Guzman y Gomez: Digitizing an excellent in-store customer experience
Bird
May 3, 2021
Customer Story
1 min read
Key Takeaways
Guzman y Gomez (GyG), a fast-growing casual dining chain with 150+ locations, experienced a massive surge in online orders during COVID-19 and needed to digitize its fast in-store experience.
GyG struggled with slow, fragmented communications across multiple platforms for feedback, complaints, live chat, calls, and worker sign-ups — all managed manually by a lean team.
Bird transformed GyG’s customer communications in just days by consolidating all channels into a single platform and automating the bulk of their customer interactions.
GyG added four new digital channels, including Google’s Business Messages and WhatsApp QR codes printed directly on packaging for instant feedback and queries.
Bird’s Flow Builder allowed GyG to automate FAQs, onboarding flows, and customer service responses across WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Google’s Business Messages.
Bird built a custom AI intent-recognition model that distinguishes between emergencies and standard complaints, enabling GyG to quickly escalate urgent issues via SMS to core leadership.
AI-powered detection ensures that critical incidents — such as incorrect orders or foreign objects — are immediately flagged for the right managers.
Customers now receive near-instant responses, which has significantly boosted customer satisfaction and strengthened GyG’s brand reputation.
As a result of improved communication speed and accuracy, GyG saw higher conversion rates, increased revenue and greater operational efficiency.
Automation allows GyG’s small support team to remain lean while delivering faster, more consistent responses to customers across all digital channels.
GyG’s digital transformation now mirrors their in-store experience: fast, reliable, and customer-first.
With communications sorted, GyG is free to focus on delivering what they care about most — sharing authentic Mexican flavors with customers around the world.
Q&A Highlights
Why did Guzman y Gomez need to digitize their customer experience?
Digital orders surged during COVID-19 and remained high even after stores reopened, exposing inefficiencies in GyG’s fragmented communication tools.
What communication challenges was GyG facing?
Slow, manual responses across multiple disconnected platforms for complaints, feedback, signup forms, and live chats.
How did Bird help GyG consolidate their communications?
By bringing all channels — WhatsApp, Google’s Business Messages, Messenger, Instagram, SMS — into a single omnichannel Inbox.
What automations did GyG implement using Flow Builder?
Automated FAQs, worker onboarding flows, customer query replies, and routing logic across all messaging channels.
How did WhatsApp QR codes improve GyG’s customer feedback experience?
Customers could instantly message GyG by scanning QR codes on packaging, turning a previously slow process into a seamless one.
What role did Google’s Business Messages play?
It allowed customers to engage GyG directly during high-intent moments inside Google Search and Maps.
How did AI improve GyG’s customer complaint handling?
Bird created an intent recognition model to automatically differentiate emergencies from regular complaints.
What happens when an urgent issue is detected?
The system immediately escalates via SMS to GyG’s General Manager, Head of Operations, and the relevant Store Manager.
What impact did this automation have on customer satisfaction?
Customers were “positively shocked” by the speed of responses, leading to stronger trust and repeat engagement.
How did Bird help GyG stay operationally lean?
Automation replaced the need for constant manual replies, allowing GyG to support more customers with the same headcount.
What business outcomes improved after implementing Bird?
Higher conversion rates, more informed customers, increased revenue, and a smoother overall digital experience.
What can GyG now focus on with communications automated?
Delivering their core mission: bringing authentic Mexican flavors to customers quickly and consistently.
A passion for sharing authentic Mexican flavor
Guzman y Gomez (GyG) is a casual dining restaurant chain that operates over 150 locations across Australia, Singapore, Japan and the U.S. GyG prides itself on serving the time-honored flavors of Mexico through fresh ingredients and authentic techniques — and they want to do it fast!
As many in the Food & Beverage industry experienced in the face of COVID-19, GyG saw an unprecedented shift away from in-person traffic, and a rise in online and delivery orders.
“Even with our stores now opening back up, delivery and online orders are still higher than pre-COVID,” said Josh Bell, Principal & GM at GyG.
“The way customers want to order has changed — and digital is the new norm.”
Inefficiency for GyG and its customers
“Our communications were slow, clunky and sporadic,” explained Bell, which was largely due to GyG using different platforms for feedback, complaints, live chats, phone calls and new worker sign-ups. As digital orders skyrocketed, the GyG team realized its fragmented communication platforms could be optimized for its employees and its customers.
“We were relying on manual responses from a very lean workforce, and that wasn’t sustainable,” said Bell.
To adjust to the demand in online order volumes — and bring its fast in-store customer experience online — GyG required a digital communication transformation. And they needed a communications partner that would enable them to do so while remaining operationally lean.
“We’ve been looking for a partner to sort all of our communication channels for two years now. The fact that MessageBird can automate all of them, all on the same platform, is amazing.”
– Principal & GM at GyG Singapore, Josh Bell
Serving its in-store experience digitally
AI in its communications is a brand differentiator
Bell added, “One of the worst things for an F&B outlet is when a customer experiences something like a foreign object in food or serious order mistakes that require urgent attention, and it isn’t resolved.”
Bird jumped in to create an intent recognition model for GyG to effectively predict and differentiate between emergencies and complaints, which people often express similarly. Working together to make swift improvements to the model and its datasets, GyG can now automatically detect between complaints and emergencies to escalate necessary issues, triggering SMS alerts to GyG’s General Manager, Head of Operations and the specific Store Manager.
Bird’s AI platform allows GyG to respond to the right customer interactions immediately and mitigate risks.
“Now, our customers are always positively shocked at how quickly we respond to their concerns,” said Bell.
Better communications mean happier customers
“Working with Bird has dramatically improved conversion rates with our customers,” explained Bell.
“They have the information they need immediately, therefore significantly increasing our revenue and, in turn, our profitability.”
Now with a more fast and effective digital offering, GyG can shift its focus back to bringing people together through a shared passion for Mexican food.
“Customers demand information immediately and this cannot be achieved for a SME without a solution like Bird. The impact is significant across our entire business as our customers are more engaged every day.”
– Principal & GM at GyG Singapore, Josh Bell
