How to give your customers choice through tech with Tom James, Managing Director at Bills

Tech on Toast, The Hospitality Tech Podcast

I'm excited to share the latest Tech On Toast episode, where I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Tom James, Managing Director of Bills. We dove into his incredible journey in the hospitality industry, from pulling pints as a bartender to leading a beloved restaurant brand. Here are three key takeaways from our conversation that are gold for anyone in hospitality: 🔥 1. People and Profit – It’s All About Focus One of Tom’s most powerful points: “Profitability is an output of all the other elements of hospitality. And if you lose focus on the guests and the team, you don’t have a business.” 💡 His words remind us that the foundation of any successful hospitality business is happy guests and a happy team, and that focus is what drives true profitability. 💡 2. Navigating Change and Building Buy-in Change is always challenging, and Tom shared some brilliant insights on how difficult it can be to get team buy-in when implementing new ideas. “Change is difficult to get buy-in from teams and operators.” He also pointed out how crucial it is for leadership to stay connected, saying, “If they end up being the ambassadors, you know, a GM who’s met me once or twice, it’s so easy to go, no, this is not going to work for us, you don’t understand our business.” 🤖 3. Embracing Tech, but Keeping it Human We talked about the balance between adopting new technologies while maintaining the personal touch that defines hospitality. Tom shared how Bills is using tech like CRM systems and data to improve guest experiences: “We’ve never had so much more information from what our guests want, why they want it, and being super analytical with that information.” But he reminded us that “People will never not be the most important thing to me personally and to the business.” It’s all about giving guests the options, then letting them choose the experience they want. Bonus quote: Tom also joked about middle-aged guys building flatpack furniture being as stressful as anything: “There needs to be some middle-aged version of Survivor where they put a load of mid-40s guys and make them do furniture, because I think that is as angry as I ever get.” 😂 Tune in now to catch more of Tom’s wisdom and anecdotes from his fascinating career in hospitality! Whether you’re leading a team, building a brand, or just starting out, there’s something here for everyone. 🎧 👉 Listen now and let me know your thoughts! #TechOnToast #Hospitality #Leadership #GuestExperience #Innovation #TeamCulture 👉 Listen now and let me know your thoughts! #TechOnToast #Hospitality #Leadership #GuestExperience #Innovation Skip to the bit you love [00:01:54] Flat pack furniture frustrations. [00:05:19] Profitability as hospitality's output. [00:07:31] Team buy-in and incentives. [00:10:34] Journey of hospitality professionals. [00:14:10] Experiential dining and igloos. [00:18:30] Team engagement in hospitality. [00:21:22] Authenticity in restaurant culture. [00:22:18] Brand loyalty and authenticity. [00:25:44] Technology integration in business. [00:30:11] The challenges of Ops directors. [00:33:01] Tech's impact on restaurant operations. [00:37:25] Evolving guest profiles in hospitality. [00:38:13] Customer ordering complexity. [00:41:05] New site openings and challenges. [00:45:00] Technology improving guest experience. [00:47:22] Data-driven decision making in hospitality. [00:52:20] Decision-making in restaurant management. [00:53:25] Same menu across the board. The Tech on Toast Podcast is brought to you by OpenTable. OpenTable is the most complete, reliable, easy-to-use reservation software & restaurant management system