Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates
Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast is your backstage pass to the minds of hospitality leaders, innovators, and operators who are redefining what it means to serve. Hosted by Zack Oates, founder of Ovation, each episode dives into real-world tactics and inspiring stories from restaurant pros who know how to create five-star guest experiences—both in-store and off-premise.
From fast casual to fine dining, catering to curbside, learn how to drive loyalty, empower your staff, and deliver hospitality that hits home. Whether you're a restaurant owner, operator, marketer, or tech partner, this podcast will leave you with practical insights and plenty of reasons to celebrate and Give an Ovation.
Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates
Transforming the Restaurants of Tomorrow with Andy Freivogel
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Andy Freivogel is the Co-Founder and CEO of Science On Call, a restaurant tech platform that provided 24/7 support with either a call or text. On this episode, Andy unveils the magic of technology - from POS to delivery platforms - that simplifies restaurant operations and paves the way for a smoother guest experience. Tune in and explore the tech that is shaping the restaurants of tomorrow!
On this episode, you'll learn from Andy about:
- Back of house support
- Reducing guest frustration
- Creativity in improving guest experience
- More!
Thanks, Andy!
Enhancing Restaurant Guest Experience With Technology
Speaker 1Welcome to another edition of Give An Ovation , the restaurant guest experience podcast , a show where we talk to multi-unit brands and industry experts to get their strategies and tactics you can use to create a five-star guest experience . Now this podcast is sponsored by Ovation , a two-question SMS-based real-time guest feedback platform that helps restaurants measure and improve their guest experience . And today I am so excited because today we are talking to Andy Fryvol , the co-founder and CEO of Science On Call , the creator of the coolest swag shirts known in the industry , the wearer of the swankiest glasses that you will find , and I wanted to have him on because tech is a part of everyone's guest experience and this guy knows tech . He spent 15 years in food and beverage and technology , from consulting to running programs such as like buying new point of sales , and so this guy has been through it all and , andy , I'm so excited that you're on Give An Ovation today .
Speaker 2Yeah , thanks so much . I mean , we're Science On Call , we are big fans of Ovation , We've got customers in common and so we get to see it in action and we love being part of that journey and part of that experience , even if it's a little bit . We're not customer facing , we're not the ones talking to the consumers in the restaurant . We work with the teams , we work with their internal IT , but we love facilitating a unique and great experience within our restaurant customers and we feel like we found a way to do that . We don't need the limelight , we just like to be in the background and we like to help .
Speaker 1Yeah , and you guys do such a good job at that . And so , for those who aren't familiar , what is Science On Call ?
Speaker 2Yeah , science On Call is a tech support platform for restaurants .
Speaker 2Restaurants have these growing , almost unwieldy tech stacks . They've got point of sale , they've got Wi-Fi , they've got all the third party ordering delivery platforms , and then they have some of these incredible enabling technologies that stitch it all together , like some of the aggregators , like a Chowly , for example , or Ovation was leading the charge on guest feedback . And in the middle is where sometimes this all needs some attention , because all of these incredible platforms talk to each other and many of them do it really well , but sometimes , when things aren't working , the restaurant team needs somebody they can reach out to to get these problems resolved , because every minute that something isn't working in a restaurant , it's costing you money and it's costing your team a lot of frustration and , like , the teams in the four walls of the restaurant are the most valuable resource that we have as part of this greater community , and so anything we can do to reduce the friction around the experience for them is always a win for us , but it's a win for the end customer as well .
Speaker 1Absolutely , because I think about the times I go to a restaurant and this happens all the time . And someone will say , oh man , I hate this thing . It never works . And the employee is saying that to me as the guest because they don't want me to think that they don't know how to do their job , so they blame the technology . And then what's my experience there ? What am I thinking ? I'm thinking , oh , this brand is too cheap to get good tech for their employees . But really what it comes down to is maybe it's training , maybe there is a glitch , maybe they need some help with something , maybe they need some troubleshooting and they just don't know where to turn to . And so I think those things are really critical to keep in mind that that a good seamless technology is wonderful and ideal , but it's not realistic all the time . And when it isn't seamless , I'm telling you your staff is complaining to the guests or your staff is complaining to each other in front of the guests , and that just creates a bad guest experience .
