At Double O’s, making sure our locations are operating like well-oiled machines is a cornerstone to our success. At the forefront of this is our Vice President of Operations, Phil Eversmann.
Since it’s inception, Phil has been our leader in designing the flow of business at our 2 company-owned locations, honing simple, adaptable and manageable processes for our employees to follow and for our incoming franchise partners to get excited about.
We sat down with Phil to ask him 10 questions about his role here at Double O’s. See what he had to say below!
What unique operational challenges does a coffee franchise face compared to other types of food and beverage businesses?
“The biggest challenge we face as a drive thru coffee place is becoming part of someone’s routine. Many people all over the world have their choice of caffeine source and due to the reliance on that caffeine to tackle the day it can be difficult to convince people to try something new in place of what’s already working for them. We’ve been fortunate that so many of our customers today took the chance to try something different and loved us enough to be part of their routine. We keep quality and speed at the forefront of our priorities, and it makes it easy for anyone willing to give us a try to fit us into their day without slowing them down.”
How do you ensure consistency in quality across multiple franchise locations?
“We’ve been extremely selective with choosing our partners and vendors to make sure we’re receiving high quality ingredients every single time. This combined with our incredible teams and leaders are the foundation of our success so far.”
What role does technology play in the day-to-day operations of the franchise?
“From the start, we sought out some of the best espresso machines and equipment to aid in our journey for a fast and high-quality product. With the launch of our new app, it’s never been easier for our customers to keep track of their rewards points, order ahead, and keep up with our story.”
Can you describe the training and development programs for baristas and other staff members?
“After completing onboarding, all of our new hires are enrolled in Double O’s Academy which houses a bunch of learning modules specifically built to help set up our teams for success. Utilizing this alongside a weeklong training schedule has been a recipe for success at our store openings and continued development of our teams.”
How do you approach sustainability within the operations of the franchise?
“Sustainability has always been front of mind for us. Early on we weren’t super stoked about our options and wanted our approach to be more impactful than some sustainable products allowed us to be. We chose the “done is better than perfect” approach and have committed to implementing sustainable changes in the coming year.”
What strategies do you use to adapt operations to different regional markets?
“Knowing how much culture and community surrounds coffee, we thought of several ways to integrate into new communities. From customized branding/mural design to include community elements (monuments, fountains, animals, etc.), to custom drinks dedicated to the areas we open in – we’ll never shy away from an opportunity to make our brand more familiar and comfortable to approach.”
How do you manage supply chain logistics, especially when it comes to sourcing high-quality coffee beans?
“While on our journey to source high quality/reliable partners/vendors, we always kept growth as a big part of our conversations. The partners we’ve selected make it possible for us to pursue true vertical integration like in-house roasting, baking, and packaging. We’re taking steps to make that possible every day, and look forward to announcing more here soon!”
What metrics do you use to evaluate the performance of individual franchise locations?
“We truly believe that growth comes from serving a consistently high-quality product at the speeds our customers need. We focus on this from day 1 and are looking to make some investments on the technology side of our business to make tracking drive thru, menu, and window times as easy as possible. This paired with various trainings throughout the year have helped drive operational excellence and contributed to much of our growth.”
How do you foster a fun and engaging culture within the operational team?
“We’ve been very fortunate to have such incredible teams from the start. Keeping our day-to-day lighthearted, setting our teams up for success, and investing in development for anyone looking to learn/grow have all contributed to our culture. These things paired with events throughout the year like escape rooms, movie nights, etc. have all been factors in keeping our teams engaged and excited to be a part of our journey.”
What innovations or changes are you most excited about implementing in the franchise’s operations?
“Becoming fully vertically integrated is our first big change (or changes) we’re looking forward to making. This sets us up for so many cool things like frequently changing/evolving our products, more robust limited-time offerings, and so much more. Vertical integration also helps us lower costs for our locations and franchisees, which allows us to invest back into the business in many other ways like sustainable packaging and so many other things we’re looking forward to sharing with you soon!”
