The five Gingerbread Man fast food restaurants have become an instant success in Beijing.
And the pressure this newly launched brand brought to the entire fast food industry was quickly felt by those in the industry in a way that could be described as painful.
Tuesday, February 2, 1988, was the fourth day that the Gingerbread Man fast food restaurant opened in Beijing.
At 9:30 in the morning, the Kentucky store in Qianmen, Beijing, opened on time.
After a store clerk in Kentucky opened the door, he politely said hello to the customers waiting in front of the door according to the standard procedure that had been practiced countless times behind the scenes.
"Hello, welcome to KFC."
When he said this, he looked natural, smiled, and stared at each other, which gave customers a very comfortable feeling.
But to be honest, his heart is far less positive and confident than he appears on the surface.
Because he knows best that compared with previous days, the number of customers waiting at the door has obviously decreased.
There were more than fifty people at the door the day before yesterday and the day before yesterday. Yesterday there were twenty or thirty people, but today there were only a dozen or so people.
Does that mean that there may only be a few people tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow...
The clerk didn't dare to think about it anymore.
But he also had a clear mind in his mind, and he knew why such a thing happened.
This is all because a Western-style fast food restaurant called "Gingerbread Man" opened next to them a few days ago.
And when he subconsciously lowered his head and turned to the west to look at his new neighbor in the distance.
Sure enough, they saw that twenty meters away from them, the entrance of the Gingerbread Man's store was much busier than the front of the Kentucky store.
I don’t know when a long queue of at least sixty or seventy people started forming.
The people who shrank their hands and stamped their feet gathered together in great interest. Judging by their expressions, no one seemed too cold.
This scene of braving the cold and looking forward to a taste of fresh exotic flavors is just like the grand scene when the Kentucky front store opened three months ago.
The clerk couldn't help but fell into a trance for a while, and an inexplicable feeling of loneliness surged into his heart, so much so that he didn't even hear a customer's question.
Fortunately, he was a kind young man who asked him, so he didn't blame him for it.
Instead, he waited patiently for him to come to his senses before continuing to ask him questions.
"Hey, buddy, do you have any gifts in your store? For example, if I buy a set meal, I will get a key chain, a small gift, etc."
"Ah, sir, we have no such activity at the moment."
"So are there any special offers?"
"Sorry, sir, no."
"None of them..." The young man looked a little disappointed.
As a result, the girl holding him next to him started talking again, "Let's go, let's go, there are blind ink marks. I already told you, there are none here. What else do you ask? Let's go to that place quickly. It's in the newspaper
It’s all written down, there are discounts and gifts.”
Although they didn't say it clearly, the clerk still knew where they were talking about, and he couldn't help but feel stunned, and the feeling of loss became even stronger.
Fortunately, the young man was afraid of queuing, so his words gave the clerk some confidence.
"But there are a lot of people over there. My sister-in-law, look, there is a queue of people at Wuyang Wuyang over there. It's such a cold day, how long do we have to wait in line if we want to go there?
I said you can eat it here, smell it, the fried chicken smells so good!"
The clerk quickly agreed and worked hard to retain customers.
"Yes, our fried chicken is soaked in fresh milk, so it tastes particularly fragrant when fried. It tastes even better when eaten. Just like what the sign says, Kentucky home-grown chicken, in the entire capital, except for us, you
You can’t get such authentic American fried chicken anywhere.”
Unexpectedly, the girl didn't buy it and ignored the clerk at all, only talking to her boyfriend.
"At this point, the restaurant has just opened and there are not many people in the restaurant. If we go to queue now, we probably won't have to wait long. Besides, what's the point of queuing for a while? Are you in a hurry?"
"Let me tell you, this store is the one Teresa Teng visited a few days ago. If you spend over ten yuan, not only can you get a gingerbread man key chain, but the special offer is the wine and coffee that Teresa Teng sang in her song.
Hey, don’t you want to try it?”
"Have you seen Dahong? She and her boyfriend went there on the first day of the opening, and she even got Teresa Teng's autograph. The key chain she brought back was so cute... Forget it, look at you like that, what do you mean?
?It’s boring to go out with you. Are you going? Why don’t you go and pull me down, I’ll go alone, don’t regret it if I’m drunk..."
