Zack Oates sits down with Jay Bandy, President of Goliath Consulting Group, who brings nearly 40 years of restaurant experience from McDonald’s to Blimpie to Lee’s Famous Recipe. Jay shares timeless insights on training, hiring, and creating culture that lasts—reminding operators that great hospitality begins with how you treat your team.

What Defines a Great Guest Experience (03:28)

Jay explains that guests today crave more than just good food—they want personality, connection, and an atmosphere that feels intentional.

“They want bartenders who know how to make drinks with flair, and servers who make it feel personal and local.”

Redefining Value in Hospitality (04:22)

He breaks down the true meaning of value, saying it isn’t about discounts but about experience.

“Value can be a $150 meal at Ruth’s Chris. It’s not the price—it’s the experience that equals value.”

Training as the Foundation of Success (06:57)

With decades of leadership behind him, Jay insists that consistent training is the bedrock of hospitality.

“You can hire great people, but if you don’t train them, you won’t get good results.”

Hiring for Attitude Over Experience (07:42)

Jay’s front-of-house hiring rule is simple: look for warmth, not résumés.

“If they can smile and communicate naturally, I can teach them anything—but I can’t teach people to smile.”

Culture Starts with Leadership (09:48)

He emphasizes that guest experience mirrors how employees are treated.

“If you want your staff to be nice to your customers, you have to be nice to your staff.”

The Power of Daily Improvement (10:54)

Jay shares his concept of “The Drip”—the small, consistent actions that build lasting culture.

“You have to be intentional every day—talk to people, make their job easier, and help them get better.”

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaybandy/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/goliath-consulting-group/

https://jaybandy.com/

Transcript

00:00:00:04 – 00:00:24:09

Zack Oates

Welcome to another edition of Give an Ovation the Restaurant Guest Experience podcast. I’m your host, Zack Oates, and each week I chat with industry experts to uncover their strategies and tactics to help you create a five star guest experience. This podcast is powered by ovation. The feedback and operations platform built for multi-unit restaurants. Learn was actually happening in your restaurant and exactly how to improve while driving revenue.

00:00:24:10 – 00:00:49:18

Zack Oates

Learn more at ovation up.com. And today we have someone who is just a legend in the industry, someone who has been in this space for 39 years, almost 40 years, and just still cranking at it. He was with Blimpie, he was with Lee’s, he’s with McDonald’s, and now he is the president of Goliad Consulting Group. Jay bandy, thank you for joining us and giving ovation.

00:00:49:18 – 00:00:50:22

Zack Oates

How are you.

00:00:50:24 – 00:00:55:08

Jay Bandy

Doing? Fine. Zach, I appreciate you extending the invite. I’m glad to be here.

00:00:55:10 – 00:01:05:11

Zack Oates

So now, obviously you’ve had quite an extensive career in food and beverage, but talk to me about Goliath. What does Goliath consulting Group do?

00:01:05:12 – 00:01:36:10

Jay Bandy

We have three main things that we do. We consult to restaurants across the country everything but tax, accounting and legal advice. We do everything else. So we build restaurants. We build brands. We help people make more money. We consult on supply chain strategy. You name it, we consult to it. And then we also have a management side to our business that where we manage restaurants for ownership groups that don’t want to do the day to day.

00:01:36:12 – 00:02:00:16

Jay Bandy

And then the third part is we kind of do contract work, which isn’t necessarily consulting. I run a restaurant group in Greenville, South Carolina, where I’m at today. I’ve got three restaurants built. I’ve got a couple more restaurants under construction. The owners want somebody to run the business, so that’s what I do for them. So those are the three areas where we specialize or don’t match love.

00:02:00:18 – 00:02:05:05

Zack Oates

So running them though I mean that’s the big handoff. That’s a lot of work right there.

00:02:05:07 – 00:02:26:20

Jay Bandy

Yeah. It’s a lot of faith as well to the ownership that, you know, enlist me in my team to run the restaurant. But just based on the number of years that I’ve been in the business and having run restaurants for different people over the course of that time, it really helps me now of build a team because I don’t run the restaurant.

