Tasting success on and off the field
McDonald’s franchisee Chris Pim is a big advocate of teenagers acquiring a bit of business acumen by studying the way the fast food chain works, writes
Former Leinster Rugby captain turned McDonald’s franchisee Chris Pim’s on-field experience stood him in good stead as he embarked on his new career.
His ventures had to work, said Mr Pim, because the work in establishing McDonald’s in Kilkenny, then Dungarvan and Cashel, was as frantic and time-consuming as it was satisfying.
Mr Pim has recently opened his fourth restaurant, in Fermoy in North Cork, after a €2m investment which has created 65 jobs.
“Our first restaurant in Kilkenny was a real struggle but I wouldn’t change any of it, because it taught me so much about what it takes to be in business and how it works.
“You walk into a great big store that makes money first day, and you just might get lazy or think it’s easy.
“Having a tough business to start with is a great learning curve for learning management of people, but also cost base.
“It’s not an easy business, but if you enjoy people, then it is a fantastic business. I certainly enjoyed the last 18 years,” he said.
It may seem a leap from the rugby field to the Golden Arches, but the crossover was helped by similarities in the approach to both sport and business, he said.
“I remember when I went for my McDonald’s interview in the UK back in 1997, and I was asked how I felt about managing a team of such size.
I envisaged no problem whatsoever, having managed teams and captained teams all my life. Coming from the background that I did, from a captaincy and leadership role, it is very much about people and getting the best out of your team,” according to Mr Pim.
“I’m a real people person, and we’ll have over 300 employees between the four restaurants. As I say, I’m not in the hamburger business, I’m in the people business. It’s about how you look after and manage your people,” he said.
“The biggest difference was that I hadn’t managed any women to any great extent back in those days. We actually have more women than men now, as it happens. Three of my other restaurants have women as business managers.
“The gender balance is well-managed at our end. It’s not about gender balance as such, but it happens to be that they are the best people for the job. That’s always been the way,” he said.
The old derisive perception of McDonald’s employees could not be more wrong, said Mr Pim.
On the contrary, it is a business education for those who come to work every day. “We have, from transition year, kids of 15 and 16 getting to see how a business works. Everybody gets a real closeup of how our business works, everyone gets to work in rotation, where they all work in every area.
“As a very young manager, you get huge exposure to how the business works and what it takes to run a business.
“I would be a massive, massive advocate of any kid interested in business to come in and have a look at how our business works. It is a fantastic starting point for anyone heading out into the big bad world, and also anyone with business and management ambitions.”
McDonald’s has a role to play in responsible eating but should not be used as a target for the obesity crisis, according to Mr Pim.
“A company the size of McDonald’s has a responsibility to scale for good. If we play an important role in tackling concerns about public health and general wellbeing.
It’s obviously important for each customer to be aware of what they eat — we were the first restaurant company in Ireland to display calorie counts on our products,” he said.
Mr Pim said the firm has been at the forefront of trying to help people make decisions.
“Nobody is telling people to eat McDonald’s seven days a week. I eat McDonald’s a few times a week but I’m big into health and fitness — it’s all about finding the balance.
“Our screens instore are nudging people towards lower calorie options, so we are taking a responsible role. It’s important for us to do
that.”
Fermoy will be open 24 hours a day, will use 100% Irish beef, bacon, milk, water, and eggs, which is a key part of its business model, said Mr Pim.
“Fermoy is a great town to be in, there is good business to be done there and a lot of things going on. It’s a vibrant and energetic part of the world, and why not, as they say? Dungarvan and Fermoy wouldn’t be hugely different in terms of population.
“The plan is for 65 new jobs, that is the starting number and hopefully we will need more.
“We never say never about new locations. If there is an opportunity out there, we’ll get a taste of it.
“McDonald’s has big expansion plans in Ireland over the next few years and I would be optimistic over the next few years, that’s for sure,” he said.
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