Red Robin Restaurants Tap Into GE ``At the Customer, for the Customer'' Program to Dramatically Improve Customer Service.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Six Sigma Tool Enhances Food Quality and Guest Service by Cutting Milkshake Wait Times in Half

For GE, the hallmark of a customer-focused company is helping their customer's business grow. And that's exactly what they did for Red Robin Restaurants, a gourmet burger chain with locations throughout the United States and Canada. GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance offered the Red Robin operations team "At the Customer, For the Customer" (ACFC), an innovative program that brings the vast resources and management tools of GE directly to customers to enhance quality and customer service.

After closely evaluating the business, the GE ACFC and Red Robin teams decided to tackle milkshake delivery as the first improvement. GE quickly put Six Sigma --a data driven, fact-based approach, which identifies problems and then uses tools and statistics to improve business processes -- to work for Red Robin.

"In 2005, we will produce more than five million milkshakes. Because we focus on serving the highest quality food and beverages, it's extremely important our milkshakes are delivered as soon as they're made," says Mike Woods, senior vice president at Red Robin. "Before ACFC, we were delivering milkshakes on-time only 36 percent of the time in one particular region. This meant our guests weren't receiving milkshakes as soon as they were made and, potentially, received partially melted milkshakes when they were delivered. After ACFC, on-time delivery of milkshakes jumped to 77 percent. The project was a huge success, with on-time delivery more than doubling!"

Red Robin tackled this program for three reasons: It was good for their team members because it provided them with incremental skills and knowledge; it was good for their guests because it enabled Red Robin to elevate their ability to address "critical to quality" details identified by their guests; and it was good for the entire company because it provided a common language among the various departments involved in the continuous improvement process.

After reviewing the data and comments, the ACFC team discovered the First Available Server Transport (FAST) program Red Robin uses in the kitchen was not being used at the bar, which is where milkshakes are made.

"Once we discovered we weren't using FAST at the bar, we asked our team members to explain why," says Woods. "There were some coordination issues in how drinks, especially milkshakes, were delivered, so we redesigned a section of the bar."

A minor redesign of the restaurant's bars and the implementation of FAST allows servers to deliver milkshakes immediately to guests even if another team member services their table.

Drawing on a team of people, following a set process, and using a common language, Red Robin worked both cross-functionally and as individual departments with GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance to find an inexpensive solution to their milkshake challenge, and accelerate their ability to solve future problems.

Julie Huston, ACFC leader for GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance and the ACFC team are thrilled about the results, but give most of the credit to the Red Robin team and a rare quality they possess.

"Putting ACFC to work for Red Robin definitely paid off! Their team members are more engaged in the process and their guests now are receiving better service and better milkshakes. The ACFC tool they engaged in is about continually seeking knowledge and looking for better ways to do things, which is what the culture at Red Robin is all about."

About GE Commercial Finance

GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance is a leading lender for the franchise finance market via direct sales and portfolio acquisition in the United States and Canada. With more than $11 billion in served assets, GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance serves more than 6,000 customers and more than 20,000 property locations, primarily in the restaurant, hospitality, branded beverage, storage, and automotive industries. GE Commercial Finance, Franchise Finance offers customers access to capital with a menu of products featuring flexible structuring, including financing for acquisitions, refinancing, construction of new units, and remodels for single- and multi-unit operators/chains. More information is available at www.gefranchisefinance.com or by calling toll-free 866-GET-GEFF (438-4333).

GE Commercial Finance, which offers businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services, has assets of more than US$230 billion and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., USA.

GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.