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
Inside the Digital Kitchen Revolution with Markus Pineyro
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Markus Pineyro is not just a restaurant owner—he’s a visionary reshaping how we think about dining experiences. As the co-founder of OOMI Digital Kitchen, Markus has created a food hall that operates almost entirely through digital interactions, yet still boasts a remarkable 4.9-star rating. On this episode of Give an Ovation, we dive into how Markus has built a successful, customer-focused operation without the traditional face-to-face hospitality we expect from restaurants.
In this episode, Zack and Markus discuss:
- The innovative concept behind OOMI Digital Kitchen and how it's redefining guest service
- The importance of creating a seamless digital hospitality experience for off-premise diners
- How Markus and his team turn guest feedback into loyal customers through technology
- The value of using customer data to optimize marketing strategies
- Why complaints can be the most valuable feedback for long-term success
If you’ve ever wondered how to elevate the guest experience in a digital-first world, this episode with Markus Pineyro offers insightful takeaways for restaurants of any size.
Thanks, Markus!
Digital Food Hall Guest Experience
Zack OatesWelcome 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 . And today I am thrilled to have Marcus Pinheiro on the questions . Learn more at OvationUpcom . And today I am thrilled to have Marcus Pinheiro on the podcast . He's the co-founder of UMI Digital Kitchen . He's the founder of Urban Taco , the co-founder of Unit Skin Studio , the co-founder of Del Sur Restaurant Group . I mean , this guy , he is a founder at heart . He's been a phenomenal partner over the last year plus two years . It's been a minute and I had the privilege of going to Umi Kitchen and it was phenomenal . Such a cool experience . So , Marcus , welcome to the podcast , man .
Markus PineyroHey , thanks for having me . Man , Appreciate it . It's always nice to bump into you at the conferences and excited to talk to you here for this podcast .
Zack OatesWait . So you see me at some conferences . That's very unusual . I only get to conferences if you're not this podcast .
Markus PineyroWait , so you see me at some conferences . That's very unusual . I don't think it's a conference if you're not there officially .
Zack OatesWell , dude , for those who aren't familiar , marcus , with UMI , do you want to explain a little bit about what it is , because it is just such a cool spot .
Markus PineyroAbsolutely so . We're a digital food hall . We're located here in Dallas , texas . We run and operate our own digital brands out of one kitchen . We currently have eight brands and we are on our way to 10 by the end of the year . We dedicate ourselves to delivery and pickup . That's kind of like in our nature . We're not a ghost kitchen . We're not a dark kitchen . We are a digital food fog that has an actual . If you look behind me , that's a nice little picture of what our lobby looks like and it's just part of the experience we want to create an experience when people order pickup or order delivery .
Zack OatesYeah , and what prompted this idea ?
Markus PineyroYeah , so I've been in the industry for 17 years , traditionally as a brick and mortar operator , and towards the later years of my career , I started thinking about how I can rethink like the traditional restaurant P&L or the traditional restaurant model . So early 2020 , I started talking to my partner this is before COVID about , hey , like there's this new thing called there's ghost kitchens and like little dark kitchens and this intricacies about like how the restaurant space can change , you know , and I kind of saw a little bit of an opportunity or a window . And then COVID came and it was like hey , like let's just let me kind of manage through my regular businesses and make sure we all survive and we can come out of this alive and panic , Right ? So when COVID came out , I was in touch with my business partner and I was like hey , you know , I think that idea that we had , we were kind of onto something . Let's explore it a little bit further .
Markus PineyroSo it took us about a year or so to kind of develop like the right model or the right performance and something that we think would make sense , and we had different iterations . And then we ended up with UMI ASS currently and we're like hey , like , I think this is it , like let's go forward . And we went out and raised capital and we opened UMI in December of 2022 . So we've been open for about a year and eight months , I guess . So , yeah , and it's just been the concept has changed since just what we expected and what we thought about UMI , as any other business like , you evolve and you change and you adapt . So , yeah , we think that we're kind of getting closer to what we think is the next iteration of UMI and where we see UMI a few years from now .
Zack OatesI guess kind of two parts is . You've got a really interesting model because people are only coming in there . It's not like a super crazy busy place in terms of like you don't have tons of seating , you don't have servers . So how do you think about the guest experience ? Busy place in terms of like you don't have tons of seating , you don't have servers , yeah . So how do you think about the guest experience ?
