Due to the inclement weather, our locations will be opening at 11 am this morning. We plan on staying open regular hours, but please call ahead towards the late afternoon. You may find a list of locations here .
Archive for January, 2010
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Sunday, January 31st, 2010Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q® Partners with NCSU Students to Improve Online Ordering Process
Thursday, January 28th, 2010The press release below was distributed today to our favorite media outlets detailing the great experience and opportunity that Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q had to work with students from North Carolina State University’s College of Management MIE 411 course – Managing the Growth Venture. Thank you to Professor Lewis Sheats and students Randall Barrier, Jim Crawford, Bill Edwards, and Adam Price for your great insight into our online business model!
Every team member at Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q takes pride in that we are able to be positive stewards in our local communities. As such, we are pleased to be able to recommend members from the NCSU MIE 411 team and have provided their contact information and resumes below.
Randall Barrier
randallbarrier@gmail.com
Resume
Bill Edwards
bill.edwards30@gmail.com
Resume
Adam Price
Price685@earthlink.net
Jim Crawford
jimcrawford9809@yahoo.com
Resume
Would you like to view the presentation that the team made to decision-makers at SCNB? Click here to visit the presentation hosted on Google Docs and then click “Start Presentation”!
Press release-
Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q® Partners with NCSU Students to Improve Online Ordering Process
Real world experience and connections benefits students and the local business willing to thinking outside of the typical chain of command
(Cary, NC) – Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q® (SCNB) is pleased to announce that thanks to the partnership between the North Carolina-based restaurant brand and North Carolina State University’s College of Management MIE 411 – Managing the Growth Venture course, the online sales and ordering process has been streamlined to produce a more customer-centric process.
During the Fall 2009 college semester, a group of students from Professor Lewis Sheats’ MIE 411 course were charged with the daunting task of streamlining the online business model for the restaurant brand – incorporating such tools already in use, like social media and online ordering capabilities, but also auditing shipping and processing models that were not effectively yielding strong profit margins for the restaurant’s shipped bar-b-q. The group presented a final presentation to Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q and the company quickly began work on applying the recommendations.
Jim Crawford, NCSU Class of 2010 student and group leader, noted that “[the group] found it valuable that SCNB believes and focuses on the customer being KING. In that regard, it made our project more definitive to zero-in on research, functionalities, strategies, operational efficiencies, and marketing, which on-end enhances the complete customer experience online.” The opportunities didn’t end with being able to partner with a customer-focused brand for the group though, “what made our team project so unique was the opportunity to work on a real growth venture within an entrepreneurial organization that has a long standing, unique, and rich North Carolina cultural history”, added Crawford.
“What makes the Entrepreneurship classes at NCSU so special is while students work on developing their entrepreneurial education they have the opportunity to work with real businesses in the community – identifying problems and creating real-life solutions,” says MIE 411 lecturer Lewis Sheats. “It is a great learning experience for them to see their work in action. We have several examples of students’ work being implemented and making a real impact on the participating companies, SCNB being one of the more recent ones. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved.”
“Selling our signature product online is a new venture for our company and like any new venture, you work through the kinks. The students from the College of Management helped us smooth out these issues”, concluded Richard Averitte, Marketing Director for Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q. “Their work exceeded our expectations and we are very pleased with the results.”
For more information about the NCSU College of Management’s Entrepreneurship undergraduate program, please visit http://mgt.ncsu.edu/undergraduate/current/BusMgt_undergrad/entrepreneurship.php, or call the College directly at 919-515-5565. For more information about Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q®, please visit http://www.SCNBNC.com or call 919-852-1742.
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About Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q
Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q has a 40-year history serving the finest fried chicken and Eastern-North-Carolina-style Bar-B-Q, made fresh daily from family recipes and served in a family-friendly atmosphere. Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q has over 30 locations in North Carolina as well as an online store where BBQ can be ordered and shipped anywhere in the United States. Visit http://www.SCNBNC.com/ for more information or call 919-852-1742.
Grateful To Serve Those Who Volunteer
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010Horne Memorial United Methodist Church in Clayton, N.C. has engaged in mission work in Haiti for years and operates the Ryan Epps Orphanage located there. Their missions have included ongoing projects such as building wells, providing food and clothing, and improving housing. In light of the recent tragedy in Haiti, the church has become a center for donated medical and health supplies headed to the earthquake-stricken country. The church is using donated warehouse space to store the donated supplies and volunteers are preparing them for shipping. Our Clayton location recently donated a meal to feed those volunteers, some of whom took the day off from work. We are grateful to serve those who serve and we commend the work of Horne Memorial UMC.
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Flickr and get five!
Saturday, January 9th, 2010Post a photo or send us a photo enjoying our food for our Flickr page to comments@scnbnc.com and we will send you a $5.00 gift certificate good for any location! Be sure to include a mailing address in your e-mail. This offer expires January 31st and is limited to one gift certificate per person.
Being a customer advocate
Friday, January 1st, 2010
It drives me crazy when I go to a restaurant and the cashier or server does not have a good understanding of the menu. It irks me when they have to look for a cheat sheet or ask another co-worker/manager. At Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q, we make sure all our co-workers know the menu so they can better serve our customers by being customer advocates. We want to empower our co-workers so they make decisions in our customer’s best interest.
Here’s an example: We offer a Value Pack on our menu- a Bar-B-Q sandwich, fries and a drink. If the customer orders a Bar-B-Q sandwich, hushpuppies and a drink, we could easily charge them for exactly what they asked for and ring up each item separately. Instead, we train our co-workers to do what is best for our customers and therefore suggest the following: “We have a Value Pack-sandwich, FF and drink. How about I ring you up for that and substitute the hushpuppies for fries? That will save you a little money!”
Sure, we technically lost money on that transaction but our philosophy is we gained goodwill with that customer. We believe that investment of goodwill is going to yield a better return than any single transaction. We want to give our customers the best possible deal so they will visit us again. Notice how we explain how we ring up the order. We want to “train” our customers so they know what to ask for again next time.
Being a customer advocate is critical , particularly in this current economic climate. Our company’s success is due to that fact that everything is done in the best interest of our customers. A new menu item or an advertising campaign can never replace a team of customer advocates!
-Richard Averitte, Marketing Director