Speaker 2Yeah , and I mean like in a perfect world . When we do our jobs , you know the shift lead or the assistant manager or even someone in the back of house in a restaurant when they're having that problem , they're scanning a QR code , they're connecting with their platform , that problem's getting resolved quickly , responded to instantly and all of a sudden , that conversation never happens . You know , the guest doesn't have that bad experience because we've resolved it and ultimately , that's what we will all do is through the predictive analysis based on the data that we're collecting . Because we're platform agnostic . We work with everything , doesn't matter which point of sale , doesn't matter which ISP , but if we do our jobs well and as we continue to build our product , we're gonna make sure these conversations never happen down the road .
Speaker 2But when they do , you're absolutely right . You've got a frustrated team member who's already working harder to fill in gaps because somebody called out . You've got a guest who's had this experience elsewhere and it's like oh no , I can't swipe my credit card again . You know , all this frustration is preventable , and it's preventable when you care , when you show up with the empathy and the sense of urgency that is absolutely required to support a restaurant operation 100% love that .
Speaker 1So what do you think , andy , is the most important aspect of guest experience nowadays ?
Speaker 2Well , I think it's the team in the restaurant is setting the tone and when we can allow them to focus on the food , you know , the guest , the interaction and then the overall experience , that's when they're at their best and that's when the guest is having the best experience . If we can remove the friction around some of the other elements , whether it's , you know , internet is off , you know is off , or a POS terminal is offline , or credit card processing and working , anything we can do to remove that allows them to put all their eggs in that basket around the experience of the guest themselves . You know the food's gonna be better when people aren't running around in a closet trying to unplug a router , for example .
Speaker 1Yes , and I think that that's . And the guests sorry , the employees feel cared about . They're like , oh , okay , well , like they're putting this together for me to make sure that I could be successful and you are only as good as your last experience . And what happens , andy , when that guest has a bad experience and they're getting frustrated and you know they're having hours of technical issues , of getting frustrated and a guest comes in and they take it out a little bit on that guest , what does the guest say ? The guest says man , this brand is terrible , this restaurant sucks , and you wanna guess how I was treated at that restaurant .
Speaker 1Right , and what happens is these frontline employees , their embissaries of the brand , they are the most important aspect of the brand . And when they're getting frustrated because they can't do their job , because the tools that they've been trained on aren't working or because they don't know how to use them , it's frustrating . And then what are they gonna do ? They're gonna go to the back . They're gonna go to the back of a manual and try to call up Like no , that's why you have something like science on call that you can just everyone knows where to go to get something fixed .
Speaker 2Yeah , you're 100% right and I think of it in these terms . The most important part of that experience is that initial reaction between the guest and whoever's behind the counter . Sometimes that's going to set the tone . Now , with the advent of kiosks which I think is brilliant , by the way all of a sudden we're removing some of that rote manual labor of like tell me some things that you want and I'll hit some buttons on this cash register for you . Instead , it's not about replacing employees necessarily . It's about taking those incredible people behind the counter and allowing them to do what they do best flex their human skills , focus on the human contact and the delivery to that customer of what they've ordered , as opposed to allow me to take dictation while you list off the same three things you ordered yesterday . That's right .
Speaker 2The other thing that's exciting to me about the hospitality employee in general is you've got 300 , 400 , 500 chances to win .
Speaker 2And if we do our job , which is make sure that the components are working and they're talking to each other , whether it's hardware , software , platforms if we can do that , then all of a sudden anything that goes wrong , like oh , your burger was supposed to be medium rare , but it was medium , I'm sorry all those things become within the control of the team member .
Speaker 2In the restaurant you can have a dialogue , you can have that discussion , maybe with kiosks . We've freed you up to spend a little more of your energy on making things right and so even if somebody gets it wrong in the back of house or an order comes through and has the wrong modifiers on it , guess is dissatisfied , whatever that hospitality has the opportunity to make that right through human connectivity and not even psychology , just being a good person and listening . And when we do those things , when we put our heart into it , when we put empathy into it and when we listen , we can win every one of those transactions and make that a positive experience , almost despite the fact that it goes wrong . That actually raises the stakes like , oh , you're dissatisfied with your burger . Well , I'm going to do this , this and this , and I'm going to make sure you love it . Yes , and it turns the experience around 100% , 100% .
