Ben’s Soft Pretzels began in 2008 with a simple mission: to rid the world of inferior pretzels. Founded in Indiana by Scott Jones, Brian Krider, and Benjamin Miller, the company grew from a single mall kiosk into a franchise empire serving fans in more than 100 locations across 17 states.

As the business scaled from local mall favorite to national franchise, so did the complexity of running it. Managing operations across locations meant finding a point-of-sale and loyalty platform that could keep pace with their ambitions. That search led them to Square — not once, but multiple times.

The challenge: Finding a POS partner that delivers what it promises

In the early days, Ben’s Soft Pretzels operated with little more than cash registers. As the business expanded into franchising, they cycled through a series of point-of-sale systems.

“We put our POS out to bid and looked at five or six different systems,” recalled Krider. “It actually came down to Square and another company. At the time, the other company just had a little bit more of the franchising model we thought we needed.” So the team chose the competitor.

It didn’t take long for cracks to show. “Halfway through setup, we’d hear, ‘Oh, we can’t actually do that yet’ or ‘That’ll be available in another year,’” Krider explained. “We weren’t going to start a relationship on pretty much a lie.”

Ben’s returned to Square, just as Square launched its franchise program, which proved to be a better match.

A few years later, the brand wanted loyalty and communication features specific to their system, so they switched again. “When we left, it wasn’t because Square was inferior,” Krider noted. “We were like, ‘we love Square, but we need to be able to talk to our consumer in this way.’ And Square didn’t have that option at the time.”

That second switch turned out to be worse than the first. “It was an absolute train wreck nightmare,” he recalled. They realized the new program wasn’t designed for quick-service restaurants and instead pushed features the brand didn’t need.

Within weeks, franchisees lost faith in the new system, and the consistency the brand was known for was at risk. (subhead) The solution: Returning to a partner that listens

Ben’s halted the rollout of the new software and returned to Square for a second time. “We had to make the decision to come back to Square. We could not risk losing more customers to the other system’s ineptness and their inability to get us onboarded and have a product that made sense from day one.”

Krider then brokered a meeting with Square and a third-party partner and reached an agreement that worked for everyone.

Square’s willingness to adapt and to work with partners rather than force a one-size-fits-all solution restored confidence. “It did surprise us how hard [Square was] willing to work for us,” says Krider.

Ben’s Soft Pretzels currently runs on a suite of Square tools across its franchise network, including the fully integrated POS register for payments, marketing automation tools for connecting with customers, Square Online for digital ordering, and shift management software for staff scheduling. More importantly, the system has the flexibility to grow with them.

The impact: Trust, loyalty, and confidence at scale

With Square Loyalty in place, Ben’s is driving more repeat visits and higher ticket sizes. “Our loyalty club members spend an average of two or three dollars more per transaction,” says Krider.

Square is also meeting the high standards Ben’s sets for its franchise POS system. “We put together seven things that we looked for when we went out and looked for a POS provider,” Krider explained. “Number one for us is always the consumer: how the transaction feels, how loyalty works, and how easy online or app ordering is. Next is the franchisee: our operators and what their day-to-day experience looks like running the store. And finally, the back office: reporting, menu changes, and ease of use. Those are the big three, and Square is checking all those boxes 100 percent.”

Looking ahead, the business has big plans, and its journey has only reinforced Square’s reputation as a partner they can count on. “The big thing that I’ve noticed with Square is that the teams I’ve worked with are humble, accommodating, and willing to listen,” Krider said. “Square has been who they said they were going to be and more. That, to me, is worth its weight in gold.”