Seeing that his partner was scornful, the young man was at his wits end. He smiled bitterly at the clerk who was talking to him, and it seemed that he was a good candidate for kneeling on the washboard.
"Brother, thank you, what about... let's go over there and have a look first. I'm sorry..."
When the two finally left, the young man looked particularly embarrassed.
But what was actually more embarrassing was the store clerk.
Because to be honest, out of curiosity, he had gone there secretly after getting off the morning shift, so he naturally knew what kind of charm it had there.
Even though he was earning a salary in Kentucky, if he were to be in the same position as the couple just now, he would still make the same choice.
But he also felt strange in his heart, where did such a strong competitor come from?
You know, when he was selected from a thousand applicants to participate in vocational training in Kentucky.
The advanced operating methods and perfect service requirements of the American fast food industry have already opened his eyes.
Especially the chairman's speech made him extremely excited about the career he was about to join in the future.
He thought that Kentucky was the undisputed leader in the fast food industry in the world.
And he is an extremely lucky person to be able to participate in it.
Unexpectedly, the newly opened Gingerbread Man Fast Food was not only no worse than Kentucky in all aspects, but it seemed to be even worse, even beating Kentucky in every aspect.
Although he is not worried about the company he works for now, after all, people who come to taste American fried chicken can still crowd the restaurant.
But he has also clearly felt that Kentucky is on the decline. At least in terms of popularity, it is gradually not as popular as the other party. It can even be said that the other party has taken away a lot of customers.
In his opinion, if their chairman doesn't come up with a good idea as soon as possible, Kentucky's temporary first-mover advantage will be lost, and their original position as the leader in the domestic fast food industry will also be lost.
Of course, this is not something that a small employee like him can worry about.
As usual, Wang Dadong arrived at 10:30 in the morning.
It was a working day, and after ten o'clock, the flow of people on Qianmen Street under the Qianmen Building gradually increased.
But in this way, the gap between the two stores in terms of customer flow becomes even greater.
When Wang Dadong came to the door of his store, he saw that the queue at the door of the "Gingerbread Man" in the distance had already reached hundreds of people.
But there were only a dozen or so people lined up in front of my store, which suddenly made me feel boring and a bit shameless.
People are like this, they can't help but compare with each other.
Although Wang Dadong knew that opening a new store would make it easier to attract customers, and his own home had been so prosperous, he still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
After all, people who work in the same industry are enemies. Seeing that the other party is much more prosperous than you now, you will get very angry.
After walking into the store and checking that everything was in order, Wang Dadong finally felt a little better and nodded to his employees with satisfaction.
However, when he asked the store manager about the customer flow and sales situation today, his face involuntarily turned gloomy again.
"Why are there so few? Are you killing the senior management? It's only been an hour since it opened, and the operating income is only over 1,200 yuan?"
"Well, Chairman, it is true that the operating income is this much."
The store manager Wang Dadong personally selected agreed, then hesitated for a moment and gave a certain degree of explanation.
"Perhaps it's because today is a working day and it's not yet noon. I will definitely feel better by noon."
These words are actually meaningless. Wang Dadong certainly knows that there are fewer people on weekdays, and he also knows that the closer it is to noon, the more people are dining.
Don’t forget, it’s been three months since Kentucky opened its doors, and there has never been an hour of revenue less than 2,200 yuan on any working day.
If calculated according to this ratio, during a twelve-hour business day, the maximum revenue can be 25,000 yuan, which is not even a little bit different from the average daily revenue of 40,000 yuan in the past.
Too big!
"No, no, that's not right." Wang Dadong shook his head and asked firmly, "This data has dropped too much. The seats in the store are almost full, and there are customers queuing up at the door. How can it be less than two thousand yuan? It doesn't make sense.
It will be like this. You are the store manager. If there is a problem, I can only come to you and tell me what's going on? Don't tell me you don't know..."
Facing Wang Dadong's stern tone, the store manager froze with an embarrassed expression.
He knew that Wang Dadong was really angry, so he lowered his head, thought about it very seriously, and then explained to Wang Dadong.
