WEBVTT - Ziosk’s Howard on Lifting Sales, Ops Via Digital

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Chopping It Up. I'm your host, Mike Hanlon,

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<v Speaker 1>the senior Restaurant and Food Service Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

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<v Speaker 1>Our research and that at bi's five hundred analysts around

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<v Speaker 1>the globe can be found exclusively on the Bloomberg terminal.

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<v Speaker 1>If you enjoy the pod, I'd love it if you'd

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<v Speaker 1>leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. Today we're

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<v Speaker 1>joined by Raymond Howard, co founder and chief revenue and

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<v Speaker 1>Growth officer of Xiosk. It's nice to meet you, Raymond.

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<v Speaker 2>Great to meet you, Mike, Thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure thing, man, So how did ziosk come to be?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh? Man, I tell you. I'll give you this short version.

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<v Speaker 2>There's certainly a much longer story. But you know, I'd

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<v Speaker 2>had a lot of passion about starting a business going

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<v Speaker 2>into graduate school back in the early two thousands, after

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<v Speaker 2>spending probably a decade in corporate America, and it went

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<v Speaker 2>back to SMU got my at that time, and around

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<v Speaker 2>two thousand and three, two thousand and five, and finished

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<v Speaker 2>up then and know it happened to meet a couple

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<v Speaker 2>of a couple of weather guys there and got to

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<v Speaker 2>know them and we had very similar interest just in

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<v Speaker 2>our desire to launch a business and were part of

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<v Speaker 2>a entrepreneurship class coincidentally, and this whole idea of being

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<v Speaker 2>able to pay at the table really birthed out of

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<v Speaker 2>that class. We took it on as a term project.

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<v Speaker 2>We really launched the idea and try to come up

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<v Speaker 2>with something different and unique around solving a problem in

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<v Speaker 2>the industry that everybody has. We certainly experienced it as

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<v Speaker 2>professionals in corporate America who were constantly traveling impatiently trying

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<v Speaker 2>to get out of restaurants like a lot of consumers today.

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<v Speaker 2>And really the whole idea of being able to pay

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<v Speaker 2>at the table, or what we think about is paying

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<v Speaker 2>on demand, really launched out of an NBA class, and

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<v Speaker 2>we really incubated the idea for the better part of

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<v Speaker 2>a year year and a half, worked on nights and

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<v Speaker 2>the weekend, sort of a year after graduating over the

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<v Speaker 2>NBA and went back and I looked around town at

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<v Speaker 2>Dallas and in other places for funding and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>lo and behold. Our professor at that time was a

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<v Speaker 2>guy by the name of Jack Bam who was a

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<v Speaker 2>serio entrepreneur had previously bought a concept called Kozamels from

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<v Speaker 2>Brinker International and had launched and sold another restaurant brand,

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<v Speaker 2>and so we ended up partner with him and we

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<v Speaker 2>all launched the business together back in the you know,

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<v Speaker 2>late two thousands and sort of the rest is history.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's a cool backstory, man. I'm sure the products

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<v Speaker 1>evolved a lot over the last decade, especially post pandemic.

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<v Speaker 2>It has, you know, the pandemic I think was a

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<v Speaker 2>marker for the industry. It was a marker for us.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, we had we had focused a lot in

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<v Speaker 2>the early days around operational efficiency, really solving the pain

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<v Speaker 2>of giving consumers more convenience and control the experience, and

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<v Speaker 2>there was so much happening, you know, more broadly in

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<v Speaker 2>the industry in retail and other places around self service,

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<v Speaker 2>and we were really trying to find a way of

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<v Speaker 2>just eliminating those friction points in the dining experience, particularly

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<v Speaker 2>around casual dining. But you know, as time has gone by,

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<v Speaker 2>we really expanded the platform to really just a full

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<v Speaker 2>comprehensive Sweetest Solutions to address a lot of the pain

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<v Speaker 2>points and inefficiencies and the restaurant you know, not just

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<v Speaker 2>in casual dining, but today even beyond and to find dining,

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<v Speaker 2>polished casual, and a number of places and really tackling

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<v Speaker 2>the the a lot of different digital touch points with

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<v Speaker 2>a consumer. And so even though it really started as

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<v Speaker 2>a payment on demand being the killer app, it's really

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<v Speaker 2>evolved there to become now a self service sort of

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<v Speaker 2>application for merchants to be able to digitally create and

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<v Speaker 2>change content, to make it more of a dynamic interaction

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<v Speaker 2>with their guests, to be able to drive and influence

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<v Speaker 2>you know, purchase behavior. Obviously we've extended that to include

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<v Speaker 2>you know, a lot of the things around loyalty. We

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<v Speaker 2>obviously do a great job of collecting guest insights and

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<v Speaker 2>data if you've seen some of the things that you know,

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<v Speaker 2>other publicly traded companies out back and others are talking

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<v Speaker 2>about in the industry today. So we collect you know,

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<v Speaker 2>survey data from probably forty five percent of the guest

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<v Speaker 2>of the ninety percent now that are actually paying at

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<v Speaker 2>the table. And so certainly the adoption since we launch

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<v Speaker 2>the business has dramatically changed, and covid has done a

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<v Speaker 2>lot to really create more of that self service environment.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, one of the business levers and I

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<v Speaker 2>think business drivers have changed for a lot of the

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<v Speaker 2>brands over time, and certainly our focus is continuing to evolve.

