the hospital for such endeavors. “It is the difference between viewing something as an investment or an expense. We see giving to the community as an investment,” Cofiño said.