March 25, 2025 • 36 mins
This week on Tech Chef, host Skip Kimpel dives into a post-MURTEC 2025 recap with first-time guest and hospitality tech veteran Tom Seeker. Fresh off the show floor, they discuss everything from shifting conference venues to the biggest tech themes making waves in the restaurant and hospitality space.
Tom brings the dual perspective of a vendor and operator, offering sharp insights on what made this year’s event stand out. The conversation centers on how data has become the true king, replacing cash as the core currency of innovation, and how restaurants must own and control their data to stay competitive.
From the evolving role of AI and VR in training and operations to conversations around legacy tech, security, and personalization, this episode is packed with strategic takeaways for operators, tech providers, and hospitality pros alike.
Takeaways:
- Data is the New Currency: The dominant theme of MURTEC 2025 was clear—data is king. Operators need to prioritize data ownership, clean pipelines, and interoperability between systems to future-proof their businesses.
- AI is Just a Tool: The buzz around AI has matured. It’s no longer seen as a silver bullet, but rather as a data enhancement tool, helping restaurants normalize, visualize, and act on information more effectively.
- Training is Going Virtual: With limited resources and expanding footprints, operators are increasingly turning to virtual and extended reality (XR) solutions to meet employees where they are. VR-based onboarding and training are on the rise, driven by both need and innovation.
- Legacy Tech Still a Major Pain Point: Many brands remain handcuffed by outdated systems. There’s a growing push to modernize the tech stack while ensuring data continuity and seamless integration with modern tools.
- Security Still Matters (Even If It's Not Trendy): While AI dominated past headlines, cybersecurity remains mission-critical. Large restaurant brands continue to be high-profile targets, making awareness and proactive defense essential.
- The Guest Experience is Assumed, but the Employee Experience is Rising: Guest experience is now table stakes. The bigger surprise? A growing emphasis on employee-facing tech—tools that empower teams, improve shift management, and optimize training.
- MURTEC Venue Shift & Community Vibes: While there was skepticism about the move from Paris Las Vegas to Caesars Forum, Tom praises the new setup, calling it a “family reunion” with great energy and flow. Still, the familiar charm of Paris has its fans.
- RTN Standards & Collaboration: The Restaurant Technology Network (RTN) is playing a vital role in shaping the future. From RFP standards to possible mentorship programs and showroom tours, there’s a strong push for industry-wide collaboration.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You are listening to the TechChef Podcast.
This is episode number 93.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
This show is powered by GrowthAdvisors International network where
travel and hospitalitycompanies come to grow.
For more information pleasevisit gainadvisors.com hi.
This is Tom Seeker, CTO forZiggy's Coffee and you're listening
(00:23):
to Skip on the Tech Chef Podcast.
Strategy Business Continu.
How about a taste test ofrestaurant technology?
Drive thru or curbside?
Mobile apps or AI?
It's all on the menu.
Cook it up for the date.
It's a recipe for success.
(00:47):
You're in good hands with theTech Chef.
Make a plan to be your best.
Strategize with the Tech Chef.
Well, hey there and welcome tothe Tech Chef Podcast where tech
meets table in the coolestways possible.
I'm Skip Kimpl, your guide onthis wild ride through the ever evolving
(01:10):
world of hospitality innovation.
Whether you're running ahotel, managing a restaurant, or
just nerding out over thelatest tech and unique guest experiences,
you're in the right place.
Each week we're serving up hottakes on the freshest tech trends.
From AI tools that know yourguest better than they know themselves,
(01:30):
to jaw dropping immersiveexperiences and future forward ideas
you didn't even know existed.
We're talking to the bigthinkers, bold creators and the hospitality
rebels who are reshaping howwe eat, sleep, play and stay.
So if you're hungry forinnovation and thirsty for inspiration,
(01:51):
pull up a chair because we'reabout to cook up the future of hospitality.
Before we fully dive intotoday's episode, I gotta say, wow.
What an incredible time atMirtech this year.
If you were there, you alreadyknow what I'm talking about.
The energy, the innovation,the conversations.
It felt like the heartbeat ofthe restaurant tech world was on
(02:13):
full blast.
From groundbreaking solutionsto seeing familiar faces and meeting
a few new ones, Mr.
Tech 2025 absolutely delivered.
Now real talk.
This episode was actuallysupposed to drop last week, but then
life had other plans.
Yep, I got hit with a nastybug right after the conference.
(02:34):
Total Tech Chef shut down.
No voice, no energy, just tea,tissues and sleep.
But I'm back, recharged andmore excited than ever to dig into
what's cooking in the world ofhospitality tech.
So thank you for your patienceand if you've also been battling
the post conference plague, Isee you this year.
(02:57):
To help me recap ourexperience at the show, I have first
time guest Tom Seeker joiningus to share his thoughts.
Those that don't know him Tomis a proven thought leader in information
technology with extensiveexperience in the hospitality sector
with over 25 brands, and iscurrently the Chief Technology Officer
(03:17):
for ziggy's Coffee and EmtechInnovation Labs.
The main theme of this year'sMrTech event was Experience Matters,
which promoted discussionsabout how individual experiences
can vary and how technology isevolving in the restaurant sector.
Tom highlights the importanceof data, emphasizing its role in
(03:37):
enhancing customer andemployee experiences while also addressing
the challenges posed by legacy systems.
The conversation shifts with afocus on the future, stressing that
owning and managing data iscrucial for making informed decisions
in the industry.
Tom always has great, uniqueand thorough insights, and today's
(03:59):
episode is no different.
Enjoy.
Joining the Tech chef for this2025 Mertech recap, we have Tom Seeker,
the one, the only Mr.
Seeker.
How are you?
Doing great.
Really appreciate being on the podcast.
I can't believe we haven'thave you on the show yet.
(04:21):
When we were talking at theshow, I'm like, wait, wait a minute,
we.
We haven't had Tom Seeker onthe Tech Chef.
What's going on here?
My bad.
Certainly intended to have youon at some point.
Well, heck, it's because weworked every day together for so
long, it probably just slippedboth of our minds.
Exactly.
And this is just another conversation.
So this is a, this is a greatopportunity just to chat about technology
(04:43):
and of course, a show that weboth love and we have great passion
for, and that is Mirtech.
So Mirtech was different this year.
Mirtech, it changed venues.
It went from the Paris toCaesars Forum.
What are your thoughts about that?
You know, I didn't like theidea of it when I first heard about
it, and, and I thought, youknow, being across the street and
(05:03):
all the pain it was going to be.
But, you know, the reality isI had not been in the Forum, so I
just simply didn't know.
But having done as many as wedid in Paris, moving over to the
Harrah's, which is where mostof us stayed, or at least many of
us stayed, and then going overto the Forum, they have a flyover
on the second floor, so you'rereally not crossing the road.
(05:25):
You're just going from onebuilding to the next.
It was like walking through 20airports by the time you got to where
you're going.
But the venue was amazing and,you know, it was like a family reunion
down the whole walkway.
So just seeing everybody youknew and still seeing a lot of new
people as well.
But I liked it a lot.
The main floor, everythingbeing in the same place was nice,
(05:46):
but I think a lot of that wastrying to prevent people from suitcasing
and doing other things thatthey really don't like happening
at these shows.
Well, that's a very detaileddescription of the facility.
Thank you.
Thank you, Tom.
And yes, I do believe that thesuitcase racing aspect is why they
moved the forum.
But do you think that really worked?
No, I don't either becauseeverybody's found.
(06:07):
Everybody found areas togather anyways.
So, you know, I don't know ifyou had your choice of Paris or Caesar.
I see they made theannouncement to go back to Caesars
next year.
So I guess we have somecommitment there, at least to the
Caesar's properties.
But I'm just curious yourthought, if you had to.
If you had to go back toParis, would you.
Yeah.
Oh, in a heartbeat.
I liked Paris.
I enjoy.
(06:27):
I didn't.
I didn't have any negativitiesabout Paris, to be honest with you.
