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Guide to Groupon Online Couponing for Restaurants

2011-11-01T11:46:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of rmgtmagazine.com

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

Is the online couponing site really good for your restaurant? Find out.

To Groupon or not Groupon, that is the question many restaurateurs are asking themselves these days. Since the online coupon company offered its first daily deal in November 2008, it has become a bona fide phenomenon. Now operating in over 400 markets in 23 countries, the company boasts over 115 million subscribers worldwide. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, Groupon had 56,781 merchants as customers, who sold 28.1 million Groupons in just that first quarter.

Restaurant Groupons are usually the most popular offers in any given market, so these stats seem to indicate that almost everyone is doing one. But before you sign on the dotted line, you need to know exactly what the service can offer, how to maximize its potential and be aware of the possible downsides.

The Deal
According to Groupon spokesman Chad Nason, the typical Groupon deal involves the merchant taking 50 percent of the revenue and Groupon retaining the other 50 percent. So if a restaurant offers a Groupon for $25, the consumer gets a Groupon for $50 worth of food and the restaurant earns $12.50. However, several restaurateurs we spoke to for this article, who asked to remain anonymous, said that Groupon had offered them higher percentages of the revenue. When asked about the flexibility of Groupon’s profit splitting, Nason would only say, “We’ll always be coming up with different deals and different structures.”

Many restaurateurs are understandably wary about Groupon’s large cut of the pie. Paul Fehribach, the chef-owner of Big Jones, a 70-seat sit-down restaurant in Chicago, hasn’t done a Groupon yet. “To take half the profit just to send an email, write the blurbs and create the videos is ridiculous,” he says. “If I did a Groupon that netted $20,000, I’m going to get $10,000 and Groupon is going to get $10,000, but I have to buy all the food and do all the labor. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Though Groupon markets itself as a revenue generator, restaurateurs should treat it like an advertising tool. “You should never go into a Groupon deal thinking it's going to make you any money,” says Neil DuPaul, marketing associate at Speedy Incorporation (Speedy-incorporation.com/blog/). “Restaurants can make money, but most of it will come in the long term.”

Lisa Alvarez, owner of Maya’s Mexican Bistro in Kansas City, Missouri, has offered three Groupons since the company came to her market. She had one goal: “To get new people through the door and get people we haven’t seen in a while back through the door to reintroduce them to our product.” She considers all of her promotions a success, since they brought in many customers from beyond her neighborhood that hadn’t ever frequented her restaurant before. “We had diners in from the whole city,” she says. “And it brought in old customers that moved away, because we gave them a good reason to come back and see us.”

Incentivize It

To ensure that your Groupon generates the most revenue possible – even if it doesn’t generate a profit – you need to design a deal that guarantees diners spend more than just the worth of the coupon. Minty Charupa is the co-owner of three 80-seat Tuk Tuk Thai Restaurants in and around Denver, Colorado. Over the past year, Charupa has done three Groupons for her trio of establishments and has seen a 90 percent redemption rate for her offers. The last two deals have been for $30 Groupons, which cost the consumers $15 each. This amount covered a pair of $12–$13 entrees and two nonalcoholic beverages, but nothing more.

Charupa says that about half her customers only spent as much money as their $30 Groupon allowed, while the other half spent $15–$20 more, usually by buying appetizers and alcoholic beverages. “I make my usual profit margin on that overspend,” she says. “Which helps offset the cost of Groupon’s fee.”

This type of incentivized deal structure makes Groupon a winner for restaurants at any end of the scale, according to Nason. “If you’re a high-end steakhouse, a $40 for $20 Groupon or $60 for $30 Groupon would make sense,” he says. “That won’t cover the full bill, but the customer still gets a great discount. And because of those savings, they’re more apt to buy a full bottle of wine than a glass, or order a dessert.” So, even if you don’t make back the cost of Groupon’s cut, you’ve at least significantly reduced it.

Getting Ready

Restaurateurs have to be ready for the sudden influx of customers that Groupon deals create. The largest numbers of Groupon-generated customers will always happen at two key points over the course of a promotion’s lifetime. “You’re always going to get a rush at the very beginning, because people are excited that they bought it,” Nason says. “And there’s going to be a rush at the end, because they don’t want it to expire.”

