Business Goal

Transform Pilot from being primarily known as a fuel stop into a reliable, convenient food destination by launching Mobile Ordering & Order Ahead directly in the Pilot app. The initiative aimed to:

• Establish brand awareness on the platform, engaging customers while establishing first-time transactions and becoming loyalty members
• Grow food & beverage sales through first-party digital channels
• Improve convenience and order accuracy for guests on the road
• Reduce dependency on third-party delivery commissions while still leveraging marketplace reach
• Create repeatable, scalable store workflows for consistent guest experience across locations

Background

Pilot’s early digital success came through third-party delivery platforms (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub). These partnerships helped build foundational practices around:

• Menu & modifier structuring
• Bagging and labeling workflows
• Basic staging / pick-up coordination

However, first-party Mobile Ordering introduced new requirements:. Guests, not delivery drivers, would be picking up orders.

This shift required:

• Creating brand awareness in-store that coincides with app experience
• Clear pickup signage and location flow
• Standardized bagging and condiment workflows
• Defined refund and exception handling
• Training & adoption support for store teams

Additionally, menu expansion beyond pizza into hot deli, grab-and-go, wings/tenders, and cold case offerings increased order complexity — making operational consistency essential.

Role

As Business Stakeholder & Digital Product Manager, I connected Product + UX Design + Store Operations + Support + Consumer Insights to ensure the mobile ordering consumer experience worked both digitally and operationally.

My goal: create a seamless and reliable end-to-end experience, from the digital interface to the final pickup.

Core responsibilities:

Project required working closely with:

• Marketing
• Product & UX Design
• Product & Engineering
• Operations Excellence & Field Teams
• Food & Beverage Leadership
• Customer Support
• Consumer Insights
• Guest Services

The cropped view highlights the most critical phases of Mobile Ordering—where guest trust is established and operational execution determines success.

Mapping discovery through preparation across guest, frontstage, and backstage made it clear that most experience failures originated behind the scenes, even though they surfaced in the app.

• Discovery success depends on backstage readiness, not just UI
• Order confidence comes from operational logic being correct before checkout
• Acceptance is the trust moment, the guest believes the order is real
• Preparation is where most failures happen, even though the guest can’t see it

This insight guided decisions around menu accuracy, order acceptance, fulfillment standards, and training.

Customer Experience

Established a welcome offer experience that converts intent into action by rewarding users at the exact moment of sign-up.

Problem

Traffic does not convert users not loyal members. Guests lacked an immediate, tangible reason to create an account. Adoption of the app was also a concern as guests are introduced to new behaviors.

Strategy

New users are promoted to download the app and join the loyalty program to unlock a free slice of pizza, the offer saves to their account once the account is created, and is redeemable before checkout.

Customer Engagement

Bring a clear value proposition t entry points, making sure several entry points are accessible. This allows them to Join the program, save the offer, and redeem at checkout.

• Reward immediately when added to checkout to reduce friction
• Redemption at checkout reinforces behavior and perceived value

Outcome

The flow transformed loyalty from passive concept into active, non- loyalty members into reward members, with a value driven experience. Converting anonymous traffic into registered users, increasing first-order transactions, establishing early habits that support long-term retention.

Third-Party vs Mobile Operations

Each platform has its own personality—different user habits, interfaces, and technology. We had to recognize those nuances and adjust our approach so the experience felt seamless no matter where guests ordered.

Factor	Third-Party Delivery	Pilot Mobile Ordering	Operational Impact
Pickup	Drivers pick up	Guests pick up	Requires signage and clear handoff points
Business Value	Reach & new customer acquisition	Loyalty, repeat behavior, margin retention	Internal channel holds highest lifetime value
Data Ownership	Marketplace owns guest data	We own behavioral and order data	Enables personalization and offer strategy
Operational Focus	Bag for driver	Bag for guest presentation and clarity	Requires standardized pick and packing workflow

Market & CX Research

We looked at how other brands handle customization, pickup, and fulfillment. We grounded decisions utilizing mental models from our competitors:

Brand	Learning	Applied Change at Pilot
CAVA	Ingredient customization is easier when modifiers are grouped	Grouped toppings and sauces in menu UI
Starbucks Pickup	Bag labeling + staging must be visible from entry path	Standardized label placement + pickup shelf visibility
First Watch To-Go	Condiments pre-bundled reduce accuracy issues	Built condiment kits prepped at shift start
Love’s Travel Stops	Lack of directional signage creates confusion	Designed pickup signage templates and location placement guidance

We also performed observational store walk-throughs, time studies, and Food Business Partners ride-alongs to understand:

• Prep rhythm
• Team communication during peak hours
• Space constraints by store layout
• The “mental load” of bagging vs. serving walk-in guests

Operational Enhancements

Blueprint Execution

Once the end-to-end service was mapped, recurring failure points became clear; particularly around fulfillment, bagging, pickup, and refunds. The following enhancements were designed to address those specific breakdowns.

Fulfillment standards were created to reduce complexity and elevate the guest experience. The enhancement had business and guest impact. These standards create ease of operation for the team members and elevated experiences for the guest.

Condiment Standards

Guests care about condiments more than we think. Missing condiments = instant frustration.

Solution

• Created a condiment pairing matrix for every menu item
• Introduced pre-built condiment kits for simpler pack-out
• Added visual prompts at the assembly station

This alone reduced refund requests tied to “missing item.”

Example of condiment offerings:

• Packets: Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo
• Dips: Ranch, BBQ, Honey Mustard, Blue Cheese

Example of condiment by category:

• Whole and Sliced Pizza: Crushed red pepper, Parmesan cheese
• Chicken: All packets and dips

Bagging & Label-First Workflow

Before mobile ordering, every store bagged differently — which meant guests sometimes couldn’t tell which order was theirs.

Solution

• Standardized bag size
• Implemented a label-first workflow
• Created visual pack-out diagrams (especially for hot + cold orders together)

This improved speed, consistency, and guest confidence at pickup.

Pickup Zone Signage

Pickup only works when you know where to go.
We designed clear signage and recommended placement by store layout, so guests never have to ask.

This reduced counter congestion and supported staff during peak hours.

Area	Change Implemented	Result
Condiments	Created condiment pairing standards and ready-to-grab kits	Reduced missing item complaints & improved guest satisfaction
Bagging Workflow	Standardized mobile ordering pick and packing procedures	Faster fulfillment and clearer pickup identification
Pickup Staging & Signage	Rack and signage placement based on store format	Reduced “Where do I go?” questions & counter congestion

Refunds & Guest Feedback Loop

Created a structured feedback loop with prioritization and a follow up system to field ops team and product teams for improvement.

• Inputs: Support tickets, app feedback, field manager reports, refund data
• Analysis: Identify patterns (e.g., condiments missing at open, pickup signage creates low visibility)
• Action: Deliver workflow and UX + communication updates
• Validation: Field test → rollout → reassess

This allowed Mobile Ordering to improve after launch, and not become stagnate.

Solution

• A repeatable system to convert guest and field feedback into product and operational improvements.

Inputs Used

• Guest support tickets
• App and store signage usability feedback
• Food Business Partners surveys
• Menu performance and refund analytics trends

Outputs Produced

• Menu configuration simplifications
• Condiment pair defaults added to packs
• Pickup signage moved to higher visibility zones
• UX naming and layout improvements

Outcome

• Continuous improvement driven by real behavior, not assumptions.