You know, I like it eitherway, but I'm just so used to Paris.
That's what was comfortable tome, that when I say Murtagh, I immediately
think the Paris.
Well, there was no runningquickly back to your hotel room to
take a call, that's for sure.
No, no, no.
(06:48):
I put in 47,500 steps at Murtag.
Wow.
Good for you.
That's.
It was a workout.
All right, let's get into theshow itself.
So this year's theme wasExperience Matters.
What were your expectationswalking into the show and did it
live up to those expectations?
You know, the good news is Ididn't set any expectations.
(07:08):
I came at it differently frommyself this year.
And again, remember, Mirtechis a individual experience, which
is different for everyone.
That's weird to think aboutthat because you have many, so many
thousands different peoplecoming in.
But, you know, the last fouror five times I've come, I've come
as a CIO or a leader of arestaurant company or restaurant
(07:29):
group.
This time I came as a vendorand as an operator, so as CTO is
Ziggy.
But I also came as a CTO ofMTech Innovations.
So my mindset coming into thiswas I was going to spend more time
on the floor and more time indifferent sessions and talking with
different people, but nottrying to specifically solve problems
(07:52):
at my locations that I work at.
I wanted to see what the artof the possible is, what's available
out there, and then let thatguide me on day two, which it absolutely
did.
So I didn't come into it Witha mindset that this is going to be
experience matters, meaningwe're bringing all the people who
are only experts, who havebeen here forever.
(08:12):
But I do think that after Iwatched a lot of the different sessions,
that's what I got.
Yeah.
Speaking of sessions, I'massuming you went to some of the
keynotes.
Were there any keynotespeakers or panel discussions that
resonated with you?
Yeah, well, I mean, I gotta.
I gotta say, the keynote was awesome.
Damon was.
Was what?
What you expect?
I mean, he.
(08:33):
He is exactly what you would expect.
You know, he came in throughthe side door, walked onto the stage,
went a little bit long, whichwas nice because a lot of keynotes,
they give you the 59 minutes,59 seconds, and they're right back
out the door.
He told his whole story, spentthe time, really tied it back to
the industry, and then cameover, took some pictures and left.
(08:54):
But that was good, and itreally was an uplifting moment.
I made one of the otherkeynote speakers and again, that
was where the experiencematters conversation.
I went to the OptimizingOmnichannel just as I got there,
and that's Peter Wiley and.
And really understanding whatyou and I dealt with in our previous
(09:18):
lives, working with, you know,multiple different, you know, channels
and how to deal with that.
I will say that I think that if.
If an afterthought, you lookat what we could have called it,
it is more about data beingking and data being important because
again, you start bringing alot of people who are subject matter
experts in the industry thatit's all about capturing, manipulating
(09:42):
and consuming data.
And every one of our talksand, you know, being a little bit
selfish based off that, youknow, we led a session, myself and
Meredith and Clark from ElPollo Yoko, we all ran a group called
Leveraging Real Time Data.
And that was, I have to say, Ithink it went relatively well.
(10:03):
It was well attended.
I had a lot of peoplefollowing up with me that day and
the day after, and they'rejust basically pointing out what
you and I have discussed manytimes about cash not really being
king.
It's data, right?
Data is king.
Cash is a small part of whatwe do.
It's credit cards and data.
The back of house optimization.
(10:24):
I did not go to that one thatwas on at the same time, but I did
get to watch a video of it andit was outstanding.
Let me interrupt you realquick and ask you a question about
the data.
So I did notice there were alot of data discussions, security
discussions.
Was there a shift of talkingabout AI all the time.
AI, AI, AI.
Or is this more of afoundational conversation around
(10:45):
you got to have clean data inorder to be able to build some of
those LLMs for your AI.
You know, it was a.
It's a really great thing thatyou asked that question, because
I was talking with Tony atmtac and this was wonderful to hear.
AI is going back to what itwas always meant to be.
A tool.
Yes.
And quite frankly, a tool to.
(11:06):
To normalize, capture, and tobring you that data and present data
to you.
But it's been less theconversation about AI being the answer,
but a tool to help you get the answer.
And so there were a lot of AIcompanies at the event this year,
but it wasn't that.
AI is the salvation of whatyou do.
(11:28):
It's a great mechanism to getyour data quicker, to help you look
at data from multiple points.
But AI was less the subjectmatter this year and more a great
tool to help you get to thedata that you need.
So there was a shift, and I'mglad to see it, because I've been
saying this from the very beginning.
Those of us that have been inthe technology world, not just, you
(11:51):
know, hospitality, buttechnology, we've been dealing with
AI for a long, long, long time.
If you've ever googledanything, you've been dealing with
AI.
Yeah.
So, you know, justunderstanding that it's not going
to come in and replace youremployees, it's not going to come
in and replace your processes.
It's going to come in andenhance your employees and enhance
your processes.
And because of that, you canspend more time looking at that data.
(12:12):
On that same point, do you seeany significant shifts and how restaurant
tech is evolving?
Yes, I do.
A lot of restaurant technologyis going, you know, look at your
world, right?
What you're doing, you know,with virtualization and being able
to bring a great deal ofinformation to somebody, to where
(12:33):
they are.
I think a lot of it.
Think about since thepandemic, we don't bring people to
us as much as we bring us to them.
Right.
So meeting people where theyare, if I have a training group that
goes all over the country,opening five or 10 different restaurants
a week, or five restaurants aweek, I don't have enough staff to
(12:55):
be at all of them.
So I can just as easily sendvirtual screens over to people and
have them use a virtualreality to train and then be able
to retrain people.
So I'm not having to send awhole team of people out to retrain.
So in Your world virtual isbecoming a strong conversation.
But meeting people where theyare, meeting people to where they
(13:16):
can do what they need to do,wherever they are, versus forcing
them to come into a specificclassroom or a specific place.
And then again, it pulls rightback to data.
If they can get theinformation they need, where they
need it, when they need it,then they could be more responsive
and the industry is catching up.
(13:36):
I will say we've been way,way, way behind technologically for
many, many years.
But in the last two or threeyears, I think we're starting to
actually be the tip of the spear.
Walking around the conferenceand we talked about kind of that
experience.
Now we're talking about as ateam member and as operations, which
is an interesting shift awayfrom the hospitality and guest experience
(14:00):
that we've been so focused onfor several years.
Not that that's ever lost focus.
Obviously hospitality and thetouch points are key factor to restaurants
being successful.
Did you hear any conversationsaround improving customer experience
with tech new stuff?
Okay.
Oh yeah.
In fact, I would say we takeit for granted that that's part of
(14:21):
the conversation, right?
That it doesn't have to be themain topic of conversation.
It is the reason for the conversation.
I mean, every dinner, everyvendor I met with, every group, and
even with the teams that I wasthere with, we were constantly saying
what tools can we utilize tobe able to get in front of the customer
(14:44):
quicker to know our customer?
That was, I would say if youwere to give a theme about customer
response would be getting toknow your customer, how a lot of
conversations with each of thePOS companies that, that I was standing
there listening to the groupsabout how can I capture information
now that PCI compliance andEMV that limited me from capturing
(15:05):
it on the front end at myrestaurant, how do I do hashtags?
And working with the banks andthe gift card companies, loyalty
companies, know my customer,where can I get this data?
And then what can we do?
There were conversations evenat the event that I was at about
looking at drive thru loopsand drive through cameras and understanding
who your customer is, but notbreaking the law like California
(15:28):
laws on license plate readingand tying it to a customer versus
Florida, where you can do alot more than you can do out in California.
So there were lots ofconversations about that.
But all of it kept leading usback to how do we take care of the
customer?
But let's also not forget the employee.
How do we also take care ofthe employee with the same data?
Are we giving them the right shifts?
(15:49):
Are we able to give them theability to trade shifts.
Are we able to pay attentionto patterns with these employees?
So maybe we can see wherethere's some weaknesses and help
them help themselves?
