Restaurant Unstoppable Episode 1232: Brian Reece & Steve Crowley – "Service Physics: Making Service Work Better for People"

Podcast: Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Date: November 3, 2025
Guests: Brian Reece & Steve Crowley, Co-Founders – Service Physics

Episode Overview

In this highly engaging episode, Eric sits down with Brian Reece and Steve Crowley, co-founders of Service Physics, to explore what it takes to make restaurant operations truly “unstoppable.” Drawing from decades of experience in operations, engineering, and leading transformation at industry giants like Starbucks, they share how their practice—rooted in lean manufacturing, systems engineering, and human-centered design—helps restaurants streamline work, empower teams, and create lasting value for both employees and customers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mission of Service Physics & Industry Impact

• Mantra: “Make service work better for people” — focus on both exceptional customer experience and making work meaningful and efficient for employees. (06:13–06:36)
  • “We find if we keep folks on the team and keep ourselves focused on making service work better for people, that always leads us in the right direction. It's that human centered approach to problem solving.”
    — Brian Reece [06:13]
  • Double meaning: better service for customers, better work for employees, leading to improved bottom lines.

2. Philosophy: ‘Motion is Not Equal to Work’

• Many restaurants confuse busyness with productivity; true value comes from activities that benefit the customer.
  • “Motion looks like work, but it’s not.” — Steve Crowley [11:46]
  • Lean Principle: Work = activity that creates value for customers; anything else is waste. (07:39–08:07)

3. Story of Work: Why, What, & How

• Most organizations can explain why they exist and what the customer gets but ignore how work actually gets done.
  • “The entire middle of that story is the question of how work gets done. And we gloss over that and don't pay it the attention it deserves.” — Steve Crowley [10:12]
• Emphasize getting leadership out of the office and onto the front line to observe reality, uncover inefficiencies, and foster empathy.

4. Origins & Backgrounds: Starbucks & Beyond

• Steve: Rose through Starbucks from barista to operations strategy, playing a central role in Starbucks’ lean transformation (2007–2016).
• Brian: Industrial engineering background, left DoD for more purposeful work, joining Starbucks as a digital product manager, later led data and retail at AB InBev.
• The pair's synergy: “Just hot water, whether it’s nuclear submarines or coffee.” – illustrating transferable problem-solving. (18:45–20:31)

5. From Fortune 500 to Industry-Wide Change

• Service Physics isn’t just a “consultancy” but a coaching and transformation practice, combining:
  • Lean Thinking & Manufacturing Methodology
  • Systems Engineering
  • Human-Centered Design [15:44]
• Clients range from startups (Haven Hot Chicken) to giants (Panda Express, Pete’s Coffee).

6. Applying Lean/Industrial Engineering to Restaurants

• Manufacturing has embraced process improvement for a century; most restaurant operations lag behind.
  • Example: “Spaghetti diagram” — mapping staff movement to minimize unnecessary motion and reveal process flaws. [41:50]
• Diminishing returns: “Find the minimum effective dose” of improvement; focus on the few things giving outsized results (Pareto principle: 80/20 rule).

7. The 7 Types of Waste: The “TIMWOOD” Acronym (49:29–54:16)

A core teaching from Service Physics’ workshops, applied from Lean:

• Transportation

• Inventory

• Motion (people/machines)

• Waiting (things/orders/people stuck)

• Over-processing (redundant work)

• Over-production (preparing ahead before demand)

• Defects (rework or mistakes)

  “There are only seven types of waste.” — Steve Crowley [49:16]

• Example: Over-portioning beef in a burger shop—spot the biggest cost centers and methods to control them [59:11–59:45].

8. Focus, Sequencing, and Compounding Improvement

• Constantly ask: “What’s stuck?” and resolve bottlenecks.
• Improvement compounds—do one thing, do it well, then add the next. Avoid trying to ‘systematize everything’ all at once.
  “Follow one course until success.” — Brian Reece [57:49]

9. Clients & Case Studies

• Pete’s Coffee: Optimized use of automated espresso machines—showed how one well-designed method enabled a single machine to meet highest demands, freeing resources for innovation. [54:16–56:26]
• Haven Hot Chicken: Supported transformation from pre-opening pop-ups to scalable operations.

10. Technology: Tools, Not Solutions

• Don’t let technology drive operations; define the method first, then select tech to support it.
  • “Process first, technology second… Technology will not solve our problems.” — Steve Crowley [82:01, 86:27]
  • Four-step operational excellence:
    1. Define what excellence looks like
    2. By what method to achieve it
    3. What tools (if any) help or detect problems
    4. How to train people in this system [83:12–85:42]
• Choosing the right tech:
  • “Fancy calculators” (HotSchedules, SevenShifts) are sufficient up to ~12 locations.
  • Larger, customized solutions (Kronos, Oracle, Power BI) fit enterprise needs.[79:10–81:07]
  • “No two restaurants are exactly the same” — importance of customization as you scale.

