Sponsored by Ladle
In the fast-paced world of pizza, consistency is everything—every slice must meet customer expectations. According to Datassential, pizza is America’s most beloved food, with nearly 100 percent of consumers recognizing it and 91 percent expressing that they love or like it.
In this competitive landscape, regular audits are essential: they help ensure food safety, adherence to brand standards, and operational consistency, all of which drive customer satisfaction and repeat business. That’s why Papa Gino’s, a cherished quick-service pizza icon in New England, turned to Ladle’s AuditApp—deploying digital precision to elevate standards and deliver a reliably great pizza experience, slice after slice.
“Before Ladle, we relied on pen and paper,” says Greg Sheehan, director of learning and development at Papa Gino’s. “That method wasn’t very efficient and made it easy to ‘dry lab’ or fake results. It often felt like a task to check off rather than a meaningful process, which didn’t align with the expectations people have for technology today.”
The shift to AuditApp made all the difference for Papa Gino’s. “It gave us efficiency gains—eliminating paper, speeding up the process, and providing a structured workflow,” Sheehan says. “While there was a slight learning curve for some long-tenured employees who were used to pen and paper, we helped them see the value of electronic assessments: stored records, quicker completion, and better accuracy.”
One of the biggest benefits AuditApp offers is efficiency. Pizza restaurants can configure audits and assessments to follow the logical flow of their specific restaurant. For example, if an operator is doing a product check, the system can be set up to match the layout of products on the line.
“With pen and paper, managers had to physically go to a restaurant, track down the right assessment, and search for the data they needed,” Sheehan says. “With AuditApp, everything is electronic. Reporting tools make it easy to pull completion reports and measure effectiveness.”
From a coaching and training perspective, AuditApp is a great teaching tool. “Questions can include goals, targets, and even images, so employees understand not just whether something met the standard, but what the standard actually is and how to achieve it,” Sheehan says. “This has increased buy in, because it’s not just about pointing out what’s wrong—it’s about showing how to improve.”
Papa Gino’s also uses AuditApp for product quality evaluations (PQEs) and quality control (QC) audits. In pizza quality assessments, operators can upload images of what a perfect pizza should look like, giving managers a clear standard to reference and helping ensure accuracy, consistency, and quality.
Overall, AuditApp has helped Papa Gino’s elevate operational consistency. “We now average an 85 percent score on our quality control audits,” Sheehan says. “Having those benchmarks available has been a big improvement. We’ve been with Ladle for a while, and I’ve seen the tool evolve. It was strong when we first adopted it, but it has only improved as the company has grown. For us, Ladle has been a great partner in driving efficiency, compliance, and quality across our brands.”
Simplify compliance and protect your brand—see how at Ladle.com.
By Abby Winterburn
