Consistency Served Hot

Tee McCluster is a highly accomplished Facilities Services professional, currently Head of National Corporate Facilities at KFC USA. He is a licensed Florida Home Inspector and Insurance Adjuster, with extensive experience in project management, facilities operations, and leadership within the food service industry.

For the magazine Hospitality Business Review, Tee McCluster shared the insights on how transparent facility management drives both guest trust and brand longevity.

1. Can you share the key experiences and milestones in your career that led you to your current role at KFC?

With over 13 years of experience in Facilities Management, I’ve built my career from the ground up. Starting as a Facilities Specialist and progressing into supervisory, area management, and corporate leadership roles. Along the way, I developed a strong foundation in vendor management, preventive maintenance, and multi-site operations while leading teams and ensuring costeffective, high-quality service delivery.

Today, as Head of Facilities for KFC Corporate, I oversee 86 sites with a strategic growth plan. My career reflects a balance of hands-on expertise and strategic oversight, equipping me to build scalable systems, strengthen vendor partnerships, and create a world-class facilities organization that protects the brand, drives operational excellence, and supports long-term growth.

The toughest challenge I’ve faced was keeping operations running efficiently while protecting the KFC brand experience during times of high demand and rapid growth. The pressure to move fast often clashed with the need for consistent quality. I addressed it by streamlining vendor management, prioritizing work orders based on operational impact, and holding vendors accountable through scorecards and proof-of-service. At the same time, I kept open lines of communication with operations to stay aligned. This approach cut downtime, controlled costs, and protected the guest experience proving that efficiency and brand standards can work hand in hand.

3. In leading facilities at a national scale, how do you balance the discipline of preventive maintenance with the flexibility needed to meet local market challenges?

Balancing preventive maintenance with local market realities comes down to discipline in the system and flexibility in execution. At the national level, I anchor everything to a standardized PM program that protects assets, controls costs, and ensures consistency across the brand. That structure sets the baseline. But I also empower regional supervisors and vendors to adapt to local conditions. Whether it’s climate, permitting requirements, or unique site challenges so we don’t lose speed or relevance on the ground. By combining a strong framework with local flexibility, we maintain brand standards while still meeting the realtime needs of each market.

4. What principles guide you in holding service providers accountable while still fostering long-term, trust-based relationships?

I hold service providers accountable by setting clear expectations up front, measuring performance with consistent metrics, and requiring proof-of-service through photos, scorecards, and timely communication. Accountability is non-negotiable, but I balance it with partnership by being transparent, fair, and recognizing vendors who deliver beyond expectations. The principle I follow is simple: set the standard, measure against it, and treat partners with respect. That approach builds trust while ensuring the brand gets the quality and reliability it needs

5. How do you bridge the gap between backend facilities operations and the front-line moments that define a customer’s experience in KFC restaurants?

I bridge that gap by always linking facilities decisions to the guest experience. On the back end, I focus on preventive maintenance, vendor accountability, and system efficiency to reduce downtime and control costs. On the front line, that work shows up as hot food served in a comfortable, safe, and reliable environment. I make sure my team understands that every repair, every work order, and every project isn’t just about fixing equipment; it’s about protecting the brand and creating the experience our customers expect when they walk into a KFC.

6. For emerging leaders stepping into multisite facilities roles, what mindset or principle do you believe is most critical to building trust across the organization?

For emerging leaders in multi-site facilities roles, the most critical principle is consistency. Trust is built when operators, vendors, and teams know you’ll follow through every time; whether it’s responding quickly to a work order, communicating honestly about costs, or delivering on preventive maintenance schedules. Pair that consistency with transparency, and people see you as reliable and accountable. In a role that touches so many parts of the organization, trust comes less from what you promise and more from what you consistently deliver.