Remember the Boy Scouts’ motto: Be Prepared. “You need to prepare your employees; make sure you have extra product on hand and extra cooks in the kitchen,” Nason says. “Everything needs to be running at a smooth, manageable pace before you run the Groupon deal, because it will expose any real fallacies you have in your business model.”

If you’re not ready to handle the increased business, your food and your service may be negatively affected. This leads to bad customer experiences for both first-time diners and longtime patrons, which is often quickly reflected in the reviews posted to sites such as Yelp. Online backlash can quickly damage a business’s reputation. A recently released study by researchers from Harvard and Boston University shows that businesses that offered a Groupon saw their ratings fall by 12 percent on Yelp after the promotion, which averaged out to losing half a star rating.

More Data

Once everything is in its right place at your business and the Groupon goes out, the work has only just begun. Groupons are a great tool for getting customers in the door to try your product, but after that it’s up to you. “You have to always remember that you're looking for repeat customers,” DuPaulsays. “So you want to add names to your email list; you want more fans on your Facebook page and followers on Twitter.” Currently, Groupon does not share any marketing information with merchants, so restaurateurs must gather this data from diners themselves.

One option is to include comment cards or surveys with the check, which could serve as marketing-information harvesting tools and a way for a restaurant to advertise its online presence. Servers should then alert diners to the presence of these forms to ensure a higher participation rate. If you enter respondents into a drawing for a gift certificate or restaurant merchandise, the response rate should be even higher. Another tactic is to offer Groupon customers a second, smaller coupon upon the completion of their meal in exchange for a few small pieces of marketing information.

More Advertising

Restaurateurs have to remember that Groupon users are loyal first to Groupon. “When you get flowers, do you remember the florist or the person giving you the flowers?” asks Bob Phibbs (Retaildoc.com), author of Groupon: You Can’t Afford It – Why Deep Discounts Are Bad For Business and What to Do Instead. “Groupon is the one giving you the flowers; your restaurant is just the florist. You’re not building your brand; Groupon gets the brand building.”

Therefore, owners need to advertise their eatery’s website address and social media presence prominently. By the time they finish, diners should be alerted to all the ways they can find you, follow you and friend you online. There should be tactfully placed signage throughout your establishment, and this information should be printed at the bottom of receipts or on postcards that are given to each dining party.

More Money

Tell your servers to get their game faces on, because they need to upsell, upsell, upsell to Groupon users. Groupon wouldn’t share any figures about what percentage of users overspend on their coupons and by how much, but numerous restaurateurs we spoke with indicated that large numbers of Groupon users only spend the amount of their Groupon. That means it’s the restaurant staff’s job to entice diners to purchase more than they planned. Make sure they’re promoting top-shelf liquors when cocktails are ordered, side dishes and appetizer options when entrées are ordered, and dessert and post-meal drinks once the main courses are cleared. All the extra purchases add up and help your bottom line.

A Helping Hand

If merchants run into problems executing their Groupon at any step of the way, the company does want to help out. The main tool the company offers is Grouponworks.com, a website that answers common questions, provides video tutorials on various aspects of the Groupon experience and gives merchants the contact information so they can call a Groupon merchant manager if they need human intervention. “Their whole job is working with merchants to make sure they’re prepared before, during and after the deal,” Nason says. “Our merchant managers and sales reps are constantly working with our Groupon merchants to make sure that they’re handling redemption properly and, if they are having a rush of customers, what we can do to better manage that.”

Groupon on the Go

Groupon has recently expanded its offerings with Groupon Now!, a mobile app that alerts users to deals available in their vicinity in real time. Deals are purchased through the app. Customers just present merchants a unique barcode on their phone, which the merchant scans using the Groupon redemption app. Currently, the service is only available in 25 markets, though Groupon is planning to expand its reach in the near future.

Groupon Now! differs significantly from traditional Groupons, because it can be turned on or off by merchants once they are set up in Groupon’s system. For example, if a restaurant owner arrives at his establishment one day and finds fewer customers than usual at lunch service, he can instantaneously begin offering a special through Groupon Now!, which can be set to expire at a certain time or after a certain number of Groupon Now! deals have been sold (the restaurant operator can also turn off the deal manually at any time).