Speaker 1And it's so much about use a very important word , which is care . You have to care , it's just you can't get around it . You have to care and you have to have that love which you're talking about . So , with all of this , andy , are there any specific tactics that you've seen to improve the guest experience ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I didn't come on to do a commercial for anybody's platforms , one that we like a lot . I've seen the speed with which a positive interaction is documented and generated . It's like sure it's automated . When a customer checks in , they have a meal and they get that text . For example , it says how were things and tell us what we could do better or anything . People really respond to that stuff . People want to talk . They want to tell you about their experience .
Speaker 2When you create those channels for them , that is , you're giving yourself the most opportunity to win . I actually think that that's absolutely crucial . I think anything a restaurant operation , especially the types of restaurants that we get to work with a large number of them 60 , 70 percent of their revenue is off-premise . It's like it's being ordered from outside the restaurant and people are showing up to pick it up or it's going to get delivered . The easier you can make that experience , the more consolidated that journey can be for the end-user , the happier everybody is .
Speaker 2I don't ever want to go on a website and see 12 different icons . If you like this platform , you can order this way . If you want delivery , but it's Tuesday , you got to press this button . I suffer like old person rage when I experience those things , because it's too much information , it's making it simple . But then give them that voice , give them that channel through which they can communicate their satisfaction , because if you've already made the investments to do those other things , I promise you you're going to have satisfied customers . They do want to shout from the rooftops when they have that great experience .
Speaker 1Love that . Yes , I think that that's one of the things . That's the whole reason that we created Ovation was because we wanted to make it easy for those happy guests to leave reviews . For example , I ate at a restaurant last night and it was great . Why didn't I leave a review ? Well , because at the moment I wasn't thinking about leaving a review . I was enjoying my conversation , I was being present with my company . But then when I left , then I get in the car and I'm driving away and I forget .
Speaker 1You either have to be able to capture that in the moment or send them that reminder later on . People are willing to do it . You have so many people that are having an amazing experience . The problem is they paid and they were expecting for an amazing experience and you delivered . And rarely when you meet expectations do people go above and beyond to give you praise . Right , it's kind of like well , yeah , you did what you were supposed to do , like what you want me to celebrate , getting what I paid for . You know what I mean ? It's like people don't go to a computer store , buy a computer and they get home and be like it's amazing , I paid them the amount of money they were asking and they gave me the computer that I purchased . It was amazing , no right .
Speaker 2That is what is exciting about the world that we get to live in . The world where we get to participate , though , is like the computer . All you're looking for is no additional pain . Yes , Like , yeah , it's faster for a couple of days , but , depending on the , in six months it's going to be all gummed up and annoying anyhow . Like , no one's going to be blown away because that's good analogy , but you can serve a cheeseburger that blows somebody's mind that they do want to shout about , and giving them those channels , giving them those forums in which to express it , is that's a favorite of the guest .
Speaker 1You're serving another need when you do that , Totally and even the way that you , it could be the same burger right , two different burger shops , one could be at a 4.1 stars and one could be at a 4.8 stars . The difference is , do the people care ? And that's one of the reasons I love science on call is because it eliminates a lot of the frustration and the questions and the searching and the troubleshooting to get them to focus on the guest right , because the same burger played , the same way with the same fries , same location , but you just add on someone who puts it down a little more gently , who remembers Andy's name , who says I hope you enjoy this and if there's anything I could do for you , please let me know , like when you have that hospitality . That's why you have the same exact place with such different reviews .
Removing Frustrations in the Restaurant Industry
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean it's like you take these talented people inside the restaurant and you give them back 15 , 30 seconds , you know , on every transaction that they can use . They can use your creativity , their artistry of engagement , and I think that that's where the opportunity for magic happens . I mean , like what you do , that's one of the weapons of the digital revolution . We consider ourselves to be kind of the janitors of the digital revolution and we're fine with it . You know we're here to serve .
Speaker 1Someone's gotta clean it up .