00:02:26:22 – 00:02:43:23

Jay Bandy

I lead the people that run the restaurants. So that’s the difference, right? I try to find the best people that can work with little to minimal direction, but need leadership and need vision and need the tools to do their jobs. And I let them do the work.

00:02:44:00 – 00:03:03:06

Zack Oates

I love that the adage of the right people in the right seats is so over said that it almost becomes trite, but it’s so true. Like, you know, people say, oh, the truth shall set you free, right? I mean, even Diane Sanders talked about that in coaching the press conference the other day. Like it’s just one of these things that you throw out there.

00:03:03:06 – 00:03:09:08

Zack Oates

But there’s something about these old adages that they stick through the test of time because they’ve withstood the test of time.

00:03:09:12 – 00:03:10:21

Jay Bandy

It’s a foundation.

00:03:10:23 – 00:03:28:01

Zack Oates

Yeah. And one of the things I wanted to dive into with you was over your career in FNB. What have you seen either change or stay the same when it comes to what the guest really wants to create, what are the ingredients that create a great guest experience?

00:03:28:03 – 00:03:59:04

Jay Bandy

Yeah, I think that’s definitely changed over the years. Right. And now even more so than before, the guest is really driven by the experience, right? They want bartenders that really know how to make drinks with a little bit of flair. They want an environment which is conducive to their meal, sometimes entertainment. They want servers that aren’t following the old TGI Fridays kind of set spiel, but make it feel personal and local.

00:03:59:06 – 00:04:18:15

Jay Bandy

And they also want to know what things on the menu were put together with care that there’s some background in history or low coolness to the ingredients, etc. so that’s definitely changed over the years to become more important as opposed to just pricing the base.

00:04:18:15 – 00:04:22:19

Zack Oates

Yes, because what have you been seeing in terms of price and value?

00:04:22:21 – 00:04:51:20

Jay Bandy

Wow. Values are a tough one. It’s interesting because there’s a lot of confusion in folks, not in the industry of what value really means. Value is not the $5 meal at McDonald’s. Value can be $150 meal at Ruth’s Chris. So you know, the value equation has to do with price. The experience equals value, right? So that’s what the equation is.

00:04:51:20 – 00:05:10:15

Jay Bandy

And so you can go into my restaurant here in Greenville, Demarco’s Italian. You can spend $100 the best meal you ever had. Let’s hope. And you go that was a great value because down the street or in Vegas or in New York or Chicago, same meal cost me $200.

00:05:10:17 – 00:05:11:19

Zack Oates

Yeah. Yeah.

00:05:11:21 – 00:05:29:14

Jay Bandy

Right. And maybe not as good as an experience. And that’s what creates value. And so people get lost in, hey, I can offer my meal for seven, nine, nine nine 9 or 1299 or whatever that number is. Price doesn’t equal value the experience. That’s such a big part of that.

00:05:29:16 – 00:05:53:17

Zack Oates

And, you know, it’s fascinating is that our our data shows that the biggest complaints that we get about value have a direct correlation to the biggest complaints about service. People go in having a very good understanding of what the food is going to be like. And everybody goes in anticipating that the service is going to be on par with the price of the food.

00:05:53:19 – 00:06:16:16

Zack Oates

The problem is when you go in there and you get the exact food that you ordered, the exact way that you wanted with the exact service that you were expecting, guess what happens? Very little, because that’s what people are buying now. Any one of those things, there’s a thousand things that could go wrong that turn that from a five star experience to a one star experience, right?

00:06:16:20 – 00:06:33:21

Zack Oates

And that’s where people go to shout. I think one of the things that I’ve seen, I’m curious to get your thoughts on this is there’s so much more power now. You’d had this kind of competing priorities of the quality of service and people who want to choose F and B for career. The quantity of those people are going down.

00:06:33:21 – 00:06:54:12

Zack Oates

And so the everything’s kind of like a stopover. They’re stopping at McDonald’s on their way to something else. Sometimes they don’t care as much. Right. Conversely, the guest has never had a bigger microphone to share about their experience. And so those are two very competing things that are making it harder and harder. So what do restaurants do nowadays?

