Trail meets Crosstown's Danica Perceval

In this blog series, we're putting operations in the spotlight. Getting unique insights from the front line. Today, we're meeting Crosstown's Danica Perceval.
Gemma Holmes
 • 
Nov 2022
4 min read

Since launching in 2014 Crosstown have established themselves as the go-to for delicious doughnuts. Their offering now spans 16 locations catering for walk-ins, pick-ups and on-demand delivery.

As you’d expect from such a busy food business, managing operational processes are extremely important. We caught up with Crosstown’s Danica Perceval on how Trail’s easy-to-use features support the team day-to-day.

Hi, Danica - can you tell us a bit about your role and an average day at Crosstown?

I’m Crosstown’s Retail Training Manager so I am responsible for implementing and overseeing the training procedures for our Retail Team. I also help in redeveloping processes where necessary alongside our Retail Operations Manager. There is no average day at Crosstown! Every day is different and there are so many moving parts within the company that can happen all at once – it’s the most exciting part of the job.

How would you describe the culture at Crosstown?

Everyone who works for Crosstown is so unique in their own ways and really lovely – all the way across the company from the people that work in our bakery, to our drivers and the team that work in retail. Our products are easy to sell because they’re so damn good, and everyone is excited to sell them and have fun while doing so.

Did Trail or any other technology help you adapt during the pandemic?

While I wasn’t working in the Retail Management Team at that time, I was working in the stores – so I was using Trail as an employee rather than implementing procedures through Trail as I do now. Trail was a huge help for me personally to adapt to the additional cleaning tasks that had been implemented as a result of the pandemic, and then to hold me accountable for those tasks too.

Has Trail helped to manage operations within your team?

Trail has helped us coordinate procedures across the large number of our retail stores, to keep the whole department aligned for new flavour launches and new procedures. Trail has also been a helpful tool in aiding us to be a company that is compliant with Health & Safety.

What is your favourite thing about Trail?

Trail is super accessible and easy to use on all our different devices, and the new tool of being able to download data directly has been a helpful addition to monitoring compliance.

How are the wider team using Trail day-to-day?

Trail is what helps our staff open, close, clean and all things in-between! We use Trail as a compliance tool but also as a helpful tool to make sure our team are able to comfortably and confidently open a store that perhaps they haven’t opened before. We have been able to utilise Trail in many ways, and it is a huge help to our staff, old and new.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned since starting your career in operations?

Always expect the unexpected and don’t plan your days too far in advance ;)

What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in hospitality right now?

Be patient – everyone is going through a really difficult time at the moment, and patience goes a long way.

Check out how more of our partners are using Trail here.

What customers are saying

"I f****** love Trail, it's taking my businesses to the next level."
Josh Paterson
Owner
"We rarely provide training to our guys, they just bought into the idea straight away. I love that I have a full visual of everyone's activity in front of me."
Katrin Toots
Compliance Manager
“It’s not a paper diary that’s covered in barbecue sauce. We have clarity over what’s done in our sites and are confident going into our audits.”
Jay Brown
Operations
“The EHO visited almost every site last year and every store was given a five star rating."
Jay Brown
Operations Chef
"We turned our Costa Checks and various compliance forms into regular tasks on Trail, which has contributed to some of the best scores we have had."
Delroy Daniels
Operations Director
"Our teams love it, it gives our managers of all levels absolute clarity on what they need to achieve every day."
James Brown
Operations Director

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