Jay Moderson, Kavanaugh Restaurant Supply Inc.

Jay Moderson, Kavanaugh Restaurant Supply Inc.Jay Moderson has spent the last eight-plus years working for Kavanaugh Restaurant Supply Inc. based in Madison, Wis. Currently the dealer’s sales and project manager, Moderson has been in the foodservice industry for more than 22 years, working in hotels, convention centers, restaurants and bars, fulfilling the roles of banquet manager, food and beverage manager, hotel assistant general manager and hotel general manager. 

Q: How does your hospitality experience impact the way you work with customers?

A: Working and being a manager in hotels for a majority of my career, you needed to be available 24 hours a day. Sometimes that’s as simple as responding to an email, a text, a phone call or an in-person conversation. I brought that same philosophy when I started at Kavanaugh Restaurant Supply. 

Q: When coming to work on the dealer side of the industry, you started in smallwares before moving to equipment then design and then project management. How does that well-rounded background help you add value to your customers?

A: Having done all aspects, you can offer some tips, tricks and best practices. This comes in especially handy when working on a new project. Being able to have a very honest conversation with the customer on budgeting and what they should expect not only from myself and Kavanaugh’s but also being able to provide some thoughts on things to expect from the construction process. Knowing how things should normally flow with a project and being able to bring up concerns before they become a problem is very helpful. 

Q: How do you measure the success of one of your designs?

A: One thing that I heard over and over again when I started doing designs and project managing is customers who had talked to another dealer first said the designer wasn’t listening to their input and was just telling them what they needed. I make it a point to keep the customer involved during the entire design process to not only make sure I am meeting their expectations, but also so I can explain things to them as to why they need certain equipment or why the location of certain equipment can impact their operation. I’m always staying in contact with the customer even after they open their business and assisting with warranty calls and additional product needs, so I have a pretty good idea on how the design and flow is working for their business.

Q: When it comes to choosing the right piece of equipment, how do you find the right solution? 

A: I work really closely with all of our manufacturer reps to continue to learn about existing equipment or new equipment coming out. We are only about an hour away from a lot of our manufacturer rep test kitchens, so it helps to go there and see them demo the equipment and also go with the customer to demo the units to make sure it is the right fit for them.

Q: What’s one lesson that you’ve learned earlier in your career that you continue to apply? 

A: Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Customers are spending their hard-earned money on equipment that I am recommending to help their business and when they have an issue, I am truly bothered by that, so I do everything in my power to assist in fixing the issue. 

DSR 3-2-1

Jay Moderson, Kavanaugh Restaurant Supply Inc., sits down with Jason Wange, Foodservice Powerplant Network, to talk about being named an FE&S DSR of the Month. 

Find more episodes of DSR 3-2-1 here.

Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Presents DSR 3-2-1 is sponsored by Salvajor.