Yeah, through some of the VRtraining stuff that we're doing,
we're able to actually, Idon't wanna say pre qualify, but
walk them through some steps.
And just from the additionaldata points that we're able to gather
(16:10):
through VR, from facialtracking to pupil dilation, we're
able to gather how stressedthey are under certain environments.
You know, is that employeeactually a right fit or let's say
your, your formula is out ofevery 20 people that you train, you're
hoping to get 10 good onesthat are keepers.
Maybe this helps you kind offigure that out a lot quicker.
Anyways, I digress.
(16:32):
This is not a Magic 8 pitcher,but I appreciate the, the plug along
the way here.
Tom, this was not planned, but you.
Were there and you were thereas a vendor.
So you know, as we take it up,it wouldn't be right to not mention
that that was a big car.
A lot of people were talkingabout what it is you're doing.
It's unique, it's different.
Certainly the only people onthe showroom floor that were doing
(16:52):
that and it's interesting.
Just real quick, I'll just putthis in there.
It is being done a lot morethan people do realize and I keep
emphasizing that and peopledon't realize it, but some of the
biggest competitors out therethat you have, folks, they are doing
VR training.
And Magic 8 is not a VRtraining company specifically.
(17:12):
We are an XRP consulting agency.
We help you find the bestsolutions for VR training.
We know what the industryenterprise solutions are.
Also you saw some augmentedreality remote support options too.
So we have a variety of nextgen technology that is quickly making
its way into the restaurantspace through, through Magic 8, hopefully.
(17:34):
And the bigger thing is, likeI said, it's a.
And if this was part ofconversations that wasn't VR related.
But it does take a VR slant ismeeting people where they are.
I cannot always offload andunload people to a bus or on a plane
and get them to where an eventis happening or where they need to
touch something that theycan't touch.
(17:55):
They can't, they can't beinside the freezer.
They can't be somewhere wherewe're trying to train or do something.
They can't be standing in thekitchen as a group of 20 when we're
trying to show how to plate aspecific meal.
So there's a lot of thingsthat we can do using that world.
And there was a lot ofconversation about it.
That's good to hear.
Glad.
And hopefully it was goodconversation, not bad conversation.
(18:15):
Going back real quick to the,we were talking about kind of the
data, the customer data andhow to utilize that.
Our restaurants balancing thatpersonalization aspect through data
with their digital transformation.
Because there is a balance there.
There is, it's there.
You.
Even large companies aredealing with this problem of understanding
(18:37):
who their customer is.
Right.
And, you know, you can haveall the money in the world, but if
you cannot get access to yourdata, you can only know your customer
to where the customer optsinto your loyalty program.
And you're, you know, you'reonly as good as your loyalty program
is.
And so there were lots ofconversations and I was leading a
lot of them, but there werelots of conversations about how people
(18:59):
are tied to their, their pointof sale system, tied to their legacy
equipment, with the inabilityto work with some of the newer stuff
that's on the floor.
Right.
So there were lots ofconversations about, well, how do
we get around that?
How do we capture this datathat we need to get?
Lots of conversations aboutthings like data warehousing and
(19:20):
utilizing BI the right way.
And this is where AI and BIwere coming back in to conversations.
It's nice.
I mean, BI has been aroundforever, but again, if data is king
and we're using AI to captureit, to present it to us, we're using
BI to be able to manipulate itand then be able to give it out to
people to see however theywant to see it.
(19:41):
Right?
So every restaurant group thatI've been working with is still struggling
with the same problems we werestruggling with 10 years ago.
We're just getting the data quicker.
A lot of restaurants thatdidn't have fast speed Internet now
do, so they're able to get it quicker.
But a lot of processes thatare happening due to legacy systems
are still requiring people tomanipulate data on the front end,
(20:03):
put it through the grinder,get it back on the back end, manipulate
data again from that customerall the way to the bank.
There might be five legacyprocesses that prevent people from
getting that full picture, atleast in a real time factor, of who
their customer is and whattheir data really is.
That was the theme of theentire two or three days of what
(20:25):
we were talking about and moreinformative than another.
Even Damon was talking aboutthat with his company that he started
up is, you know, he branded itdifferently the first time he sold
hats and then the next day herealized he kind of made a mistake
and then kind of flipped somewords around.
And it's something that'ssilly of just being able to understand
what your, what your needs areand being able to pivot quickly.
(20:47):
But if you're dealing with aton of legacy systems and you're
not able to get the rightgroup or the right people to help
you, your, your hands are tiedand your hands are handcuffed.
And that's been the case years.
I spent so much time on theshow floor as a vendor this year
doing demos for people that Ididn't have a lot of time to see
sessions.
So the one session I did seehappened to be the one that I was
(21:10):
doing.
So I'll go ahead and speak tothat right now.
And it relates back to data,and that's the RFP process and the
restaurant technology, the RTNstandards, and, you know, the importance
of them, how to incorporate them.
We sourced all of theattendees that were in that session.
And by the way, anybody whowants access to this, let me know,
I'll send you the link.
But it is, you know, a seriesof questions that we recommend that
(21:34):
operators put into their RFPprocess to start asking the questions.
Very few vendors, I'll behonest with you, very few vendors
have adopted the standards.
It will take years before itgets to full adoption.
But we need to start as operators.
I still say we as operatorsbecause I still have that operator
mindset, which I think is akey to, to my success having that
(21:56):
mindset always as an operator.
What are we going to solve for?
We're thinking about asoperators, how do we, you know, make
life simpler for us and forthe vendors to really start integrating
all these data pointstogether, that is a huge struggle.
So it's faster time to marketif everybody comes on board not only
from, from operator, but avendor side.
(22:16):
So there's great incentive forvendors to really jump on the bandwagon
here.
But it comes down to theoperators driving adoption.
You need to be asking yourvendors, are you implementing or
have you implemented RTN standards?
And that's a great openingquestion too, because if they don't
know what it is, open door tointroduce them to rtn.
(22:40):
You said it exactly right.
People have to.
And you know, RTN is, iscritically important not just about
setting standards, but alsokey point indicators, right?
Looking at what kind ofstandards should we do, how should
we behave from API toquestions to workflows.
You and I and Robert andothers have worked with these, but
also looking at how do youmeasure one of the things I mentioned
(23:04):
in my session and I mentionedevery chance I get, we'll never get
to the same place as anindustry if we can't even define
what guest count is.
That drives me nuts that westill cannot really state if a guest
is somebody that sat in achair, if a guest is somebody that
bought a specific entree, orif a guest is somebody that because
(23:24):
they bought a huge pizza, thatit's three people.
Even if it's only one personeating it, or if it's a child eating
a hot dog versus an adulteating a hot dog, if it's an adult,
it's a guest gallon child,it's not.
If we can't get those kind ofsilly things figured out and agree
to those, then how do wemeasure whether our guest count and
our per plate average comparesto somebody else?
(23:46):
So when we try to compareourselves against ourselves or against
the industry or if you're at alarge corporation where you have
12, 14 brands, you can't evenknow how you're doing against your
own brands because they'remeasuring things differently within
those brands.
So, Tom, we're going to take alittle break here.
When we come back, we're goingto continue the conversation around
what we saw at Myrtek, thecool things that you need to be aware
(24:08):
of and maybe questions youshould be asking of operators out
there.
So hang on everybody, we'll beright back.
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Okay, Tom, continuing on,let's talk about anything you heard
(24:50):
from the data and securityside of the restaurant tech stack.
Yeah, it was awesome.
I went to the upgradecybersecurity to meet new threats
and that was being run byJoseph Frisk at Dyn and Marcus Wasden,
our all around wizard in the industry.
And you know, for those of usthat have been cyber and security
(25:13):
for a long time, it was avariation of a theme but it really
is critically important andthey spent a lot of time showing
that, you know, you wouldthink that a restaurant industry
or restaurant company wouldnot be a target at the highest level
for cyber, but that has beenproven and even in years of my world,
previously Large restaurantbrands get attacked often and are
(25:37):
a target on a regular basis.
