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
Consistency and Culture: Andy Rebhun of CAVA on Elevating Guest Experience
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Join us on this episode of Give an Ovation as we welcome back Andy Rebhun, the Chief Experience Officer at CAVA. With a rich background in leadership roles at Ford Motor Company, McDonald's, and El Pollo Loco, Andy shares invaluable insights into the restaurant industry's best practices.
We dive deep into the importance of consistency, culture, and authenticity in creating exceptional guest experiences. Whether you're a small restaurant brand or a large chain, Andy’s advice on building a guest-centric brand, breaking down silos, and developing a cohesive brand voice will help you elevate your restaurant’s success
Thanks, Andy!
Creating Five-Star Guest Experiences
Speaker 1Welcome to another edition of Give an Ovation , the restaurant guest experience podcast , where I talk to industry experts to get their strategies and tactics you can use to create a five-star guest experience . This podcast is sponsored by Ovation , an operations and guest recovery platform for multi-unit restaurants that gives all the answers without annoying guests . With all the questions . Learn more at OvationUpcom . Join guests with all the questions . Learn more at OvationUpcom . And today , back on the pod with us is Andy Rebin , the Chief Experience Officer at Kava . He was in leadership positions at Ford Motor Company McDonald's and he was the CMO of El Pollo Loco . Andy , stoked to have you on the podcast .
Speaker 2Zach , thanks for having me . Great to see you again .
Speaker 1And you know , obviously you've had such an interesting career and we're talking about it before we started this podcast . But from cars to Kava , tell me , like what , what lessons have held true in your , in your , career so far ?
Speaker 2You know , I think a lot of it is about culture and I've been very fortunate , through the organizations that I've been a part of , to learn about that culture People really spending the time to invest in you , grow . You allow you to make mistakes early on , and I've had a number of really great leaders that I've been fortunate enough to work for and have given me a lot of those leadership characteristics and qualities as I've transformed my career and been a part of great companies and so , similarly , kava has an incredible culture . I was fortunate to meet the chief people officer about three years ago . We stayed in touch and fortunate enough to have been offered a position after meeting the CEO and chief concept officer about what is it 15 months ago now ? So really great people and just continue to develop .
Speaker 1Well , and you have speaking of where you're at right now , I mean chief experience officer . Now , let's say that I've got you know , I'm a 10 , 20 location brand and I probably don't have room or I don't really have the ability to hire a chief experience officer . What do I do Like ? Am I just SOL , or can I still make it ?
Speaker 2I think you can still make it Look . A chief experience officer is a kind of a fun new type of title that you're seeing more and more brands adopt and it's really to enable that customer experience through and through . So what would traditionally have been a CMO or a chief digital that you're seeing more and more brands adopt and it's really to enable that customer experience through and through . So what would traditionally have been a CMO or a chief digital officer , a chief experience officer is intended to really drive that customer experience from . You know , looking up the restaurant on Google , trying to understand that customer's value through a loyalty program , defining the brand and retargeting customers through a unique value proposition . Also having catering as a subset of responsibilities , the customer service channel . So it's really taking what are all those individual customer touch points and having a single individual have the purview and responsibility to follow that customer through that journey .
Speaker 1So how do you break down those silos ? Customer through that journey . So how do you break down those silos ? Because today , those things that you explained are often like oh yeah , the catering person who's in that state , and the marketing person who actually we just outsourced to an agency and online ordering that we have someone who has a meeting once a month with Olo . Like I mean , right now all of that's so scattered , how do you centralize it ?
Speaker 2It's really about having right people , right roles , making sure that you have constant communication and touch bases with the leadership team , focusing on key priorities that you want to deliver for the business . Overall , I would just say communication is probably the biggest recipe for success . A lot of companies offer some sort of either in-person or hybrid approach to the way that they work and I found that constant communication and having those regular touch bases and meetings with key direct reports and , ultimately , the leadership team , is crucial to making it work . We are very fortunate at Kava . We have an incredible leadership team . We really focus on this concept of office of the CEO , where all the decisions that we make are truly empowered to build the business overall and really demonstrate how we can achieve great success as a collective and , ultimately , for Kava as a brand .