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<v Speaker 2>The killer app still becomes pay at the table, and

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<v Speaker 2>that's really a lot at the driver of the of

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<v Speaker 2>the platform.

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<v Speaker 1>Interesting the survey data is that are those your proprietary

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<v Speaker 1>surveys or do you have a third party that integrates

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<v Speaker 1>into your software.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's our survey platform, Mike, and oftentimes that's modeled

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<v Speaker 2>after what the brand is really looking to learn from

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<v Speaker 2>the restaurant. You know, there's somewhat handicapped today in that

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<v Speaker 2>most brands will only get thirty or forty responses per

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<v Speaker 2>restaurant per month. We, on the other hand, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>after going through a deployment, will will give them a

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<v Speaker 2>thousand plus and so now you start to change the

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<v Speaker 2>dynamic of the types of questions that you can ask.

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<v Speaker 2>And some of our customers will have one hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>fifty questions and their bank but you know, any given

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<v Speaker 2>customer may only answer seven. And I think part of

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<v Speaker 2>that is because it's guest facing, it's real time, it's dynamic.

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<v Speaker 2>We know exactly what's on the check. We can make

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<v Speaker 2>real time decisions about what we want to ask consumers

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<v Speaker 2>in the mother So when you think about brands that

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<v Speaker 2>are going through a brand transformation and they're trying to

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<v Speaker 2>re engineer a menu, and you want to get specific

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<v Speaker 2>data on an item that they're launching today, but you

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<v Speaker 2>want to have insights into that in three days, not

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<v Speaker 2>in two or three weeks. That's the kind of scale

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<v Speaker 2>that we can bring to your data and your insights.

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<v Speaker 1>Are any of your clients able to react fast enough

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<v Speaker 1>to those surveys to do kind of customer recovery?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so that's a great question. You know, today we're

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<v Speaker 2>not signaling to the brands in all cases. I will

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<v Speaker 2>say some brands are taking advantage of that where we

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<v Speaker 2>can message someone in the restaurant when we see a

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<v Speaker 2>one or two or low score. You can recover those.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, different brands, like I said, are leveraging the

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<v Speaker 2>platform in different ways. So it really just depends on

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<v Speaker 2>how they've implemented. There's a lot of flexibility there to

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<v Speaker 2>unlock value where brands want to take advantage of that.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's cool. It's a great opportunity. How much faster

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<v Speaker 1>are your clients earning their tables?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it ranges. We I would say on the

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<v Speaker 2>low end, we're definitely seeing five minutes plus, and a

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<v Speaker 2>number of our brands have been very public about that,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I think out back most recently, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>mentioned five minutes. We've historically seen you know, upwards of

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<v Speaker 2>seven minutes from some of even our customers that went

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<v Speaker 2>on the platform in twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen. Dard was

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<v Speaker 2>one of those that was public about some of the

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<v Speaker 2>early results. And in some cases we've seen nine minutes.

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<v Speaker 2>And so it kind of depends on the profile of

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<v Speaker 2>the customer and how they operate today as to how

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<v Speaker 2>much of the inefficiencies we can take out of the process.

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<v Speaker 2>But for us, you know, that's always a win. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>with some of our more recent products, with the handheld

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<v Speaker 2>devices that were dropping off at the table as opposed

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<v Speaker 2>to the tabletop devices that sit on the table, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>because it's not on demand, you're still waiting on an

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<v Speaker 2>employee or server to drop that device off. Your GENA

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<v Speaker 2>typically see a few minutes us, but it's still, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>for a lot of brands, very meaningful impact to operational efficiency.

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<v Speaker 1>And those drop off as that more geared towards.

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<v Speaker 2>Some of the fine dining, it is, yes, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>are you know, we're finding some fine dining brands like

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<v Speaker 2>the notion of having servers have tablets they can use

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<v Speaker 2>for ordering, But in many cases they don't want to

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<v Speaker 2>lose the hospitality and that fine dining feel of the

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<v Speaker 2>eye contact and so they but they still want to

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<v Speaker 2>have a digital payment experience where they can then still

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<v Speaker 2>get data and still be able to capture sort of

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<v Speaker 2>payment in the moment when the guest is ready to leave.

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<v Speaker 2>And so you know, you're still going to see an

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<v Speaker 2>impact there, just not to the extent that you would

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<v Speaker 2>with a device on the table.