So making sure peopleunderstand, you know, don't click
it.
Make sure that you do all theright things in the cyber world.
Yeah, it was discussed.
It wasn't.
Other than this particularevent, I didn't hear a lot of talk
about it other than wheneveryou got to some AI, they were talking
about AI security and thingsthey were concerned about.
(25:58):
But that was a great session.
Did you see any more productson the floor that were specifically
dedicated to security that youhadn't seen before?
No.
Okay.
Same players maybe just beinga little more robust in their, their
thinking and hopefully thebase products are also concentrating
heavily on the security pieceas well.
(26:19):
So speaking of the show floor,were there any other standout solutions
or startups that caught your attention?
I know the, the startup alley,we had a very interesting winner
this year.
Anything else out there?
Well, the Ring of Fire, thisis the second year they've done it.
Last year M Tech was in it andI think they were one of the couple
(26:40):
runner ups.
They made it to top three.
And this year they had acouple people that we know.
I mean we all know Mako, weknow Kinetics, you know, we know
Oracle, Clear Cog, these arepeople we've known.
But it was really good becauseit gives them a chance to get up
there and not just haveindividuals walk by and ask some
questions and get two minutes.
(27:02):
This gives them a coupleminutes to get up there and give
a pitch on what it is they do.
And it was good to see it.
You know, I mean, I didn't getto spend as much time in the Ring
of Fire competition and spendwith them, but for the couple minutes
I saw it was going fairly welland you know, it was a very energetic,
fast paced environment.
(27:22):
So that's good to always see,you know, MyRTAC embracing the art
of the next.
Right.
You know, the Shark Tank thatwe did a couple years ago was a lot
of fun.
So yeah, it's good to seethose things continuing.
It keeps a lot of excitement.
Were there any surprising usecases for tech that you hadn't considered
before that you saw?
(27:43):
If I say yes, that means thatI don't know my stuff.
By saying no, it sounds likeI'm being.
Oh, it wasn't meant to be atrick question, Mr.
Seeker.
Oh, good.
But I'm gonna have to say no.
It was, I didn't see anythingthat I've not seen before.
What I saw was, I, I will saythis, I did see a lot more variances
(28:03):
in solutions than there hadbeen in the past.
So instead of going in somesolutions that you would only find
one vendor, with exception ofyours, there was nobody else that
did what you do.
But there were a lot of other,like there were a lot more kiosks
this time.
I would say I saw probablydouble the amount of people that
had kiosks, a couple menuboards that, that weren't there in
(28:23):
the past.
Portability seems to be, youknow, catching on.
You know, but that goes backto the conversation I was having
a little bit earlier where alot of legacy systems do not allow
you to utilize a lot of thenewer portable devices and you know,
a lot of limitations like Shipfour and some of the others that
only focus on their particularcredit card processing type very
(28:46):
much limit what kind ofhardware you can have.
But there are solutions comingup left and right that are allowing
some of these legacy systemsto utilize some of the new portability.
So I would say that would bethe one thing that I was excited
to see.
All right, so you're a social butterfly.
You, you fly around that, thenetworking circuit there at Mirtech.
(29:07):
Who, who are some of the mostinteresting people that you connected
with at Murtech?
Well, you're one of them.
This one could get you.
Yeah, this one could get youin trouble, I guess, if you left
somebody out.
Right?
Yeah.
But, you know, the reality is,is there, there's so many people
that, that we both know.
Goodness sakes, you're right.
I'll tell you what, let's justsay that I saw probably 20 people
(29:30):
that I know on a regular basisand they're all even and equal in
my eyes, but they're all very good.
All right, that, that's avery, that's a very safe answer.
Fair enough.
I'll accept that.
Although I will say that itwas good to see a lot of the operators
like Zarek and you know, theex operators like Bill and some of
the others running around the room.
You know, when we see themayor, yourself and others running
(29:53):
around, that lets you knowthat the industry is still in good
hands.
Good point.
What kind of conversationswere happening on the expo floor?
Was there, was there anything unique?
I guess it comes down to whatwas on people's minds.
Everything I was hearing iswhat's next?
What's next?
Most of the people that arethere know what they have.
(30:15):
What I saw a lot of youngrestaurants, meaning small, not multi.
You know, multi unit meeting.
They probably had 5, 10, 15,20, but not 3, 500,000.
I talked to quite a few of theVP of Director level positions where
they were asking questionsabout, you know, hey, I've got this
(30:37):
and I have this, but I don'tknow how to get to here or don't
know how to get to there.
I probably recommended RTN andIFBTA to probably 25 different people
based off what they werewanting, if they were wanting to
do, you know, certificationand education.
But the RTN world, whichobviously were both on the board,
it was a great fit for everyone of their questions about who
(30:59):
do I talk to or how can I findsomebody that can help me make the
right decisions on doing what.
The first time I ever went toa mirtech was because a friend of
ours made that recommendationand he was working with the two Js,
environment with me, and hebeing one of the smartest people
(31:21):
in our entire industry, got meinvolved and said, you need to go,
you need to start talking.
And ever since then, I've beento nearly everyone, including the
executive conferences.
And now it's our goal to passit along to these younger restaurants,
these newer restaurants,because they were all wanting to
know who to talk to about what.
That's why they're here.
A lot of the first timers,that's why they're here.
(31:43):
You know, one interestingthought that just came about, I can't
remember if I've evensuggested this to the team over at
RTM before, but at nra, forinstance, we'll set aside some people
to give tours of the showroom floor.
So people sign up for, hey,I'm interested in xyz.
And then, you know, you havean RTN member, kind of walk them
(32:04):
around to those solutions, notgoing into detail, but just kind
of, just kind of pointing them out.
That's really cool.
Maybe a mentor program whereyou got a new, not just a new member
of rtm, but somebody who'srelatively new within the industry
or has a relatively youngrestaurant company and they can get
a mentor that can help walkthem around and let them see what
(32:26):
the art of the possible isbased off of what they have and where
they're trying to go.
Maybe you do a 15, 20 minuteinterview with them and then, you
know, in an agnostic way.
Because most of us that arehere, especially in our TN group,
are not there to sell anything anyway.
So to get people in and showthem who the right solutions are,
at least guide them around sothey know the right people to talk
(32:48):
to.
That's a great idea.
I love it.
All right, as we close uphere, if you had to Pick one major
takeaway from the event thatall restaurant operators should know.
What would it be?
Data is king.
If you simply look at whatyou're doing today and you have a
problem with anything thatyou're doing today and you have to
(33:09):
shut it off, they go out ofbusiness, you have to turn it off.
Do you own your data?
Can you get to your data?
And when you put your newsolution in, will your data integrate
to it so you don't lose allyour history?
If you can think like that,then every decision you make about
what you're doing, whereyou're going and where you plan on
going next becomes easier andeasier because you're never going
to put something in that youcan't control and you're never going
(33:32):
to put something in that youcan't take out.
Because because it'sphenomenal today doesn't mean in
that two years going to bephenomenal then.
So you own your data, manageyour data and then work everything
around.
Best of class.
You'll be great.
Tom, next year as we lookforward, what would you like to see
next year's mye?
(33:53):
The Art of the possible.
I like it.
How can we get to where we allwant to go?
I'd love to see surveys aboutwhat it is we would like as operators
and then as a vendor, I'd liketo see those surveys so I could then
take and address those andthen say the art of the possible
based off the request R.
(34:14):
And then that way we can spendthe time in our talks and things
trying to convince the peoplethat are looking for something that
we have what they're lookingfor versus just being wide open.
Tom, as always, great talkingwith you.
Glad we could do it right hereon this forum and and share our conversation
with everybody else.
And I look forward to doinganother one of these with you after
(34:35):
the next show that we do together.
Sounds good, buddy.
Thank you very much.
Well, if you missed it thisyear, we are so sorry.
We didn't see you there.
There is always the ExecutiveSummit in the fall.
Make sure you put that one onyour calendar.
