Edvin Pazos is from Central America and says fast food was kind of “a foreign object” to him when he was a boy. He had enjoyed eating fare from other brands, but hadn’t heard of Taco Bell until he actually walked into a location with a friend 11 years ago!
Just by chance, that particular location was hiring at the time. So Edvin chatted with the manager and was hired soon after. His career trajectory has been soaring upward ever since.
“I was a team member for about a year and a half,” he recalls. “They started grooming me to be a shift lead… then I got promoted to Assistant General Manager.”
Edvin’s climb up the ladder continued, as he helped out at various locations throughout the Kansas City market for a few years. Eventually, he was promoted to GM, a role he held for four years. Today, he is one of DRG’s Area Coaches.
“My main priority is to help support our restaurant general managers,” he says. “See what we can do to elevate their growth and their people... pretty much just a support whatever’s needed in a store.”
Edvin believes his own recent experience as a GM makes it easier for him to relate to those he supports. According to him, hiring is one of the most pressing challenges RGMs face in today’s market. Yet DRG has shown its commitment to supporting its people with wage increases, hiring events, bonus programs and other benefits.
“…we’re a company that cares. That’s been a big motivator for a lot of people.”
“They’re always there for what we need,” Edvin says of DRG and its leaders. He references the company’s robust employee assistance program, DRG Cares, as an example.
Employee bonuses are also a big deal. By tying performance back to the customer experience (food, speed, etc.), it becomes a win-win when “we can impact great service and also take care of our employees at the same time,” Edvin says.
As for the future? “With the leadership that I have, I think the sky’s the limit,” he says.
“I’m there 100 percent for them, and I know they’re 100 percent for me, so just keep on growing.”
