Founded by Peter Chiu in 2012 with the aim of bringing a diverse range of delicious and nutritious food options to customers, Basil Box is a fast-casual restaurant chain based in Canada that offers a unique dining experience inspired by Asian street food. After pivoting to emphasize takeout and include meal kits during the pandemic lockdown, the company is thriving today with multiple locations across Canada and continues to expand, serving a menu of fresh, made-to-order dishes including rice and noodle bowls, salads, and bao buns.
Kyra Santa Ana, Basil Box’s Business Development Manager has been tasked with ensuring a high-quality customer experience across locations. She knows that consistency is key to success, so she turned to MeazureUp for support. Today, Basil Box uses both DailyChex and AuditApp by MeazureUp at all their restaurants, building the kind of dependable brand loyalty that drives revenue, boosts average order size, and increases customer lifetime value for restaurant chains.
Surviving the Pandemic with Help from a New Tool
During the first half of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound and devastating effect on the restaurant industry. Widespread lockdowns and social distancing measures resulted in a significant loss of revenue for many restaurants, with some estimates suggesting that the industry as a whole lost as much as $240 billion in the first half of the year. According to the National Restaurant Association, as many as 110,000 restaurants were at risk of closing permanently as a result of the pandemic in the US alone.
Like many restaurant chains, Basil Box temporarily closed their doors and pivoted to options that patrons could enjoy at home during lockdown, but they still needed to ensure a safe work environment for the dedicated employees who were preparing those takeout and meal kit options. Santa Ana reports that her restaurants kept track of the health and wellness of staff members every day, asking for self-reporting and conducting temperature checks, then recording results and sharing information via customized data fields in the MeazureUp apps. Once it became safe to reopen, Daily Chex was invaluable in helping the company maintain standards, providing customers with the clean, safe environment that they needed in order to return regularly.
The Best Way to Meet Day-to-Day Standards
Adhering to brand standards is crucial for restaurants as it helps to establish a strong brand identity and build customer loyalty. Consistent brand standards help to create a recognizable and memorable experience for customers, which drives repeat business. Studies have shown that returning customers generate more revenue than new customers do, as they tend to spend more and are less price-sensitive. In fact, statistics indicate that increasing customer retention by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%.
Like many organizations, Basil Box used to have a clipboard system for processes around brand standards and daily checklists but it was less efficient and less effective than their new digital tools. Santa Ana points out the improvement as it relates to food storage temperatures in particular, saying, “Prior to MeazureUp, it was all paper and pen. Staff members had to run back and forth from the wall to the refrigerator, check the temperature and run back to record it. We didn’t throw things away. Paper piled up and it was a lot of waste at the end of the day. Now, it’s all on more convenient for the stores. DailyChex is on their cell phones and it’s easy for them to walk around.”
Santa Ana also finds the bird’s eye view that the app provides invaluable. She uses the portal to check on results often. “I can see all of my locations on the portal,” she says. “I can make sure that all restaurants are checking temperature often, because I have the access that I need to see all of that. If they’re not reporting often enough, I can use my phone to check in on them.” She also finds the app useful in ensuring that the restaurants are maintaining brand standards around cleanliness. “When they do deep cleaning, they can check off each task as they do it then send a report to me. At the end of the week, I can look back on what hasn’t been done and ask them to fix it, then they can easily update me.”
Gathering Information with Mystery Shoppers
Like many companies, Basil Box helps ensure a quality experience across locations by hiring mystery shoppers. An individual who poses as a regular customer while gathering information about a business’s products, services, and customer service by observing and recording various aspects of the shopping experience, a mystery shopper helps businesses monitor employee compliance with company policies and procedures and measure the effectiveness of training programs. The information gathered by mystery shoppers provides valuable insights into the customer experience, helping businesses identify areas for improvement and ensure that their customers are receiving the highest level of service. Studies have shown that the use of mystery shoppers can lead to significant improvements in customer satisfaction and overall business performance. According to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), 94% of companies that use mystery shopping report improvements in the customer experience, and 72% report improved employee performance. To maximize the impact of their investment, Basil Box has armed their mystery shoppers with AuditApp, enabling them to share not only the details of their visit, but also photos and videos, with managers.
A New Partnership Has an Impact
When asked about her favorite MeazureUp feature, Santa Ana doesn’t hesitate. “The dashboard,” she says. “It’s very convenient and helps me identify different ways of doing things to make it easier. It’s so user friendly.” When she does need a bit of extra support, Santa Ana reaches out to MeazureUp. “The team is very helpful,” she says. “I can shoot you a video with my question and I get a call back to guide me step by step through it. I like being efficient. I’m always on the go and would rather do it myself, but love that you guys are always there when I have questions. Overall, I’ve been very satisfied.”
Your business can benefit from MeazureUp’s powerful, easy-to-use automated checklist and field assessment tools, too. Schedule a convenient demo today.
