Multi-branch chains: comparing quality between locations

For a chain, the system-wide average rating is the least useful number available: it hides the branch with a problem, and that branch is losing customers for the whole brand. The approach is to measure each location on the same ruler.

Four columns per branch

The second column decides. A branch with a headline 4.7 but a last-12-months 4.1 is falling fast, and the headline is hiding it.

Getting the data

Google Maps reviews — 15 credits per run, 200 reviews, runs in the background — run per branch. The 200-review limit is per run, so do not try to pull a whole chain at once.

For a five-branch chain that is 75 credits per measurement. Do it quarterly.

Then count themes using the process in grouping reviews into themes.

Telling a branch problem from a system problem

This is the main value of comparing:

A theme appearing at every branch is a system problem: menu, pricing, process, training. Fix it at head office.

A theme appearing at only one or two branches is a local operations problem: the manager, the staff, the premises. Fix it there.

Confusing the two is why chains retrain the whole system for one shop's problem, or the reverse.

Three things the table lets you do immediately

Prioritise which site to visit. Go to the branch whose 12-month rating fell most, first.

Find the branch doing well and learn from it. What is the highest-rated branch doing differently? Read their four and five star reviews with text.

Set goals by theme, not by score. "Reduce reviews mentioning long waits at branch B" is actionable; "raise the rating to 4.8" is not.

Frequently asked questions

Can I run a whole chain in one go? No. Each run is one location, up to 200 reviews.

How often should I measure? Quarterly, and after any menu or process change.

Do branch reviews affect each other? Google shows each location separately. But customers read the brand name, so one weak branch affects perception of the whole chain.