Salad and Go offers a unique premise: a drive-thru salad restaurant with a mission of making fresh, nutritious food affordable and convenient for everyone. Founded in 2013, the chain now includes approximately 150 locations across four states and is continuing to grow.  

Unlike most restaurants, where all food is prepared onsite, Salad and Go uses central prep kitchens to clean and cut ingredients before delivering fresh vegetables daily to customer-facing locations, which serve guests via drive-thru and walk-up windows. This unique model allows them to provide fast service and nutritious meals that meet many of the pricing and convenience standards that customers expect from other fast food or fast casual restaurants, but with a focus on healthful options. Each salad is fully customizable and priced affordably, allowing customers to purchase a 48-oz salad with a drink for around $10.00. After a phase of rapid expansion, the leadership team at Salad and Go turned their attention to fine-tuning their operations.

“We opened a lot of locations in the last two years—at one point, we were opening one a week. Now, we want to make sure they’re optimized and at peak performance before we begin opening stores that quickly again,” shared Tricia Wakeford, Vice President of Technology at Salad and Go.

Rapid growth reveals operational limitations

The chain’s expansion revealed a need for additional operational support. For example, the increased number of stores made it difficult for their internal service desk to keep up with the high volume of calls. As a result, technical disruptions led to disruptions in service, impacting both guests and team member experiences. Instead of focusing on future goals and growth, Salad and Go’s technical teams were spending most of their time focusing on day-to-day issues.

Seeking support for their unique business model and growing operations, Salad and Go turned to NCR Voyix as their single point of contact for wall-to-wall managed services and menu management. They quickly saw positive results: from a smooth, organized migration that took place over a two-month transition period to ongoing improvements to their restaurant operations. NCR Voyix has proved to be an ideal partner for Salad and Go’s ongoing needs. Salad and Go set an ambitious Customer Satisfaction Score target of 4.5 out of 5, they were thrilled when NCR Voyix exceeded expectations, delivering an outstanding 4.8.

Real-time support for a unique business model

Salad and Go’s business model is built around extended hours. Because they open early for breakfast and stay open beyond dinner hours, they needed a services partner who would be available throughout the day. Additionally, having stores in two different time zones extended the hours when support needs could occur. Salad and Go’s leadership recognized the value of partnering with a wall-to-wall support provider who could offer them technical expertise and serve as a single, reliable point of contact for various issues. Ultimately, they chose NCR Voyix as their partner.  

“Moving to NCR Voyix Wall-to-Wall Service Desk solved our service desk staffing issues of spreading our team so thin to cover multiple time zones’ support needs,” explained Wakeford. “It enabled us to put those team members in more impactful roles and focus on solving recurring technical issues.”

Since partnering with NCR Voyix, Salad and Go has seen a marked reduction in support tickets by approximately 120 tickets per month. Additionally, the agreed Service Level Agreement for answering calls within 60 seconds has been exceeded, with an average response time of just 36 seconds. With these improved operations, team members can now focus more on supporting guest-facing teams rather than solving backend issues, and the service desk requires fewer staffing resources. Additionally, customer-facing staff has experienced improved service uptime, which in turn has allowed them to deliver better guest experiences. For example, since most guests use credit cards or debit cards to pay, disruptions to payment processing systems are catastrophic to both guests and front-of-house team member experiences.

“We can count on your team being there, and answering the call,” says Wakeford.

‍Strategic upgrades to the ordering experience

To drive revenue growth across both existing and new stores, Salad and Go is also transitioning from static to digital menu boards. This strategic move has been a priority for over a year, aimed at boosting sales, enhancing guest experiences and increasing throughput. After piloting three different Digital Menu Board solutions, Salad and Go found their perfect match in NCR Voyix Digital Signage. The pilot phase was seamless, showcasing an impressive setup and visually appealing content that truly stood out. The stability of the hardware was a game-changer, meeting all of the chain’s critical needs. As a result, NCR Voyix Digital Signage installation will be included at all new restaurant openings.

"Before," says Wakeford, "we printed menus manually and had to insert them into the menu boards. As we roll out digital menus, we’re going to be able to take full advantage of the ability to make live menu changes."

Enhanced Service Desk operations

Salad and Go has significantly improved its service desk operations by leveraging NCR Voyix's advanced reporting functionalities. The influx of raw data, whether from NCR Voyix or third-party technologies, has empowered the team to proactively address recurring issues. This approach has led to a noticeable reduction in service tickets, ensuring smoother and more efficient operations.

Continued investment in lasting improvements

For Michelle LiVolsi, IT Support Analyst, partnering with NCR Voyix has made a huge difference in her day-to-day workload, as well as her outlook for the company’s future. “NCR Voyix Managed Services has given me the time to move beyond short-term damage control and focus on long-term solutions. Now, I can support multiple stores instead of just one, driving lasting improvements that strengthen our company’s mission.” Looking ahead, Salad and Go plans to resume expansion, with an eye on extending operations into new markets in more states, giving more customers access to delicious, healthy and affordable meals on the go.  

Choosing to work with NCR Voyix at this pivotal moment in the company’s growth has been transformative. This partnership has not only solidified store operations but has also laid a robust foundation for future enhancements and expansion.  With improved uptime and enhanced guest experiences NCR Voyix has proved they are a reliable partner for Salad and Go to continue their journey of growth and innovation.    

To learn how NCR Voyix can support your business as it continues to grow, schedule a demo with us.

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