We already know your hours, platforms, and rating. This is the part only you can answer: your voice, your standards, and what it means to represent your restaurant well.
Five minutes. Nothing generic.
Confidential · Third Shift Ops LLC · Chicago, IL
01 of 06
Your voice.
We're going to write in your name. These two questions tell us how to sound like you.
Restaurant name
If your restaurant had a personality, pick the three words that fit best.
Select up to three.
Warm
Bold
Playful
Polished
Casual
Sophisticated
Gritty
Approachable
No-nonsense
Spirited
Elevated
Irreverent
Neighborhood
Premium
What tone should our responses never take?
Select all that feel wrong for your brand.
Corporate
Overly formal
Defensive
Scripted
Overly apologetic
Cold
Preachy
02 of 06
Your guests.
How you think about the people who choose you changes how we write for them.
How should a guest feel after reading one of your responses?
Pick the ones that matter most.
Heard and genuinely appreciated
Reassured the issue will be fixed
Excited to come back
Like they know us personally
Proud to be a regular
What do you call your guests?
Guests
Customers
Regulars
Friends
Other
What do your best regulars love most about you?
Not what you want them to say. What do they actually tell you?
03 of 06
Complaints.
This is where most restaurants lose guests permanently. Your answers here set the guardrails for every difficult response we write.
When a guest leaves a 1 or 2-star review, your instinct is to:
Apologize sincerely and invite them back
Address the specific complaint directly, then invite back
Keep it brief and professional, no over-explanation
Offer a comp or return invitation every time
Depends on the complaint, handle case by case
Do you authorize comps or return invitations in review responses?
Yes, always
Serious complaints only
Case by case
No
Which situations require your personal approval before we respond?
We hold all responses in these categories until you sign off. Select all that apply.
Food safety or illness complaints
Discrimination or bias claims
Legal threats
Media or press inquiries
All negative reviews during first 30 days
None, give us full autonomy
04 of 06
Your story.
One paragraph, in your own words. This becomes the foundation of everything we write for you.
Describe your restaurant to a first-time guest in two sentences.
Not a press release. What you'd say if someone asked you at the bar.
Is there anything about your restaurant, your history, or your standards that would help us communicate on your behalf?
Why you opened, what the name means, what you stand for, what you never compromise on. Your space.
05 of 06
One last thing.
Food safety complaints and legal threats move fast. We need to know how to reach you when something can't wait.
When we flag an urgent situation, how do you want to be reached?
Text
Call
Email
Best number or email for urgent contact:
Who else on your team should we know about?
GM, manager, social lead. Anyone whose name might appear in reviews or who handles guest issues.
Section 06
Your voice in action.
Four real guest scenarios. For each one, pick the response that sounds most like you. No wrong answers. Your instinct here tells us more about your voice than everything else combined.
Scenario 01 · 5-Star Review
"Came in on a Tuesday night with my husband for our anniversary. Our server remembered we had been in before and brought us a complimentary dessert without us asking. The food was incredible but honestly that small gesture made the whole night. We will be back every year."
Which response sounds most like you?
This made our whole week, genuinely. Anniversaries deserve to feel a little different and we are so glad yours did. Thank you for trusting us with it. We will be watching for you both next year.
Happy anniversary. Thank you for coming in and for saying so. See you next year.
Remembering guests is something we work at every single shift. Hearing that it actually landed the way we hope. That is everything. Thank you for coming back in and for taking the time to write this.
You picked us over every other option in the city for your anniversary. We do not take that lightly, and we never will. Thank you.
Scenario 02 · 2-Star Review
"Waited 25 minutes for food on a slow night. When it finally came out my steak was overcooked and cold. Mentioned it to our server who just said sorry about that and walked away. No manager ever came by. Will not be returning."
Which response sounds most like you?
This one hurts to read because all of it is on us. A 25-minute wait, a cold overcooked steak, and a server who left you sitting with it. None of that is okay and none of it is what we are here to do. We would really like the chance to make it right. Please reach out directly.
We are sorry. That is not our standard and we know it. We hope you will give us another chance.
A slow night with a 25-minute ticket and a cold steak means our kitchen broke down somewhere it should not have. Our server should have flagged it before it reached your table, and should have done more than apologize when it did. We take this seriously. Please reach out directly so we can make it right.
We are sorry. You came in expecting a good night and we let you down on every part of it. The wait, the food, the follow through. We understand if trust is hard to rebuild after that. But we would like to try if you are ever open to it.
Scenario 03 · Mixed Review
"Food was honestly some of the best I have had in this city. But the service was really inattentive. Had to flag someone down twice just to get the check. Great concept, just needs work on the floor."
Which response sounds most like you?
The food landing the way you described means a lot to our kitchen. The service falling short of it is something we are not okay with and we are working on it. Come back and let us show you the full version of what we are going for.
Glad the food hit. Sorry the service did not. We are working on it and hope to see you again.
Hearing the food landed is great. Having to flag someone down twice just to pay your bill is not. That is an attentiveness problem on our end and your feedback helps us fix the right thing. Thank you for being specific about it.
You came in, the kitchen did its job, and then the floor left you hanging trying to get out the door. That gap is one we feel too. Thank you for naming it. We want you to come back and have the night that matches the food.
Scenario 04 · Vague Review
"It was okay. Nothing special."
Which response sounds most like you?
Okay is not what we are going for and we appreciate the honesty. If you are ever willing to share what fell short we are genuinely listening. Hope you will give us another shot.
Thank you for coming in. Hope to do better next time.
We would genuinely like to know what missed. A vague review is harder for us to act on than a specific one, and we would rather hear the hard thing than not hear it at all. Feel free to reach out directly.
Not every visit lands the way we intend and this one clearly did not. We are sorry for that. Come back on a better night and give us another chance.
That's everything we need.
Your Playbook will be ready within 48 hours. Pan will be in touch before anything goes live. Nothing gets posted without your approval.