In this Greatest Hits episode of Getting to Aha!, Darshan Mehta is joined by Steve Bigari, the EVP, AI for Restaurants at Soundhound. Join them as they discuss how technology, particularly AI, can enhance the restaurant experience, the mindset needed to be a disruptor in the industry, and the importance of removing friction from the customer's life. Steve also shares insight and experience from his forty years in the restaurant industry.

Steve Bigari has over forty years in the restaurant industry and has founded several businesses, including Mr. Biggs in 2005 and SYNQ3 Restaurant Solutions; he was the CEO of SYNQ3, a provider of restaurant solutions with a focus on technology and customer experience, for over sixteen years. Steve is currently the EVP, AI for Restaurants at SoundHound, and co-hosts Techuisine, a restaurant technology podcast exploring the latest trends and innovations in restaurant technology.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
👉 Looking forward, Steve anticipates three trends that will reshape the future of the restaurant industry: staffing, training, and costs. He suggests that serious staffing shortages are affecting the industry, causing some establishments to be unable to open. Steve adds that laws being passed may exacerbate this problem. Secondly, while AI can never fully replace a human, Steve says that it can supplement certain processes. Lastly, he recommends adapting to different languages and cultures for those organizations that want to expand globally. He says that “everything is moving so quickly right now. I've never seen anything like it in all my years.”
👉 Steve offers clients a set of seven key questions to ask whenever someone tries to sell them a product or solution. The first is, “Can you give me a demo right now?” A quick way to gauge how ready and real the product is. The second question digs deeper: “Can we try it in a live environment, like an actual restaurant that’s operating today?” This helps determine whether the solution holds up under real-world conditions. Next, he asks, “Are humans used anywhere in the process?” a critical question, especially for AI tools that often rely on human input to fill in gaps, where the technology isn’t quite there yet. The fourth question is about timing: “How long until I see the results you're promising today?” The fifth gets into scalability: “What’s your process for rolling this out in restaurants?” The sixth asks whether the product is backed by a patent, which speaks to how defensible or unique the technology is. Finally, Steve asks, “Do you own the tech stack you’re selling?” because if the vendor doesn’t own what they’re offering, it could lead to serious problems down the line.
👉 Ultimately, Steve is enthusiastic about the rapid developments in the restaurant industry. Despite being a self-professed “old restaurant guy”, he loves meeting clients who are cutting-edge thinkers. He is particularly excited by advancements in drive-through technology, suggesting that it could “appear in every aspect of your life in retail, hotels, hospitality, travel”.

Listen Now!
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And connect with the host and guests here:
Darshan Mehta on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta
iResearch Website - https://iresearch.com
Steve Bigari on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-bigari-b827ab5
Soundhound website: https://www.soundhound.com

Getting to Aha! with Darshan Mehta is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so
Previous guests include: Luca Popovac, Senior Executive, Abhilasha Sinha of Open Secret, Laura Beavin-Yates, Stephen Griffiths of Level 2, Kristin Luck or ScaleHouse, Melina Palmer of The Brainy Business, Nicolas Zeisler of We’re Doing CX Wrong and How To Get It Right, Pricilla McKinney of Little Bird Marketing, Brooke Sellas of B Squared Marketing and Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience.

Check out the 3 most downloaded episodes: 

• Changing the Direction of Customer Experience with Luka Popovac, a Senior Customer Experience Executive
• Innovation, Curiosity, and Being Human with Abhilasha Sinha, Chief Growth Officer at Open Secret
• [Greatest Hits ] Emotions & Consumer Behavior with Laura Beavin-Yates
  
  

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