CASE STUDY
No Feedback Left Behind: How Cheba Hut’s 100% Response Rate Is Paying Off
About Cheba Hut
Founded in 1998, Cheba Hut Toasted Subs has spent 28 years doing things the right way — scratch-made food, high-touch hospitality, and a loyal fanbase that keeps coming back. With 85 locations across 18 states, an average unit volume of $2.4 million, and 15 more locations opening this year, the brand is growing fast without losing what makes it special.
“All that people want is their voice to be heard. Ovation gives us that platform to do it.”
The Challenge: Keeping the Human Touch as Digital Orders Scale
Cheba Hut has always prided itself on in-person hospitality. But as digital orders now account for over 35% of sales, the traditional cues that told operators how a guest felt — a conversation at the counter, a smile on the way out — started disappearing. The brand needed a way to stay connected to every guest experience, not just the ones happening face-to-face.
“Times have changed. So much of the business is digital now, and just providing that low-friction solution for our guests to provide feedback has been awesome.” – Seth Larsen
The Solution: Low-Friction Feedback that Actually Gets Responses
Cheba Hut turned to Ovation to bridge the gap between their hospitality-first culture and an increasingly digital guest journey. The SMS-based platform made it easy for guests to share how they felt in just a tap, while giving the team the real-time visibility to act on it fast.
But collecting feedback was only half the equation. Cheba Hut made a commitment to respond to every single survey — a 100% response rate — whether the experience was positive or negative.
“You can ask folks all the time how their experience was, but if you’re not engaging and responding, it’s all for naught.” – Seth Larsen
For most franchisees, that response function is handled directly by the HQ team, ensuring every guest hears back quickly and consistently. Larger franchise groups manage their own responses, and the whole system runs like clockwork.
From Guest Recovery to Sales Growth
Since rolling out Ovation across all 85 locations, the results have been both measurable and meaningful. With a 61% guest recovery rate, more than half of all unhappy guests are being won back — and returning guests spend more, making each recovery a direct revenue event. A 0.2-point lift in their average online rating is bringing in new customers, while 3% sales growth shows that retaining the guests they already have is paying off.
Seth experienced Ovation’s recovery flow firsthand when he visited one of their company stores, had a subpar experience, and submitted feedback — only to receive a personal text from his team five minutes later.
“I lived it, I breathed it, and it worked out perfectly. Even though it was a long ticket time and not an optimal experience, the way we recovered that guest — that’s exactly what we said we were going to do.” – Seth Larsen
Guest Retention as a Growth Strategy
For Cheba Hut, Ovation isn’t just a feedback tool — it’s a retention engine. The vast majority of guests walking through the door are already fans of the brand, and keeping them is far more valuable than chasing new ones.
“The energy to capture a new guest is really challenging. To retain a guest that has been a fan of your brand for a long time is a much easier proposition — and Ovation gives us the ability to do that.” – Seth Larsen
The goal: turn every recovered guest into a Cheba Hut lifer.
“Do you value your guest feedback? Do you want to retain those customers? We work really hard in the restaurant industry to gain a customer’s trust — and Ovation is the tool that helps you keep it.”
