SONIC OPERATIONS MANUAL
Management Standards 1
MANAGEMENT
STANDARDS
Disclaimer
Each franchise organization is an independent employer and thus responsible for
making its own employment-related decisions. Nothing in these materials should
be construed as the franchisor being involved in or having control over a franchise
employee’s essential terms and conditions of employment. Specific employment
related questions should be directed to your franchise organization’s legal counsel
or other professional advisor.
REV. 11.19
© 2008 - 2020 America’s Drive-In Brand Properties LLC
The SONIC Operations Manual contains confidential and proprietary information. Do not copy or make unauthorized disclosure of its contents.
Pursuant to Licensee’s license agreement with SONIC, Licensee may not at any time, in any manner, directly or indirectly, and whether or not intentionally, copy any part of the Sonic Operations Manual,
permit any part of it to be copied, or disclose any part of it except to employees or others having a need to know its contents for purposes of operating Licensee’s SONIC Restaurant.
SONIC OPERATIONS MANUAL
Management Standards 2
MANAGEMENT
STANDARDS
KEY SONIC SAFE
SAFE
GUIDELINES FOR
MANAGEMENT STANDARDS
As a growing retail food business, SONIC must
adhere to a specific set of standards and established
Best Practices intended to give our guests excellent
service and quality products in a clean and healthy
environment. This is the SONIC Difference!
Follow all SONIC Safe Procedures for all
Stations.
To accomplish these objectives, SONIC strives to
make its practices and standards consistent with
sound administration and good business
judgement.
The SONIC Management Standards Section
addresses numerous standards to which all SONIC
Drive-Ins must adhere.
Key terms for this position include:
APPEARANCE AND UNIFORM STANDARDS:
Established standards for all SONIC Drive-In
crew members that reflect SONIC’s health,
sanitation and safety standards.
SONIC GUEST RESPONSE LINE: A toll-free
nationwide consumer phone line that SONIC
guests can use to notify SONIC of their
experiences on service and product quality
while dining at the drive-in.
FANTRAK: SONIC’s guest satisfaction program
that measures guest feedback and loyalty of
our drive-in guests.
SAFE
REV. 11.19
FOLLOW ALL
SONIC SAFE
PROCEDURES
FOLLOW SONIC’S
20/20 HAND-WASHING
RULE
CLEAN AND SANITIZE
WORK AREA AT LEAST
EVERY 2 HOURS
© 2008 - 2020 America’s Drive-In Brand Properties LLC
The SONIC Operations Manual contains confidential and proprietary information. Do not copy or make unauthorized disclosure of its contents.
Pursuant to Licensee’s license agreement with SONIC, Licensee may not at any time, in any manner, directly or indirectly, and whether or not intentionally, copy any part of the Sonic Operations Manual,
permit any part of it to be copied, or disclose any part of it except to employees or others having a need to know its contents for purposes of operating Licensee’s SONIC Restaurant.
SONIC OPERATIONS MANUAL
UNIFORM AND APPEARANCE
STANDARDS
We recognize that displaying personal style while
at work is important to SONIC Drive-In Crew
Members. With this in mind, we designed the
SONIC Uniform and Appearance Standards in a way
that allows Drive-In crew members the freedom to
be themselves while also being mindful of the
expectations of Drive-In guests, health code
requirements, and crew member safety. SONIC’s
Uniform and Appearance Standards are intended to
allow each crew member to reasonably display their
unique personality while also fostering consistency
across the SONIC brand and maintaining SONIC’s
positive brand image.
Questions about the Uniform and Appearance
Standards should be directed to your manager or
franchise owner.
