Ops Summit 2023: What We Learned, Loved, and Look Forward To

This week, we hosted our all-new user conference, Ops Summit 2023, in San Antonio. We were thrilled to be joined by hundreds of customers, leaders, users, and advocates from the Crunchtime community, to learn and share their experience and know-how.?

This two-day live event was filled with networking opportunities, keynotes, and break-out discussions for attendees to mix and match. We've compiled some highlights of what we learned, what we loved, and what we look forward to coming out of this event—the largest ever in Crunchtime history!?

LEARNED:

There’s no better way to learn about ops excellence across inventory management, labor and scheduling, learning and development, and operations execution than to hear best practices right from your peers.?

Here are a few of our learnings:?

• Best practices and new ideas for leveraging Crunchtime for different processes and workflows.
• That our CEO, John Raguin , used to sell fireworks. ??
• The latest enhancements and integrations across all product lines.?
• That nacho fries are back at Taco Bell , thanks to Ops Excellence Award Finalist Guardino Ken from Tacala, LLC .
• It’s difficult to regulate the temperature in large conference rooms.? ?? ??
• How to use new Crunchtime features effectively.
• All Ops Summit attendees were pretty good at improv (and Joel Zeff is, too). ?
• The best holiday gift for employees is compression socks, according to Cotton Patch Cafe ’s COO Todd McEvoy . ??

LOVED:?

There was a lot to love about this event, especially since it was the first time we brought together customers of Crunchtime, Zenput, DiscoverLink, Squadle, and BrandMate for two days of learning, sharing, networking, and fun.?

Here are a few things we loved:?

• sweetgreen was voted the first-ever winner of the Ops Excellence Awards, live, by all attendees. ??
• The networking and knowledge-sharing among attendees, even between some of whom are competitors themselves.?
• COOs from Cotton Patch Cafe Todd McEvoy and Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers Brian W. make a dynamic duo on stage—and both companies are bringing on Guest Experience Coaches.
• Not only are restaurants people-first, but they are also employee-first.
• The variety and selection of photo booth props at Wednesday evening’s gathering. ??
• That SO many attendees have had incredible career growth with their companies and within the industry.?
• Hearing how Crunchtime helps P.F. Chang's and Jersey Mike's Subs stay successful in each of their restaurants.?
• Day two’s breakfast spread, especially the bacon and hashbrowns. ??

LOOK FORWARD TO:?

Though our goal was to exceed our attendees’ expectations with this event, all of our attendees really exceeded ours. We look forward to helping you all continue to drive the industry forward, and all that the future holds.?

• Ops Summit 2024! Too soon? We don't think so!
• Sharing all of the event content with you - check your inbox soon! ??
• New and upcoming Crunchtime capabilities that we got to see this week.
• Seeing who will enter into the running for the 2024 Ops Excellence Awards.?
• Using all of the awesome new swag from the conference. ??
• The future of the Crunchtime platform and our longer-term vision.
• Taking all of the feedback from attendees and using it to make next year even bigger and better.
• Being able to sing, “We’ve been here since 2024, 2024, 2024…” anyone else still singing it in their head? ??

Crunchtime is committed to the specific needs of its growing community of leading operators and is on a mission to better position every operator for future success to achieve ops excellence in every location. Thank you to all who took the time to join us, our featured speakers, and customers who have graciously shared their own experiences this week.