A 14-location fast casual chain was drowning in unresponded reviews. Staff spent zero time on reputation management. The Aizen Event identified 5 automatable steps. Result: top-quartile rating across all locations, 22% increase in new customer visits.
6 steps, mostly manual, zero standardization. Manager spent ~6.5 hours per week on reviews alone, 40% went unanswered, and response quality varied across locations. No brand voice consistency.
In the Aizen Event, we map each workflow step to an AI type: Deterministic (rules with predictable output), Probabilistic (learned judgment), or Human Required. Classification drives build vs. defer decisions.
| Step | AI type | Recommendation | New state | Time saved | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Review monitoring Manual daily checks across platforms |
Deterministic | Automate completely. API aggregation across all platforms, all locations, real-time alerts. Consolidated dashboard replaces manual checks. | ● Automated | 45 min/day |
| 02 | Sentiment triage Manual reading and urgency scoring |
Deterministic | Rules-based scoring: star rating + keyword patterns classify as Positive/Neutral/Negative/Crisis. Flag 1-star reviews with escalation keywords for immediate alert. | ● Automated | 8 min/review |
| 03 | Response drafting Manual writing, no templates |
Probabilistic | LLM generates brand-voice responses per sentiment category. Trained on owner's best past responses. Three tiers: auto-post (4-5★ positive), queue for review (3★ neutral), escalate (1-2★ negative). | ● Augmented | 12 min/review |
| 04 | Response approval Owner bottleneck, 18 hr avg delay |
Probabilistic | Remove from workflow for positive reviews. Owner only reviews flagged negative/crisis responses. Reduces approval queue by 78%, speeds deployment. | ● Augmented | 18 hrs delay |
| 05 | Response posting Manual copy-paste to each platform |
Deterministic | Auto-post approved responses via API. Zero manual copy-paste. Immediate deployment across all platforms simultaneously. | ● Automated | 4 min/response |
| 06 | Competitor tracking Manual monthly check, rarely done |
Deterministic | Weekly automated report: competitor rating trends, review velocity, sentiment keywords. Delivered to owner inbox Monday 8am. Spot market movements. | ● Automated | monthly |
We plot each step by implementation complexity (X) against business impact (Y). Steps in the top-left are Quick Wins: start here. Top-right are Strategic Investments: build after wins are live.
Low complexity, high impact. API aggregation built in week 1.
Rules-based, immediate value. Integrated with monitoring.
Deterministic API calls. Eliminates manual work.
Highest ROI. Probabilistic with confidence thresholds. Phase 2.
Nice-to-have. Lower priority. Can defer.
The redesigned workflow after the Aizen Event implementation. Every step shows the before design, what changed, and who now handles what.
Build cost, deployment timeline, and three-year return: based on measured reputation lift and new customer acquisition across 14 locations.
This case study represents a composite of typical SMB restaurant workflow engagements. Metrics are based on observed industry benchmarks and comparable implementations. All investment figures are illustrative ranges based on the Otonmi service tiers.
Tell us about the process your team is spending the most time on. We'll classify every step and tell you what's worth building: and what isn't.