Building A Guest Service Culture With Papa Murphy’s
Executing Consistent Operational Excellence with Papa Murphy’s
At Papa Murphy’s, pizza is more than just a product. It’s the foundation of an opportunity that brings people together and helps entrepreneurs build a legacy. Building off the foundation of our famous, made in-store fresh everyday dough, Papa Murphy’s has cultivated a guest experience that keeps fans coming back for more. In this interview with Papa Murphy’s Senior Director of Operation’s Services, Jaime Wilson, we learn more about what it means to build a guest service culture that consistently delivers.

How would you define your role, and what can Franchise Owners expect from you?
Wilson: In a nutshell, we support everything that deploys to the store level. Ops Services supports our Franchise Owners in everything relevant to operating a Papa Murphy’s franchise. From new product launches to job aids and wall charts, we define and maintain all operational procedures and ensure you and your team have all the tools you need to do the job consistently.
We also manage the Operational Excellence Standards Manual, which is basically our ops manual. Anything that is required by a Franchise Owner, we put that in our manual, so they have a reference point at all times. In addition, we support the Franchise Business Consultants, that support your journey as the Franchise Owner.
From an operational standpoint, how does Papa Murphy’s stand out among competitors?
Wilson: For the Franchise Owner, the small store footprint provides many perks. We don’t have lobby seating, big play structures, or dining areas. There are no fryers or grills. There are less tasks for you and your team, allowing more time to focus on the experience for the guest. Because of the ease of operation, this business model is very popular for high school students, or people seeking their first-ever job. They don’t have to work late, they get to work as part of a team, and they don’t go home smelling like a fryer.
What contributes to exceptional in-store operations at Papa Murphy’s franchises?
Wilson: Exceptional in-store operations really come down to building a solid guest service culture. It’s all about hiring the right people, training them right, and then treating them right. In turn, your employees will then treat your guests the way you want them to be treated. It’s all about finding ways to spread a bit of Murphy’s magic. Sprinkling Murphy’s magic into all that you do to ensure that our guests get the best guest experience and want to come back.
Define Guest Service Culture and why that is important for Franchise Owners.
Wilson: If I’m a guest and I come in once a week, I want to get the same product from week to week. That’s why we develop a guest service culture for our stores. There are a lot of facets to what a guest service culture is. It’s serving a quality product in a clean environment with employees who care. It’s finding ways to say yes to the guest, inviting the guests to return, and being consistent every single day. At the end of the day, guest service culture is focusing on maintaining and innovating a consistent, positive guest experience day in and day out.
What training and resources are provided to Franchise Owners and their teams to help them deliver a great guest experience?
Wilson: Brand new Franchise Owners will go through a pretty in-depth training program to learn the business, and then they are supported by our e-learning platform. We have a great training platform called Papa Murphy’s University. It’s an e-learning platform with modules for you to use to train your team members.
In addition, because you’re buying into a franchise, there are already tools available that are provided to you. Everything that a team member would do in a store has a job aid or wall chart, photos, step-by-step instructions, etc. Following the provided procedures ensures the product is made every single day the right way. That is what builds consistency, what builds quality product, and what builds that loyalty that gives guests the reason to return.
How do Papa Murphy’s Franchise Business Consultants support Franchise Owners?
Wilson: Our Franchise Business Consultants are the one-stop-shop of support for our Franchise Owners. They should be the first phone call, the first interaction, any question or support needed.
Our team of Franchise Business Consultants meets regularly to talk about what is happening, the challenges, the wins, what’s going right, and everything in between. Sometimes other team members, like OpsServices, marketing, or IT, join some of those meetings, and we help support that Franchise Owner in the right direction.
What are some of the unique operational challenges that Franchise Owners face, and how do you help them overcome those challenges?
Wilson: What makes us unique as a business model is a fabulous product. We make our dough fresh in stores every day. We chop and dice vegetables, we shred our cheese. Everything really is in store. That sometimes can pose a common challenge, because it is time-consuming. However, when you hire the right people, train them right, and hold them accountable for efficiency and productivity, then you overcome that challenge.
Our Franchise Business Consultants are the first line of defense with any challenges. Franchise Owners also have tools on our guest service platform that will help them. When it comes to the guest experience, I tell Franchise Owners that something like a bad review is really a gift, it tells you exactly what you need to do to improve. Our processes are already developed, so all you need to do is lean into those processes, and you can focus on improving that guest experience.
What initiatives can Franchise Owners look forward to in the future of the Papa Murphy’s guest experience?
Wilson: We’re always looking at innovation and technology that will help make a team member’s job easier and more efficient. We’re testing a lot of new technologies like AI product ordering and ways to streamline ordering.
It’s really about embracing moving forward without sacrificing the quality that we were built on. In the future, I think we’re going to see our logo in grocery stores. You’re going to see new product innovation, and the bottom line is we’re always evolving.
What are you most proud of in your time working with Papa Murphy’s
Wilson: I’m most proud of being a part of the success of our Franchise Owners who bought into this business. I’m in my 25th year with Papa Murphy’s and some of our Franchise Owners are in their second or third generations of ownership. I have been able to celebrate Franchise Owners who have turned over their business to their kids, and now I’m supporting their kids, as Owners, and their kids are working in the stores, and I get to see them and their business grow. Being part of a brand that I can see has made a lot of people successful entrepreneurs is what I’m most proud of.
Build a Legacy of Operational Excellence with Papa Murphy’s
If you are interested in a business opportunity that sees the value in building a positive guest service culture, Papa Murphy’s may be worth considering. Learn more about our business model, the cost to franchise, and how we support Franchise Owners by visiting our research pages here. To start a conversation with our franchise team about investing in the Papa Murphy’s franchise opportunity, we invite you to fill out our form here. We’ll be in touch to learn more about your goals and if Papa Murphy’s is right for you.