If you have any questions forTom or myself, you can reach out
to me on social media,iipkimpel or magic8tech.
(34:58):
We're on X, Facebook,Instagram and LinkedIn.
For past episodes of the TechChef podcast and the show notes,
head over to skipkimple.comand to catch all of the latest episodes,
visit magicgate.com you canalways reach out to me directly via
email@Skipagic8.com Conferenceseason is officially in full swing
(35:20):
and it feels like there'ssomething happening every other week.
From tech summits tohospitality expos.
The calendar is packed andlet's be honest, it's impossible
to hit them all.
As much as I'd love to, I'vegot a few on my radar this year,
including a couple staples andmaybe a couple of new ones I haven't
experienced yet.
(35:41):
So here's the question.
Which conferences are youplanning to attend?
Let me know because I'd loveto connect, swap insights and maybe
even feature some on the show.
There is no better time to getinspired and stay ahead of the curve.
Next Tuesday we have a goodfriend of mine, Sterling Douglas
from Chowley back on the showto talk about the new Chowley Plan
(36:03):
platform.
What the heck is that?
What's changed?
Well, you're going to have totune in next week to find out, so
until then, stay safe, stayhealthy and stay hungry.
My friends.
You are listening to the TechChef Podcast.
This is episode number 93.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
This show is powered by GrowthAdvisors International network where
travel and hospitalitycompanies come to grow.
For more information pleasevisit gainadvisors.com hi.
This is Tom Seeker, CTO forZiggy's Coffee and you're listening
(00:23):
to Skip on the Tech Chef Podcast.
Strategy Business Continu.
How about a taste test ofrestaurant technology?
Drive thru or curbside?
Mobile apps or AI?
It's all on the menu.
Cook it up for the date.
It's a recipe for success.
(00:47):
You're in good hands with theTech Chef.
Make a plan to be your best.
Strategize with the Tech Chef.
Well, hey there and welcome tothe Tech Chef Podcast where tech
meets table in the coolestways possible.
I'm Skip Kimpl, your guide onthis wild ride through the ever evolving
(01:10):
world of hospitality innovation.
Whether you're running ahotel, managing a restaurant, or
just nerding out over thelatest tech and unique guest experiences,
you're in the right place.
Each week we're serving up hottakes on the freshest tech trends.
From AI tools that know yourguest better than they know themselves,
(01:30):
to jaw dropping immersiveexperiences and future forward ideas
you didn't even know existed.
We're talking to the bigthinkers, bold creators and the hospitality
rebels who are reshaping howwe eat, sleep, play and stay.
So if you're hungry forinnovation and thirsty for inspiration,
(01:51):
pull up a chair because we'reabout to cook up the future of hospitality.
Before we fully dive intotoday's episode, I gotta say, wow.
What an incredible time atMirtech this year.
If you were there, you alreadyknow what I'm talking about.
The energy, the innovation,the conversations.
It felt like the heartbeat ofthe restaurant tech world was on
(02:13):
full blast.
From groundbreaking solutionsto seeing familiar faces and meeting
a few new ones, Mr.
Tech 2025 absolutely delivered.
Now real talk.
This episode was actuallysupposed to drop last week, but then
life had other plans.
Yep, I got hit with a nastybug right after the conference.
(02:34):
Total Tech Chef shut down.
No voice, no energy, just tea,tissues and sleep.
But I'm back, recharged andmore excited than ever to dig into
what's cooking in the world ofhospitality tech.
So thank you for your patienceand if you've also been battling
the post conference plague, Isee you this year.
(02:57):
To help me recap ourexperience at the show, I have first
time guest Tom Seeker joiningus to share his thoughts.
Those that don't know him Tomis a proven thought leader in information
technology with extensiveexperience in the hospitality sector
with over 25 brands, and iscurrently the Chief Technology Officer
(03:17):
for ziggy's Coffee and EmtechInnovation Labs.
The main theme of this year'sMrTech event was Experience Matters,
which promoted discussionsabout how individual experiences
can vary and how technology isevolving in the restaurant sector.
Tom highlights the importanceof data, emphasizing its role in
(03:37):
enhancing customer andemployee experiences while also addressing
the challenges posed by legacy systems.
The conversation shifts with afocus on the future, stressing that
owning and managing data iscrucial for making informed decisions
in the industry.
Tom always has great, uniqueand thorough insights, and today's
(03:59):
episode is no different.
Enjoy.
Joining the Tech chef for this2025 Mertech recap, we have Tom Seeker,
the one, the only Mr.
Seeker.
How are you?
Doing great.
Really appreciate being on the podcast.
I can't believe we haven'thave you on the show yet.
(04:21):
When we were talking at theshow, I'm like, wait, wait a minute,
we.
We haven't had Tom Seeker onthe Tech Chef.
What's going on here?
My bad.
Certainly intended to have youon at some point.
Well, heck, it's because weworked every day together for so
long, it probably just slippedboth of our minds.
Exactly.
And this is just another conversation.
So this is a, this is a greatopportunity just to chat about technology
(04:43):
and of course, a show that weboth love and we have great passion
for, and that is Mirtech.
So Mirtech was different this year.
Mirtech, it changed venues.
It went from the Paris toCaesars Forum.
What are your thoughts about that?
You know, I didn't like theidea of it when I first heard about
it, and, and I thought, youknow, being across the street and
(05:03):
all the pain it was going to be.
But, you know, the reality isI had not been in the Forum, so I
just simply didn't know.
But having done as many as wedid in Paris, moving over to the
Harrah's, which is where mostof us stayed, or at least many of
us stayed, and then going overto the Forum, they have a flyover
on the second floor, so you'rereally not crossing the road.
(05:25):
You're just going from onebuilding to the next.
It was like walking through 20airports by the time you got to where
you're going.
But the venue was amazing and,you know, it was like a family reunion
down the whole walkway.
So just seeing everybody youknew and still seeing a lot of new
people as well.
But I liked it a lot.
The main floor, everythingbeing in the same place was nice,
(05:46):
but I think a lot of that wastrying to prevent people from suitcasing
and doing other things thatthey really don't like happening
at these shows.
Well, that's a very detaileddescription of the facility.
Thank you.
Thank you, Tom.
And yes, I do believe that thesuitcase racing aspect is why they
moved the forum.
But do you think that really worked?
No, I don't either becauseeverybody's found.
(06:07):
Everybody found areas togather anyways.
So, you know, I don't know ifyou had your choice of Paris or Caesar.
I see they made theannouncement to go back to Caesars
next year.
So I guess we have somecommitment there, at least to the
Caesar's properties.
But I'm just curious yourthought, if you had to.
If you had to go back toParis, would you.
Yeah.
Oh, in a heartbeat.
I liked Paris.
I enjoy.
(06:27):
I didn't.
I didn't have any negativitiesabout Paris, to be honest with you.
You know, I like it eitherway, but I'm just so used to Paris.
That's what was comfortable tome, that when I say Murtagh, I immediately
think the Paris.
Well, there was no runningquickly back to your hotel room to
take a call, that's for sure.
No, no, no.
(06:48):
I put in 47,500 steps at Murtag.
Wow.
Good for you.
That's.
It was a workout.
All right, let's get into theshow itself.
So this year's theme wasExperience Matters.
What were your expectationswalking into the show and did it
live up to those expectations?
You know, the good news is Ididn't set any expectations.
(07:08):
I came at it differently frommyself this year.
And again, remember, Mirtechis a individual experience, which
is different for everyone.
That's weird to think aboutthat because you have many, so many
thousands different peoplecoming in.
But, you know, the last fouror five times I've come, I've come
as a CIO or a leader of arestaurant company or restaurant
(07:29):
group.
This time I came as a vendorand as an operator, so as CTO is
Ziggy.
But I also came as a CTO ofMTech Innovations.
So my mindset coming into thiswas I was going to spend more time
on the floor and more time indifferent sessions and talking with
different people, but nottrying to specifically solve problems
(07:52):
at my locations that I work at.
