Olo

📹 Leading restaurants like bartaco, California Fish Grill, and First Watch Restaurants trust Olo to deliver visibility and deep insights into guest preferences and behavior. Download our ebook on guest lifetime value to learn how your brand can attract and retain more loyal guests. https://bit.ly/49TcDEb

Tomorrow is #NationalWaffleDay I remember long drives from Miami to Orlando as a kid - spotting those tall signs would give us hope that it was time for a break and some waffles, no matter what time of day it was! Sitting at a similar booth years later with Noah Glass is a surreal experience. Working at Olo and supporting beloved brands like Waffle House through their digital transformations is like the first bite of a pecan waffle. Thank you Patrick Marshburn and the entire Waffle House Team for the great partnership.  Hope you all enjoy #NationalWaffleDay tomorrow, great reason to order a waffle and give Borderless a spin while you're at it!

Is this your reality? 🫣 Catering has the power to easily 10x weekly store sales, but your existing tech may be creating nightmare-ish hurdles, and at what cost? We created a guide to show you how to hit the ground running with a fully integrated catering solution: https://lnkd.in/dkiN3ZYX

Check please!!!  While I now have some fun pictures of my family waiting for the check over the years, I would much rather have been able to “get up and go”, at least to have the option to leave when we were ready. I’m still thinking about that Pete Wells article read ‘round the industry. Many in restaurant tech have responded with thoughtful rebuttals. Kristen Hawley delivered a fantastic round-up of industry perspectives in a recent edition of Expedite. As someone who dedicates most of my time to helping restaurant brands embrace digital transformation, I am compelled to share a few thoughts. At a foundational level, to quote Bobby Stuckey, ‘Service is what you do for someone; hospitality is how you make them feel.’ That magical feeling hasn’t gone anywhere. If anything, the opportunities and mediums to deliver that feeling have expanded. One such medium is Pay at Table. Wells eulogizes the traditional step of waiting for the bill. But what is more precious than the gift of time? Jennifer Panama and I have three young kids. Every minute is precious; every second saved from stress is like a gold mine. Wells estimates that he’s spent two months waiting for the bill. I can think of hundreds of ways I’d rather spend that time with my family. The same goes for kiosks. Shake Shack and Dave Harris empower employees to look up and see their guests, greet them with a smile, and provide a helping hand at the kiosk if needed. The same people-first culture and call to stand for something good Danny Meyer instilled in the original Shack staff are alive and thriving, enhanced by technology. I think that’s the differentiator– the best brands use technology not as a crutch but as a catalyst for their restaurant culture. Wells points out that guests emerged in a different form following the pandemic. This is true. Hospitality has evolved to meet guests where they are, no matter who they are. To know guests on this level and scale is only possible with technology. Because in this age, convenience and choice are mandates of hospitality. And personalizing the guest experience on an individual level is arguably the most advanced form of hospitality restaurant culture has ever had. 

When I was 12 (yep, just a kid!), I landed my first job as a busser at a local steakhouse. Part of my job was to attend to the salad bar wagon, no joke 😂. My best friend got me the gig, and while $4.25/hour paid in cash by the servers doesn’t seem like much, it was the start of something big. I quickly learned that hard work wasn’t just about making money—it was about making guests feel genuinely welcome. From refilling drinks to helping guests find their way, I discovered the power of a warm smile and a helping hand. Little did I know this would serve as the foundation of my hospitality career. When you go the extra mile to make guests feel genuinely taken care of, they remember, they return, and they reward you with their loyalty. And, when you hitch your wagon to brands that prioritize the guest experience, you’ll go far.

Have you ever read an article or visited a hyper-growth restaurant and wondered how they do it? In a recent webinar, leaders from Dave's Hot Chicken and bartaco shared how they scale their brands and drive profitable traffic. Watch the full webinar: https://lnkd.in/eExnnVyC 💡 Leon Davoyan, EMBA, Scott Lawton, Hillary Holmes

Here to make the work week a little less stressful ✌️

#NoKidHungry, Share Our Strength's national campaign focused on ending childhood hunger in the U.S., recently announced the CEO Pledge to End Summer Hunger, a national movement uniting CEOs across industries to help increase the reach of summer meals programs from 2.8 to 30 million children. Signatories include CEOs from leading brands:  Chipotle Mexican Grill Denny's Dutch Bros Coffee Fogo de Chão Inspire Jack in the Box Macy's Olo Tropical Smoothie Cafe Union Square Hospitality Group Learn more about the initiative here:  https://lnkd.in/eN3eHWd5

This one got me a little choked up... Just a beautiful story of good people loving on good people. Introducing the next edition of Unreasonable Hospitality Out in the World. This one submitted by Hayley Vong of Charleston, South Carolina. Jaime- YOU ROCK!! #unreasonablehospitality

During Excelsior!, Olo's new employee orientation program, music and food bring people together from Day 1. L. Kevin Newsome leads two Excelsior! classes every month for incoming new hires and explains how the program goes beyond introducing new employees to the company. Listen to the full Excelsior! playlist, which captures every new Oloite's favorite song: https://spoti.fi/43CG1Nr