Nason says that Groupon Now! offers restaurateurs a unique revenue tool. “Those tables are perishable inventory,” he says. “So if they are laying vacant, you want to fill them up.” Merchants can also set up Groupon Now! deals to automatically appear during traditionally slow times at their eateries. To make the new product even more attractive, Groupon takes a lower cut of the proceeds in the transaction, though Nason demurred from giving specific figures.

Looking Forward

Since arriving on the scene three years ago, Groupon has spawned a number of competitors, including LivingSocial, Google Offers and Scoutmob. Despite the competition, Groupon remains the leading daily deal website with the highest revenues and largest customer base. “I don't believe Groupon has much to worry about,” DuPaulsays. “They have the most name recognition by far. If Groupon plays their cards right, there's no reason they shouldn't be the top dog in this space for years to come.”

Groupon’s growth and the rise of various competitors both speak to the public’s growing – and seemingly insatiable – desire for more deals. “People love deals,” DuPaul says. “They always have and always will.” According to new figures from market researchers BIA/Kelsey, it looks like people really, really love them. The firm estimates that Americans will spend $2 billion on daily deals this year and it expects that figure will hit $4.2 billion in 2015. By comparison, the firm estimated only $873 million was spent on such products in 2010.

It looks like digital deals are here to stay, so make sure you use them correctly so you can build your customer base, increase brand awareness and maybe even boost your bottom line.

Achieving Menu Pricing Harmony in Restaurants

2011-09-28T09:24:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of Bret Thorn on Nation's Restaurant News

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

Chief executives from Fazoli’s, Twin Peaks and P.F. Chang’s offer strategies on raising prices without losing customers

Restaurants are under pressure to raise prices as commodity costs climb, but customers, reluctant to spend in these uncertain economic times, are likely to push back if their favorite menu items get more expensive.

Carl Howard, president and chief executive of Fazoli’s; Randy DeWitt, chief executive of Twin Peaks; and P.F. Chang’s chief executive Lane Cardwell shared their strategies for keeping margins in line without irritating their customers in a MUFSO panel moderated by Scott Taylor, chief operating officer of Baton Rouge, La.-based restaurant operator Last In Concepts.

Dazzle Them with Specials

Fazoli’s multi-tiered promotion strategy allows the restaurant to include both value items at the low end and samplers at the high end, Howard said.

Currently, the chain offers “family meals” for group dining at a maximum $4 per person, as well as a special $3.99 pricing of pizza-baked pasta. Customers can also upgrade those baked pastas to a “Supremo” — topped with extra meat, onions, peppers and Parmesan cheese — for $1.49.

Howard said about 25 percent of customers take the upsell. “It’s very profitable,” he said.

Fazoli’s also asks focus group participants what they would pay for various menu items. If they show willingness to spend more than the current price of certain items, they know it’s safe to raise prices on those items.

The quick-service Italian chain focuses on per person expenditures and per person profit — or the amount of money each customer spends and the profit Fazoli’s makes on that, Howard said.

Entertain Them with Costumes

The casual-dining “breastaurant” Twin Peaks, is known for its cold beer and attractive wait staff.

DeWitt said that it has a full-time research and development chef who tweaks a couple of the chain’s 30 menu items every six months.

Instead of limited-time offers, Twin Peaks offers limited-time costumes.

For instance, the week of Valentine’s Day is slow for the restaurant, 90 percent of whose customers are men who use Twin Peaks to “spend leisure time with their buddies,” DeWitt said.

So Twin Peaks notified its e-mail club that their servers would be “wearing something comfortable this week.”

“It turned into one of our busiest weeks,” DeWitt said.

Other outfit changes occur for big football games, Veterans Day and Christmas, he said.

He also said Twin Peaks was having trouble keeping up with demand for a happy hour special: 99-cent 10-ounce mugs of beer.

The chain also offers 22-ounce mugs, which weren’t selling as well during happy hour until his servers were instructed to ask customers, “Will that be a girl size or a man size?”

“Overnight it solved the throughput problem,” DeWitt said.

Change Consumers’ Perception

P.F. Chang’s Cardwell said that any time a restaurant changes its menu format, consumers assume prices are rising, so it makes sense to raise them at that time.