00:06:54:12 – 00:06:57:18

Zack Oates

J like, how do they improve the guest experience?

00:06:57:20 – 00:07:13:13

Jay Bandy

It’s and again goes back to foundation right. It’s training number one because you can hire great people. If you don’t train them you’re not going to get good results. But number two is you have to really be careful about who you hire.

00:07:13:15 – 00:07:19:19

Zack Oates

What are the red flags there? I totally agree with you, but what can people do to prevent a bad hire? Yeah, the.

00:07:19:19 – 00:07:42:23

Jay Bandy

Bad hire is you really have to understand the behaviors that you’re looking for in the employee that you’re hired. So mine’s really simple for front of the house. Do they smile? Do they seem to conduct themselves and be able to communicate in a positive manner? Can they carry a conversation? Do they make eye contact? Do they kind of not slouch over when they walk or move?

00:07:42:23 – 00:07:56:07

Jay Bandy

Do they move with some sort of urgency and that’s it. So those are my big ones right? I start there. Obviously I’m going to ask them, can you show up to work on time and some other things?

00:07:56:08 – 00:08:10:11

Zack Oates

When’s the last time that you like hit someone with your car? Just like the basic snack, right? It’s like, yeah, what do we avoid that? Maybe not a delivery driver for you, but you got a great smile. So Uber here and we’ll put you in front of house here.

00:08:10:17 – 00:08:30:13

Jay Bandy

So front of the house. That’s it. And I coach people all the time on don’t get hung up that they’ve worked in this restaurant or that restaurant and they know people. Can they smile at you and is it comfortable and natural because I can teach almost anyone to do anything, but I can’t teach people to smile.

00:08:30:15 – 00:08:50:02

Zack Oates

I absolutely love that. Because when I think about what does it take nowadays to be a great employee and to really stand out, I think about this great book behind me, Unreasonable Hospitality and What I had. We’ll get there on the podcast. I think one of the things that he shared that he talks about in the book is like just making it cool to care.

00:08:50:04 – 00:09:18:23

Zack Oates

Helping people feel seen, feel important, feel understood, and like when you can provide that hospitality. Wow. It creates this emotional feeling of like, oh, I’m not just customer number 75 for lunch, but like they gave me a little extra fries. And I know that is like huge for what it costs to what you get is enormous. So what are some things in terms of like when you talk about some tactics?

00:09:19:00 – 00:09:29:14

Zack Oates

Obviously I think that we talk about training, we talk about the smiling. Are there any other things that you’ve seen lately that have really improved the guest experience?

00:09:29:16 – 00:09:48:17

Jay Bandy

It’s fundamentals, I don’t know, there’s never anything new and shining. One big thing is if you want your guests to be nice to your customers, if you want your staff to be nice to your customers, right, you have to be nice to your staff. Oh, and so, you know.

00:09:48:19 – 00:09:51:05

Zack Oates

Go figure.

00:09:51:07 – 00:10:14:18

Jay Bandy

I mean, you know, I hear and see managers and owners and whoever talk about their staff like they’re idiots. Guess what? You’re an get idiots. So one of the things I make a purpose of especially talk to my leaders in the restaurants. So having the conversations with them, talking to the managers, how are they doing? Do they feel good about what’s going on?

00:10:14:18 – 00:10:35:01

Jay Bandy

What can I do to help them? And then also just help them see the picture? Right. So I give them information that helps make them a better employee and potentially a better person, right at home with their family, with their spouse, with their children. And it’s creating culture. And so there’s been a lot of talk about culture over the last ten years or so.

00:10:35:07 – 00:10:54:22

Jay Bandy

It’s always been a thing. It’s just now a little more in the forefront when if you create a culture with your staff where they enjoy coming to work, they are going to smile and they’re going to take care of your guests. And there’s a lot that goes into that. There’s lots of daily things you need to do. I just put out a blog last month about called The Drip.

