New York-based Wendy’s of Rochester Inc., a franchisee of Wendy’s International Inc., is comprised of more than 100 Wendy’s restaurants spread throughout the New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Southwest Michigan states. As a restaurant chain, the goal of Wendy’s is to offer high-quality, fast, friendly service.

To pursue this objective, Wendy’s of Rochester recently decided to begin offering a credit card payment option to its customers. It was clear that dial-up was not efficient enough to provide this service and that a high-speed connection would be necessary. In addition, the franchisee had no network configuration with the restaurants and its established dial-up network was used for the purposes of e-mail and limited Internet access, including communications with headquarters. The need for a network structure and high-speed Internet access was apparent.

Randy Traugott, vice president of marketing and IT for Wendy’s of Rochester, recently spoke with Satellite Business Solutions magazine and shared how the franchisee greatly benefits from its satellite network installation.

Randy Traugott
Vice President, Marketing and IT,
Wendy’s of Rochester Inc.

PROBLEM:
A Need To Upgrade Customer Service.

The initial proposition was for high-speed debit and credit processing, which would be used in all of the franchisee’s restaurants. The goal was to be “able to handle those transactions quickly so as not to interrupt operations and provide maximum customer benefit,” says Traugott.

Additional applications provided by the new network would include higher-speed Internet access, e-mail, remote control and troubleshooting of point-of-sale (POS) systems, as well as polling of POS data for the restaurants. The network would also allow Wendy’s of Rochester to distribute information more quickly and more efficiently, with the level of security required for such corporate communications.

SOLUTION:
Implementing A Satellite-based Network.

Wendy’s of Rochester launched its very small aperture terminal (VSAT) network in September 2004, connecting its 123 restaurants and corporate offices. After a pilot phase, Spacenet’s Connexstar solution was chosen. The installation of all sites was completed in less than 30 days, even faster than originally proposed.

The biggest benefit for the franchisee’s restaurants is the ability to process credit card transactions quickly and seamlessly. “Since we didn’t have credit ability previously, it’s hard to put a dollar value on that,” Traugott says. “But we see a steady increase in the number of credit card transactions.”

The always-on VSAT network solution is also used to remotely solve PC or actual POS systems problems, and allows Wendy’s of Rochester to quickly send changes over the satellite.

The satellite network also provides Wendy’s of Rochester with 24/7 customer service. “We only had to use it for a few minor things,” Traugott says. “Overall [the network] has been very reliable.”

He adds, “We are very happy with our VSAT network and future opportunities include other Web-based applications that will help us serve our guests more efficiently and increase the profitability of our restaurants.”