Markus PineyroYeah . So for us , I mean we think about the guest experience from start to finish , right , and I think that's kind of where you guys come in and have . You guys have become like an integral part of everything we do . So you know , you said it right Like we don't have waiters , we don't have front of house staff . We have managers that run the restaurant , run the kitchen , expedite . We know we have our great cooks in the kitchen but we have nobody in the front of house , like there's no one doing customer service .
Markus PineyroBut the crazy thing is that we hold a 4.9 Google rating review with over 350 reviews or something . I got to check the numbers but we're close to 350 , which is a pretty decent number , but we average 4.9 . I don't think there's another restaurant in Dallas and I've been trying to back check in and actually figure it out but I really do not think there's another restaurant in Dallas that has a higher rating than us and we have no front of house staff . So when you read our reviews , the common thread is for me , coming from brick and mortar , like food was the most important component , right ? So our food apparently is really good , it's consistent , and that's part of our reviews , and it's always good food , excellent customer service , awesome food , phenomenal customer service , awesome food , phenomenal customer service . And I kept seeing it , seeing it , seeing it , and I started thinking about it . I was like , wow , that's great . How are people like raving about our customer service if we have almost no interaction with the customer ? And I started really thinking about it and obviously like there's a small interaction .
Markus PineyroWhen the customer comes in and they see us , we wave . You know , if I'm there , I usually sit down and talk . You know I tend to like start a conversation , but really , like , most of our interaction is digital . They place an order on their phone or our app , they pick up their food from a locker , they take it home and then they get an ovation text and that's it . That's our flow . But everything that we do from our packaging to how we react and how we leverage Ovation and how we leverage our communication , how we follow up with them , like how we solve issues with our own drivers and refire food and we're using Empowered Delivery , which has also kind of catapulted our customer service , and how we also interact , having our own drivers being able to communicate directly with a customer and have that back and forth communication .
Markus PineyroSo , once you have that flow going , apparently it gives us , like we have great customer service , but there's almost no human interaction that I can think of . That's like significant , like the opportunity , like think about like somebody picking up food and you're never going to see a human ever again . Yeah , that would be disastrous for us . I can't imagine like , if we can't fix problems and we can communicate with a customer , we have no business . So that's why , like to me , I've told you from day one I think I came up to you at a conference . Hey , like the first time I met you , I'm like , hey , my name is Marcus , I'm with UMI , like I love your product and I'm a huge fan . And then , like I know , we have a lot of common friends and we started connecting . And then , like you know , now we , every time we see each other , it's a good time , but I am a genuine fan of everything that Ovation has done . It's part of our flow and part of our success . I get into what we've been doing for the last almost two years .
Zack OatesWell , I appreciate that and , honestly looking at it , by the way , you are at 350 Google reviews on the button , 4.9 stars Like that is incredible , and I always talk about Ovation as like a . It's a great tool , but it requires someone who knows how to use it and who actually cares about the guest experience , right .
Markus PineyroTo me , like people are using Ovation . They're out there . I still think that they're under utilizing it or they're not using it in the way that we're using it , and I think that's something that like for us , like it's my thing with technology is like I'm an operator , I'm a restaurant guy . Like I make tacos . That's what I've been doing for the last 17 years . I started my Mexican food restaurant 17 years ago and that's like I'm not taquero , that's what I am . But now people like you that have innovated and advanced all these great technologies , for me , like the biggest thing I can do is just leverage it as much as I can , and that's what . Like . When I look at Ovation , I'm like okay , what can I do different ? What can I implement ? So , yeah , I mean there's so many little intricacies in Ovation that just I think people like need to know more about it and figure out all these little hacks . We have hacks that we use for like Uber Eats . We have hacks that we use for Ovation . Like we're trying to figure out what extra step we can take to touch the customer one more time or communicate with them . Like to me , like my biggest pet peeve for , like in restaurants , like and I see it a lot Like . I see it with huge franchise , like national groups .
Markus PineyroYou go in , you submit your name for a newsletter , you submit yourself for SMS marketing . I give out my information because I want to check your flow . I want to see how the big guys are doing it . I want to see what Homeboy over here is doing , I want to see what Kaba is doing , I want to see what their flow looks
Enhancing Digital Guest Experience Through Feedback
Markus Pineyrolike .