Speaker 1Love that . And now this is gonna be kind of a heavy question , andy . Okay , fire , given your role as chief experience officer , what is the most important aspect of guest experience nowadays ?
Speaker 2I think consistency , consistency , consistency in the way that the brand shows up . Whether you go into one of our 320 plus restaurant locations , you have that friendly team member who is making sure that they go out of their way to make the visit incredible , memorable . Give them the idea that every single visit that they have to a Kava location is going to be that similar type of experience . Whether you order through our digital ecosystem on first party or third party that food , that packaging , that experience is consistent across . Or if you order catering we offer catering in 22 of our locations today , making sure that if you're with family or friends or with coworkers , the food shows up the same way we want it to show up across all our different channels . So I think consistency is the key with that experience and we really go to great lengths to make sure that we're consistent across all our different platforms .
Speaker 1And I got to applaud you for something , andy . When I went back . I just went , you said that and I was like that sounds like familiar and I went and I checked my notes the last time you were on the podcast . You said consistency . I think that is saying something about how you feel about consistency , and your opinions have remained consistent . I think that is so true because you got to know what to expect and that consistency builds trust . Definitely , because if I go in and you know , sometimes I'm getting a big hooping scoop of something , and other times like a big scoop of protein , and other times it's a small scoop of protein and I don't really know what I'm gonna buy when I get there , and so there's something about knowing what you're gonna get and what you're gonna pay for it that allows you to feel that trust in in that brand , and it's it's a lot easier said than done , though , andy right yes , yes , I mean you look at just Kava's value proposition .
Speaker 2Right , it's a unique combination quality , relevance , convenience , experience . You talk about the bold flavors . The convenience I shared this , the digital channels being convenient , robust . The experience you walk into one of our dining rooms . We want you to have that hospitality , that welcome dining room experience . Um the relevance so mediterranean food it's ranked the healthiest diet seven years running . Um and gen z , you know talking about their , their flavor habits . They have a preference for bold , unique flavors that focus on wellness and we really feel like we have that offering at kava that's awesome .
Speaker 1And what ? What is a tactic that you've used to improve the guest experience ?
Speaker 2I think brand tone of voice is one thing that we really feel like we want to to get that same level of hospitality throughout all the different channels in which they choose to interact with Kava Anything from being accessible on social media . That's one of the things we pride ourselves on . Recent grand openings in Chicago and our social media manager got infiltrated with all these people who had incredible stories to share about how they built relationships with the brand and our social handles over the last three or four years , and they couldn't believe that a person actually existed that was talking to them . They , you know , for some reason , I think , had this , this thought that it was some sort of robot , but our social media manager just has done an incredible job of building that experience over time and it's reflected in just the way people show up , how excited they are when we open up in a new market and really just providing that accessibility over time has been something that I think differentiates Kava as a brand , because we really truly try to build that personal relationship with our guests .
Building Authentic Brand Consistency in Hospitality
Speaker 1And what would you recommend in terms of again going back to maybe a smaller restaurant chain ? How do you build that brand voice consistency Do you guys have a ? What does a brand doc look like for a restaurant and doing a brand voice ?
Speaker 2Yeah , look , I think it's making sure that over time , you develop things that truly make sense for the brand . Don't try to be something you're not . Show up authentically in the channels in which you choose to operate and don't try to make yourself a name in the moment . I think we're consistent again , consistency with the way we talk , the way we show up in the world . We truly we're consistent again . Consistency , um , uh , with the way we talk , the way we show up in the world . We truly feel like we have a unique place , um , at Kava , and we want to just make sure that we're continuing to double down on what we've shared externally . And you know team members internally are are subscribed to the , to the mantra , and I think for any brand that is really trying to figure out how they articulate themselves , it's really making sure that the way you choose to show up in the world is very intentional and consistent across the channels that you operate in .
Speaker 1I love that because , as I think around what I guess it's so hard to try to play an act every single day and something that someone told me a long time ago was I was trying to come up with like the values of Ovation , and I was trying to think around like what should this really be ? And someone said , you know , in the early days , the values of Ovation are the values of the founder , so what do you value ? And when I was able to do that , it just made it so much easier . And Ovation , it was able to be so much more authentic , because then we found people who believed in the same things , and so I wasn't trying to believe one thing when I was at work and another thing when I was at home . It was like just being authentic . And so I think taking that whole principle is making sure that you have the right values and the right brand voice and , as opposed to constantly trying to be something , just stand for what you believe in and then attract other people who believe in those same things .
