Smart Safes Put The "Quick" In Quick Serve For Sonic

By Bob Johns

August 2013 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

Sonic franchises are known for roller-skating associates and quick service. By deploying smart safes, the associates no longer have to spend any time counting money and can make drops more often.

Tom Behrle owns a Sonic franchise in Baltimore County, MD, that has quickly become one of the top three Sonics in the country. Behrle was raised by a chef and grew up in the restaurant business. He bought his first Sonic franchise in December 2011, and he is opening his second in several months, with four more on the way.

One of Behrle’s main concerns was cash control and safety. When he looked at what the 3,500 other franchises were doing, he did not like it. The majority were counting cash by hand and placing it in standard safes until taking it to the bank. The risk of theft, both internally and externally, was extremely high; plus the margin for error was immense. “Shift managers and associates were spending way too much time counting and recounting money when they could be doing better revenue-generating things,” Behrle says. “Associates made few drops mainly because of how long it took to count and verify drops, meaning they kept large amounts of cash on them. I wanted them to drop more often to get rid of that cash, and I also wanted the visibility into my cash position to see what is happening when I am not at the store.”