"Chairman, after opening the store today, I have been following the operating procedures and checked the kitchen equipment, food inventory, beverage machines and bathroom hygiene. So during the opening period, I didn't pay much attention to what happened in front of the store. In some cases, I
Not very clear either. But I will keep it
I noticed some strange phenomena. There must have been a lot of customers who came in today and left without ordering. Or there were several customers who came together but only ordered a small set meal. I don’t know why this happened.
But in my opinion, this may be the reason for the decline in operating data..."
"I didn't order..." Wang Dadong was stunned for a moment after hearing what the store manager said.
This was an explanation that was completely beyond his comprehension.
He didn't understand how a customer could come all the way to the store and then leave without ordering.
Are these people too full to hold on?
A few people just ordered a small set meal, which is unjustifiable.
Could it be that the appetite of people in the capital has suddenly shrunk?
Or is it eating alone while everyone else watches?
However, coincidentally, just when Wang Dadong was suspicious and confused, the situation reported by the store manager happened again in the store.
There were four young girls, probably coming together.
They stood in front of the ordering counter with the menus for a while, whispering to each other, and finally ordered a small meal for 7.3 yuan per person.
Then a girl carried the food on a tray and her companions found a seat with only three chairs.
One person stood and three people sat. The two pieces of finger-licking original chicken were divided into four pieces by them. The mashed potatoes, shredded salad and small lunch bags were also given to each other, and they just started eating.
The thoughtful Wang Dadong quickly noticed this situation.
He didn't even bother to go to his office on the third floor. He just took off his coat and handed it to the store manager along with his briefcase. Then he went to the warehouse and brought a chair to the girls.
But to be honest, giving chairs to a few girls was not his real purpose. More importantly, he wanted to show his kindness and ask the girls what they thought.
"You just ordered such a small portion, is it enough?"
After Wang Dadong brought the chair, he asked questions in a friendly manner and introduced himself.
"I'm the manager of this fast food restaurant. Please don't get me wrong. I just want to know, do you have any opinions on the food in this restaurant? Does the fried chicken taste too weird and too greasy for you to like?"
Several young girls had no social experience. They saw him wearing a suit and leather tie, calling himself the manager, diligently delivering chairs, and smiling and amiable.
Immediately I didn't know what to do.
Several people were silent for a long time, feeling that it was hard to live up to the enthusiasm of such a good man, and finally a girl whispered the truth.
"It's too expensive. We are all students. We have only one year left to graduate from college. We haven't made any money yet. If we buy a set meal per person, it will cost almost 30 yuan. We just want to buy one and try American food."
Fried chicken tastes whatever it is.”
"Ah, that's it. How about that? Why don't I treat you? I'll have someone bring you three sets of the same set meal. You are college students. I can't let you come here and still be hungry.
.When you start working in the future, you are welcome to visit our store again.”
Wang Dadong is indeed a veteran in the catering industry. He uses this skill to win people's hearts, which further enhances the favorability of several girls towards him and enhances their trust in him.
Not only is it more conducive for him to continue to inquire about the other party's opinions, but it is also possible to cultivate a few loyal fans.
For him, the cost is just a few simple fried chicken set meals in his store, which is almost negligible.
And based on his understanding of the people in the capital, it is very likely that these shy girls will not accept his kindness.
As expected, these girls all have self-respect, and no one is willing to take advantage of such an inexplicable thing.
Not only did they refuse immediately, but out of gratitude, they also revealed more of their true thoughts to him.
"No, uncle, thank you. Actually... we still have some money in our pocket to eat, but we still want to try something else..."
"Yes," another girl said, "Isn't there a Gingerbread Man next to you? We heard that they also have Western-style fast food there, and they have a lot of delicious food, more than you have here."
"Well, we heard that it was the place where Teresa Teng had a meal a few days ago. We could eat for about ten yuan and get a cute gingerbread man key chain. So we plan to eat
After finishing the fried chicken, go there and queue up..."
It has to be said that young people are really naive, they say what they want but don't mean what they say. Wang Dadong can easily tell what is on their mind.
But then again, the truth is often heartbreaking.
Just like Wang Dadong, he felt extremely embarrassed in front of several girls who were chirping like little birds.
If he really asked the truth, it would make him feel even more unhappy.
But because of the problem of character creation, he had to force a smile and maintain his demeanor.
What kind of anger is this?
Now he is not the chairman of KFC. He is about to get the upper hand and start talking about FCK.