UNIFORM STANDARDS
Shirts must be clean, in good condition, and fit
properly.
yy SONIC brand approved shirts will be provided to
each crew member upon hire. The number of
SONIC brand approved shirts you receive
depends upon the number of hours you work
each week. If one of your SONIC brand approved
shirts becomes damaged or worn-out, please
let your manager know that you need a
replacement shirt.
yy Crew: Must wear SONIC brand approved logo
shirts.
yy Managers: Must wear SONIC brand approved
logo polo-style shirt, logo dress shirt, or dress
shirt with tie.
yy If SONIC Summer T-Shirts are made available,
crew members may wear the current years’
T-shirt during the summer (May through Labor
Day).
yy Dr Pepper SONIC Games T-Shirts are provided
to the Top 1,000 Drive-Ins each year. crew
members may wear the current years’ shirt
during the summer (date of receipt through
Labor Day).
REV. 11.19
Management Standards 3
yy During Special Event Days, crew members are
permitted to dress in a manner consistent with
the Special Event Day theme. Crew members
must comply with all health code and safety
requirements.
Pants, Jeans, and Shorts must be clean, in
good condition, and fit properly.
yy Unless your franchise owner has adopted a
stricter standard, Drive-Ins may allow a mixture of black pants and jeans. Drive-Ins are
not locked in to choosing either black pants or
jeans.
yy Pants must be black in color.
yy Jeans must be a darker wash denim.
yy Shorts must be black in color and cannot be shorter than four (4) inches above the knee.
yy Denim shorts are not permitted.
yy For safety reasons, Capri pants and shorts cannot be worn when working in the kitchen.
A name badge must be worn by each crew
member.
yy Only SONIC brand approved name badges may
be worn.
yy Wear your name badge on your upper right chest area, opposite the SONIC logo on your shirt or jacket.
yy Your name badge must clearly display your commonly used name.
yy Do not use someone else’s name badge.
yy Name badges may not be worn on lanyards.
Aprons must be neat and in good condition.
yy Crew members working in the kitchen will be
furnished a cooking apron if your franchise
organization requires aprons to be worn in the
kitchen.
yy Carhops will be furnished a SONIC Carhop
half-apron.
yy For food safety, aprons may not be worn to the
restroom, when taking out trash, or outside of
the Drive-in’s premises.
yy Aprons worn by crew members must be SONIC
brand approved.
© 2008 - 2020 America’s Drive-In Brand Properties LLC
The SONIC Operations Manual contains confidential and proprietary information. Do not copy or make unauthorized disclosure of its contents.
Pursuant to Licensee’s license agreement with SONIC, Licensee may not at any time, in any manner, directly or indirectly, and whether or not intentionally, copy any part of the Sonic Operations Manual,
permit any part of it to be copied, or disclose any part of it except to employees or others having a need to know its contents for purposes of operating Licensee’s SONIC Restaurant.
SONIC OPERATIONS MANUAL
Management Standards 4
A visor or ball cap must be worn at all times
when preparing or handling food.
yy A hair net can be worn in place of the visor or
ball cap in rare instances when a visor/ball cap
is not available. Hair nets should not be
routinely used in place of visors/ball caps.
Hair must be kept clean, neat and in
compliance with all applicable health code
regulations.
yy Long hair (below the collar of your shirt) must
be pulled back above the collar to avoid contact
with drinks and food.
yy The visor or ball cap must be SONIC brand
approved.
yy For food-safety reasons, hair color must be
permanent or semi-permanent; no temporary
hair color sprays, glitter, chalk, etc.
yy The visor or ball cap must be neat and in good
condition with a straight bill facing forward.
yy This standard applies to all crew members,
including managers.
yy You will be furnished with a SONIC brand
approved hat upon hire.
Outerwear worn while serving customers
must be SONIC brand approved and contain
the SONIC logo.
yy Outerwear includes jackets, winter knit caps,
and winter head/ear bands.
yy SONIC brand approved outerwear will be provided by the Drive-In when appropriate.
Shoes must be non-skid and recognized as a
safe shoe recommended for use in a restaurant.
yy Shoes must have a closed toe and closed heel.
yy Crew members are not permitted to wear
sandals or shoes with an elevated heel.
yy Shoes should be in good condition.
