Saxbys welcomes new SCEO Madison Rattiner

By Madison Lewis

Sophomore marketing major and Student CEO of Saxbys Madison Rattiner exceeds expectations while juggling multiple jobs, activities and clubs all while attending classes at Rider.

Not only does her work ethic speak for itself, but Rattiner goes against the grain by having profound experience and knowledge of the business world at a young age.

“I’m definitely the youngest [CEO] we’ve had at Rider,” Rattiner said. “That definitely sets me apart.”

Rider has a program where students who are involved in the Norm Brodsky College of Business can apply to become the student CEO of the university’s location of the chain restaurant Saxbys.

SCEOs prepare for the job ahead by embarking on a two-week intensive training course at Saxbys headquarters in Philadelphia, where the SCEOs are required to participate.

Being an SCEO at Saxbys is more than serving breakfast delicacies and managing staff. Rattiner revealed that the job entailed controlling finances, ordering and preparing products, making schedules for staff, taking training courses, calculating cost of goods sold and an abundance of other important roles.

Rattiner divulged that she worked about 32 hours  at the cafe and 10 hours of administrative work at home weekly. 

On top of the hours she devotes to Saxbys, Rattiner is also a community assistant for Hill Hall and has worked with the Rider Student Theater Company.

With Rattiner always being on the clock, she struggled to allocate time for leisure; however, she intends to run a business of her own in the future.

Rattiner has a past of entrepreneurial endeavors, as she won second place in a concept competition where she innovated mechanical technology to prevent vehicles from colliding with the rear of trucks.

Sustaining success

In her first few weeks as SCEO, Rattiner saw impressive outcomes of her managerial style at Saxbys, as she beat her first-week sales goal by $2,500 with that number increasing since.

In order to sustain success, Rattiner proposed plans to revolutionize her workplace. She wanted to reduce wait times, a consistent complaint with the student body. 

Rattiner had already increased her staff numbers by two for each shift, which is sometimes difficult with overlapping schedules.

Despite the challenges, Rattiner is optimistic about her goals to improve wait times and morale at Saxbys.

Rattiner said she is even coordinating a “Saxbys sing-along” open mic night for the students. She added that there is no date for the event, but that they will “definitely be doing it.”

The SCEO motivates her staff by encouraging friendly competition. Rattiner said they made predictions about the first song to play for the Super Bowl halftime show.

As for advice for future SCEOs, Rattiner urged them to continue and persevere through the ups and downs.

“Don’t give up … it’s … tough in the beginning, but it’s rewarding. There are some good days … and there are some bad days where I feel defeated,” said Rattiner. “When you have those bad days, they’re going to end. You are going to have another day.”

Karin Torchia, the senior associate director of athletics for external operations and development at Rider, endorsed Rattiner wholeheartedly and was slightly disappointed to lose her as a member of the marketing and promotions staff.

Rattiner’s responsibilities in the athletics department included posting to social media, rolling T-shirts to be thrown at basketball games, coordinating with 107.7 The Bronc and conducting small competitions on the court during basketball games. 

“She has a calm manner to her … things don’t stress her out,” said Torchia. “Maddy was always very cool, calm and collected. That’s going to … translate well for her at Saxbys.”

Though she was disappointed to lose such a level-headed student worker, Torchia was not surprised that Saxbys saw the same potential in her.

“Of course [she became SCEO]. … [She is] one of the most incredible students that I have ever come across and I’ve been at Rider for 23 years,” said Torchia. “I am just thrilled for her that she got that position, and I know she is going to have just an incredible career ahead of her when she graduates from Rider.”

Rattiner, with an onslaught of support behind her, found that she was no stranger to the stress that came with such an imperative leadership role. 

“It’s very easy to just want to give up,” said Rattiner. “A lot of it is very stressful. It gets easier as you go.”