" Live From Fort Worth" March 2003
3/21/2003

The following article appeared in the March 2003 issue of "Live From Forth Worth", a monthly insert in the "TCU Daily Skiff".
------
First time restaurant manager takes customer service to a new level

BY KELLY MORRIS
Managing Editor — "TCU Daily Skiff"
"Live From Fort Worth" March 2003

The first time I went to Roly Poly, the manager asked me to find out if Chili's was serving baked potato soup.

He gave me a free cookie for it.

And then he offered me a job.

On my second visit, operating manager Jason Ard already knew my name.

"For whatever reason, we've been able to establish a hominess," said Ard, who is a first-time manager. "It's like the old cliché about 'Cheers.' Everyone knows your name. That's why people come back. We try to know our customers."

The Fort Worth sandwich shop is part of a restaurant chain with more than 90 locations across the United States. It has developed a loyal following since its June 2002 opening.

Squeezed between Luke's clothing store and Chili's in University Park Village, the restaurant's bright, yellow awning can't be missed.

And neither can its menu. Customers have more than 60 choices of hand-rolled tortilla sandwiches. If that's not enough selection, customers can make their own sandwich with any of the restaurant's fresh ingredients.

A not so typical Saturday.
It's 11 a.m. Saturday and Ard is preparing for the lunch rush. He cuts the avocadoes for the Organic Jack sandwich and begins to fill small, plastic containers with salsa, making sure a drop doesn't spill onto his clean kitchen counter. The restaurant's eight, tiny blue tables are empty but not for long. By 12:15 p.m., the Saturday crowd is bigger than expected. The line is out the door. Junior Annie Hodge, who has worked at Roly Poly since August, is gone making deliveries to Harris Methodist Hospital, Cooks Children's Hospital and Plaza Medical Center.

"Sometimes there is an occasion or two when we can't deliver for someone because we already have four or five orders going out then," Ard said. "People learn to get their orders in early."

Ard is left with the long line and just one other employee.

"It's almost like a phenomenon," Ard said while shredding carrots. "You can feel the pulse of the place picking up. It's not a living organism or anything, but there's a certain vibe that goes on when everyone's looking at the menu, excited about their sandwiches."

Even with eight people in line, Ard still delivers each sandwich personally to the table. "How's your sandwich," he asks? One new customer approaches the counter. Ard helps him pick a sandwich, a whole one. "Makes for good leftovers, buddy," he says.

Jim Giffin, who currently owns three Roly Poly franchises in Birmingham, Ala., orders his standard sandwich—a Veggie fajita with chicken—on his first visit to the Fort Worth restaurant.

"We don't fry anything, so we don't have to fight with grease."

Giffin said he is impressed by Ard's outgoingness.

"A fourth of the people who walked in, he called by name," Giffin said. "All the stores do that. They call your name instead of a number. He takes your food out. Next time you walk in, he calls you by name and after a while, he'll know what your favorite sandwich is."

Ard knows what Emily Pond's favorite sandwich is. Pond, who works part-time at the nearby Staples, enters the restaurant and orders the Turkey AppleJack.

"I come here three to four times a week, sometimes more," she said. "It depends on how much money I have. Right off the bat after I ate my first sandwich here, I was like 'Oh my God, I love this place.'"

Ard also knows Pond doesn't like her turkey sandwich with onions on it. Pond remembers an instance when a new employee accidentally forgot that fact.

"Jason and the other workers gave him a hard tim," she said.

Two days later, Pond said the new employee knew her name and knew she didn't like onions.

"Roly Poly has great service, and you'll never want to eat anywhere else unless you of course like French fries," she said. "That's the only thing they don't serve here."

The family man
So how does Ard remember all those names and sandwiches?

"I have a pretty good memory," he said. "When people like talking about my food, I like talking to them. Some of it is genetics too. My grandfather, Dotty, was a jack-of-all-trades, and he was nice to everyone he knew. Also both my parents were personable and outgoing. It's hard not to be around those people and not pick some of it up."

Growing up in Granbury and New Braunfels, Ard has had many occupations. He's been a waiter at Macaroni Grill, a steel-worker, a salesman and a transportation broker. His most recent job as an assistant financial planner wasn't for him.

"I did not enjoy following the market or being behind a computer all day," he said. "I can't guarantee the stock market, but I can guarantee Roly Poly's food."

Brian Hakel said Ard, his friend of 10 years, has a knack for helping people.

"He knows how to take care of people," said Hakel, who commutes 30 minutes from Coppell to the restaurant two to three times a month. "That's his gift."

Now Ard spends six days a week in a Roly Poly red polo shirt and tan hat. His eight to 10-hour workdays keep him away from his wife and three daughters.

Ten-year-old Kelsey, his oldest daughter, was just 4 years old when he met her and her mom, Trina.

"Kelsey was the most beautiful girl with curly hair and big, cute cheeks to kiss," Ard said. "I think I fell in love with Kelsey before I fell in love with Trina."

Ard and his wife met Valentine's Day 1997. They quickly married in June that same year.

"God put us together," he said. "Why delay it?"

Trina and Ard struggled to have their own children. After many years of trying fertility treatments and researching international adoptions, nothing was working.

"It was a little frustrating," Ard said.

But they didn't lose hope. In June 2000, Jason and Trina adopted Adysen, who is a biracial. They adopted Aliya, who is Hispanic, in August 2001. Adysen is now 2 years old and Aliya is 1 year old.

"We didn't care what kind of baby it was," he said. "Never have. Never will. White, blue, purple, it's all the same. They're still my girls. It adds a little flavor to the family.

The manager
Ard said he has learned a lot since he first became the store's supervisor in June. He said customers will stop at nothing to compliment his food.

"Some customers have my cell phone number," Ard said. "One of our regular customers across the street called my phone and said, 'You're exactly right, those pumpkin macadamia cookies are incredible,' three days after he had one. It's nice to know your customers trust you."

And with every customer, Ard said it gives another person a chance to get addicted to Roly Poly's food.

"You want a consistent staff that knows we're here to take care of them," he said. "How many fast food places do you go to where you leave a tip? We got $20 to $30 from lunch today. That's nuts. It seems like an admiration to me because they see us working. I'm just Jason, a wacky guy trying to entertain the customers."

Well, Jason, it's working.


» Go Back to Roly Poly News