Skates must be well maintained and SONIC
brand approved.
yy For additional information, refer to the SONIC
Skating Program guide.
APPEARANCE STANDARDS
Personal Hygiene is an important part of
maintaining a neat and professional image.
yy Crew members are expected to arrive at
work clean and well-groomed.
yy Personal grooming standards include regular
bathing and the use of deodorant.
yy Perfume or highly fragrant grooming products
should not be used as the smell can bother
guests and crew members.
REV. 11.19
Facial hair must be kept clean, neat and in
compliance with all applicable health code
regulations.
Fingernails must be clean, neatly filed, and
no longer than one-quarter (¼) inch beyond
your finger tip.
yy Nail polish and artificial nails are permitted
only if you wear gloves in good condition when
preparing and packaging food and drinks.
Jewelry is permitted as follows:
yy Rings: One smooth, plain band ring per hand
that fits snugly on your finger.
yy Necklaces worn securely under clothing that do
not create a health or safety hazard.
yy Earrings: Small or moderately-sized,
non-dangling earrings, not to exceed two earrings per ear.
yy Medical alert necklace (worn securely under
clothing) or medical alert anklet is permitted.
yy No other jewelry on hands or forearms is
allowed (including watches, bracelets, and
wristbands) for food safety reasons.
Piercings are permitted as follows:
yy Small ear gauges cannot exceed size 00G
(outside perimeter cannot exceed 10 mm, the
size of a dime).
yy Gauges must be solid and cannot have any inappropriate imagery, spirals or spikes.
yy One small nose stud worn in the nostril.
yy No other visible pierced jewelry or body adornments are allowed other than those listed above.
yy Tongue rings/studs, septum piercings, and dermal piercings are not permitted.
© 2008 - 2020 America’s Drive-In Brand Properties LLC
The SONIC Operations Manual contains confidential and proprietary information. Do not copy or make unauthorized disclosure of its contents.
Pursuant to Licensee’s license agreement with SONIC, Licensee may not at any time, in any manner, directly or indirectly, and whether or not intentionally, copy any part of the Sonic Operations Manual,
permit any part of it to be copied, or disclose any part of it except to employees or others having a need to know its contents for purposes of operating Licensee’s SONIC Restaurant.
SONIC OPERATIONS MANUAL
Tattoos are permitted as long as they are not
offensive.
yy Tattoos which may be considered offensive to
others must remain covered at all times.
yy Offensive tattoos are those that contain
obscene, profane, racist, sexual, or
objectionable words or imagery.
Smile! You are a SONIC brand ambassador.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Compliance with all applicable food code
regulations is required by SONIC Drive-In crew
members.
Accommodations: If your sincerely held religious
beliefs conflict with these Uniform and Appearance
Standards or if you require an accommodation
under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
immediately notify your manager or store owner to
discuss possible accommodations.
Management Note for Franchised SONIC Drive-Ins:
Each franchise organization is an independent employer
and thus responsible for making its own employment
related decisions. Nothing in these standards should be
construed as the franchisor being involved in or having
control over a franchise employee’s essential terms and
conditions of employment. Information on how the
Uniform and Appearance Standards should be
interpreted and enforced, and which items will be
provided by your employer, is provided for reference
only. Franchisees may impose more restrictive uniform
and appearance standards. If you have questions about
the Uniform and Appearance Standards, please talk with
your manager or your company’s leadership.
SONIC GUEST RESPONSE LINE
INFORMATION
Management Standards 5
containing detailed information regarding the
issue. It is the responsibility of the manager, or
other identified drive-in representative, to contact
the guest to resolve the issue. However, if the guest
opts not to be contacted, they simply wanted to
leave feedback and do not require a follow-up.
Reporting capabilities of the Totline allow for
drive-in leadership to view reports 24/7. Complaints
do not auto-close and if a complaint is not closed
out within 48 hours, reminder emails with the word
“Escalation” in the subject line are sent indicating
action should be taken by drive-in management.
