TheCoop
The Coop: Market Research
Daryl Buckmeister opened the 24-hour restaurant, The Chicken Coop, in 1974. The restaurant prided itself on value and had the philosophy: “to provide the best-tasting meal around by specializing in the preparation and delivery of chicken.” The company focused on providing a family environment, targeting consumers between ages of 18 and 45. At The Coop’s peak in 1994, the company reached $58.9 million in sales derived from its 76 locations. A typical Coop restaurant averaged 1,500 to 2,000 transactions per week. The company’s success, Buckmeister believed, was due to paying close attention to its customers’ wants. Buckmeister thought value was the key. By offering different meal combos, starting at just $3.99, The Coop was able to provide great value to all of its customers. Also, The Coop was a company seeking “100 percent customer satisfaction.” In order to achieve this, Buckmeister believed that exercising tight control over every aspect of operations was a necessity. Although The Chicken Coop was experiencing incredible growth within its first 20 years, in 1995, the company’s sales were down in 20 of its 76 stores. The average decline in sales for these stores was 6 percent, with the cause being unclear. Several managers believed it would be wise to invest in more systematic market research (QIP’s, taste tests, etc.) to address quality and customer satisfaction issues. Others believed in the three-pronged approach (focus groups, BIMS, CES, etc.). While Buckmeister knew implementing any of these options would be expensive, he also understood it was necessary to get to the root of the problem.
Buckmeister took it upon himself to visit several restaurant locations to investigate the problem. In some of the restaurants, he noticed poor performance standards in the kitchen, as well as inadequately trained employees. However, his observations at other stores were not consistent, making this assumption inconclusive. He thought another
Daryl Buckmeister opened the 24-hour restaurant, The Chicken Coop, in 1974. The restaurant prided itself on value and had the philosophy: “to provide the best-tasting meal around by specializing in the preparation and delivery of chicken.” The company focused on providing a family environment, targeting consumers between ages of 18 and 45. At The Coop’s peak in 1994, the company reached $58.9 million in sales derived from its 76 locations. A typical Coop restaurant averaged 1,500 to 2,000 transactions per week. The company’s success, Buckmeister believed, was due to paying close attention to its customers’ wants. Buckmeister thought value was the key. By offering different meal combos, starting at just $3.99, The Coop was able to provide great value to all of its customers. Also, The Coop was a company seeking “100 percent customer satisfaction.” In order to achieve this, Buckmeister believed that exercising tight control over every aspect of operations was a necessity. Although The Chicken Coop was experiencing incredible growth within its first 20 years, in 1995, the company’s sales were down in 20 of its 76 stores. The average decline in sales for these stores was 6 percent, with the cause being unclear. Several managers believed it would be wise to invest in more systematic market research (QIP’s, taste tests, etc.) to address quality and customer satisfaction issues. Others believed in the three-pronged approach (focus groups, BIMS, CES, etc.). While Buckmeister knew implementing any of these options would be expensive, he also understood it was necessary to get to the root of the problem.
Buckmeister took it upon himself to visit several restaurant locations to investigate the problem. In some of the restaurants, he noticed poor performance standards in the kitchen, as well as inadequately trained employees. However, his observations at other stores were not consistent, making this assumption inconclusive. He thought another