County Line Sonic crew ranks in top 12 nationwide

MADISON — The Sonic drive-in crew from Madison’s County Line Road location is heading to Washington, D.C. Sept. 8 to compete for gold status at the Dr Pepper Sonic Games.

This is the first time the location has ranked in the top 12 nationwide. The crew beat out more than 3,500 other Sonic drive-in crews at locations across the United States. A Sonic in Spanish Fort, Alabama, also made the top 12.

The County Line Sonic is one of four franchises owned by Robert Rubel and his wife, Ning. They also own Sonic drive-ins in Hazel Green, Huntsville (Moores Mill Road) and Decatur (Danville Road).

Ning, who stays busy as a manager, has led six Sonic crews to the Dr Pepper Sonic Games over the years. In 2016, she led the Hazel Green crew to first place in the nation at the Games in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to Robert, the crew will spend a full week in Washington, D.C.—this year’s location for Sonic’s national convention—and compete over multiple days. Both Ning and Robert said Sonic pays all expenses, and the competing employees will be treated with VIP status during their stay. There will be a team that remains in Madison to keep the County Line location open.

For the first day of competition, the crew will work together to serve a multitude of judges acting as customers at a real Sonic drive-in that has been closed for the day.

“They’ll put the drive-in through a simulated rush period,” Robert said. “They’re judged on quality, customer service, food safety, all the procedures they have to do [for making menu items].”

Every parking spot will be filled with cars, each holding a judge. Crew members taking and preparing orders on the inside will also have judges observing them.

“There are six stations … every team, you have the same exact orders, the same time, the same operating procedures, food safety, how well is your customer service—they look at every single detail,” Ning said.

Robert said the judges also look for “signature items” that distinguish a team from the other 11 competing.

“One year we were recognized,” Robert said. “At the end of every greeting they would take the order and we’d say, ‘Thank you for making our Sonic your Sonic’ because it’s the customer’s local Sonic. … We have a few new signature items up our sleeve for this year.”

On the second day, crew members will compete in individual competitions. When Hazel Green’s crew won overall gold in 2016, they also had a team member win gold in the individual grilling competition. That member is now working at the County Line Sonic.

Contests ran from January to June to narrow 3,557 Sonic crews down to the top 12. Robert said the crew has worked well together over the months with such a big goal in mind.

“Our first goal is customer service and quality food because that’s what the customer’s going to be about, and that’s what ultimately gets us to win the [competition],” Robert said. “The employees win, we win as a business, Sonic wins as a brand, so it’s like a triple win.”

At the end of the Games, the top three drive-in crews, as well as the top three crew members in each of the individual competitions, are recognized onstage in front of thousands of Sonic franchisees and executives.

Ning noted that many employees are inspired to reach for higher positions in the company after attending the Dr Pepper Sonic Games, such as a general manager or even an owner.

Both Robert and Ning have a long history themselves of working with Sonic. Ning began 16 years ago as a carhop, while Robert got his start as a grill cook in 1978.

“It’s a very good company to work for,” Ning said.

The Dr Pepper Sonic Games began in 1994 and serves as a way to help “drive guest satisfaction, increase sales and ultimately, create a fun work culture,” according to Matt Schein, Sonic’s vice president of operations.

Madison’s top-12 Sonic is located at 11396 County Line Rd. near James Clemens High School.