Speaker 2Give me the mop . You know I mean , like both of us , as founders and as business owners , we know that , like , hey , if you're managing a coffee shop and you see that that garbage can is overflowing and there's cups that are half full and it's just becoming a mess , you can wait for your team to do it , or the first time you notice that , you walk over , you take the garbage out , you clean it up , you make it pretty and guess what ? You showed your entire team . This is what success looks like .
Speaker 2Yeah love it and they follow . And we try and do the same . We try and remove obstacles so that the artists in the restaurant can continue to apply their craft . And so you know , when systems aren't talking to each other , when orders aren't showing up in the kitchen , like that creates chaos , and chaos spirals and cascades really quickly . That's why people call out sometimes , because they don't wanna go tomorrow to deal with that . So they're like , yeah , I'm not feeling it , I'm not gonna show up . Well , I can't tell you how many times we get a text through our platform says hey , team , could you shut down all the items on the kitchen menu ? Because we had a call out . And Most of our restaurants don't have that problem because people aren't kind of , just , like you know , bail out of frustration . Because we're removing that frustration Exactly . It's giving them their time , their brain space , their hearts back and let them use those for more positive things and chasing down a technology problem that they never signed up to have to solve on their own .
Speaker 1Amen . So , with all that being said , who's someone that deserves an ovation in the restaurant industry ? Who's someone that we should be following you ?
Speaker 2know I wish I'd done my homework a little better because I'll bet you this person has been named and if they have , I've got a backup . I've got two , but I'm going to name one of my favorites is Rev Ciancio Love Rev and I'll tell you why Is because of his background , as you know , in marketing , but also as an operator and someone who has the world's most joyous , out loud love affair with restaurants of every stripe . You know all the way he's got a , he's got favorite QSRs . He knows where to get a piece of pizza at a convenience store , I'll bet and all the way on up to Michelin Star restaurants . His absolute love affair with hospitality and his commitment to it . He really serves as a connector for a lot of people . Like you know , if I could look at any of my best relationships within the restaurant community and he's in there somewhere like we could play , we could play six degrees of Rev and just say you know what ? Let's just play two degrees of Rev Two degrees of Rev .
Speaker 1I was going to say yeah , go further yeah . Yeah , rev Ciancio , someone that I just love . He's a personal friend . He's been , you know , an advisor for Evasion for years , he's been a customer for years and , like it's just so fun , he always has such great insights . I rarely , honestly , to be true , truthfully , andy , I rarely go a week without talking at Rev , like we're just , we're just that tight . He's just super amazing guy . So , but , andy , if people want to learn more about Science on Call , where should they go ?
Speaker 2Well , you can go . You can go all kinds of places . You can go to scienceoncallcom Check out our website , but also we're we're . We're on LinkedIn , at Science on Call . We're on Instagram and Twitter . I think we're still getting our footing with threads , but but we're out there and and we're the we're really the most accessible bunch in the world .
Speaker 2I would love for any of your listeners to have a hard problem that they just need to talk to somebody with you know about , and I'm not looking for business , I just want to help . That's my favorite thing to do in the world . Energy energizes me more than connecting people with solutions to the problems that they have , regardless if they're customers or not . That is is always secondary , and the last thing I would always end is with and I end pretty much every meeting with this is regardless of what your business is or what you're trying to solve for always let me know what I can do to help , just as a human being , because that's I find truly energizing and it's something that I find to be part of our culture as a company , and I would love to help spread that into other companies as well .
Speaker 1And for those who know Andy , know that he means that sincerely , and for those who don't , I'll tell you he does . Uh well , andy , for bringing some love and science onto this podcast
Ovation
Speaker 1. Today's Ovation goes to you . Appreciate all you do in the restaurant industry , my man . Thanks so much .
Speaker 2Absolute blast to talk to you .
Speaker 1Thanks for joining us today . If you liked this episode , leave us a review on Apple podcasts or your favorite place to listen . We're all about feedback here . Again , this episode was sponsored by Ovation , a two question SMS based actionable guest feedback platform built for multi unit restaurants . If you'd like to learn how we can help you measure and create a better guest experience , visit us at ovationupcom .