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<v Speaker 1>Interesting, uh, and I'd imagine tips and guest satisfaction gets

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<v Speaker 1>a boost.

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<v Speaker 2>Tips, Yes, So we certainly see a tip tip increase

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<v Speaker 2>in the brands that we're in. The guest satisfaction you know,

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<v Speaker 2>my well, I would tell you since COVID has probably

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<v Speaker 2>been an even bigger dynamic because the labor constraints and

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<v Speaker 2>even I think the talent pool has been, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>in a much more challenging place for most brands, and

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<v Speaker 2>so in you know, in a pre COVID scenario where

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<v Speaker 2>we were very much playing a role in labor savings,

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<v Speaker 2>and obviously we continue to see wages increase in certain

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<v Speaker 2>places today, we're becoming more and more I would say,

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<v Speaker 2>not an ancillary part of the dining experience has shifted

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<v Speaker 2>more into a necessary part of the dining experience, because

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<v Speaker 2>brands know that they need to be able to improve

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<v Speaker 2>the guest satisfaction because that's a future indicator of sales.

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<v Speaker 2>And we've proven time and time again that attentiveness improves,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, server attentiveness improves, your overall dining experience improves,

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<v Speaker 2>and so we're no, we're making an impact on guest satisfaction.

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<v Speaker 1>And you kind of touched on this, but are many

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<v Speaker 1>of your customers eliminating servers after installing their CIS tablets?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it varies by brand and certainly by geography. Frankly,

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<v Speaker 2>so if you're really focused on let's say the West Coast,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we now have brands on the platform that

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<v Speaker 2>are very deliberate about having a tablet in the hand

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<v Speaker 2>of the server that's specifically focused on ordering and moving,

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<v Speaker 2>and really that frees them up to really focus on

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<v Speaker 2>hospitality and what I would say are high value engagements

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<v Speaker 2>with the guest where they're building relationship and they're building

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<v Speaker 2>check But then they've separated the things that are more

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<v Speaker 2>transactional that the guests quite frankly, are more than happy

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<v Speaker 2>and prefer just to do themselves at scale, which is

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<v Speaker 2>around payment, loyalty survey, ordering another round of drinks. And

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<v Speaker 2>so we're seeing more and more in high labor markets

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<v Speaker 2>that those processes are being bifurcated. Now a low labor markets,

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<v Speaker 2>you still have some states that are two fifteen, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>three dollars an hour. Most of those brands we see

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<v Speaker 2>are leaning more toward one of the other solution, and

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<v Speaker 2>obviously high favorability toward tabletop because of the you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the business model of the ROI that we can provide.

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<v Speaker 2>So it really depends by geography and by brand.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd imagine there's some upsell opportunities too, right, I'd imagine,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, drink sales would probably increase, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, yes, And you know, it's part of the beauty

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<v Speaker 2>of bringing digital to the table as opposed to some

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<v Speaker 2>of the more static things that are historically been in dining,

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<v Speaker 2>which are bar books or table tents, you know, in

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<v Speaker 2>some respects, then the fact that we're now bringing a

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<v Speaker 2>self service content management platform to marketers is a dream

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<v Speaker 2>for them because now they can not just take static images,

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<v Speaker 2>they can create video that helps to create a compelling

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<v Speaker 2>story in a very enticing, appetitive pill for drinks or

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<v Speaker 2>appetizers or desserts. And it's not just about delivering it.

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<v Speaker 2>It's about delivering with the right message at the right time.

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<v Speaker 2>So breakfast you may have, you know, one specific promotion.

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<v Speaker 2>Lunch and dinner you may have different promotions. Happy hours

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<v Speaker 2>you may have different promotions. But even beyond just the

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<v Speaker 2>day part, we can get granular even during that forty

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<v Speaker 2>or fifty minute experience, so that you're only really focused

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<v Speaker 2>on seeing desserts during the latter thirty minutes of the experience.

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<v Speaker 2>And so now we're getting very specific about what we're

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<v Speaker 2>trying to drive to create impulse purchase and stimulate sales

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<v Speaker 2>during that fifty minute experience. And so, you know, the

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<v Speaker 2>CMO of Miller's Hell House, you know, was recently talking

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<v Speaker 2>about that and some of the recent press release, and

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<v Speaker 2>you know, those kind of things are game changers for

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<v Speaker 2>a marketer when you can give them that kind of

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<v Speaker 2>latitude down to a day part or down to a

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<v Speaker 2>restaurant to make it very specific. And I think that's

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<v Speaker 2>just the beginning when you start thinking about personalization and

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<v Speaker 2>the journey to personalization, which everybody's on today. How do

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<v Speaker 2>you now start to think about marketing to certain types

0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:18.840
<v Speaker 2>of personas and individuals as opposed to everybody universally just

0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:21.880
<v Speaker 2>inside the full walls of an individual restaurant. And so

0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:23.480
<v Speaker 2>that's kind of the journey that we're on.

