Every day, Market Training Manager Pearly Eveland walks into her restaurant and greets her team with, “Good morning, beautiful people!” to set the tone right for a fun workday. Recently promoted, Pearly hails from our sunny .
With 32 years of experience in the restaurant industry, she’s a veteran with a touch of class. You see, Pearly came to DRG from San Francisco’s fine dining scene. She first landed a Taco Bell General Manager position in the Las Vegas market and then transferred to Los Angeles. She’s now been with the brand for eight years!
Pearly says the transition was hard in the beginning for her, but she was inspired by Chief Operating Officer (COO) Todd Kelly to stick around and view time with DRG and Taco Bell as a career. Hiring from outside the QSR space was by design, she says. “Todd told me ‘I like to hire people from different parts of the industry.’”
It was her husband’s job that prompted the move to Los Angeles; Pearly’s love of the company is what has kept her around. Pearly says Todd had no problem finding her a job in the L.A. market and DRG was incredibly supportive. DRG cares about its employees and treats them well with on-the-job development and training, scholarships and tuition assistance, great benefits, and so much more.
“I got the job here and I didn’t stop working for Taco Bell,” she says. “I love the people and I love my job.”
“I would not work for any company but DRG.” – Pearly Eveland
Pearly is big on recognition and that comes from the top. DRG promotes a culture of recognition and respect at every level. For Pearly, recognition ties into the fun factor.
“Recognition is very important to me …” she says. “If they’re doing a great job, I want them to know how important they are in the company.”
She references “speed of service” (a key metric Taco Bell restaurants are evaluated on) — when speed of service is good, Pearly rewards her team with Starbucks, pizza or “anything that makes my employees happy.”
With that infectious smile, you can imagine Pearly is great at keeping customers happy, too, which is why she excels in her role. Given the support she’s received thus far, with an eye on the Area Coach position next, Pearly has every reason to believe that that’s possible for her.
“I know it’s going to happen because I am reliable, and my heart is at work,” she says. Well, we can’t wait to see it happen!
