The application of Six Sigma at Red Robin restaurants dramatically improved the delivery of its milkshakes. Red Robin, a gourmet burger chain with locations throughout the United States and Canada, will make more than 5 million milkshakes in 2005. Only 36 percent of them were being served to customers on time in a particular region, a problem that the company was determined to solve. It partnered with GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance, to design its innovative “At the Customer, For the Customer” (ACFC) program.

Team members examined food-delivery processes at the company’s restaurants and found that its First Available Server Transport (FAST) program, which it uses in its kitchen, was not being used at the bar, where milkshakes are made. A minor redesign of the restaurants’ bars solved the problem, allowing servers to deliver milkshakes immediately to guests even if someone else services their table. The result: On-time delivery of milkshakes more than doubled to 77 percent.

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