1. How has Porcini’s maintained high product and service quality and how does it plan to do so for its new Pronto concept?
Firstly, Porcini’s is a people processing service and it requires the active cooperation of customers. It has always thought about the process and output in the customer’s point of view. It did not adopt a franchising or a syndication model of ownership and did not risk the company’s quality reputation and avoided the pace of growth that the company was ill equipped to handle
• Quality could be traced to the long experience of individual restaurant managers, supervisory personnel and chefs, a relatively stable workforce and to the recipes of Chef who had won the coveted James Beard award
• Chef Mlolise applied culinary principles to Porcini’s less pricey menu and personally trained each outlet’s chef in her “flash cooking” techniques
• Each Porcini’s created the ambience of a unique family-owned restaurant in keeping with its North End roots, unlike competitors who had “Italian theme park” atmosphere
• Table service matched the food in quality and New England restaurant guide gave Procini’s its “best Chain Service” award for the 4th consecutive year
• Brought unsalaried annual turnover down to an eviable 42% from 75% 3 years earlier through experimenting with recruitin, pay and perks
• “Pathfinder Team” would form the staff core at each Pronto, bringing experience and the company’s quality culture in tow. Each team receive a full week of training and indoctrination in the rapid, quality service strategy and its implementation elements
• Intensive interviews
• Perfect attendance for an entire quarter earned one additional paid vacation day
• To facilitate Pronto’s quality goals, these included an innovative process for selecting, appraising, and rewarding employees and the use of wireless technology to eliminate time from customer