Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates

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*Editor's note: Jodie was the Chief Marketing Officer of Fazoli's at the time of this podcast recording. She has since become the CMO of Donatos Pizza.

Jodie Conrad is a restaurant marketing veteran with over 30 years in the industry and experience in marketing at Wendy's, Coca-Cola, Fazoli's, and more. She's now the Chief Marketing Officer at Donatos Pizza, a nearly 200-location brand. Jodie is a long-time friend of Ovation and dropped some knowledge bombs on this episode! 

On this episode, Jodie and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• The mistake of not understanding what's important to your customer
• 3 simple steps of marketing
• Getting the basics right
• Family meal options
• More

Thanks Jodie!

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Colin Webb is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sauce Pricing. Sauce allows you to leverage your restaurant data to increase profit margins and grow sales. In just a few clicks, your company can scale expert pricing strategies. With an eye for data optimization, Webb's expertise enables him to unlock a goldmine of data for companies. 

On this episode, Colin and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Dynamically pricing menu items
• Smarter pricing strategies
• Managing being short staffed and maintaining quality
• More

Thanks, Colin!

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Sam Caucci is the CEO and founder of 1Huddle, a training platform that aims to improve staff performance and better prepare employees for the workforce. 1Huddle has changed the training game by engaging employees with quick paced games that are customizable to the company's brand and can be played in under five minutes. 

If you're feeling déjà vu, this is our 2nd episode with Sam - 1 wasn't enough!

On this episode, Sam and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Why restaurant training is broken and how to fix it
• The importance of training managers
• How to make training fun for staff
• More

Thanks, Sam!

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Rachael Nemeth truly understands what it means to work in the restaurant industry, from line cook to manager! Nemeth now takes on being CEO at Opus, a powerful training technology designed for your "deskless" workforce.  Opus creates multimedia lessons and distributes them over mobile, helping you to strengthen your workforce. 

On this episode, Zack and Rachael discuss: 

• Effective training
• Meeting workers where they are
• Strengthening your workforce
• More

Thanks, Rachael!

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Bennett Maxwell is the CEO of Dirty Dough, home to super-stuffed cookie bombs! Dirty Dough is bringing one-of-a-kind cookies to the masses, and helping entrepreneurs find passion and success! With a background in sales, Maxwell brings his charismatic spirit to the Give An Ovation Podcast!

On this episode, Zack and Maxwell discuss: 

• Picking a franchise
• Advising hopeful entrepreneurs
• The mechanics of sales
• More

Thanks, Bennett!

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Steve Madonna is the SVP of Culinary at Bar Louie, the Original Gastrobar concept with about 70 locations nationwide. Previously, Steve spent 12 years working as a Chef and Culinary Director at Wolfgang Puck. Steve is an expert is menu design and brought a Puck-ton of actionable insights to this edition of Give an Ovation. 

On this episode, Zack and Steve discuss: 

• The importance of using data to make menu decisions
• Taking the emotion out of menu items and listening to customers
• The role of technology in hospitality
• More

Thanks, Steve!

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Clayton Wood, CEO at Picnic, is pursuing innovation by making automation the future. Picnic is the essential back-of-house assembly line. The modular food prep station assembles your pizzas with precision and speed, delivering a consistent product every time. Say hello to the future of restaurant tech with this week's podcast episode!

On this episode, Clayton and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Creating consistency
• Automation
• The reality of robots in the kitchen
• More

Thanks, Clayton!

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Tammy Billings is a co-founder at Aben, a marketing operating system that alerts, executes, and measures ROI from data. Tammy's foundational belief for Aben was the idea that the data available to large enterprises should be open for all businesses to leverage. With an affinity for sales, technology, and data analytics, Tammy brings her vision to this week's episode of Give An Ovation.

On this episode, Tammy and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Market positioning
• Pairing internal and external data
• The meaning of real innovation
• Using data to drive decisions
• More

Thanks, Tammy!

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Akash Kapoor, CEO and Founder of Curry Up Now, is renowned for more than his growth from food truck to brick and mortar. As Chief Troublemaker, Akash is an expert in finding growth through discomfort and pushing the envelop. Tune in to find out key tips on growing your business and stepping outside of your comfort zone!

On this episode, Akash and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Defeating the status quo
• Stepping outside your comfort zone
• Finding the right tech for you
• Creating a welcoming atmosphere
• More

Thanks, Akash!

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Richard Zaro, Founder and CEO of Cutlets Sandwich Co., is looking to disrupt the sandwich landscape and nationalize cutlets. Zaro has proven his ability to keep the consumer happy and smooth out the consumer journey through online interactions. 

On this episode, Richard and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• Customer satisfaction
• Consumer touch points
• Online order and delivery
• More

Thanks, Richard!