0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:26.559
<v Speaker 1>Very cool, and it sounds like you've touched on some

0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:29.199
<v Speaker 1>of them. But how does the differentiate itself in an

0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:31.520
<v Speaker 1>increasingly crowded restaurant tech space.

0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:36.479
<v Speaker 2>It's you know, it's interesting. We are we're highly differentiated

0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:40.520
<v Speaker 2>than what we do. Certainly, you know, from the idea

0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:46.280
<v Speaker 2>of being guest facing technology that's always available. We're very

0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.400
<v Speaker 2>differentiated from mobile. You know. I heard it said once

0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:51.680
<v Speaker 2>when we started the business from a CEO of a

0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.839
<v Speaker 2>very large, publicly traded brand. You said, you know, when

0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:58.280
<v Speaker 2>it comes to digital, I would rather control the brand

0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:01.800
<v Speaker 2>experience at the table then relegate it to the consumer

0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.360
<v Speaker 2>to control and opt in on their mobile phone, because

0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:07.080
<v Speaker 2>we'll never win that battle. And I think he's right,

0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:09.839
<v Speaker 2>and so I think the screen at the table and

0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.880
<v Speaker 2>on the table really does a great job of engaging

0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:16.440
<v Speaker 2>the consumer and certainly allow them to opt in in

0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.920
<v Speaker 2>the way that's meaningful for them. But it gives brand

0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:21.120
<v Speaker 2>the brand the tools to be able to deliver the

0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:24.200
<v Speaker 2>right message at the right time to the consumers in

0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:27.080
<v Speaker 2>such a way that they can control that brand message.

0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:30.880
<v Speaker 2>So that's highly differentiated, you know, I would say the

0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:35.440
<v Speaker 2>other thing is we're very much agnostic to partners. You know,

0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.640
<v Speaker 2>we're not the point of cell system, but we partner

0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.040
<v Speaker 2>with all the point of cell systems. We partner with

0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:45.800
<v Speaker 2>processors in gateways and loyalty platforms, and so we're not

0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:48.760
<v Speaker 2>trying to walk into a brand today and change their

0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:52.080
<v Speaker 2>whole tech stack. We're trying to approach them in a

0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:55.160
<v Speaker 2>way that's very frictionless and easy just to plug into

0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:58.880
<v Speaker 2>their existing tech stack to minimize the amount of disruption

0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:02.480
<v Speaker 2>that they're to incur to be able to opt to

0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:04.760
<v Speaker 2>a platform like ours that's smart.

0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.040
<v Speaker 1>Pos changes cause a lot of disruption, so I know

0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:11.280
<v Speaker 1>restaurant tours try to avoid it at all costs.

0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:13.480
<v Speaker 2>It's it's a big lift, you know, as you know,

0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.480
<v Speaker 2>and some brands depend on you know who they are,

0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.760
<v Speaker 2>you know, they oftentimes can view those types of platforms

0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:24.680
<v Speaker 2>as an expense. And I think what's interesting about our

0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:27.880
<v Speaker 2>platform is, you know, we can demonstrate that we can

0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:32.240
<v Speaker 2>drive sales, that we can improve operational efficiencies, we can

0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:34.520
<v Speaker 2>give you a great guest experience, we can deliver a

0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:37.640
<v Speaker 2>feedback and a scalable way that you just can't get

0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.880
<v Speaker 2>at any other place. But we're also a revenue producing platform,

0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:47.880
<v Speaker 2>and that we create opportunities to drive revenue through our

0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.720
<v Speaker 2>own entertainment offerings, and that becomes a revenue that we

0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:56.160
<v Speaker 2>then share back with the brands to subsidize the platform cost,

0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:59.640
<v Speaker 2>to lower the hurdle for them on an ongoing basis.

0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:03.680
<v Speaker 2>And so it makes a very very partnership discussion, which

0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.400
<v Speaker 2>we always view ourselves as a partner to our you know,

0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:08.640
<v Speaker 2>our to our customer, to our customers and to the

0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:15.320
<v Speaker 2>restaurant merchants as opposed to having a vendor vendor conversation.

0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:19.120
<v Speaker 1>What are the biggest revenue growth opportunities this year and next.

0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:24.239
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so we've you know, we've been very focused, Michael historically,

0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.400
<v Speaker 2>which is probably a typical for startup frankly, on a

0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:31.120
<v Speaker 2>lot of enterprise brands. And today I think we've got

0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:33.960
<v Speaker 2>six of the top ten already on the platform, and

0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:37.840
<v Speaker 2>obviously you know a number of those will continue to

0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:40.240
<v Speaker 2>add over the next twelve to twenty four months, and

0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.760
<v Speaker 2>so there's still a lot of enterprise growth for us.