I wanted to see what the artof the possible is, what's available
out there, and then let thatguide me on day two, which it absolutely
did.
So I didn't come into it Witha mindset that this is going to be
experience matters, meaningwe're bringing all the people who
are only experts, who havebeen here forever.
(08:12):
But I do think that after Iwatched a lot of the different sessions,
that's what I got.
Yeah.
Speaking of sessions, I'massuming you went to some of the
keynotes.
Were there any keynotespeakers or panel discussions that
resonated with you?
Yeah, well, I mean, I gotta.
I gotta say, the keynote was awesome.
Damon was.
Was what?
What you expect?
I mean, he.
(08:33):
He is exactly what you would expect.
You know, he came in throughthe side door, walked onto the stage,
went a little bit long, whichwas nice because a lot of keynotes,
they give you the 59 minutes,59 seconds, and they're right back
out the door.
He told his whole story, spentthe time, really tied it back to
the industry, and then cameover, took some pictures and left.
(08:54):
But that was good, and itreally was an uplifting moment.
I made one of the otherkeynote speakers and again, that
was where the experiencematters conversation.
I went to the OptimizingOmnichannel just as I got there,
and that's Peter Wiley and.
And really understanding whatyou and I dealt with in our previous
(09:18):
lives, working with, you know,multiple different, you know, channels
and how to deal with that.
I will say that I think that if.
If an afterthought, you lookat what we could have called it,
it is more about data beingking and data being important because
again, you start bringing alot of people who are subject matter
experts in the industry thatit's all about capturing, manipulating
(09:42):
and consuming data.
And every one of our talksand, you know, being a little bit
selfish based off that, youknow, we led a session, myself and
Meredith and Clark from ElPollo Yoko, we all ran a group called
Leveraging Real Time Data.
And that was, I have to say, Ithink it went relatively well.
(10:03):
It was well attended.
I had a lot of peoplefollowing up with me that day and
the day after, and they'rejust basically pointing out what
you and I have discussed manytimes about cash not really being
king.
It's data, right?
Data is king.
Cash is a small part of whatwe do.
It's credit cards and data.
The back of house optimization.
(10:24):
I did not go to that one thatwas on at the same time, but I did
get to watch a video of it andit was outstanding.
Let me interrupt you realquick and ask you a question about
the data.
So I did notice there were alot of data discussions, security
discussions.
Was there a shift of talkingabout AI all the time.
AI, AI, AI.
Or is this more of afoundational conversation around
(10:45):
you got to have clean data inorder to be able to build some of
those LLMs for your AI.
You know, it was a.
It's a really great thing thatyou asked that question, because
I was talking with Tony atmtac and this was wonderful to hear.
AI is going back to what itwas always meant to be.
A tool.
Yes.
And quite frankly, a tool to.
(11:06):
To normalize, capture, and tobring you that data and present data
to you.
But it's been less theconversation about AI being the answer,
but a tool to help you get the answer.
And so there were a lot of AIcompanies at the event this year,
but it wasn't that.
AI is the salvation of whatyou do.
(11:28):
It's a great mechanism to getyour data quicker, to help you look
at data from multiple points.
But AI was less the subjectmatter this year and more a great
tool to help you get to thedata that you need.
So there was a shift, and I'mglad to see it, because I've been
saying this from the very beginning.
Those of us that have been inthe technology world, not just, you
(11:51):
know, hospitality, buttechnology, we've been dealing with
AI for a long, long, long time.
If you've ever googledanything, you've been dealing with
AI.
Yeah.
So, you know, justunderstanding that it's not going
to come in and replace youremployees, it's not going to come
in and replace your processes.
It's going to come in andenhance your employees and enhance
your processes.
And because of that, you canspend more time looking at that data.
(12:12):
On that same point, do you seeany significant shifts and how restaurant
tech is evolving?
Yes, I do.
A lot of restaurant technologyis going, you know, look at your
world, right?
What you're doing, you know,with virtualization and being able
to bring a great deal ofinformation to somebody, to where
(12:33):
they are.
I think a lot of it.
Think about since thepandemic, we don't bring people to
us as much as we bring us to them.
Right.
So meeting people where theyare, if I have a training group that
goes all over the country,opening five or 10 different restaurants
a week, or five restaurants aweek, I don't have enough staff to
(12:55):
be at all of them.
So I can just as easily sendvirtual screens over to people and
have them use a virtualreality to train and then be able
to retrain people.
So I'm not having to send awhole team of people out to retrain.
So in Your world virtual isbecoming a strong conversation.
But meeting people where theyare, meeting people to where they
(13:16):
can do what they need to do,wherever they are, versus forcing
them to come into a specificclassroom or a specific place.
And then again, it pulls rightback to data.
If they can get theinformation they need, where they
need it, when they need it,then they could be more responsive
and the industry is catching up.
(13:36):
I will say we've been way,way, way behind technologically for
many, many years.
But in the last two or threeyears, I think we're starting to
actually be the tip of the spear.
Walking around the conferenceand we talked about kind of that
experience.
Now we're talking about as ateam member and as operations, which
is an interesting shift awayfrom the hospitality and guest experience
(14:00):
that we've been so focused onfor several years.
Not that that's ever lost focus.
Obviously hospitality and thetouch points are key factor to restaurants
being successful.
Did you hear any conversationsaround improving customer experience
with tech new stuff?
Okay.
Oh yeah.
In fact, I would say we takeit for granted that that's part of
(14:21):
the conversation, right?
That it doesn't have to be themain topic of conversation.
It is the reason for the conversation.
I mean, every dinner, everyvendor I met with, every group, and
even with the teams that I wasthere with, we were constantly saying
what tools can we utilize tobe able to get in front of the customer
(14:44):
quicker to know our customer?
That was, I would say if youwere to give a theme about customer
response would be getting toknow your customer, how a lot of
conversations with each of thePOS companies that, that I was standing
there listening to the groupsabout how can I capture information
now that PCI compliance andEMV that limited me from capturing
(15:05):
it on the front end at myrestaurant, how do I do hashtags?
And working with the banks andthe gift card companies, loyalty
companies, know my customer,where can I get this data?
And then what can we do?
There were conversations evenat the event that I was at about
looking at drive thru loopsand drive through cameras and understanding
who your customer is, but notbreaking the law like California
(15:28):
laws on license plate readingand tying it to a customer versus
Florida, where you can do alot more than you can do out in California.
So there were lots ofconversations about that.
But all of it kept leading usback to how do we take care of the
customer?
But let's also not forget the employee.
How do we also take care ofthe employee with the same data?
Are we giving them the right shifts?
(15:49):
Are we able to give them theability to trade shifts.
Are we able to pay attentionto patterns with these employees?
So maybe we can see wherethere's some weaknesses and help
them help themselves?
Yeah, through some of the VRtraining stuff that we're doing,
we're able to actually, Idon't wanna say pre qualify, but
walk them through some steps.
And just from the additionaldata points that we're able to gather
(16:10):
through VR, from facialtracking to pupil dilation, we're
able to gather how stressedthey are under certain environments.
You know, is that employeeactually a right fit or let's say
your, your formula is out ofevery 20 people that you train, you're
hoping to get 10 good onesthat are keepers.
Maybe this helps you kind offigure that out a lot quicker.
Anyways, I digress.
(16:32):
This is not a Magic 8 pitcher,but I appreciate the, the plug along
the way here.
Tom, this was not planned, but you.
Were there and you were thereas a vendor.
So you know, as we take it up,it wouldn't be right to not mention
that that was a big car.
A lot of people were talkingabout what it is you're doing.
It's unique, it's different.
Certainly the only people onthe showroom floor that were doing
(16:52):
that and it's interesting.
Just real quick, I'll just putthis in there.
It is being done a lot morethan people do realize and I keep
emphasizing that and peopledon't realize it, but some of the
biggest competitors out therethat you have, folks, they are doing
VR training.
And Magic 8 is not a VRtraining company specifically.
(17:12):
We are an XRP consulting agency.
