Guest Satisfaction Is First Priority Says Fast Food CEO Daniel Chin

Restaurant CEO Daniel Chin highlights the evolving needs of the fast-food industry, suggesting a change towards prioritizing customer service alongside convenience and affordability. Obviously, he’s doing something right at the Jamaican chain Juici Patties because an independent study conducted by South-Florida based customer service management company Get Savvy named Juici Patties the best in delivering customer service excellence in 2023 in Jamaica, leaving all the world-known international brands in the dust.

“Even though we’ve gotten larger in headcount and employees with each newly opened store, the magnificent thing is that we have become the absolute leader in customer service,” Daniel says proudly.

With an opinion that may surprise some business owners, Daniel Chin does not blame a restaurant’s workers for poor customer service. He believes that the owners and managers are the ones who need to work harder. Good customer service always starts at the top, he stresses, although some people in charge seem to forget that important point.

“From my point of view, when I go to any restaurant anywhere, and I receive bad customer service, I don’t see that as an indictment on the employee,” Daniel says. “I believe that the restaurant owner just hasn’t created an environment where employees feel the workplace deserves their best performance. For me, the solution is taking care of employees and making them feel like the restaurant deserves their best performance.”

Chin’s blueprint is to treat his employees as if they’re owners, despite Juici Patties and its franchisees employing around 1,800 people across its 63 locations in Jamaica. He involves his workers in decisions and seeks out their feedback.

“It’s just like you’d ask for feedback from another owner,” Chin says. “When you treat employees like owners, they eventually start to think and behave like they are owners. And that’s what’s been really helpful to us. With so many employees, we don’t get to interact with all of them. We instill in our managers to treat their employees at each restaurant as if they are owners.”

Not one to let the grass grow under his feet after Juici Patties’ big year, in 2024, Chin is expanding into the United States. Juici Patties has started construction on its first restaurants in the U.S., breaking ground on several locations in Florida, which are expected to open in March. Chin is excited to enter a market that he considers one of the best for food and flavors. Daniel says many reasons led the company to locate in the Miami area.

“The size of the Jamaican diaspora played a part, along with the diverse, very vibrant food culture in South Florida. I can see that South Florida is becoming a destination for America’s foodies. There is a great variety of cuisines to enjoy in Florida, and we’d love to add to that with our popular Jamaican patties.”

Many Americans may be wondering exactly what Jamaican patties are. They’re a traditional food containing spiced meat baked inside a flaky dough. The pastries are filled with ground beef, chicken, shrimp, vegetable, or plant-based patties. They are one of the most popular snacks in the Caribbean – and possibly soon in South Florida, as well.

Last year was a banner year for Chin’s family’s business. Besides earning honors for excellent customer service, Juici Patties was lauded for sustainability. In a remarkable achievement, Juici Patties was not only the sole recipient of a new award of excellence during the inaugural year of the Green Business Jamaica Program and also remains unmatched in maintaining this gold standard in all award categories. Juici’s manufacturing plant headquarters earned this award.

The accolade from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is part of a voluntary initiative to help businesses increase their environmental awareness, leading to improved implementation of ecological stewardship best practices. This initiative works to save Jamaica’s natural resources by collaborating with local businesses.

Daniel Chin does give away one of his business secrets, which is realizing that you owe something back to the community that supports you. Chin says this has always been important to the company, so Juici Patties sponsors local youth sports programs, youth leadership programs, and a soup kitchen program that feeds elderly community members.