0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:47.160
<v Speaker 2>You know, we have continued to expand our offerings into

0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:52.000
<v Speaker 2>fine dining, polish casual, you know, not just focused then

0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:56.800
<v Speaker 2>on one sector of casual dying, but expanding into adjacent

0:16:56.880 --> 0:17:00.200
<v Speaker 2>markets so that that will be that will create new

0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:03.560
<v Speaker 2>opportunities for us. We're obviously have a huge focus on

0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:09.040
<v Speaker 2>you know, middle market small business, and so that's creating

0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.600
<v Speaker 2>a lot of opportunity for us for growth as well

0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:15.720
<v Speaker 2>and hasn't been a huge focus for us historically, but certainly,

0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:18.800
<v Speaker 2>you know, we think that we can improve the operational

0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:22.400
<v Speaker 2>efficiency for all restaurants, regardless of size, and so we're

0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:27.080
<v Speaker 2>absolutely doubling down on and being very focused about that growth.

0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:30.080
<v Speaker 2>And then I think, you know, just beyond the tabletop

0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:34.760
<v Speaker 2>and the dining room, we've got handheld solutions now to

0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:38.160
<v Speaker 2>really position ourselves to be able to take and improve

0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:41.399
<v Speaker 2>the experience of guests and the team member behind the

0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:45.680
<v Speaker 2>bar for curbside and so really trying to address all

0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:51.760
<v Speaker 2>the friction points around payment, loyalty survey regardless of where

0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:53.119
<v Speaker 2>you are in the front of the house. And so

0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:56.800
<v Speaker 2>it's really a comprehensive suite of front of house those solutions,

0:17:56.840 --> 0:18:00.399
<v Speaker 2>and so that's that's happening in real time. There's a

0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:05.119
<v Speaker 2>lot that we're working on relative to AI, tokenization and personalization.

0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:08.000
<v Speaker 2>You know, there is a lot of interest and we

0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:11.360
<v Speaker 2>constantly hear feedback from brand saying, how can you help

0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.880
<v Speaker 2>us get more data? How can we understand more about

0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.800
<v Speaker 2>who our guests are? And so we have historically focused

0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:23.320
<v Speaker 2>on enabling and enhancing I would say, the loyalty members

0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:26.879
<v Speaker 2>for a brand, which is typically twenty five percent of

0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:30.840
<v Speaker 2>their guest, Well, what about the other seventy five percent

0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:34.000
<v Speaker 2>that you don't know who they are? And so now

0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:37.720
<v Speaker 2>we're very focused on helping them establish a digital relationship

0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.560
<v Speaker 2>with the other seventy five percent because we think that's

0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:45.040
<v Speaker 2>the growth engine for traffic going forward. And how because

0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:47.240
<v Speaker 2>we're sitting in front of the guest, can we help

0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:51.520
<v Speaker 2>you unlock and understand and build profiles around who those

0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:55.240
<v Speaker 2>consumers are to enable those brands to be able to

0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:58.840
<v Speaker 2>target and drive personalized offers to them.

0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:01.879
<v Speaker 1>Operations and market a great place to play. Man, it's

0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:04.040
<v Speaker 1>two of the most important things in the restaurant space.

0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:06.280
<v Speaker 1>And you're seeing a lot of chains that have struggled

0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:10.200
<v Speaker 1>over the last decade or so really focus on those

0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:12.160
<v Speaker 1>two to turn things around.

0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:16.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they really have. And you know, I would say

0:19:16.040 --> 0:19:18.840
<v Speaker 2>probably the big one of the big stories of that

0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:22.639
<v Speaker 2>recently obviously is Chili's and they've done a tremendous job

0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:27.359
<v Speaker 2>really marketing and getting people into the restaurant. But you know,

0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:30.359
<v Speaker 2>I think even they would say, marketing's job is to

0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:32.080
<v Speaker 2>get them to the restaurant, but then you have to

0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:34.840
<v Speaker 2>satisfy them and deliver on the promise when they get there,

0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:36.720
<v Speaker 2>to make sure they come back. And that's really where

0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:41.080
<v Speaker 2>operations comes in. And I would say what's interesting about

0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:44.639
<v Speaker 2>our position is we're really catering to both of those.

0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:48.159
<v Speaker 2>We're really trying to help them improve the experience of

0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:51.159
<v Speaker 2>the consumer while they're there, but we're also trying to

0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:53.960
<v Speaker 2>help marketing understand who their consumers are so they can

0:19:54.000 --> 0:19:55.359
<v Speaker 2>help get them back more often.

0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:58.960
<v Speaker 1>Good stuff and certainty was a term commonly heard on

0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.520
<v Speaker 1>first quarter earning calls. Have Chains pulled back on their

0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:03.600
<v Speaker 1>tech investments this year?

