From “I’m never coming back” to “This is the best follow-up ever. I will 100% be back.”
That’s the power of fast, thoughtful guest recovery—and it’s exactly what Via 313 Pizza is doing with Ovation.
Since launching last year, this 20+ location Detroit-style pizza brand has: 🍕 Improved their Google rating from 4.1 to 4.7 📈 Captured 168 surveys per location per month 💬 Maintained a 100% response rate with 1-hour average response time 🙌 Saved 11 guests per location—every month
President Kiplan Welsch and his team are setting the standard for digital hospitality. Not to mention the operational changes they’ve made using the Insights report.
Big thanks to Kip and the entire Via 313 crew for sharing their story.
👉 See the full case study: link in bio!
This one feels special.
Ovation just raised $3M — funded 100% by restaurant operators using the platform every day.
When the people closest to the guest experience choose to invest their own money, it’s the strongest signal we could ask for.
Link in bio to read more!
Tacos, donuts, burgers, and a pizza walked into a booth... 🌮 🍩 🍔 🍕
We’re live at NRA 2026! Come visit us at 📍Booth #5534 in the North Building and say hello. 👋
Today award-winning restaurateur @mikeybausch of Andolini's Pizzeria (@andopizza ) is joining us for a special presentation starting at 1:00 PM local time. You won't want to miss it! 🙌
#NRA2026 #NationalRestaurantAssociation #GuestExperience
Good food fills seats. We fill them again. 🍕 Stop by the booth to see what we mean. 👀
The Ovation team is heading to the @nationalrestaurantshow in Chicago later this week, and we'd love to see you there! 👋
Find us at 📍 Booth #5534 in the North Building and see how leading restaurant brands are using AI to turn guest feedback into stronger ratings, higher guest retention, and measurable revenue growth.
Come meet the team:
Mike Rabinoff | Julio Arevalo | Aaron Jocano | Collin Tees | Jake Levine | Amanda Spradlin | Zack Oates
See you at McCormick Place! 🙌
#NRA2026 #NationalRestaurantAssociation #GuestExperience #RestaurantTech
What keeps a restaurant brand alive for nearly 40 years? 🍕
In this episode of Give an Ovation, David Cole of i Fratelli Pizza breaks down the real strategies behind growing from a tiny family-run pizza shop into a 16-location powerhouse:
- How guest recovery creates MORE loyal customers
- Why handwritten thank-you notes still drive repeat business
- The catering follow-up system that turns $100 orders into long-term accounts
- How to scale locations without cannibalizing your own business
..and much more.
🎧 Listen now! Link in bio.
#RestaurantPodcast #GiveAnOvation #GuestExperience
Running a restaurant right now isn’t easy, but having a brand people love only helps. This episode of Give an Ovation is packed with real, practical insight on how to build a winning brand from Scott Shotter (Moe’s, Fuzzy’s, Teriyaki Madness). Here are 5 takeaways:
1) Your “brand DNA” already exists—find what your best teams are doing and codify it
2) Simplicity wins: a tighter menu and clearer roles lead to better guest interactions
3) Stop designing jobs for unicorn employees. Build systems your actual team can execute
4) Hospitality isn’t scripts. It’s eye contact, energy, and being genuinely present
5) Every order (dine-in, delivery, catering) should drive the next visit
If you want better reviews, stronger loyalty, and more repeat visits, this is a must-listen. Link in bio!
#RestaurantPodcast #GiveAnOvation #GuestExperience
In this episode of Give an Ovation, host Zack Oates sits down with Sterling Douglass, co-founder and CEO of Chowly, to explore how AI is transforming the restaurant industry faster than any previous tech wave. From overcoming skepticism in early digital adoption to today’s AI-first mindset, Sterling shares why restaurants are finally embracing innovation at scale.
If you’ve ever felt behind on AI, this episode will show you exactly how to get started—and why now is the time to lean in.
Link in bio!
Dumplings, data, and a whole lot of discipline 🥟
Jeff Galletly breaks down how Brooklyn Dumpling Shop scaled 5X, cracked the code on retail + restaurants, and boosted guest experience from 3.8 ⭐ to 4.8 ⭐
Spoiler: it all comes back to ONE thing… the food.
Listen everywhere!
#RestaurantPodcast #GiveAnOvation #GuestExperience
🎉 RLC takeaway: alignment drives results.
The strongest brands are not separating marketing and operations. They are connecting them through guest feedback, reviews, and real-time insights to drive repeat visits and measurable results. 💡📈
That was the focus of Ovation CEO Zack Oates’ session alongside Kyle Archer (@ChebaHut ), Frank Paci (@NewksEatery ), and CJ Ramirez (@doghausdogs ). Huge thanks to the group for such a great conversation!
From the session stage to arcade games and a night at the ballpark, RLC delivered on every front! 🎮 ⚾ ✨
Appreciate everyone who stopped by Booth #101! Now it’s all about putting these insights into action. 🙌
#RLC2026 #RestaurantLeadershipConference #GuestExperience
Big news: Ovation has officially partnered and integrated with Rightwork, the labor optimization platform built for multi-unit restaurants. 🎉
For too long, operators have had to choose between two separate worlds — guest feedback and labor data. You could see what guests were saying. You could see your staffing numbers. But connecting the two? That required guesswork.
Not anymore.
By layering Ovation's real-time guest feedback directly onto RightWork's intraday staffing charts, operators can now see exactly how staffing decisions impact the guest experience — pinpointing when teams were understaffed and how that showed up in reviews.
The result: smarter decisions, less guessing, and a clearer path from labor investment to guest satisfaction.
Because great guest experiences start with great employee experiences.
Want to learn more? Check out our podcast episode with Ovation CEO, Zack Oates and RightWork Founder, Will Stewart. Link in bio!
Not all guest experience platforms are built the same. 🍽️
Here are the 7 things that actually matter when choosing one for your restaurant — and what to look for in each.
Want to see how Ovation stacks up against all 7? Link in bio.
#restaurantowner #restaurantmarketing #guestexperience #restauranttech #restaurantmanagement #hospitalityindustry #restauranttips #restaurantlife #guestfeedback
