Brinker Sees Significant Reduction in Operations Costs and Higher Productivity After Switching to Encore and FlameGard Products

Brinker International, Inc. is a leading casual dining company with more than 1,700 restaurants and over 125,000 team members throughout 27 countries. Its main restaurant operations are Chili’s Bar & Grill, Maggiano’s and Macaroni Grill. Brinker is responsible for providing all of its stores with food service equipment and replacement parts. 

Many of their stores were experiencing ongoing problems with sink and plumbing hardware. On average, Brinker restaurants were placing eight to 10 repair calls a month for faucet problems and receiving little support from the products’ customer support staff. Problems continued to develop with the sinks’ hosing equipment, which would wear easily and snap off. Faucets and replacement parts were difficult to install and often required outside maintenance visits. 

In an effort to find durable parts and equipment with a strong customer service team, Brinker chose Component Hardware Group’s Encore Faucets & Pre-Rinse Assemblies. Brinker was drawn to the line of Encore Faucets & Pre-Rinse Assemblies because they are specifically engineered to withstand the most rigorous industry use. Additionally, all Encore fixtures come standard with Saniguard Product Protection. Brinker also felt the ability to mix and match components in virtually any combination, meeting even the most unique design or specification requirement, would be beneficial to their needs. Further, the Encore faucets and replacement parts made install and repair easy for individual stores to handle. 

Needless to say, Brinker stores saw a significant reduction in operations costs and higher productivity after switching to Encore and Flame Gard products. Stores are now able to re-direct budgets and purchase top line products because of reduced expenses. Service calls on faucets dramatically dropped from eight to 10 calls per month to one to two calls per year. Encore’s Replacement Parts Program made it easy for stores to repair leaky faucets, mix and match products based on certain configurations, and help with water efficiency. Products are damaged less often and stores have established a quality reputation with their Health Departments’ representatives. Additionally, they have now established a strong relationship with Component Hardware Group Customer Service team and they continue to provide efficient solutions for all Brinker stores.

Switching to Encore Plumbing Products, Rippe Associates, Inc. Reduces the Frequency of Replacement of Spray Rinse Parts, Leading to Decreased Down Time and Maintenance Costs for Their Clients 

Rippe Associates, Inc. provides architects and owners with food service facilities design and operational consulting. Their main projects include healthcare, business and industry, gaming, education, senior housing, retail, hotel, restaurant, and correctional facilities. They are in charge of working with architects, engineers and contractors to formulate operational plans, as well as evaluating and selecting appropriate equipment to provide maximum functionality of the facility within the specified budget.

While Rippe Associates takes great pride in the quality of its drawings and specifications, they have, over the years, experienced several instances of spray rinse failures in commercial kitchens, which was partially due to the amount of abuse the spray rinses take on a daily basis.  Replacing these parts was expensive and inconvenient for their clients.  In an effort to find more reliable, long lasting and durable parts and equipment, they researched all options and found Component Hardware Encore-brand plumbing products to be a solid match for their strict quality standards.

After switching to Component Hardware products, they were able to reduce the frequency of replacement of spray rinse parts, which led to decreased down time and maintenance costs for their clients. The overall design and reinforced stress points on the Encore spray rinses provide a longer lasting, more cost-effective unit. Additionally, Component Hardware’s local sales representatives are always quick to respond to any issues and help identify solutions as needed.

Cluck-U Chicken use Encore Plumbing Products for over 15 years because of ample cleaning ability while helping to conserve water 

Cluck-U Chicken is a New Jersey-based QSR chain with over 20 franchised locations throughout New Jersey and Maryland, typically located near a college or university campus. Cluck-U specializes in various types of grilled and fried chicken sandwiches and buffalo-style wings. Ken’s Cluck-U Chicken of Brick has been proudly serving customers since 1992 and has been rated as the “Best Chicken Place In Ocean County” by readers of the Asbury Park Press almost every year since 1999.

For over 15 years, Cluck-U Chicken have utilized Encore plumbing products in their kitchens and they swear by their outstanding performance. They’ve tried several different brands of faucets over the years and none can outperform the Encore fixtures they are currently using. These fixtures are extremely durable. As a matter of fact, they have one Encore pre-rinse in the Brick store that is well over 15 years old and they just replaced the hose for the first time ever.  That pre-rinse takes a lot of abuse daily, so this is a strong testament to the durability of Encore plumbing products.

Beyond being ruggedly constructed, Encore pre-rinses perform better for Cluck-U operators. The 1.2 gpm spray face provides ample cleaning ability while helping them to conserve water and the unit is well-designed from an ergonomic aspect, resulting in less stress to their dishwashers.