Dallas-based company Grata is introducing a public feedback platform for service industry workers, allowing customers to leave recognition through QR codes according to a Dallas Morning News article which reports,
“The feedback channels of the restaurant industry have long been relegated to the pages of Yelp and Google, but a Dallas-based company wants to change that.
A new “gratitude and recognition platform” called Grata, which gives service industry workers a public space to receive recognition for their work, is entering the Dallas restaurant industry this week with a rollout at all Mesero locations.
The platform functions as “the LinkedIn for service industry workers,” says Grata founder Mark Bunting. Customers can leave “gratas” or stars along with written feedback for employees by scanning QR codes with their phones at businesses that use the platform. That customer recognition then goes onto employees’ individual Grata profiles, which they have full dominion over and are visible to the public.”
The company will be headed by CEO Patrick Brandt who has a proven track record of running startups according to a DMagazine article. They say,
“But come 2022, the desire to become a CEO again began to badger Brandt. So, Brandt became one of Grata’s largest investors, helped raise $6 million, and assembled a team of execs. “Running startups is like running marathons,” Brandt says. “After I’m done, I say, ‘I’m never doing that again.’ But then, I end up doing it again.”
So far, Grata is up and running in Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma. In DFW, it recently debuted at all seven locations of Tex-Mex restaurant Mesero and within First United Banks. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Brandt plans to start a Series A capital fund to raise up to $25 million. Right now, though, he is laying a foundation so that Grata can reach the realm of Uber. “Success is never a straight line,” he says. “Right now, I am maniacally focused on what is in front of me.””
Grata’s founder, Mark Bunting, hopes to institutionalize gratitude for service industry workers, recognizing their contributions and bringing appreciation back to the industry.
