Buckhorn Improves Operations With Data-Backed Decision Making

The Partnership

Real California BBQ

Founded in 1999 after the success of its sandwiches at Napa's Chef's Market, Buckhorn Grill quickly became a family favorite.

Known for its signature Char-Roasted "California Cut," it offers a diverse menu of barbecue, burgers, salads, and sandwiches at locations across Northern California.

• Integrations: Olo, Toast, Appfront
• Locations: 8
• Survey Completion Rate: 93.6%

The Problem

Anecdotal Feedback Was Vague, Sparse & Untimely

Before Tattle, Buckhorn relied on social media reviews to understand guest sentiment. However, these scattered reviews couldn't produce trends and patterns that drive operational improvements.

These public reviews were hardly specific. For example, when a guest mentions "great food," it's difficult to know whether it's the ingredients, flavor, presentation, or all of the above.

Moreover, many guests never respond to recovery efforts.

"Sometimes we wouldn't hear back from guests," said Eilleen Le, Buckhorn's Marketing Manager. "So we couldn't follow up with them on their experience and recover them for a future visit."

The Solution

Empower Operators & Drive Satisfaction With Tattle

It's all about collecting detailed guest feedback at high volumes.

"We were really surprised by the influx of responses [after launching Tattle]," said Eilleen. "Just seeing that many guest survey submissions in real life was a game changer."

Tattle sends automated survey emails 90 minutes after a guest places an order online. This is accomplished through integrations with Toast and Appfront directing them to a browser-based survey. For in-store orders, guests can scan a QR code displayed at the restaurants or visit the survey link located on their order receipt.

Each survey breaks down the top operational categories – such as Food Quality, Speed of Service, Accuracy and Hospitality — into underlying, actionable factors.

Key Metrics:

• 215,985 - Guest Insights Collected in 12 Months
• 93.6% - Tattle Survey Completion Rate

Making objective, data-backed decisions is key to success.

"The biggest challenge when pursuing excellence is to make sure that excellence is expressed in objective terms before you ask others to achieve that excellence," John stated.

Equipped with data evidence, the leadership team finds it much easier to explain to the team why they need to make a certain change.

In fact, one GM noticed several survey comments related to guests waiting for to-go orders under the "Speed of Service" category. Upon further investigation, the team saw that some to-go orders were sitting on the back counter instead of being distributed through the temperature-controlled "Food Pods."

The GM then made sure his team understood the order distribution process, and saw Speed of Service ratings instantly improve.

Key Achievements:

• 81% - Satisfaction With Brand Communication
• 44% - Guest Win-Back Rate

Buckhorn's last goal? Win back guests instantly and in real time.

While executives have access to every location, operators downstream have their own views.

Each GM, Assistant GM, and Shift Supervisor have access to a Tattle dashboard of their own location. They are responsible for responding to all feedback in a timely manner.

"We have a 72-hour policy for responding to guest feedback submissions," said Eilleen. "Everyone on our team is involved in using Tattle and has gotten a lot of use out of the dashboard data and responses."

This instant feedback system helps Buckhorn ensure accountability across the board. Some GMs take it a step further, calling guests immediately after seeing a dissatisfied Tattle survey. They then follow up with an email to ensure the issue is addressed.