0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:07.040
<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, I won't speak for everyone, I will

0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:09.480
<v Speaker 2>tell you it hasn't been pulled back from our point

0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:12.080
<v Speaker 2>of view. You know, this has been a year of

0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:15.320
<v Speaker 2>tremendous growth for US as was last year, and I

0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:18.000
<v Speaker 2>think from where we're sitting even looking at to next year,

0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:21.760
<v Speaker 2>you know, we're looking at a very promising you know,

0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:24.720
<v Speaker 2>next twelve to twenty four months. So you know, I

0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:29.120
<v Speaker 2>think relative to you know, some types of technology that

0:20:29.240 --> 0:20:32.639
<v Speaker 2>are less proven, I just think they're having to be

0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:36.760
<v Speaker 2>very prescriptive and a bit more decisive to know exactly

0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:38.680
<v Speaker 2>where they're going to make the investments to know they're

0:20:38.720 --> 0:20:42.520
<v Speaker 2>getting the returns. But you know, for platform like hours

0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:46.080
<v Speaker 2>that you know, we've got lots of proof points out

0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:49.440
<v Speaker 2>there now, and lots of brands like Texas Roadhouse and

0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:53.040
<v Speaker 2>Miller's l House and Chili's and you know, probably four

0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:56.640
<v Speaker 2>Garden's brands out there today, and we've got a lot

0:20:56.680 --> 0:21:00.040
<v Speaker 2>that we can point to where you know, many that

0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:03.399
<v Speaker 2>those brands are performing well. And I think many of

0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:06.600
<v Speaker 2>the brands that are in a more challenging situation or

0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:09.240
<v Speaker 2>looking to them and saying, boy, what are we doing different?

0:21:09.880 --> 0:21:13.040
<v Speaker 2>How are they moving forward and getting ahead? And so

0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:15.560
<v Speaker 2>I think it's creating an opportunity for us, frankly, but

0:21:15.960 --> 0:21:18.960
<v Speaker 2>I can't speak for I can't say that for everyone or.

0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:22.640
<v Speaker 1>Your biggest competitors, both for your hospitality platform and more

0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:24.840
<v Speaker 1>generally for restaurant CAPEX dollars.

0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:30.639
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think you know, the POS business obviously is

0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:37.240
<v Speaker 2>a big investment for brands, and naturally that creates both

0:21:37.320 --> 0:21:40.359
<v Speaker 2>opportunity for the restaurants, but I think it just creates

0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:43.760
<v Speaker 2>a lot of change management when then they're building, and

0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:47.120
<v Speaker 2>so you know, oftentimes we find if they're going through

0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:51.199
<v Speaker 2>a POS transition, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're not

0:21:51.320 --> 0:21:54.879
<v Speaker 2>wanting to engage and leverage our platform. It just means

0:21:54.920 --> 0:21:57.360
<v Speaker 2>that they can only undergo so much change at any

0:21:57.400 --> 0:22:01.720
<v Speaker 2>given time, and so oftentimes it's as much about sequencing

0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:04.960
<v Speaker 2>and it doesn't mean not ever, It just probably means

0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:08.080
<v Speaker 2>not now, and so that ends up being a lot

0:22:08.119 --> 0:22:12.200
<v Speaker 2>of the conversations that we're having today. You know, there

0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:14.560
<v Speaker 2>was a point in time where I think we were

0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:18.199
<v Speaker 2>really evaluating where does mobile fit and where does QR

0:22:18.280 --> 0:22:22.040
<v Speaker 2>fit and some of those other technologies in a post

0:22:22.040 --> 0:22:24.919
<v Speaker 2>COVID environment. But I think where we are today, most

0:22:25.320 --> 0:22:29.080
<v Speaker 2>companies have sort of pulled back on QR strategies and

0:22:29.160 --> 0:22:33.480
<v Speaker 2>even APP strategies, because if you think about trying to

0:22:33.520 --> 0:22:38.240
<v Speaker 2>make an impact to your operation, it really comes down

0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:42.800
<v Speaker 2>to adoption and if you can't get adoption, then the

0:22:42.840 --> 0:22:45.439
<v Speaker 2>amount of impact you can have to your overall brand

0:22:46.000 --> 0:22:49.480
<v Speaker 2>and inside the four walls of the restaurant is minimized.

0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:52.239
<v Speaker 2>And because we've been able to get to you know,

0:22:52.359 --> 0:22:55.040
<v Speaker 2>ninety and in some cases, you know, like Chile's most

0:22:55.080 --> 0:23:02.040
<v Speaker 2>recently ninety five percent plus adoption now delivering hospitality at scale,

0:23:03.119 --> 0:23:05.639
<v Speaker 2>and so that that's that's something we feel good about.

0:23:05.720 --> 0:23:08.560
<v Speaker 2>That you know, was a big advantage for us. But

0:23:08.720 --> 0:23:12.879
<v Speaker 2>I would say typically it's as much sequencing around pos

0:23:12.880 --> 0:23:14.480
<v Speaker 2>and change management as anything.