To close out a complaint, a member of the drive-in
leadership team must click the link at the bottom of
the emailed incident notice or log into SONIC
PartnerNet and use the drop down menu under the
Operations Tab -- Tools -- Totline to access
reports. If an account needs to be created or have
the credentials reset, an email should be sent to:
SonicPortalHelp@hartehanks.com.
Complaints are categorized into three priorities.
PRIORITY ONE (P1)
yy Complaints that indicate potential damage to
the brand.
yy SONIC drive-in management responds to the
guest within 48 hours and updates or closes
out the complaint.
yy Reminders will begin going out after 48 hours.
PRIORITY TWO (P2)
yy Complaints.
yy Drive-in management should contact the guest
to apologize and invite the guest to return.
PRIORITY THREE (P3)
yy Inquiries, suggestions and compliments.
The SONIC Guest Response Line (Totline) offers our
guests both a toll-free nationwide number,
1-866-OK-SONIC (1-866-657-6642) available 24/7
and an online web form, www.sonicdrivein.com/
contact (under the option Tell Us About Your Visit)
available 24/7 where guests can report a complaint,
inquiry or compliment regarding an individual
drive-in.
The Totline ensures that the referenced drive-in’s
management receives an incident report via email
REV. 11.19
© 2008 - 2020 America’s Drive-In Brand Properties LLC
The SONIC Operations Manual contains confidential and proprietary information. Do not copy or make unauthorized disclosure of its contents.
Pursuant to Licensee’s license agreement with SONIC, Licensee may not at any time, in any manner, directly or indirectly, and whether or not intentionally, copy any part of the Sonic Operations Manual,
permit any part of it to be copied, or disclose any part of it except to employees or others having a need to know its contents for purposes of operating Licensee’s SONIC Restaurant.
SONIC OPERATIONS MANUAL
GUEST MEASUREMENT TOOLS
FanTrak, along with Mystery Shops, and our guest
hotline information, provides SONIC with
information and an overview of whether or not
GREAT guest service is being delivered each day at
the drive-in. Ultimately, the collective data allows
us to improve service which in turn leads to a
greater growth of opportunity in sales and service.
Management Standards 6
FanTrak - GUEST SATISFACTION
PROGRAM
FanTrak is a customer satisfaction program to
measure guest feedback and loyalty of our drive-in
guests. FanTrak is SONIC’s unique method of
reaching out to our guests by asking for their
opinions so that we can improve and grow our
business.
How FanTrak Works:
1. Guests receive an invitation to an online survey
on their receipt.
2. The Data is collected and analyzed.
3. Actionable Reports and guests comments are made available to each corresponding drive-in affected by the survey.
SONIC’S MYSTERY SHOP
PROGRAM
Market Force is the company that partners with
SONIC to manage SONIC’s Mystery Shop Program.
To communicate with Market Force regarding all
types of administrative issues such as enrollment,
to change the number of shops you wish to receive,
hierarchy changes, email changes, etc.
Contact Market Force at
SonicInfo@marketforce.com. Market Force has a
staffed, dedicated toll free number, for exclusively
SONIC when there is a concern about a recently
completed shop or inquiry. This number is
1-855-HLP-SONC or 1-855-457-7662 and is
staffed Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
(EST).
REV. 11.19
© 2008 - 2020 America’s Drive-In Brand Properties LLC
The SONIC Operations Manual contains confidential and proprietary information. Do not copy or make unauthorized disclosure of its contents.
Pursuant to Licensee’s license agreement with SONIC, Licensee may not at any time, in any manner, directly or indirectly, and whether or not intentionally, copy any part of the Sonic Operations Manual,
permit any part of it to be copied, or disclose any part of it except to employees or others having a need to know its contents for purposes of operating Licensee’s SONIC Restaurant.