Case Study: Ippudo NY achieves improved guest experience and fewer walk‑aways with CAKE from Sysco’s Guest Manager

Crafting the Customer Experience with CAKE Guest Manager

Ippudo NY, one of the busiest Michelin‑rated ramen restaurants in NYC, was struggling to manage long waits (often over two hours), averaging 20 weekly complaints, four hours per week spent responding publicly, hosts overwhelmed by manual waitlist work, and a 12% walk‑away rate — plus limited ability to identify repeat guests and capture customer data. The restaurant needed a way to improve the guest experience during waits, reduce public complaints and walk‑aways, and streamline host operations.

Ippudo implemented CAKE Guest Manager — an iPad waitlist app with SMS notifications, a consumer mobile app, and ControlCenter reporting — and was live with custom settings in about 15 minutes. Results: walk‑aways fell from 12% to under 9% (adding thousands in monthly revenue), weekly complaints dropped from ~20 to 10 with seven positive compliments weekly, 47 of 50 repeat customers called it a “big improvement,” automatic guest profiles (15% created via the app) improved loyalty enrollment, app users were 20% more likely to be seated, staff needed for the host stand fell ~33%, and several negative situations were resolved within 24 hours to prevent public posts.

Ippudo