The situation
Outlets were staffed to the hour, so sharp fifteen-minute meal rushes were met a few minutes late while mid-afternoon shoulders were over-covered out of caution. Wait times and labour cost were both under pressure.
What we did
We forecast demand in fifteen-minute blocks, including weather, paydays and local events, and tied cover to speed-of-service targets. Optimised patterns were piloted in a region, then scaled with manager-friendly templates.
Planning to the hour was costing us the rush. Planning to the quarter-hour gave us the speed back and took cost out at the same time.
Chief Operations Officer, Regional QSR brand, 340+ outlets (name withheld)
A note on the numbers
Client identities are confidential at their request. Figures are indicative and always measured against an agreed baseline; named results are published only with permission.