K Bar M Pizza Co. (Pizza Hut Group) and FireFly Technologies: Growing Together for Success

K Bar M Pizza Co. switched its outdated systems for new, up-to-date Phoenix Point-of-Sale systems at the company's six Pizza Hut stores in southwestern Illinois. Deborah McCowan, COO/CFO at Knorr Enterprises (the parent company to K Bar M Pizza Co.), discusses the change and the features she likes best.

"We had no choice but to change our antiquated system. For one thing, the CHAMPS customer satisfaction survey program that Pizza Hut offers required us to manipulate data, which we couldn't do with the old system."

Incredible Installations
"The installers were social, understanding, and knowledgeable about the system. They bent over backwards during the installation to help us out. We made them part of the family."

Easy-to-Use, Graphical System
"Phoenix has a sophisticated user interaction that's easy to use. The screens are very graphical and easy to read. Our employees especially like that the ticket is on the right side of the screen."

Marketing and Customer Service
"Phoenix has a nice customer tracking and database feature. We want to build that up and really start marketing. But for now, Phoenix is great because I can track things like senior discounts. In our Pittsville store, I know we do more senior discounts than at our other locations because there is a larger senior population. Now we can plan how to market to those customers. We can use Phoenix to grow our sales and understand the eating habits of our customers.

"Another great feature is that we can print coupons or surveys on the receipts. Customers have noticed the change since we installed the new system."

Time-saving Tactics
"Phoenix is a time saver. No longer do managers have to handwrite payroll and fax it over. We can pull it from the stores and print out reports.

"Another benefit is that we can change menus and prices from the corporate office. Only I and other managers with appropriate security clearance can make those changes. It's a feature that gives us control."

Real-time Data, Real Fast
"With Phoenix, data is readily available, both historical and real-time. Managers love getting real-time time data at the store. They can input the employee schedule and compare it to the past. They can get labor percentages right away.

"Phoenix gives me a whole wealth of real-time data. I can compare this Tuesday from a Tuesday 3 months ago. I like that I can drill down on any data point and get the information I need, instantly. For providing information, Phoenix is as good as any system out there.

"For instance, I like that I can get real-time information on the coupons and promotions. I also like how Phoenix has separated coupons from promotions, which in my mind are two different things. Coupons are things like $2 or $3 off a meal. We have printed an offer on the back of grocery receipts from Quincy's local County Market grocery stores. That is a promotion. With Phoenix, we can track exactly how well that promotion is going and if we want to continue with it."

In the Know: Reports, Reports, Reports
"I feel like now we're really starting to use the system. I'm really encouraging my managers to analyze the reports that Phoenix provides.

"Personally, I use the labor reports a lot. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. is the lunch hour, and I know the labor percentage is higher. From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., that labor percentage better be decreasing. If it's not, then I know something needs my attention.

"I really like the Special Pricing Summary Report and the Special Pricing Detail Report. The summary report gives me totals from coupons, promotions, discounts, and comps. The detail report breaks that down for me even further. For instance, it breaks down comps into pranks, cook mistakes, and walkouts. So, if we had a $5,000 day, and $500 was coupons, and $150 was comps, I can analyze these things. For instance, if we comped lots of meals because the orders took too long, I can make this a training issue with my managers."

FireFly: For Now and in the Future
"I give FireFly kudos for technical support. Employees there are responsive. I see our relationship with FireFly as an evolving one, one that will be around for the long term."