0:23:15.119 --> 0:23:18.919
<v Speaker 1>Okay, national force full service brands like Chili's, like we

0:23:19.040 --> 0:23:22.120
<v Speaker 1>just spoke about, are kind of making a comeback this year.

0:23:22.560 --> 0:23:26.080
<v Speaker 1>Chili's is skewing the data, you know, but Texas Roadhouse,

0:23:26.119 --> 0:23:30.240
<v Speaker 1>Cracker Barrel, Cheesecake Factory, they all outperformed QSR by a

0:23:30.320 --> 0:23:33.480
<v Speaker 1>sizable margin in the first quarter, you know, outside of

0:23:33.480 --> 0:23:36.800
<v Speaker 1>the easier sales comparisons. You know, what do you attribute

0:23:36.800 --> 0:23:37.560
<v Speaker 1>their better result?

0:23:37.840 --> 0:23:41.359
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's a great question. You know. I think they've

0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:46.600
<v Speaker 2>done a very good job of executing inside of the

0:23:46.640 --> 0:23:49.960
<v Speaker 2>four walls and really coupled with marketing. I mean, if

0:23:50.000 --> 0:23:54.439
<v Speaker 2>you look at Texas Roadhouse, they're not as active in

0:23:54.480 --> 0:24:00.480
<v Speaker 2>their marketing. But they've been very consistent on delivering a

0:24:00.480 --> 0:24:04.800
<v Speaker 2>a value proposition over the years, and they continue, I

0:24:04.800 --> 0:24:07.280
<v Speaker 2>think to win with their guests and really knowing who

0:24:07.320 --> 0:24:10.720
<v Speaker 2>their guests are. And so, you know, I have a

0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:14.879
<v Speaker 2>lot of admiration for that group because they really deliver

0:24:14.960 --> 0:24:17.119
<v Speaker 2>on the promise that they communicate to their guests and

0:24:17.119 --> 0:24:19.679
<v Speaker 2>their value proposition, and I think they're well positioned to

0:24:20.320 --> 0:24:25.640
<v Speaker 2>continue to perform, for sure, you know. And in Chili's case,

0:24:25.720 --> 0:24:29.560
<v Speaker 2>you know, they've just they've put together a great plan

0:24:29.720 --> 0:24:32.880
<v Speaker 2>I think to really attract consumers, especially those that are

0:24:32.880 --> 0:24:37.719
<v Speaker 2>looking for value, and the value that they're providing is

0:24:37.800 --> 0:24:41.560
<v Speaker 2>really delivering on that. They've done a great job execution,

0:24:41.880 --> 0:24:44.760
<v Speaker 2>I think, on that promise that they're making to their consumers,

0:24:45.400 --> 0:24:47.720
<v Speaker 2>and I think they'll continue to win.

0:24:48.040 --> 0:24:50.479
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, those two have been fun to follow, for sure.

0:24:51.560 --> 0:24:54.480
<v Speaker 1>What trends are you watching most closely in restaurant technology

0:24:54.480 --> 0:24:55.840
<v Speaker 1>over the next two or three years?

0:24:56.160 --> 0:24:59.640
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Look, I think there's I think we're still early

0:24:59.720 --> 0:25:03.000
<v Speaker 2>days an AI. Obviously, you know, we're investing in it,

0:25:03.160 --> 0:25:07.920
<v Speaker 2>we're leveraging AI. Uh, but there's so much innovation happening

0:25:07.920 --> 0:25:12.640
<v Speaker 2>in AI, and it'll be interesting to see what use

0:25:12.680 --> 0:25:15.360
<v Speaker 2>cases when I think we're living in an age right

0:25:15.400 --> 0:25:18.560
<v Speaker 2>now similar to almost what you did in the you know,

0:25:18.600 --> 0:25:22.200
<v Speaker 2>the dot com days. Everything was dot com and today

0:25:22.280 --> 0:25:26.359
<v Speaker 2>everybody's attaching AI to everything that they're doing. And so

0:25:26.480 --> 0:25:28.560
<v Speaker 2>I think it's going to come down to real world

0:25:28.680 --> 0:25:32.399
<v Speaker 2>use cases that can unlock real value out of the

0:25:32.400 --> 0:25:36.320
<v Speaker 2>insight that you can deliver. Yeah, I think where we're

0:25:36.359 --> 0:25:40.720
<v Speaker 2>positioned is really interesting because AI is almost a necessity

0:25:41.400 --> 0:25:44.360
<v Speaker 2>to consume all of the data that we can collect

0:25:44.520 --> 0:25:48.359
<v Speaker 2>on behalf of the restaurants at scale, and so you know,

0:25:48.480 --> 0:25:52.639
<v Speaker 2>it becomes a necessary ingredient to what we're doing. So

0:25:52.680 --> 0:25:55.240
<v Speaker 2>that's one of the reasons why we're super excited about it.