Speaker 1And so you don't have to trick anyone and you don't have to get people to really shift their whole mentality , but find people who align with that , because there will be Definitely , and I think it shows up in the way we operate every single day .
Speaker 2Our mission statement is bringing heart , health and humanity to food , and you look at our founder , who's our CEO , one of our co-founders , brett Shulman , and Ted Zanonristos , who's still involved in the business as our chief concept officer . They're very much focused on delivering that every single day and I think everyone in the organization is subscribed to those standards and it's very much a part of how we decide , how we make decisions . Make sure it truly elevates us as a brand and the place that consumers perceive us in the world .
Speaker 1So what would you recommend ? What piece of advice would you give to restaurants ? Or maybe put another way , what do you often see restaurant brands doing wrong ?
Speaker 2Don't try to be something you're not . The customer is going to quickly call you out on it , whether it be the food , the atmosphere , brand marketing . If it's not in line with the value proposition , it's going to be very challenging for customers to really buy in and believe it . And I know I talked about this earlier . But telling your brand story , crafting that compelling narrative resonating with your audience , is very , very important . And I think the last piece is restaurants are in the business of hospitality , so make a difference in an area that matters to your guests and team members and is aligned and very authentic with your mission .
Speaker 1I love that , andy , that's I mean , let's take that , shorten it down , put it on a t-shirt . Man , love that . But do you have any examples of , maybe something that you or someone on your team really wanted to push forward ? And again , be it McDonald's , el Pollo Loco , cava , that you were able to be like ? This doesn't feel authentic , that you ended up pulling back , Like I don't know if El Pollo Loco ever tried to do a Chinese chicken salad or something I don't know . Is there anything like that that you eventually had to pull back on ?
Speaker 2I think there's times where things don't see the light of day , but I would say part of that is a result of robust testing . So you always try to figure out as you're trying to come to market with a brand or idea . You want to get the consumer bought in early , make sure that they're receptive to the type of messaging you want to display , and so there's mechanisms you do that . There's brand studies you can do .
Speaker 2We obviously do product testing before we go to market , whether it be from a operations or marketing capacity , and so those are always things that we try to get better guess insights with data as a brand , to ultimately understand if a bet will pay off or not pay off . Sometimes there's a little bit of intuitiveness that comes as a result of making those decisions , but you ultimately try to understand the customer . The customer is key to success in every single avenue of the way you choose to operate comes as a result of making those decisions , but you ultimately try to understand the customer . The customer is key to success in every single avenue of the way you choose to operate , and so I would just say that making sure that you have a plan in place to do the robust testing to understand is this idea , is this product going to work with what you're trying to achieve as a brand ?
Speaker 1Love that . Who is someone that deserves a ovation in the restaurant industry ?
Speaker 2Oh good question , I would say ovation . I'm going to give a shout out to a brand that I feel like . I go there for special occasions , but Hillstone Restaurant Group . I just think their level of consistency across their portfolio is commendable . It's one of the reasons why I think I decided to go into the restaurant industry is I experienced that on special occasions as a kid . Hospitality that they continue to exhibit day in and day out Every single time I visit is admirable and it's a focus of their team members . It's the attention to details . It's consistent across all their properties that I've visited . So shout out to Hillstone . Job well done .
Speaker 1Awesome , and where can people go to learn more about Kava ? Or they want to follow some of your musings .
Speaker 2You're funny . You can go to kavacom or download the Kava app . It's available on the Apple App Store , google Play Store . We have 320 plus restaurants in 25 states and we have CPG products that are available in every single Whole Foods across the country . So if you can't , if there's not a restaurant nearby you , whole Foods certainly has our dips and spreads . They're delicious . I put them on everything when I'm not at a kava , so it's a really good way to taste our Mediterranean flavors and I absolutely love it .
Speaker 1Well , andy , for giving my hair and desire for consistency something to aspire to . Today's ovation goes to you . Thank you for joining us and give an ovation .
Speaker 2Thanks so much , Zach , for having me . Great to see you again .
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 .