Food for Thought

When Karen first heard the words “customer feedback solution,” she reacted the way she reacts to somebody applauding when an airplane lands: with a mix of deep suspicion and visible disdain.

Ever wonder what your customers truly think about their experiences at your venue, stadium, event or product? More importantly, ever wish you knew exactly what they were thinking in the moment, right when you could actually do something about it?

There’s a famous scene in  Moneyball, one of my all-time favorite movies, that perfectly illustrates the age-old battle between tradition and innovation. The fight between the old school and the new. Don’t be the old scouts in that room…

There’s a common belief in the hospitality industry: online reviews are king. They shape reputations, influence bookings, and can make or break business.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth, reviews were never designed to help businesses.

I said I hate reviews but let me nuance that.

I don’t hate reviews; I hate what reviews have become…

Would you believe that nearly two-thirds of full-service restaurant customers say experience is more important than price?But here’s the challenge: What defines a “great experience” varies from person to person.
So, how do you create something that is, by nature, subjective

It’s 6:47 PM on a Friday, the dinner rush is in full swing, and Michael, the restaurant manager, feels like he’s juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle. A table in the corner is complaining that their food took too long. A kid at another table just spilled orange juice all over the floor. His Head Chef is yelling something unintelligible about a broken fryer…

Click-click. Click-clack. The sound of Karens heels reverberates through the car park with a menace that seems to grow step by step.
Karen’s upset already. She’s had a rough morning, a client was late for a meeting, and her beloved Chihuahua, Coco, spilt coffee all over her favorite tablecloth.
Anyway, it’s date night. “Breathe, Karen,” she says to herself. “You deserve a nice evening.”

AI is the new electricity, says Dr. Andrew Ng.
Jeff Bezos has said that AI-powered assistants will make our decisions easier and more efficient.
And they are both so right.
But that is exactly the problem.
Which is why there is more to this story.
When everyone is adopting the same AI tools, what happens to your competitive advantage?

No one is born a Karen. Karens are made. They start out like the rest of us. Bright-eyed, full of potential, and ready to share their ideas with the world. But somewhere along the way, Karen stopped feeling heard. Her feedback, her constructive criticism, her carefully curated list of “things
that could improve this experience?” All ignored. And what do you get when you ignore someone for long enough?