0:25:55.280 --> 0:25:57.960
<v Speaker 2>But you know, we'll invest in that even beyond just

0:25:58.080 --> 0:26:00.560
<v Speaker 2>a lot of the survey data to drive some of

0:26:00.560 --> 0:26:05.200
<v Speaker 2>the insights. So AI's got a tremendous amount of potential opportunity.

0:26:05.200 --> 0:26:07.480
<v Speaker 2>And I would say the other you know, we continue

0:26:07.520 --> 0:26:11.800
<v Speaker 2>to hear more and more about guest data profile. How

0:26:11.800 --> 0:26:14.040
<v Speaker 2>do I learn more about the consumers that are not

0:26:14.240 --> 0:26:18.679
<v Speaker 2>part of your standard pointspace loyalty platforms, and how do

0:26:18.760 --> 0:26:22.280
<v Speaker 2>I continue to build a picture in an understanding of

0:26:22.320 --> 0:26:25.320
<v Speaker 2>who those guests are so I can drive repeat traffic,

0:26:25.359 --> 0:26:28.000
<v Speaker 2>and so a lot of focus being placed on data

0:26:29.440 --> 0:26:33.440
<v Speaker 2>where it can help them drive consumer behavior and repeat visits.

0:26:33.640 --> 0:26:36.320
<v Speaker 1>And what's your vision for a smart table experience maybe

0:26:36.359 --> 0:26:37.440
<v Speaker 1>five years down the road.

0:26:38.359 --> 0:26:41.320
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so that's that's always a fun one. Lots of

0:26:41.760 --> 0:26:45.359
<v Speaker 2>ideas there. You know, we we're thinking about AI in

0:26:45.400 --> 0:26:48.640
<v Speaker 2>a few different ways. You know, it's not just about

0:26:49.240 --> 0:26:53.200
<v Speaker 2>automating the experience. It's really about taking some of the

0:26:53.280 --> 0:26:56.440
<v Speaker 2>information that we can get out of the data at

0:26:56.480 --> 0:26:59.720
<v Speaker 2>scale and creating what we think about as human and

0:26:59.760 --> 0:27:03.440
<v Speaker 2>tell legence. So how can we make the servers smarter

0:27:03.800 --> 0:27:06.520
<v Speaker 2>about who's sitting at the table before they even approach

0:27:06.640 --> 0:27:10.240
<v Speaker 2>the table, and anything you can do there to make

0:27:10.400 --> 0:27:13.720
<v Speaker 2>guests feel like they are known and they're a regular,

0:27:14.119 --> 0:27:17.520
<v Speaker 2>even though they may not be a regular that goes

0:27:17.560 --> 0:27:20.879
<v Speaker 2>to a restaurant every single week, we think just adds

0:27:20.920 --> 0:27:25.159
<v Speaker 2>to the special occasion that they want to have in

0:27:25.200 --> 0:27:27.639
<v Speaker 2>the sense that they want to be known and understood.

0:27:28.280 --> 0:27:31.960
<v Speaker 2>And we think that's got a tremendous amount of opportunity

0:27:32.000 --> 0:27:35.960
<v Speaker 2>where our platforms, whether it's handheld or tabletop, can all

0:27:36.040 --> 0:27:40.000
<v Speaker 2>communicate to create an ecosystem where the guest and the

0:27:40.080 --> 0:27:43.679
<v Speaker 2>team members are sharing information to create that kind of

0:27:43.760 --> 0:27:45.320
<v Speaker 2>dynamic inside of the restaurant.

0:27:46.680 --> 0:27:48.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I love that. Man. Everybody wants to go to

0:27:48.280 --> 0:27:49.719
<v Speaker 1>a place where you're treated like a regular.

0:27:49.760 --> 0:27:52.920
<v Speaker 2>For sure. Absolutely, this is great.

0:27:53.480 --> 0:27:54.639
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for doing this, Raymond.

0:27:54.880 --> 0:27:57.240
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, thank you so much for having us. Mike, you

0:27:57.359 --> 0:27:57.720
<v Speaker 2>got it.

0:27:57.800 --> 0:27:59.959
<v Speaker 1>I want to also thank the audience for tuning in.

0:28:00.400 --> 0:28:02.880
<v Speaker 1>If you'd like to learn more about Ziosco to ziosk

0:28:03.040 --> 0:28:06.040
<v Speaker 1>dot com, z I O s K, and if you

0:28:06.119 --> 0:28:08.400
<v Speaker 1>liked our discussion, please share with your friends and colleagues.

0:28:08.520 --> 0:28:11.240
<v Speaker 1>Check back soon for an interview with Mike Lukianoff, the

0:28:11.280 --> 0:28:14.000
<v Speaker 1>founder and CEO of Signal Flare AI