CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE · OPERATIONS · HUMAN BEING

People want to be heard.
And they want results.

Customer experience. Operations. Technology. AI. Communication. Creating.

I’m a little hard to put in a box. That’s kind of the point.

Eric Rilko smiling outdoors in a pink cap
Curious by default.
CURIOUS • ADAPTABLE • ETHICAL • HONEST • RELENTLESS • CURIOUS • ADAPTABLE
Eric Rilko smilingNot a stock photo. Definitely me.

MY STORY

I’ve spent a career figuring out what happened — and what to do next.

For more than two decades, I’ve worked where people, operations and problems collide: restaurant leadership, business ownership, corporate guest relations, loyalty, payments, digital ordering and the complicated situations that don’t fit neatly into a script.

I’m at my best when something needs to be understood. Listen first. Research the facts. Connect the dots. Communicate clearly. Fix what can be fixed. Then ask the bigger question: how do we make this better next time?

Titles change. That part of me doesn’t.

WHAT I DO

Part translator. Part investigator. Part fixer.

01

Customer Experience

Listen beyond the complaint, find the real problem, and give people a clear path forward.

02

Operations

Twenty-plus years around restaurants taught me that the best solution has to work in the real world, not just on paper.

03

Problem Solving

I like messy problems: transactions, loyalty, systems, handoffs, escalations and the “how the hell did this happen?” cases.

04

Communication

Clear, human communication matters — with customers, teammates, leaders and anyone trying to get to the truth.

HOW I THINK

“Jack of all trades? Maybe.
I prefer chameleon.”

Listen. People usually tell you what matters if you give them room.

Investigate. Assumptions are cheap. Find the facts.

Own it. If it lands in my hands, I want to move it forward.

Improve it. Solving one problem is good. Preventing the next ten is better.

WHAT I’M BUILDING & LEARNING

Still curious. Still learning. Still making stuff.

I’m exploring AI, automation, customer-experience technology, web development and better ways for people and systems to work together. This website is part résumé, part laboratory, and part proof that curiosity doesn’t have an expiration date.

I don’t need to be the person who knows everything. I want to be the person willing to learn what the problem requires.

AI + AUTOMATIONCUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TECHWEB + DIGITAL TOOLSPROCESS IMPROVEMENTCREATIVE PROJECTS

EXPERIENCE

A few chapters so far.

2008—2026

Restaurant Growth Services

Guest Relations Specialist · loyalty, escalations, transaction research, service recovery, cross-functional problem solving and trend analysis.

2013—2014

Maui Wowi

Franchise Owner / Operator · people, customers, inventory, vendors, marketing and the thousand little things that make a business run.

2004—2008

O’Charley’s

Restaurant Manager · high-volume operations, staffing, coaching, service standards and guest experience.

Before & beyond

Always learning

Hospitality roots. Technology curiosity. AI experimentation. Whatever comes next.

LET’S TALK

Got a problem worth solving?

Work opportunity, interesting project, customer-experience challenge, weird idea — I’m listening.