00:10:54:24 – 00:11:13:11

Jay Bandy

And the drip is doing things daily to improve your business, your life. Right. And so you have to be intentional when you go in to the restaurant to talk to people, to see how they’re doing, to transfer some ideas, to make their life easier, to make them better at their job. But you have to do it every day.

00:11:13:13 – 00:11:43:00

Zack Oates

Well, and thinking about the power of those consistent things, I think there’s one. You think about the Rock and the show. You know, I’ve been to a place where I came here where this was, where they had these different rocks, and they said, this one is 30 years, 40 years, 60 years, 70 years and same size rock dripping on it and just showing how that changes and the power of those little things.

00:11:43:02 – 00:11:46:23

Zack Oates

And the guest notices a lot of those little things. Jay. Right.

00:11:47:00 – 00:11:48:01

Jay Bandy

I mean, I do.

00:11:48:03 – 00:12:13:02

Zack Oates

And those little things matter because they’re the little things because I could fake. Hey, I’m so sorry. Let me come to your meal. But the genuineness of coming up and saying, like, you know, putting the food down and then being like, oh, I see that you’re, you know, going off of fries. And because I got McDonald’s on the mind right now, it’s like these fries don’t look like they’re very filled.

00:12:13:02 – 00:12:31:02

Zack Oates

Let me be right back with another box of fries for you. Right. Like things like that. That shows that they really care. How do you train? And I’m curious to hear if you’ve had a success story of taking someone who was a B player to an A player, because usually what I find is that C players are kind of stuck being C players.

00:12:31:04 – 00:12:53:02

Zack Oates

Unfortunately, they think they’re a players that A players are naturally always trying to be A+ players, but the vast majority are kind of these B players who might not have the direction or might not have the processes to push them to be an A player. Do you have any success stories of pushing people who were might have started off as B players, and getting them to be a players?

00:12:53:04 – 00:13:19:09

Jay Bandy

Well, it’s really teams that have done that with, right? Not individuals, but teams, restaurants that I’ve done that with. And it is again, it’s very incremental, helping them on a daily basis, but also understanding the difference between service and hospitality. So you go through steps of service, you at the table, etc.. What you were talking about a moment ago was hospitality.

00:13:19:11 – 00:13:41:17

Jay Bandy

Looks like you’re fries are a little light. Let me get you an extra box. That’s not service, that’s hospitality. And so once you get through the steps of service and people are comfortable with service, what I do is I started talking about hospital charity, picking up the high chair and taking it to the table for the mother that’s got two children, and it goes on for days and days.

00:13:41:17 – 00:14:03:13

Jay Bandy

All the little things that you can do that show hospitality. That’s what the guest is looking for. That’s what completes their experience. It’s not the steps, the service, you know. Thank you. Mr. Bandy, for coming in today. Here’s your bill. It’s. Hey, it was great to see you again today. Can’t wait till you come back. How’s your dog doing?

00:14:03:13 – 00:14:10:18

Jay Bandy

How’s your wife doing? Whatever that might be. Right. That’s the difference between steps and service and hospitality.

00:14:10:20 – 00:14:40:18

Zack Oates

Right? It’s like the service is the right food at the right time. And hospitality is how they feel about it. Correct. And I think that there’s so many it’s so powerful to equip your team with the ability to provide hospitality. But to your point, it’s like, are we treating them with hospitality? And so what are some things that you’ve found from a team perspective that allows them to feel like they matter, that they’re empowered to do something better?

00:14:40:20 – 00:15:04:17

Jay Bandy

I’ve got a whole PowerPoint, a deck of hospitality things from Disney to the Ritz-Carlton and etc. and so I kind of set the stage with a lot of my staffs and let them see how other companies do that. But, you know, one of the things I really work on is error communication between the managers to the staff and the staff and the staff, right, of how do you talk to each other?

00:15:04:19 – 00:15:32:18

Jay Bandy

Are you polite? Are you friendly, or do you bark at people? Right. So it sounds crazy, but starting with that communication among the staff and the management, if they all kind of follow the Ritz, we’re all, ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen, and turn that into a thing that Gen Z will understand is it creates again, it helps that culture of people being kind to each other and being polite.

