Partnering for Growth: Q&A with Charlie Balazs, Worldpay Account Executive
In Conversation With Charlie Balazs, Worldpay Account Executive
Meet Charlie Balazs, a top-performing Worldpay representative who has leveraged his partnership with Zuppler to offer previously unwinable merchants a cost-saving ordering solution. In this Q&A, Charlie shares how he is shifting his focus to these restaurant opportunities by providing clients with a sleek POS solution that saves them money on processing. Discover how he made the most of this collaboration and his experience through a conversation with Zuppler’s VP of Partnerships, Jake Wallace.
Jake:
So, first and foremost, Charlie, remind me, were you a part of the initial pilot? I think you were, right.
Charlie:
Yes, I was part of the initial pilot. I told my boss that whenever we do have a new restaurant POS partner, I would like to be part of the pilot because that was always our weak point. My branch managers and my bankers would bring restaurants to me in the past, and I would always tell them this is kind of our weak point, that we don't really have a good POS partner. I don't really know who to refer them to.
It's a very lucrative business around Chicago. Toast has a big foothold, and we all know how much toast charges for processing, so there are a lot of pain points. But when they [previously] brought these potential leads to me, they kind of just stopped because I didn't really have a good avenue to go down to try to win this business. The pilot has been fantastic. I’m looking at telling my folks as we plan for 2025 to keep restaurants on the top of their mind, because as you guys expand, as we kind of move along with this relationship, it's just going to get better and better.
Jake:
Yeah, and I'm assuming your banking partners over time, just got used to knowing that restaurants weren't a strong suit for you guys.
Charlie:
Yeah. And that's why I keep reiterating it, because you're exactly right. [Restuarants] would always just be a dead end, but now I have to change their mind. It's a complete 180. So they know that restaurants are a go-to now and one of our stronger suits.
Jake:
Tell me about the kind of training and the ramp-up to understand the Zuppler products. Like, how did that help you in being able to identify some opportunities where our partnership could help out a merchant?
Charlie:
So, I like to have enough to be dangerous and get the prospect kind of intrigued by it. So I dug into the marketing that you guys sent and checked out the videos. I have a couple of Zuppler marketing packets that I show around at different meetings. I liked the equipment. It looks fantastic.
Everybody who's seen it in person is wowed by how the equipment looks. So that was kind of the winning feature - how cool this looks and how fast it works. These are all the bells and whistles. And then I can kind of talk about pricing once I kind of get them intrigued a little bit. For example, Robinson's with Clover. You know, I was able to get statements from him. He was paying about 8% processing rate with Clover each month.
Jake:
Horrible, right?
Charlie:
Yeah. Probably one of the worst examples of processing that I've ever seen. So he had a huge pain point and once I finally got a good product to sell him, we were able to kind of get things rolling quickly. He's been in my pipeline for a while and we never really had anything to go to.
Jake:
So it sounds like the process with Robinson's was your normal thing. You grab their most recent statement and dissect it, identify the fees and ultimately present it to them- This is what you're paying for these services and then you take that, couple that with our product and the pricing and your processing rates. And ultimately you're probably saving him some money too, right?
Charlie:
Saving him quite a bit of money. Yeah. I initially proposed a different option. We have Commerce 360 here and it's kind of like a POS, but a more simple version. I showed him the demo terminal that I have for that. And he hated it. The screen was way too small. He was used to the Clover full system with a much bigger screen.And that was right in the early stages of the Zuppler pilot. So once I got a little bit more into that, I was able to introduce this to him. And he was sold.
Jake:
Yes. So let's talk about the types of products Robinson’s ended up getting. What were those products?
Charlie:
The dual-screen POS similar to what Clover was offering. They wanted the screen showing the customer-facing side so they could see the order, and make sure that was correct. That was a big part of the selling point. And then another part of the selling is they wanted to make sure they had a kitchen printer because we also didn't have any type of kitchen printer that we could offer. So that was another big thing he needed if he was going to move forward with Zuppler. And we were able to get that as well.
Jake:
Got it. And then do they have any online ordering or is it just POS and printer hardware?
Charlie:
Just POS for now, eventually going online, but we're just focusing on in-person for now and making sure they're 100% comfortable and on board with that first.
Jake:
So let's shift back to the operational side of things. You had a prospect interested in a demo. How was your feeling around going in scheduling a demo and then ultimately having them assigned to somebody at Zuppler? Can you talk a little bit about that process and how you felt about that?
Charlie:
That was the easiest part of the sale, actually. You guys have been fantastic. Anything that gets put in on the scheduler, you guys reach out right away, wanting to learn more information, connecting before the demo, to get all the initial information about the customer, what they're using, where the pain points are. So you know how to customize the demo. That's been a piece of cake.
Jake:
Is there anything else that you wanted to add to this? We're continuing to. Have engagements with you guys. You have a partner relationship manager, which I believe is Emma. So now you have a more one-on-one relationship. If there are any ideas or suggestions or prospects that you just want to talk through or questions you have somebody you can go to for everything. But is there anything else?
Charlie:
No, man, I think I'm all good. Love that we have this option now. Love that we're kind of growing together. Love that you guys are so responsive. I love that I can just text your CEO when I have a 911 issue and he replies back in a matter of minutes.
Jake:
Yeah.
Charlie:
How awesome is that, man? There's no way we would ever be able to, you know, communicate with the CEO of Toast or anything like that. So everything with you guys has been top-notch and have been able to address my customers' concerns when they do come up. I have no complaints whatsoever. Love working with you guys was fantastic. Meeting you guys all in person last month at the meeting and at the Sox game.
Jake:
I agree. Well, Charlie, I really appreciate your partnership. You know, I thank you for being our support system there out in the field as well and just love collaborating with you guys.
Speaking of texting the CEO, you guys are a very important partner to us. And with Shiva being that responsive that just shows that we value this partnership and what we can do together. And like you said, we're just scratching the surface, and heading into next year, I think it's going to be a big year for both of us. So I thank you for your partnership and continued partnership here in the future.
Charlie:
My pleasure, man. Always good talking to you, Jake.
Through Zuppler's advanced technology and Worldpay's commitment to client success, our partnership continues to deliver value, empowering Charlie to grow his business and supporting more restaurants with high-quality ordering solutions. Together, we’re not only growing businesses but shaping an exciting future for restaurant technology.