Markus PineyroAnd you'd be surprised , so many of these big names and big marketing departments that restaurants have . They're not even following up with a customer . They're not sending me follow-up messages , they're not sending any type of communication and I just gave you the rights and everything that you needed to communicate with me . And if I go eat at your restaurant and you don't reach out to me , the chances of me forgetting your restaurant are much higher than coming back . So for us , like you come to a restaurant , like you better , you're going to hear from us , like we're going to be in touch with you very politely , and we're going to give you , whether it's promotional , whether it's informational , but we're going to serve you the right information at the right time . That's just part of our flows , but we're going to be in touch , and Ovation helps us do that .
Zack OatesAnd I think that the way that you have approached hospitality from a digital perspective is most restaurants are relying on their front staff , their front of house staff , to actually be the hospitality portion of their business . But because you don't have any , you've had to create such an intense digital hospitality footprint and you've been able to do that so well because that's the channel that you have . Now , the beautiful thing is what you're doing for your off-prem guest is what every restaurant should be doing with their off-prem guest .
Markus PineyroYeah , a hundred percent .
Zack OatesBut it's a different channel and we need to look at it differently and treat digital guests as if that is the only thing that we have . And if you do that , and if you think about it that way , then things like you're talking about the post-survey visit , following up with every single guest . That becomes obvious because those guests are so important .
Markus PineyroFor us every guest . They're not incremental to us . Off-premise is our business , so we see it as we are . Off-premise , first , we can't let any guest go untouched . And in a restaurant it's like you touch a table , the manager touches the table , the server touches the table , the bartender like the busboy , like there's all these touch points . You know that's what you learn in brick and mortar . It's like , hey , go touch tables , go touch tables . Like for us , we don't have tables and we don't have managers , so we have to create this digital footprint and we're gonna eventually grab you at some point , whether it's through an email , an SMS , a follow-up survey , like to me .
Markus PineyroLike another opportunity is and I've seen it . Like we have the data to back it up . It's like we're not perfect , right there . Like we're not perfect , right , there's no restaurant is perfect . Like there's going to be hiccups , there's going to be issues , there's going to be people that even if you do the perfect dish , they're not going to like it . It's too spicy , too salty , whatever it is To me like I salivate when I get a complaint on Ovation oh , my wings were too spicy .
Markus PineyroI'm like perfect , that is a person that I'm going to turn into a long-term customer . Like I'm going to convert that customer myself . I mean , most of the time I do personal messages . I love your AI tool , by the way , and like your AI answering service , like it's phenomenal , like it's . I mean , I use that as like a backbone and then I add , like my custom stuff to it , but like I can turn those customers around and I can see them . Like , once I turn them around and I'll comp your mail , I'll send you a coupon like a promo code , and then I started seeing that customer come back and I know they're coming back and they're following up with me and they're saying , hey , I went again and hey , you were right , it was so good .
Markus PineyroLike you can go to like our Google reviews . Like there's people that will tell you like , hey , like this is a re-review . Like the first time I went , it wasn't great , this happened , but now you know I talked to Marcus . Now it's like I love Boomi . I'm a customer for life . Like we get that over and over and over .
Markus PineyroSo when we get those negative reviews or negative feedback , we convert those . Those are like going to be customers that we convert . So it's almost like an ad that really worked and we can see the return on the investment on that customer , and so I think those are some of the things that people initially , you're like upset , like why isn't this person complaining ? Why is this person complaining ? But you want to get those negative feedbacks , like we've picked so many dishes just by people telling us , hey , the cheese was melted too much or hey , my fries were soggy or whatever . Whatever the issue is , we go back to our team and we say , hey , this is what we got . This is a trend , we've got to fix it . So we go in and improve the dishes right away .
Zack OatesThat's what I'm talking about in terms of people who care , because that doesn't just happen with a piece of technology . That happens because they have a leader like you , marcus , who is getting in there and saying this is not just an incremental channel that I want to be okay at . This is not just an incremental channel that I want to be okay at . This is our full focus , that we need to be excellent at , and I think that it's really impressive to have a 4.9 with no on-prem , because normally off-prem is one and a half stars lower than the average review . You can't have a 6.4 out of five .
Markus PineyroIt boggles my mind , but at the end of the day , it's the team , it's the people making the food , and then it's also like just having the systematic approach on what happens after the customer gets their food . But yeah , it's very interesting it's .