00:15:32:20 – 00:15:47:02

Jay Bandy

And then that transfers over to the guest experience. And so it is part of building culture with Ritz-Carlton. It’s done a great job. This is done a great job. That’s why I always use a few companies when I talk about hospitality and service.

00:15:47:04 – 00:16:08:21

Zack Oates

Yeah, and I think that they really have nailed it in so many ways. And I and I hope that they don’t lose that magic because, I mean, lately I’ve heard a couple of stories of both places that are starting to cracking around the edge, like someone was telling me about how a cast member at Disney World broke character and was like, like, oh my gosh, like, this has been so annoying that Disney’s making us do this.

00:16:08:21 – 00:16:29:05

Zack Oates

And it’s like, wait a second, hey, I’m in a magical place here. Like, don’t break this fourth wall, you know what I mean? But it stood out to them so much that they literally wrote a letter to Disney because they were like, hey, you got to make sure that your people still are caring and are providing the Disney magic because you never know whose first time it is, right?

00:16:29:07 – 00:16:30:22

Jay Bandy

Exactly, exactly.

00:16:30:24 – 00:16:41:20

Zack Oates

Now, Jay, you’ve been in the industry for a while. You’ve had an incredible career, still having an incredible career. Who is someone that deserves an ovation? Who is someone that we should be following?

00:16:41:22 – 00:17:00:11

Jay Bandy

Well, the obvious one is obviously Danny Meyer. I met Danny Meyer early, early in my career. I’m still a person I follow. I met Danny when I was probably 24 years old, so it’s been a while ago, but definitely there’s been a number of folks, you know, over the course of the years, but that he’s one that really stands out.

00:17:00:13 – 00:17:21:21

Jay Bandy

Even some of the vendors, like Lou Schwartz, I worked with with Schwartz Pick last Chicago for years. He was just a real steward of the business, and he introduced me to a lot of people back in the day. Yeah, and it’s you just remember those experiences and how they related to restaurant owners or guest and again, but yeah, Danny Meyer definitely.

00:17:21:21 – 00:17:24:19

Jay Bandy

I’ve got more of his books than anyone else.

00:17:24:20 – 00:17:36:23

Zack Oates

I mean, what an incredible guy. I mean, he is reshape the entire fab industry and so very well-deserved. Now, Jay, how do people find and follow you and your brand?

00:17:37:00 – 00:17:59:24

Jay Bandy

Clive consulting.com is one. And then I’m on Instagram at restaurants. JB and also easy to find me on LinkedIn. I post a lot of stuff on LinkedIn, just LinkedIn JB and is my handle on LinkedIn so easy to find me. And then websites got all my information, phone number, email address, easy to find me if you do a search.

00:18:00:01 – 00:18:07:16

Jay Bandy

I am Jay Bandy, the consultant, Jay Bandy, the rugby player. We kind of dominate the first few Google pages.

00:18:07:18 – 00:18:20:23

Zack Oates

Well, I mean, I got to say, man, you’ve got a movie star name and a movie star career. I mean, it’s just, it’s really got Jay Bandy. Just seems like you should have some kind of like, spy gadgets in your pocket or something, like you’re ready to go.

00:18:21:00 – 00:18:22:13

Jay Bandy

I just have a pocket knife.

00:18:22:15 – 00:18:35:09

Zack Oates

Oh, there you go. I mean, the count. It will count it. Count it. Well, Jay, for giving us 14 minutes spoonful from a 40 year ocean of experience. Today’s ovation goes to you. Thank you for joining us and giving ovation.

00:18:35:11 – 00:18:38:20

Jay Bandy

Zach, it’s great to meet you. Thank you so much.

00:18:38:22 – 00:19:01:08

Zack Oates

Thanks for joining us today. If you like this episode, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite place to listen. We’re all about feedback here. Again, this episode was sponsored by ovation, a two question, SMS based, actionable guest feedback platform built for multi-unit restaurants. If you’d like to learn how we can help you measure and create a better guest experience, visit us at ovation up.com.