Join us as we celebrate getting back to the first in-person conference in 18 LONG months. This week's episode is with Marcus Viscidi (Winsight Media) & Zack Oates (Ovation), as they reflect on the sweeping changes and impacts to the hospitality industry and how that made this first live event even more meaningful.

Marcus, a hospitality expert and leading Winsight Media spokesperson, has his finger on the pulse of all the hot topics in restaurants today. He emphasized the true heart and soul of the industry -- SERVING OTHERS and discussed ways we can all do a better job of that.

He believes that restaurant operators are more forward-thinking today and that it has carried over to all aspects of the business. "We all have an eye on the future now ...  How can we look ahead?  What are the blindspots?" This is what Winsight is prioritizing across all its event content, from FSTEC to RLC.

"I think we're going to see fewer events in the future, but the ones that do happen will be that much impactful," says Marcus.

Zack is the CEO and Founder of Ovation customer feedback software. He talked about how the meaning of integration has changed and evolved. "There's much more openness to integration today...and figuring out how to work together.  It's all about "working together to find the solutions that fit your guests' journey," said Zack.

Our favorite quotes:
"The biggest thing about the future is we must be customer-obsessed"
-Marcus

"I'm excited about the future, I'm excited about technology, and I feel bullish about what 2022 will bring."
-Zack

"There's a surge of need for interaction and as Neil Diamond said, hands touching hands, that's what the world needs."
-Zack

More about our guests:
Marcus Viscidi is the orchestrator for some of the biggest events in the hospitality industry: FSTEC, RLC, and NRA. His role as VP of Enterprise Sales at Winsight is to facilitate the relationship building between restaurant brands with allied retail vendors to help the industry move forward! Connect with him on LinkedIn here.

Zack Oates: You've probably seen him on LinkedIn recently! Besides being a part-time influencer & fellow podcaster, Zack is the founder and CEO of Ovation, a customer experience and engagement platform that is taking our standard guest feedback to the future with chatbots, machine learning, and more...  let's forget those unhelpful receipt surveys! Connect with him on LinkedIn here.

Check out Qu's Annual State of Digital for Enterprise QSR & Fast Casual Brands