We help you find the bestsolutions for VR training.
We know what the industryenterprise solutions are.
Also you saw some augmentedreality remote support options too.
So we have a variety of nextgen technology that is quickly making
its way into the restaurantspace through, through Magic 8, hopefully.
(17:34):
And the bigger thing is, likeI said, it's a.
And if this was part ofconversations that wasn't VR related.
But it does take a VR slant ismeeting people where they are.
I cannot always offload andunload people to a bus or on a plane
and get them to where an eventis happening or where they need to
touch something that theycan't touch.
(17:55):
They can't, they can't beinside the freezer.
They can't be somewhere wherewe're trying to train or do something.
They can't be standing in thekitchen as a group of 20 when we're
trying to show how to plate aspecific meal.
So there's a lot of thingsthat we can do using that world.
And there was a lot ofconversation about it.
That's good to hear.
Glad.
And hopefully it was goodconversation, not bad conversation.
(18:15):
Going back real quick to the,we were talking about kind of the
data, the customer data andhow to utilize that.
Our restaurants balancing thatpersonalization aspect through data
with their digital transformation.
Because there is a balance there.
There is, it's there.
You.
Even large companies aredealing with this problem of understanding
(18:37):
who their customer is.
Right.
And, you know, you can haveall the money in the world, but if
you cannot get access to yourdata, you can only know your customer
to where the customer optsinto your loyalty program.
And you're, you know, you'reonly as good as your loyalty program
is.
And so there were lots ofconversations and I was leading a
lot of them, but there werelots of conversations about how people
(18:59):
are tied to their, their pointof sale system, tied to their legacy
equipment, with the inabilityto work with some of the newer stuff
that's on the floor.
Right.
So there were lots ofconversations about, well, how do
we get around that?
How do we capture this datathat we need to get?
Lots of conversations aboutthings like data warehousing and
(19:20):
utilizing BI the right way.
And this is where AI and BIwere coming back in to conversations.
It's nice.
I mean, BI has been aroundforever, but again, if data is king
and we're using AI to captureit, to present it to us, we're using
BI to be able to manipulate itand then be able to give it out to
people to see however theywant to see it.
(19:41):
Right?
So every restaurant group thatI've been working with is still struggling
with the same problems we werestruggling with 10 years ago.
We're just getting the data quicker.
A lot of restaurants thatdidn't have fast speed Internet now
do, so they're able to get it quicker.
But a lot of processes thatare happening due to legacy systems
are still requiring people tomanipulate data on the front end,
(20:03):
put it through the grinder,get it back on the back end, manipulate
data again from that customerall the way to the bank.
There might be five legacyprocesses that prevent people from
getting that full picture, atleast in a real time factor, of who
their customer is and whattheir data really is.
That was the theme of theentire two or three days of what
(20:25):
we were talking about and moreinformative than another.
Even Damon was talking aboutthat with his company that he started
up is, you know, he branded itdifferently the first time he sold
hats and then the next day herealized he kind of made a mistake
and then kind of flipped somewords around.
And it's something that'ssilly of just being able to understand
what your, what your needs areand being able to pivot quickly.
(20:47):
But if you're dealing with aton of legacy systems and you're
not able to get the rightgroup or the right people to help
you, your, your hands are tiedand your hands are handcuffed.
And that's been the case years.
I spent so much time on theshow floor as a vendor this year
doing demos for people that Ididn't have a lot of time to see
sessions.
So the one session I did seehappened to be the one that I was
(21:10):
doing.
So I'll go ahead and speak tothat right now.
And it relates back to data,and that's the RFP process and the
restaurant technology, the RTNstandards, and, you know, the importance
of them, how to incorporate them.
We sourced all of theattendees that were in that session.
And by the way, anybody whowants access to this, let me know,
I'll send you the link.
But it is, you know, a seriesof questions that we recommend that
(21:34):
operators put into their RFPprocess to start asking the questions.
Very few vendors, I'll behonest with you, very few vendors
have adopted the standards.
It will take years before itgets to full adoption.
But we need to start as operators.
I still say we as operatorsbecause I still have that operator
mindset, which I think is akey to, to my success having that
(21:56):
mindset always as an operator.
What are we going to solve for?
We're thinking about asoperators, how do we, you know, make
life simpler for us and forthe vendors to really start integrating
all these data pointstogether, that is a huge struggle.
So it's faster time to marketif everybody comes on board not only
from, from operator, but avendor side.
(22:16):
So there's great incentive forvendors to really jump on the bandwagon
here.
But it comes down to theoperators driving adoption.
You need to be asking yourvendors, are you implementing or
have you implemented RTN standards?
And that's a great openingquestion too, because if they don't
know what it is, open door tointroduce them to rtn.
(22:40):
You said it exactly right.
People have to.
And you know, RTN is, iscritically important not just about
setting standards, but alsokey point indicators, right?
Looking at what kind ofstandards should we do, how should
we behave from API toquestions to workflows.
You and I and Robert andothers have worked with these, but
also looking at how do youmeasure one of the things I mentioned
(23:04):
in my session and I mentionedevery chance I get, we'll never get
to the same place as anindustry if we can't even define
what guest count is.
That drives me nuts that westill cannot really state if a guest
is somebody that sat in achair, if a guest is somebody that
bought a specific entree, orif a guest is somebody that because
(23:24):
they bought a huge pizza, thatit's three people.
Even if it's only one personeating it, or if it's a child eating
a hot dog versus an adulteating a hot dog, if it's an adult,
it's a guest gallon child,it's not.
If we can't get those kind ofsilly things figured out and agree
to those, then how do wemeasure whether our guest count and
our per plate average comparesto somebody else?
(23:46):
So when we try to compareourselves against ourselves or against
the industry or if you're at alarge corporation where you have
12, 14 brands, you can't evenknow how you're doing against your
own brands because they'remeasuring things differently within
those brands.
So, Tom, we're going to take alittle break here.
When we come back, we're goingto continue the conversation around
what we saw at Myrtek, thecool things that you need to be aware
(24:08):
of and maybe questions youshould be asking of operators out
there.
So hang on everybody, we'll beright back.
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Okay, Tom, continuing on,let's talk about anything you heard
(24:50):
from the data and securityside of the restaurant tech stack.
Yeah, it was awesome.
I went to the upgradecybersecurity to meet new threats
and that was being run byJoseph Frisk at Dyn and Marcus Wasden,
our all around wizard in the industry.
And you know, for those of usthat have been cyber and security
(25:13):
for a long time, it was avariation of a theme but it really
is critically important andthey spent a lot of time showing
that, you know, you wouldthink that a restaurant industry
or restaurant company wouldnot be a target at the highest level
for cyber, but that has beenproven and even in years of my world,
previously Large restaurantbrands get attacked often and are
(25:37):
a target on a regular basis.
So making sure peopleunderstand, you know, don't click
it.
Make sure that you do all theright things in the cyber world.
Yeah, it was discussed.
It wasn't.
Other than this particularevent, I didn't hear a lot of talk
about it other than wheneveryou got to some AI, they were talking
about AI security and thingsthey were concerned about.
(25:58):
But that was a great session.
Did you see any more productson the floor that were specifically
dedicated to security that youhadn't seen before?
No.
Okay.
Same players maybe just beinga little more robust in their, their
thinking and hopefully thebase products are also concentrating
heavily on the security pieceas well.
(26:19):
So speaking of the show floor,were there any other standout solutions
or startups that caught your attention?
I know the, the startup alley,we had a very interesting winner
this year.
Anything else out there?
Well, the Ring of Fire, thisis the second year they've done it.
Last year M Tech was in it andI think they were one of the couple
(26:40):
runner ups.
They made it to top three.
And this year they had acouple people that we know.
I mean we all know Mako, weknow Kinetics, you know, we know
Oracle, Clear Cog, these arepeople we've known.
But it was really good becauseit gives them a chance to get up
there and not just haveindividuals walk by and ask some
questions and get two minutes.
