Partnering for Growth: Q&A with Brian Bolander, Worldpay Account Executive
In Conversation With Brian Bolander, Worldpay Account Executive
Meet Brian Bolander, a top-performing Worldpay representative based in Terre Haute, who has leveraged his partnership with Zuppler to achieve remarkable results in the restaurant sector. In this Q&A, Brian shares how he tapped into new market opportunities, providing clients with Zuppler’s enhanced suite of ordering solutions and delivering streamlined service that has set him apart. Discover how he made the most of this collaboration and the impact it has had on his clients’ success through a conversation with Zuppler’s VP of Partnerships, Jake Wallace.
Jake:
How did you hear about Zuppler and the partnership and what made you want to get involved?
Brian:
I'd heard rumblings that we had access to a new company that had point-of-sale restaurant software and I knew that's an avenue or a vertical that I really wanted to get into. Previously, when I walked into a restaurant, I knew that I wouldn't be able to compete. And now that I know that there's actual software in hardware that is a niche just towards restaurants, it's been much better.
Jake:
What were the key indicators that made you think Zuppler would be the right option for these restaurants?
Brian:
A lot of them, I knew previously already had point-of-sale systems, and they weren't happy with them. But again, I had no equipment to offer. Especially John's Union Station. He was using Cake but he was not happy at all with how much of the rates they were charging him and a few other various reasons with the software and equipment.
Jake:
What are you looking for when talking to a merchant to know they would be a good fit for Zuppler?
Brian:
I'm pretty hands-on, and one thing I always hear merchants complain about is having to call a 1-800 number, being on hold for 30 minutes before they can get a hold of somebody just to make a change that needs to be done in real-time. I've been in restaurants multiple times now that I've sold Zuppler point-of-sales to and I'm always able to get ahold of you guys.
For example, John's Union Station. When I was there, I was able to call Jake G and he was able to make changes in the background in real time. We couldn't even get the wifi to hook to the printer just because of the router the customer has. He was able to go into the point of sale, and manually enter the IP address. Just little things like that that customers would never be able to have access to. Now they can call us and we can make changes in real time on the fly. And that is huge.
Jake:
Awesome, can you tell me a little bit about the other merchants that you’ve sold?
Brian:
Anna's Hand Soul Food. That's Shannon Hart. Her food is amazing, by the way. She is in what they call the Twelve-point Market in Terre Haute where they're doing revitalization in that area. And so within this Twelve-point Market, there are five restaurants. Shannon is the main attraction in that restaurant. She's the one who has her own kitchen. The other four places all share one kitchen. We were able to get a KDS for her, too. So the point-of-sale sends it back to the KDS. The cooks aren't having to walk in and out all the time.
Jake:
Anna's background, right before she started as a food truck if I'm not mistaken.
Brian:
Yes.
Jake:
Cool. So that's Anna's. Can you tell us about the other ones?
Brian:
So then we have Tamales E Pestoris, a Hispanic-owned restaurant. Only the son is English-speaking, so we were using translators, and Jorge's really been helping out a lot with that, too, so he's been a big help.
Jake:
To confirm, that’s Jorge from the Zuppler side who’s helped tremendously with sales support on our side, and helped you guys with any Spanish-speaking opportunities, right?
Brian:
Yes, absolutely. I work on the west side of Indianapolis. There's a large Hispanic-speaking population. About half of my appointments are translation appointments over there. So I was very happy when you guys hired Jorge. He called and introduced himself to me, too, so that was helpful for me and especially the Chicago guys, too. It's a diverse world these days, so we need to have diverse people on our teams.
Jake:
Great! So continue telling us about these merchants.
Brian:
Tamales has a small location that is in a little strip mall. She's gathered quite a following, and that's when she started having the need for the point- of-sale system, because she was just doing paper tickets. And they have a bunch of call-ins as well, so being able to take orders and list the names was huge for them.
John's Union Station is changing up specials all the time. Located in Duggar, Indiana. He's the only restaurant in town, and he does a ton of business. We were also able to figure out things like in the table menu, we did bar seating which used to be just tables. Now we did bar one, bar two, bar three, bar four. So now you can have the individual seats on the cell, which was helpful for him. But he's been very happy.
Jake:
What has your experience been and can you talk more about the overall process and how it has helped you?
Brian:
I think it's a great process because you guys specialize in that point-of-sale system and it's niche to your product. So it's definitely helpful that you guys are doing the demo. And that's one of my pitches to the customers, too. I say, hey, we're going to have a 30-minute, no-strings-attached demo. We'll show you the product and see what you think. Then talk about the support and the customer service, because we can offer a total package to you, and it's been very helpful.
Jake:
How about once an account has been signed up?
Brian:
The onboarding process is great, too, because that's one of the big things that the customers don't like, is having to load up all their inventory and their menus and everything. So it's nice to be able to sit down with your own account manager who's going to manage your account. You guys go over every single detail with the menu and make sure the customer previews it before it gets sent out. That way we know everything's perfect and it's a turnkey, total package. When it comes out, it's up and ready to go.
Jake:
What has it been like working with the Zuppler team?
Brian:
I've always been kept in the loop. I'm constantly in communication with you guys. I've never had an issue where I can't get ahold of somebody. I haven't had any complaints from any of my customers either. So, yeah, it's been, it's been really smooth.
Jake:
What are you looking forward to in the future with this partnership? Anything in particular?
Brian:
I'm just happy that we have a new vertical that we can actually be competitive in. Like I said previously, if I walked into a restaurant and saw a Toast or a cake point-of-sale, I would just turn around and walk out and say, I know I wouldn't be able to compete.
Now, I know I have a vertical to be able to compete in, and then that'll be able to help us grow, help me grow my book, help the company grow your book. And obviously you guys help you out as well, so. But I am very excited about it, as I know as time goes on, too, the software will have updates and the equipment will get better. So I'm very excited just to kind of see where this leads.
With Zuppler’s innovative technology and Worldpay’s dedication to client success, the partnership is poised to keep delivering value, helping Brian expand his business and enabling more restaurants to thrive with top-notch ordering solutions. Together, we're not just growing businesses—we're creating a future of possibilities in restaurant technology.