Walk into any great restaurant or bar and you’ll encounter a hospitality team that not only serves tasty food and libations but also provides top-notch service. Unfortunately, some of the big businesses that “serve” restaurants don’t always seem to feel the same. Maybe it’s because they figure restaurants need them more than they need their restaurant clients.
At SpotOn, we don’t work that way. Hospitality is built into everything we do, and every product we make. The secret ingredient? Great people, of course. People with experience rooted deeply in the restaurant industry—who understand the grind and personal toll of running a restaurant but continue to show up every day to create a great experience for their customers.
In other words, people who actually give a sh*t.
But don’t just take our word for it. Hear for yourself from some of the SpotOn team members who’ll be attending the 2024 Bar & Restaurant Expo, March 18-20 in Las Vegas.
Scott Youkilis
Restaurateur in Residence
“What I give a sh*t about? I want restaurants to be creative. I want restaurants to be profitable. I want restaurants to be a special place to meet a friend. I want restaurants to glow. I want restaurants to take care of their staff. I want restaurants to be businesses we don’t take for granted. I want restaurants to be around forever.”
Chelsea Karolak
Senior Director of Implementation
“What I give a sh*t about the most is when it's the busiest night of the year and stress is at an all-time high. I don't want us to be the reason someone cries in the walk-in cooler. I give a sh*t about the little guys, the bartenders and servers who are out there busting their butts every single day. We are the reason the world goes round.”
Camila Ferreira
Senior Director of Client Support Operations
“What I give a sh*t about the most is THE EXPERIENCE! As the steward of our support organization, I understand that every interaction with a client is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact. Transforming their needs into moments of delight, turning every contact into a chance to exceed expectations and leave a lasting impression is what ignites my drive.”
Caitlin Riemensnider
Senior Client Success Manager, SpotOn Teamwork
“I was a restaurant manager for a long time. My least favorite part of each workday was dispersing tips via Excel at the end of the night. Now I get to work with restaurant managers and provide them with a customized tool that allows them to handle tips in a matter of seconds by simply clicking a button, no manual entry required.”
Ben Gliner
Director of Strategic Accounts
“A buzzing dining room, packed with guests at peak rush on a Friday or Saturday night. When service is flowing smoothly like a delicate dance and all teams and systems are in sync. The staff can feel it. The guests can feel it. It's that euphoric 1% of the time moments that you strive to achieve constantly. And when accomplished, it's time for a drink!”
Jamie Bueman
Restaurant Field Sales Enablement Manager
“I want to see restaurants be successful. I give a sh*t about neighborhoods and the business that are in them, which can help make or break a neighborhood. I care about giving restaurants the tools to make it easier to get a new customer and then how to make them repeat customers.
“The experience for a restaurant guest starts before they walk in the door...so yeah, not shocking that I care about the experience a guest has making a reservation or adding themselves to the waitlist, snagging a sought-after slot on a Saturday night by using SpotOn Reserve's stand-by list feature. Or a family joining the waitlist and pre-ordering with Seat & Send before baseball practice ends because they need to get in, get out, and get home to help their kids with their homework.
“I give a sh*t about making restaurants successful so they can be those go-to places for their customers in their community. I give a sh*t about giving hospitality operators the tools to run their restaurants well and efficiently. So they can do what they do best and love—providing great hospitality. That’s why they got into the restaurant business. It is truly their passion, and I give a sh*t about being a part of that!”
Greg Svitenko
Senior Manager, Sales Operations
“What I give a sh*t about most is creating a safe space to let loose. An escape from the daily grind to chill or an opportunity to party hard. Having worked in bars and restaurants for almost 30 years I learned pretty quickly that every day, every customer is different. To that point, every customer can be different every day! I also learned to anticipate what was next. Their first beverage was being crafted as they walked through the doors. I knew their favorite apps, wine, or even any allergies they may have so I could guide the experience positively. I gave sh*t about what their day was like and always offered a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen.
"Life is a box of chocolates and working in a restaurant is that, but on steroids! I am fortunate to be able to help our company recognize the human element behind the show. What it takes to get the dish to the line or the cocktail on the bar. Driving empathy for the restaurant folks and giving a sh*t about their business, challenges, staff, their customers, and most of all, their day!”
Scott Deady
Partnership Success Manager
“In my 15+ years working in bars and restaurants, I was almost always working behind the bar. So there are a lot of things that LOVE about our restaurant point-of-sale from a user standpoint, like our incredibly versatile custom speed screens, the ability to bypass modifiers on certain stations designated for speed, and storing drink recipes.
“Now that I'm on the other side of the bar and see things from a guest's perspective, I tend to get excited about tech that just makes my life (and getting a drink into it) easier. So Seat & Send (via Reserve) and QR Order (via SpotOn Restaurant POS), which both allow me to get a drink when I want one (i.e. now), are my favorite solutions today.
“But to be honest, what I give the most sh*ts about is the "you told me so '' look on cleints' faces after they've gone live with us. Even small upgrades to a restaurant tech stack can net tens of thousands of additional dollars of revenue per month—I've seen it. A friend of mine who owns a bar here in Chicago upgraded to our POS and saw over $40k more in revenue in his first four months after the upgrade, compared to the same four months the previous year. At that moment I didn't even feel like I worked for SpotOn—I felt like I was working for him.”
