First Watch Restaurants announced a partnership with waitlist and table management system Wisely to further enhance guest experience. This integration expands upon the First Watch You First mission, leveraging technology to aggressively evolve and empower team members to further personalize customer experience at-scale, a mission-critical component of the company’s strategic growth plans.
As restaurants across the country reopen, First Watch guests can make dine-in reservations on the waitlist tool – powered by Wisely – directly on the First Watch mobile app and website, as well as Google. The partnership empowers First Watch team members to efficiently manage the wait for curbside pick-up and dine-in from the Wisely app at the Host Stand and capture individual customer preferences to supplement their service. Guest information and preferences are seamlessly consolidated into the Wisely CRM, giving operators the insights needed to trigger or automate personalized campaigns to optimize customer engagement and create an even more individualized experience. Wisely uses order data collected from Olo to populate the CRM.
This strategic combination of customer-centric technologies, an approach designed by Vert Digital and Switchbox, will directly feed into First Watch’s commitment to continuous improvement and growth plans. The agency teams at Vert Digital and Switchbox worked together with the brand to identify best-in-class companies positioned to elevate an already customer-focused dining experience.
“By fast-tracking plans to overhaul the customer experience together with a team of digital and tech partners who are experts in brand innovation and customer engagement, we are able to further evolve our You First mission and position ourselves for continued success,” says Matt Eisenacher, SVP of Brand Strategy and Innovation for First Watch. “Rolling out online ordering in a matter of days at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic proved that our teams and partners were up for any challenge. Serving people an unparalleled breakfast, brunch and lunch experience has always been at the core of what we do, and for the first time in 37 years, with our doors closed, we determined that plans to implement more modern tools to help us better communicate with our customers had to move up the list as one of our top priorities.”
“Meeting guests wherever they are and capturing insights about their preferences helps create a more personalized experience—both online and in the restaurant,” adds Wisely Cofounder and CEO Mike Vichich. “We worked around the clock to roll out our system across just shy of 400 locations in a matter of days, and we’re excited to see how more accessible and adaptable marketing tools support the brand’s profitability and guest engagement goals.”
These aggressive customer-centric technology investments come as Frist Watch reopens its doors following the Company’s decision to temporarily close its restaurants for the health and safety of its restaurant teams amid the COVID-19 pandemic: 341 First Watch restaurants have already opened with many other locations welcoming guests back starting June 15.
