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

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MarketMan is here to save the day! Matt Hardoon is the VP of Sales at MarketMan, a SaaS platform for restaurant operators that provides inventory management, purchase ordering, recipe control, and advanced analytics as part of their back of house solution. Matt is also the former Principal and Market Manager of Promenade Bar and Grill in New York City. 

On this episode, Matt and host Zack Oates discuss: 

• The benefits of automation
• The importance of consistency in the guest experience
• Careful menu consolidation
• More

Thanks Matt!

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Get ready for a spicy episode! Phyllis Williams-Strawder is a business coach, brand strategist, author, successful restaurant owner, the creator of CKO Creator, and one of the most energetic guests we've had!

On this episode, she and Zack discuss: 

• Why your brand needs personality
• Embracing technology
• Focusing your menu
• More

Thanks Phyllis!

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Big wig alert! Phil Crawford is the Chief Technology Officer at CKE Restaurants, Inc., which owns Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. He's currently in the midst of revitalizing their brand through innovation on the user-side and the back-end. Phil has also been the CTO at Godiva Chocolatier, CIO at Shake Shack, and CIO at Yard House Restaurants. 

On this episode, Phil and Zack discuss: 

• Evaluating tech for your restaurant
• Doing what's right for you and not copying others
• Examples of failing fast
• Personalization
• More

Thanks Phil!

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David Scott Peters is an author, restaurant coach and speaker who teaches restaurant operators how to take control of their businesses and finally realize their full potential. His first book, Restaurant Prosperity Formula: What Successful Restaurateurs Do, teaches the systems and traits to develop to run a profitable restaurant. Thousands of restaurants have worked with Peters to transform their businesses and we were thrilled to have him on this episode!

On this edition, he and Zack discuss: 

• Growth mindsets vs fixed mindsets 
• The most important aspect of the guest experience
• Turning ideas into action
• Keeping and finding employees
• More

Thanks David!

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Matt Plapp is the CEO of America's Best Restaurants, which helps customers find restaurants that make them smile, and CEO of Restaurant Marketing That Works, which helps restaurants acquire customers. As a thought leader in restaurant marketing, an author, and overall legend, we were thrilled to have Matt on this episode. 

On this installment, Matt and host Zack Oates discuss:

• The three key traits restaurants need to have guests come weekly
• The importance of smiling and making guests feel welcome
• Why you should gather data 
• Much more

Thanks Matt!

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Ben Pryor is the Director of Innovation at Dewey's Pizza, a fantastic 24-location business where he drives transformational and creative solutions with people, food, and technology. Ben has over 30 years in the hospitality industry with experience at Noodles and Company and Quality Dining Inc. (Ben is also a talented musician - listen for the outro of this episode to hear a sample of him tickling the ivories.)

In this episode, he and host Zack Oates discuss:

• What innovation means
• The expectations of guests and team members after COVID
• How innovation can generate revenue
• Ben's framework for developing innovation
• Who Ben recommends we follow to learn more about restaurant innovation 

Thanks Ben!

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Jacobe Hollins is the Digital Program Supervisor at McDonald's where he has worked since 2013. He has an MBA in New Age Digital Marketing, is an advocate for frontline employees, and just implemented a system connecting 1.9 million employees at McDonald's. 
In this 100th episode of Give an Ovation, he and Zack discuss:

• Transparency in the restaurant hiring industry
• Hospitality
• Jacobe's digital platform
• Frontline workers
• More

Thanks Jacobe!

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Edward Zimmerman simply had too much good stuff to say to on his first episode, so we invited him back for a second round of Give an Ovation! If you missed it, Edward has over 40 years in the food and hospitality industry and currently uses all of that experience as President of The Food Connector, a company that develops marketing plans for small to mid-size food manufacturers and distributors. 

Edward has been both a restaurant operator and distributor, so he offered some great perspective on building that relationship. Thanks Edward!

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Wade Allen is the Senior Vice President and Head of Innovation at Brinker International, the parent company of Chili's Bar and Grill, Maggiano's Little Italy, and their new virtual brand and Wade's passion project, It's Just Wings. Wade spends each day searching for cutting-edge technology in the restaurant space, and shared what's working for him on this episode. He and Zack discuss: 

• The importance of focusing on innovation
• The most important part of the guest experience today
• Drone delivery and the future
• More

Thanks Wade!

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Pete Peng is the founder and CEO of Jetson, the "Shopify of Voice Commerce". Jetson is a platform that enables businesses of any size to easily sell products and services through voice interfaces using AI technology. On this episode, Pete and Zack discuss how Jetson can help restaurants, how it was funded, and Pete's upcoming appearance on a business-centered reality TV show. Thanks Pete!