(27:02):
This gives them a coupleminutes to get up there and give
a pitch on what it is they do.
And it was good to see it.
You know, I mean, I didn't getto spend as much time in the Ring
of Fire competition and spendwith them, but for the couple minutes
I saw it was going fairly welland you know, it was a very energetic,
fast paced environment.
(27:22):
So that's good to always see,you know, MyRTAC embracing the art
of the next.
Right.
You know, the Shark Tank thatwe did a couple years ago was a lot
of fun.
So yeah, it's good to seethose things continuing.
It keeps a lot of excitement.
Were there any surprising usecases for tech that you hadn't considered
before that you saw?
(27:43):
If I say yes, that means thatI don't know my stuff.
By saying no, it sounds likeI'm being.
Oh, it wasn't meant to be atrick question, Mr.
Seeker.
Oh, good.
But I'm gonna have to say no.
It was, I didn't see anythingthat I've not seen before.
What I saw was, I, I will saythis, I did see a lot more variances
(28:03):
in solutions than there hadbeen in the past.
So instead of going in somesolutions that you would only find
one vendor, with exception ofyours, there was nobody else that
did what you do.
But there were a lot of other,like there were a lot more kiosks
this time.
I would say I saw probablydouble the amount of people that
had kiosks, a couple menuboards that, that weren't there in
(28:23):
the past.
Portability seems to be, youknow, catching on.
You know, but that goes backto the conversation I was having
a little bit earlier where alot of legacy systems do not allow
you to utilize a lot of thenewer portable devices and you know,
a lot of limitations like Shipfour and some of the others that
only focus on their particularcredit card processing type very
(28:46):
much limit what kind ofhardware you can have.
But there are solutions comingup left and right that are allowing
some of these legacy systemsto utilize some of the new portability.
So I would say that would bethe one thing that I was excited
to see.
All right, so you're a social butterfly.
You, you fly around that, thenetworking circuit there at Mirtech.
(29:07):
Who, who are some of the mostinteresting people that you connected
with at Murtech?
Well, you're one of them.
This one could get you.
Yeah, this one could get youin trouble, I guess, if you left
somebody out.
Right?
Yeah.
But, you know, the reality is,is there, there's so many people
that, that we both know.
Goodness sakes, you're right.
I'll tell you what, let's justsay that I saw probably 20 people
(29:30):
that I know on a regular basisand they're all even and equal in
my eyes, but they're all very good.
All right, that, that's avery, that's a very safe answer.
Fair enough.
I'll accept that.
Although I will say that itwas good to see a lot of the operators
like Zarek and you know, theex operators like Bill and some of
the others running around the room.
You know, when we see themayor, yourself and others running
(29:53):
around, that lets you knowthat the industry is still in good
hands.
Good point.
What kind of conversationswere happening on the expo floor?
Was there, was there anything unique?
I guess it comes down to whatwas on people's minds.
Everything I was hearing iswhat's next?
What's next?
Most of the people that arethere know what they have.
(30:15):
What I saw a lot of youngrestaurants, meaning small, not multi.
You know, multi unit meeting.
They probably had 5, 10, 15,20, but not 3, 500,000.
I talked to quite a few of theVP of Director level positions where
they were asking questionsabout, you know, hey, I've got this
(30:37):
and I have this, but I don'tknow how to get to here or don't
know how to get to there.
I probably recommended RTN andIFBTA to probably 25 different people
based off what they werewanting, if they were wanting to
do, you know, certificationand education.
But the RTN world, whichobviously were both on the board,
it was a great fit for everyone of their questions about who
(30:59):
do I talk to or how can I findsomebody that can help me make the
right decisions on doing what.
The first time I ever went toa mirtech was because a friend of
ours made that recommendationand he was working with the two Js,
environment with me, and hebeing one of the smartest people
(31:21):
in our entire industry, got meinvolved and said, you need to go,
you need to start talking.
And ever since then, I've beento nearly everyone, including the
executive conferences.
And now it's our goal to passit along to these younger restaurants,
these newer restaurants,because they were all wanting to
know who to talk to about what.
That's why they're here.
A lot of the first timers,that's why they're here.
(31:43):
You know, one interestingthought that just came about, I can't
remember if I've evensuggested this to the team over at
RTM before, but at nra, forinstance, we'll set aside some people
to give tours of the showroom floor.
So people sign up for, hey,I'm interested in xyz.
And then, you know, you havean RTN member, kind of walk them
(32:04):
around to those solutions, notgoing into detail, but just kind
of, just kind of pointing them out.
That's really cool.
Maybe a mentor program whereyou got a new, not just a new member
of rtm, but somebody who'srelatively new within the industry
or has a relatively youngrestaurant company and they can get
a mentor that can help walkthem around and let them see what
(32:26):
the art of the possible isbased off of what they have and where
they're trying to go.
Maybe you do a 15, 20 minuteinterview with them and then, you
know, in an agnostic way.
Because most of us that arehere, especially in our TN group,
are not there to sell anything anyway.
So to get people in and showthem who the right solutions are,
at least guide them around sothey know the right people to talk
(32:48):
to.
That's a great idea.
I love it.
All right, as we close uphere, if you had to Pick one major
takeaway from the event thatall restaurant operators should know.
What would it be?
Data is king.
If you simply look at whatyou're doing today and you have a
problem with anything thatyou're doing today and you have to
(33:09):
shut it off, they go out ofbusiness, you have to turn it off.
Do you own your data?
Can you get to your data?
And when you put your newsolution in, will your data integrate
to it so you don't lose allyour history?
If you can think like that,then every decision you make about
what you're doing, whereyou're going and where you plan on
going next becomes easier andeasier because you're never going
to put something in that youcan't control and you're never going
(33:32):
to put something in that youcan't take out.
Because because it'sphenomenal today doesn't mean in
that two years going to bephenomenal then.
So you own your data, manageyour data and then work everything
around.
Best of class.
You'll be great.
Tom, next year as we lookforward, what would you like to see
next year's mye?
(33:53):
The Art of the possible.
I like it.
How can we get to where we allwant to go?
I'd love to see surveys aboutwhat it is we would like as operators
and then as a vendor, I'd liketo see those surveys so I could then
take and address those andthen say the art of the possible
based off the request R.
(34:14):
And then that way we can spendthe time in our talks and things
trying to convince the peoplethat are looking for something that
we have what they're lookingfor versus just being wide open.
Tom, as always, great talkingwith you.
Glad we could do it right hereon this forum and and share our conversation
with everybody else.
And I look forward to doinganother one of these with you after
(34:35):
the next show that we do together.
Sounds good, buddy.
Thank you very much.
Well, if you missed it thisyear, we are so sorry.
We didn't see you there.
There is always the ExecutiveSummit in the fall.
Make sure you put that one onyour calendar.
If you have any questions forTom or myself, you can reach out
to me on social media,iipkimpel or magic8tech.
(34:58):
We're on X, Facebook,Instagram and LinkedIn.
For past episodes of the TechChef podcast and the show notes,
head over to skipkimple.comand to catch all of the latest episodes,
visit magicgate.com you canalways reach out to me directly via
email@Skipagic8.com Conferenceseason is officially in full swing
(35:20):
and it feels like there'ssomething happening every other week.
From tech summits tohospitality expos.
The calendar is packed andlet's be honest, it's impossible
to hit them all.
As much as I'd love to, I'vegot a few on my radar this year,
including a couple staples andmaybe a couple of new ones I haven't
experienced yet.
(35:41):
So here's the question.
Which conferences are youplanning to attend?
Let me know because I'd loveto connect, swap insights and maybe
even feature some on the show.
There is no better time to getinspired and stay ahead of the curve.
Next Tuesday we have a goodfriend of mine, Sterling Douglas
from Chowley back on the showto talk about the new Chowley Plan
(36:03):
platform.
What the heck is that?
What's changed?
Well, you're going to have totune in next week to find out, so
until then, stay safe, stayhealthy and stay hungry.
My friends.
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