His Story
Bryan Piggott opened the Mrs. Fields store in Salt Lake City, Utah’s Fashion Place Mall a few short years ago. Ease of operations and a simply learned company structure made the decision to open this franchise over other choices obvious.
And being one of the fabulous trainers hired to coach new franchise owners on the Mrs. Fields Method, Bryan had a whole year of teaching others so that when he finally opened a store for himself, he was instantly profitable. Another thing that has helped with profitability is making sure labor and food costs are always in line. When asked how to stay profitable even during times when discretionary spending is down, Bryan believes in the positive results of generosity. “We are implementing a gifting program for local businesses, companies and schools that we feel will help us maintain sales and grow sales through the holiday season. We also hope this will increase year-round sales and help non-mall customers enjoy the benefits of Mrs. Fields as well.”
Consistently increasing business is a four-pronged approach for Bryan: Sampling, outside marketing, mall employee marketing and the gifting program mentioned above. Also, “looking to other successful franchisees and the business models they have proven to be successful” is a solid business approach that has worked for Bryan.
Time management is essential when owning a business and a Mrs. Fields franchise works no differently. For Bryan, he said, “I try and devote time to each area of the business on a rotating basis, from marketing, to operations, to bookkeeping. One of the areas that I like to really be involved in is the training and working with employees to ensure that all of our customers are well taken care of and that our base of regular customers continues to grow!”
The customer experience is Bryan’s favorite part of owning a Mrs. Fields franchise. He reinforces this by training employees to see who’s really paying their wages. “The employees are fun to watch when they feel that the customer is the “boss” and they will do anything to make sure the customer returns again and again.” This focus on the customer has worked very well for Bryan and his team - with many of the 250 or so daily customers being regulars, the real trick is trying to remember all their names!
And Bryan’s favorite menu item? “Peanut Butter Cookie. No, wait, it’s two or three peanut butter cookies!”