11. The Role of Data and AI

• Recognize industry’s current lag with data (“most data we can get from restaurant systems are lagging”), but excited for potential with AI, cameras, and real-time operational diagnostics. [11:58, 87:00+]

• Cautionary note: Avoid letting technology outstrip operational readiness, as evidenced by challenges post-COVID and throughout history. [104:08–106:36]

  “If we can heed the warning from COVID and think about how do we upgrade operations at the same rate we’re upgrading technology so we don’t end up with a bloodbath…” — Steve Crowley [104:43]

12. Industry Outlook & The Future

• Today’s economic climate: Customers make fewer restaurant visits but spend on higher perceived value—“trading up” to quality brands like Panda Express or Pete’s Coffee.

  • “Get clear on what is driving folks to come to you…then organize your operation to efficiently deliver that.” — Brian Reese [66:35–69:53]

• AI Revolution:

  • AI will not replace method; it will augment coaching and automation.
  • Industry must prepare for rapid change by focusing on foundational operations, not just digital tools.

• Empowerment & Democratized Knowledge:

  • The industry is ready for change, but it must be collaborative, open-source, and stay grounded in people-first principles.
  • “We are finally sharing information, getting perspective… how do we decentralize information and democratize knowledge?” — Eric Cacciatore [101:18]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Nobody wakes up every day and thinks about how they can go to work and struggle…I believe that people wake up every day and just want to show up and shine.”
  — Steve Crowley [00:00, 10:12]

• “Motion is not equal to work.”
  — Steve Crowley [07:24]

• “There are only seven types of waste…TIMWOOD: Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-processing, Over-production, Defects.”
  — Steve Crowley [49:16–54:16]

• “Technology will not solve our problems. Method will solve your problem. Technology is a tool.”
  — Steve Crowley [82:01]

• “What does excellence look like? By what method would we achieve excellence? What tools—if any—will help? And how will we train people to use them?”
  — Steve Crowley [83:12–85:42]

• “Our mantra is to make service work better for people.”
  — Brian Reece [06:13]

• “If you define your problem as technology, you’ve already committed to spending the money… our mantra is put our minds before our wallets.”
  — Steve Crowley [92:32–114:11]

• “The restaurant was the original Internet.”
  — Eric Cacciatore [112:55]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

| Topic/Segment | Timestamps | |--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------| | Introduction: Mission and Mantra of Service Physics | 06:13–07:14 | | Motion ≠ Work, Lean Concepts | 07:24–08:07 | | The “Story of Work”: Why, What, How | 10:12–11:49 | | Manufacturing vs. Restaurants: Applying Lean | 14:27–15:53 | | Service Physics’ Backgrounds & Starbucks Transformation | 18:45–22:39 | | “Spaghetti Diagrams” & Minimum Effective Dose | 41:50–43:04 | | 7 Types of Waste—“TIMWOOD” Explained | 49:16–54:16 | | Compound Effects, Focus, and Process-First Mindset | 57:49–60:26 | | Case Study: Pete’s Coffee—Work Routine & Automation | 54:16–56:26 | | Tech Stack Choices: Fancy Calculators vs. Enterprise Solutions | 79:10–81:10 | | The Importance of Process Before Tech / AI / Operations | 82:01–87:50 | | The Future, Industry Trends, and Democratization of Knowledge | 100:02–102:34 | | Service Physics 101 Workshop Announcement | 99:21–99:49 | | Final Thoughts: Technology, Power, and Industry Empowerment | 104:08–114:11 | | Recommendation: ClusterTruck/Empower Delivery, Human-Centered Tech | 114:53–117:50 |

Additional Highlights & Recommendations

• Actionable Tools: Try the (free) Service Physics app to analyze labor utilization by tracking activities in real time.
• Upcoming Offering: Service Physics will launch a workshop in August 2025, aiming to make their methods accessible for small operators ([99:21], [118:28]).
• Recommended Tech:
  • For <12-15 units: HotSchedules, SevenShifts (“fancy calculators”)
  • Enterprises: Kronos, Oracle, custom Power BI/Tableau solutions

Shout-Outs

• Empower Delivery / Clustertruck: Human-centered approach to ghost kitchens and delivery tech.
• Past Guests: Meredith Sandlin (Empower Delivery), Fred Langley (Restaurant Systems Pro)

Episode Tone

Warm, practical, and forward-looking, the episode blends deep operational wisdom, actionable lean/industrial strategies, and a genuine respect for the human side of restaurants. Steve and Brian bring a balance of humility, humor (self-deprecating jokes about coffee and nuclear submarines), and a passionate call for operators to focus on what matters most: making service work better for people.

For Further Engagement

• Follow up with the Service Physics 101 Workshop – details on their LinkedIn and website.
• Join Brian & Steve’s live Q&A on December 9th (details at RestaurantUnstoppable.com/ServicePhysics).
• Use the Service Physics app to audit your own operation.
• Connect with Eric and the Restaurant Unstoppable Network for future community events.

“The best way to navigate through the fiction is with physics.”

— Steve Crowley [113:17]

A must-listen for anyone serious about scalable, humane, and unstoppable restaurant operations.