April 28, 2009, Coppell, TX – CiCi's Pizza invested in one of their own general
managers by awarding him with the American dream – his own franchise.
In an unprecedented move in the restaurant industry, CiCi's Pizza awarded Phil Santucci
with his own restaurant because of his unwavering commitment to WOW-ing
guests in his role as general manager and his dedication to upholding
CiCi's standards of superior service.
Santucci, from Naples, FL, will be a joint
venture partner with CiCi's as he opens his first unit. Santucci was
one of 60 distinguished managers CiCi's rewarded with a four-day Caribbean cruise, and he returned home as the ultimate winner.
"At CiCi's, we want to prove to our managers that hard work and
dedication really does pay off. These stellar managers have proven
their commitment to achieving their personal bests, a drive that shines
through in their restaurant's performance," said Craig Moore,
president and CEO of CiCi's Pizza. "Phil is now ready for that next
step, owning a franchise of his own. We're proud to be able to help him
achieve that goal and assist him with realizing the American dream."
Santucci was selected based largely on his track record of WOW-ing
guests. Feedback in the form of stories and comments from guests, all
of whom noticed him going above and beyond in providing the kind of
customer service CiCi's guests have come to expect.
The WOW factor was the main criteria used to choose all 60 cruise winners. Additionally, CiCi's looked at:
- Positive sales growth
- Operations performance
- Mystery shopper scores
The WOW Cruise contest motivated not only those selected managers,
but the entire system as guest comments and WOW stories doubled overall
and the system's CRI scores reached an all time high of 93.7 in 2008, a
powerful statistic considering the challenging economic time the
restaurant industry faced. Additionally, the top 60 managers were able
to build sales at a rate eight times higher than the average CiCi's.
From 2008's group of top 60 managers, seven were approved as operators,
four of who are now operating a unit, one who is searching for his
first site and one who opened a new location as a first time franchisee.
CiCi's 2009 review and selection is in progress for the WOW cruise setting sail September 25, 2009.
Again, the elite, top 10 percent of general managers will be awarded
with a cruise ticket and potentially come home an owner of a franchise.
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