Markus PineyroI mean , I've managed full service restaurants my entire life and it's always like people struggle with it . Like reviews are brutal because , like somebody eats a great meal , it's very unlikely they're going to go and leave you a review . There's not a lot of people reviewing stuff like these days . Like Yelp is a cesspool and I don't know if your partners with Yelp or not , but I'm not a Yelp guy . I've never believed in it . But people don't tend to go out of their way to leave great reviews , but when it's a bad one , they're more likely to leave a bad review . So , typically , like it's hard to have really good reviews even if you have great food . So for us , like we're just chugging along and it's they just keep pouring in and it's we just keep doing what we're doing . Like hey , whatever we're doing is working , just keep doing it , and we just keep pushing , pushing .
Zack OatesLove that . What advice would you have if someone is thinking about ovation man ?
Markus PineyroI think that if you're not willing to get the feedback from your customers after they leave your restaurant , then you're not doing it right . And like it just doesn't make sense to me . Like , why wouldn't you want to hear this great information ? Like there's also like one of my favorite tools is after each customer . Most of our customers will get a feedback survey the next day , right , so you got to be careful . Like you don't want to get overwhelming , you don't want to keep sending these texts , but we send a text to the customer 24 hours after the initial text and we ask them a simple survey . Hey , we want to ask you a couple questions . Would you be willing to fill out a survey for a $5 promo code ? Like , we're incentivizing you .
Markus PineyroGive us one more piece of information , and that piece of information is how did you hear about us ? Like , and I checked that and tracked that religiously and that's a small little hack by our friend Rev . Like he's also an innovation hacker and he's like I've learned so much from him . And like that's one of the things that we worked on together and it's awesome Like to me to have that data and know . Like okay , 20% of my customers are coming from social media . 30% are coming because they live in the area .
Markus Pineyro10% saw a Facebook ad . Like it's invaluable . You know what that solves . I think ever since I started restaurants and every restaurateur I've talked to , nobody's really been able to really tell you if your billboards or your ads or your coupons or anything like that , if it really works . We're just throwing money out the marketing agencies or the marketing gods and hoping that something sticks . But that really solves it . Like we don't know where every customer is coming from , but we have enough of a sample size because we're getting hundreds of these questionnaires filled out , so we know , like this is where most of our customers are coming from . So that solves that question .
Zack OatesYeah , and as you increase budget in , like your online ads , and you don't see anything bump up in online ads , maybe that's not the right place to put it Right .
Markus PineyroSo I think that you can do it by week , two weeks , three weeks and exactly like depends on how . What I'm doing with marketing , I start seeing like hey , look , it's picking up on social , it's picking up from influencers . Hey , our direct mail campaign is working because we're starting to see a little bump over the last seven days compared to 30 days ago . So is working because we're starting to see a little bump over the last seven days compared to 30 days ago . So , yeah , I mean it's just one little hack . It's something that's not that we created or we implemented that Ovation allows us to do , but it's not necessarily a part of the Ovation flow . Yes , Something we created and we hacked it .
Zack OatesI think that's beautiful because , yeah , not a lot of people even know that we can do additional follow-up questions , and so it's great to see people use it , and it's great to see people coming up with really clever ways to use that . Now , marcus , who is someone in the restaurant industry that you think deserves an ovation ? Oh boy .
Markus PineyroI'd say Meredith Sandlin . Oh , I love her .
Zack OatesI was just hanging out with her this week .
Markus PineyroAnd I've told her . It's like hey , the first conference I ever went to , you signed my delivering the . You know the rest . What's it called ? Delivering the digital restaurant ? Yeah , delivering the digital restaurant . I went in there after her patent on it and I asked her to sign it and now she's a great friend of the business and a great friend of mine . So , yeah , I think she's doing great things in the industry and she's one of the few people that generally understands digital restaurants , and she's like the queen of digital restaurants as I see it , yeah amen .
Zack OatesNow , Marcus , where can people go to follow you or your brands ?
Markus PineyroYeah , so I don't have a lot of social media stuff , but I am pretty OBCD on the Add With Me Kitchen , like that's pretty much my account . I check it every day , tend to respond to a lot of the direct messages and things like that . So , yeah , that's my personal , but it's also the business and any social media network around word At Umi Kitchen Awesome .
Zack OatesWell , Marcus , for making us go Umi for digital . Today's ovation goes to you . Thank you for joining us on Give an Ovation . I appreciate it . Thanks 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 .