But restaurants should also make sure they get credit for what they do well, he said.

“We’re the largest purchasers of flank steak in the country, but we call it beef,” Cardwell said.

Changing menu wording can make a difference, as P.F. Chang’s did during its most recent menu update. It noted that its salmon was from Norway, its pork was a loin cut, its mahi-mahi was line-caught, and it wasn’t just using sea bass, but Chilean sea bass.

Howard of Fazoli’s agreed, noting that its most successful menu price hike was implemented at the same time it enhanced the service program by upgrading to real plates and silverware.

“We also took a 2.5-percent increase in price and the customers accepted it,” Howard said.

13 Best Practices for Restaurants on Facebook

2011-08-31T11:04:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of Lauren Drell on Mashable.com

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

Everyone has to eat, and 700 million of those people are also on Facebook.

Naturally, there are a lot of restaurants on the world’s largest social network, though there could be a lot more, and many of the ones that do have Facebook Pages could be better.

1. Be Transparent

We never want to delete any negative reviews,” says Ashley Tyson, social media manager at 4Food. In fact, 4Food streams all @-mentions on a 240-square-foot media wall inside the restaurant. “Nobody expects a restaurant to always be perfect, but an honest response and quick offer to resolve the situation is what differentiates a good restaurant from a bad one.” Above, you’ll see that when Judy complained about a wrong order at her local Jimmy John’s, the company showed initiative and replied with an email address and a willingness to work hard to regain trust.

And just like you shouldn’t only pay attention to good reviews, you shouldn’t play favorites to those with a large social network. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. But just because someone has more or less doesn’t mean they’re a more or less valuable customer. Be sure to respond to everyone and address everyone’s concerns — in a timely manner. Chipotle‘s Joe Stupp says it’s company policy to answer every (or almost every) Facebook post, whether it’s positive or negative, typically within an hour or two. And people do appreciate the round-the-clock responses, no matter how “popular” they are on Facebook. “Just because somebody has a high friend count or a high Klout score on social media doesn’t necessarily mean they are important in their community,” says Stupp. “Vice-versa is also true.”

2. You Must Respond

You want to engage your fans on your Facebook Page, but you also want them to know that you are engaged, too. Be sure to answer questions, address concerns, and acknowledge when people take the time to post on your Page.

Even if it’s just a thank you for a nice remark, be sure to respond to your fans. “Never underestimate how far the words ‘thank you’ can go,” says Amanda Spurlock, Zagat’s social media editor.

3. Educate Your Fans

Restaurants have a unique opportunity — they can showcase the food, provide recipes, explain the origin of a dish and shoot videos of the chefs in action. That kind of content never gets old, and it doesn’t even have to be original — there’s so much stuff on YouTube, and all you need to do is unearth it. The Mermaid Inn posted this how-to video on its Facebook Page to show fans how to cook and eat lobster — an item they sell, so it’s related to the restaurant but also adds value.

Tyson says that because 4food receives new shipments of fresh produce and product every day, she likes to “use social media to educate our followers on fresh shipments, how we prepare our food (from scratch, with no artificial ingredients or fillers), where it comes from, etc.” She adds that as the locavore and sustainability movements gain steam, consumers are more interested in this angle than ever before. “People want to know they’re eating the freshest, tastiest and most healthful product possible,” Tyson says.

4. Show Off Your Goods

Food not only tastes and smells delicious — it looks beautiful, too. Post pictures of your dishes like Hill Country does, because those “food porn” pics are sure to make people salivate and get them in the door. There’s a reason things like Foodspotting exist — people like looking at artful food. However, Spurlock has a word of caution before you start uploading pics: “Make sure that the photos are appetizing because not all cellphone photos of food turn out appetizing, even if it does look nice on the plate.”

You don’t even always need a picture — sometimes a sensory description will do the trick. Case in point:Beauty & Essex‘s bacon Bloody Mary:

5. Don’t Just Sell — Be Interesting

Yes, your restaurant is a business, and your goal is to make profit. But you don’t have to do the hard sell on Facebook — oftentimes restaurants are overly promotional. “While consumers love to hear about new menu items and special offers, they don’t want to interact with anyone that appears too self serving,” says Tyson. Think about your brand and then try to find the right mix of promotions and special offers, education, customer service, engagement, etc. Use a diverse set of content to establish and build your brand.

