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Thursday, Aug. 6, 1998
Top teams sizzle at Whataburger Games
Three-day contest grades fast-food chain's top employees on accuracy, speed
From staff reports
Mari Zepeda broke a sweat Wednesday morning as she scooped up another medium order of fries at the 24-hour Whataburger at Staples Street and Baldwin Boulevard.
As a semifinalist in the third-annual Whataburger Games, Zepeda is a visiting fry cook from Harlingen whose teammates are counting on her to help them sweep the competition.
This week, 85 Whataburger employees who proved to be the fastest order takers, the quickest cooks and the most accurate change-makers in the state arrived at the corporation's hometown headquarters for the three-day contest.
Wednesday's all-day competition was on the front lines of one of the chain's busiest Corpus Christi stores. Executive vice presidents and corporate trainers tested the eight teams on accuracy, preparation procedures, and of course, whether the double order of jalapenos was included on the Whataburger with cheese.
``I just didn't want to give the wrong change back,'' said Dee Dee DeLeon, a six-year employee who handed over Monopoly money after taking an order for a No. 5 combo on a whole wheat bun with ketchup, no tomato and a Coke.
``They're getting all special orders -- all the things that make customers angry when we screw them up,'' said Robert Craigo, corporate director of training.
So how true-to-life were the scenarios during the competition?
The burger and fries were delivered in six minutes, 42 seconds.
``An acceptable delivery time for a special order,'' Craigo said after the order taker clicked a stopwatch that hung around his neck.
Even seasoned pros get a little nervous when faced with special orders given by corporate suits -- who were dressed in shorts and golf shirts for the games.
``You did get some of the timers mixed up and some of the orders weren't timed at all,'' Craigo told a line cook, looking the part of a coach in a Whataburger baseball cap as he consulted a clipboard that held scoring sheets.
In between heats, the eight teams munched on fries, drank sodas and cheered their own performances.
But the hoopla -- and the promise of a new pickup truck to be raffled off to a member of the winning team -- didn't drown out the bottom line: ``The real purpose is to improve service, and to build morale and teamwork so we can turn that into a better experience for our customers,'' Craigo said.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web