The HoneyBaked franchise model is both resilient and adaptable. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven just that. Each of our franchisees is doing what they can to keep their communities and customers safe—and fed.
As our franchisees navigate this new normal, they are guided by Honey Baked Ham’s values: community service, being innovative, doing the right thing and leaving things better than we found them. Read on to learn all about how David Hardy, our franchisee in Wake Forest, NC, continued to support his community by incorporating curbside service.
Ahead of the Curve
State and local governments have had their hands full dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. In North Carolina, the governor required that restaurants stop dine-in service and set up social distancing procedures. David Hardy and his HoneyBaked Wake Forest team made that happen even before the governor’s announcement because it was the right thing to do. “We were a day ahead of it,” David says. “We had already pulled chairs from the dining areas and offered takeout, delivery and curbside.”
David was able to move so quickly thanks in part to his innovative collaboration with other franchisees navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. “There were ideas shared from corporate and conversation from other franchisees and the franchise community,” David says. “[Fellow HoneyBaked franchisee] Matt Davis threw together a really good order form and we use it when customers call in and it has all of our offerings.”
Working with the Community
David also worked with his community to expand his curbside pickup business, including local signage companies. “We had to go out and get a lot of marketing and signs,” David says “I was able to get some curbside signs made to line up each parking spot numbered 1-10.”
HoneyBaked Wake Forest also worked with customers to educate them about proper COVID-19 distancing procedures and how easy curbside pickup is. “We had a lot of longer conversations with customers on the phone educating them about safety practices,” David says. “We were detailing to the customers the options that they had for purchasing at our location.”
Social Media Marketing
Another way HoneyBaked Wake Forest worked to make sure their customers knew about the safety of curbside pickup was through a series of social media videos. “We had one of our associates dress up as a pig and educate the customer about curbside, social distancing and delivery as three different videos. It helped us educate the customers,” David says. “The first we put out had more than 14,000 views in the first three days.”
The videos were a hit! In fact, the local chamber of commerce liked them so much that they posted them, too, in addition to David’s own groups. “I’m also part of individual Facebook community pages and I was able to personally share the video on specific community pages which helped a lot of folks get in contact with us,” David says.
Curbside Systems
David’s team made curbside pickup work thanks to innovative thinking. “We would have three associates in the parking lot when customers would come up. Those associates would ask the customers’ names while staying six feet away and communicating it by walkie-talkie to a partner,” David says. “So there were six people total. We had the second partner bring out the order and put it in the trunk or the back for no contact pickup.”
All for the Customers
Curbside pickup allowed HoneyBaked Wake Forest to keep serving its community safely despite a global pandemic. “It’s provided a service many of our customers appreciate. I think a lot of customers would not have shopped with us had we not had curbside pickup,” David says. “They felt safer. It allowed them to have a sense of normalcy, especially when it came to their Easter Holiday.”
David and HoneyBaked Wake Forest have weathered this pandemic by serving and educating their community, thinking outside of the box and collaborating for the good of all HoneyBaked customers. You can be like David when you bring a HoneyBaked to your own community. Reach out today to start your HoneyBaked franchise journey.
