Max’s legacy lives on

Robert Trota —KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ

One’s first day on the job is a memorable milestone for most people as it usually marks a new beginning, a fresh start.

For Max’s Group, Inc. (MGI) president and CEO Robert Trota, his first day as a restaurant manager was remarkable for the most ironic of reasons: It was also his last.

“The store was on Quezon Avenue. I opened Nov. 30th, and by Dec. 1, I was already closed,” recalls Trota.

As luck would have it, the day after Trota’s opening coincided with a coup d’etat attempt on the administration of the late President Cory Aquino, leaving him with no choice but to close shop.

“There were tanks outside my store,” he adds.

The dust settled around a week after, allowing Trota to reopen, he says.

But that immediately came with a problem: His first set of extremely hungry customers from a local TV station had no money to pay for their meals as they had been trapped inside their building because of the coup attempt.

“But they were hungry, so what was I supposed to do? I said, okay, I’ll take a promissory note,” Trota says with a chuckle. “And I just went to their office later on to collect the payment.”

Putting the customer first has always been at the core of Max’s service—a legacy established by Trota’s grandparents and parents that he continues as he steers the company toward its 2020 goal: To have 1,000 stores both here and abroad across all the company’s brands (which includes Pancake House, Teriyaki Boy, Sizzlin’ Steak, Dencio’s).

“We always put the customer at the center of what we do. It’s a lot easier for us to resolve issues if we put ourselves in the customer’s shoes, because they don’t really care about internal issues. Address the customer and you will be able to settle any problem,” Trota says.

To achieve this, Trota says the company is very particular with the people it chooses to work with, may they be franchisees, employees or even external consultants.

“[The family is] hands-on, but it’s also about getting the right people in place. We choose the right people to help us—professionals—because we can’t do it by ourselves. It’s a matter of listening to what their ideas are,” says Trota. “When we look at our franchisees, we look at sharing the same values, because if we don’t, then we won’t be able to work well together.”

Those lucky enough to be granted franchises for MGI’s brands also get the privilege of having direct communication with the company’s board of directors.

“They have my number, they can call or text me any time, and I respond as fast as I can, even when I’m traveling,” says Trota.

And like any good restaurant manager—be it his first day or 100th on the job—Trota says he and the rest of MGI still open themselves to learning new things to continually evolve to keep the company relevant.

“[Customers today] have a lot of exposure to different types of cuisine. That alone creates a different palate now compared to 20 years ago. So for us, it’s [all about] continuous research and understanding what the customer wants. That gives us more reason to be here for the next 20 or so years,” Trota says. “I don’t think we would’ve lasted over 70 years if we didn’t evolve.”