On National Oyster Day (who knew that existed?), Island Creek Oyster Bar posted a YouTube video — it’s a soft sell that doesn’t desperately scream “Come eat here!” yet still plants the seed that could get consumers to crave oysters. Sharing fun facts pertaining to your cuisine or the team is also a fun way to get people excited about your food, and it humanizes the brand.

Another way to promote your brand is to let others do it for you. After all, word of mouth marketing is the most effective (and authentic). Stupp recommends that you motivate your customers to become ambassadors by treating them well, listening to them, talking to them, informing them and being interesting and engaging. Once you do that, your loyal fans will spread the word for you (for free!) online and in real life.

6. Share Your Press

You’ve worked hard to get good reviews and spur people to write blog posts about your food. Go ahead and share it with the world. This goes in tandem with avoiding the hard sell — by being awesome, you’ll motivate people to spread the word. More publicity means more customers, and it will snowball as long as your product is delicious and your customer service remains excellent. Chicago eatery Graham Elliot is great at posting press, which shows that the restaurant gets a lot of press, and also serves to brag about the cool things they do, like hosting a pop-up restaurant at this year’s Lollapalooza music festival.

7. Flaunt Your Social and Digital Savvy

A small percentage of restaurants are on social platforms and seeing success. Jimmy John’s, the Midwest sandwich chain, is one of them. Not only do they have an iPhone app for ordering, but it’s also their Facebook profile picture, which is a great way to increase awareness of said app. At the very least, be active on Twitter and Facebook, and it’s also great to have a blog or an app. And all of these things should be promoted on your Facebook Page, like the Jimmy John’s company blog.

8. Be Consistent Online and Offline

Be sure that your community managers are “as well-versed in your restaurant food and service and intangibles as your best employees in the field,” says Stupp. You don’t want people to get answers on Facebook and hear a different story when they show up for dinner. It can be hard to maintain seamless communication — especially if there are different locations that may have different offerings or hours, but it’s important to stay in the loop and make sure that the information put out by your restaurant is accurate and consistent across all platforms, whether they be social platforms or in-person. Being inconsistent will lead to confusion and frustration for your customers, who may feel like they were promised one thing, only to be told something else upon arrival.

9. Don’t Give Away Too Much

Whereas a bike store or car dealership are typically single-purchase businesses (how many bikes and cars does one person need?), restaurants are in a unique position in that someone could be a customer every single day. And while group deals and offering discounts might be good for a one-time promotion to increase Likes, you don’t want to give too much away.

The NBC Facebook and Chipotle promotion for a buy one, get one free burrito was a huge success that got a lot of people buzzing and in the shops, but the business didn’t have to lose too much money on it, because for every free burrito, there was a paid burrito. Just giving away product or offering steep discounts a la Groupon can have detrimental effect on the perceived value of your product, thereby making customers less likely to want to pay full price once the deal is over.

A once-in-a-while promotion that isn’t too generous — like the Mermaid Inn’s Social Media Monday word of the day for 20% off — keeps people coming back week after week without giving too much away. Plus, you’ll get a sense of your social media influence if you offer a code or buzzword on Facebook for in-store redemption.

Experiment with different times and codes to discover when people are more inclined to be driven to your store by social media, says Tyson. You want to use Facebook to enhance traffic and sales, but to do so most effectively, you have to know when people are paying the most attention to you.

If you’re looking to build loyalty and Likes and keep people coming back, don’t just give away product. The best thing to do is respond to people, talk to them like they’re your friends and show your appreciation for them. To customers, that’s worth more than a free sandwich.

10. Be Charming

Work can be stressful, so when someone sneaks away from the office for lunch or dinner, they want to be delighted. Whether you’re a quick sandwich lunch stop or a white-tablecloth establishment, you can be charming and human. Which Wich, a sandwich chain, literally flirts with its customers on Facebook, presenting a Like-gate that’s modeled after a middle school-esque “Do you like me? Check one. Yes/No” note.

We know there’s a human behind your Facebook Page, so you don’t need to stifle him — let a genuine voice come through.

11. Respect and Appreciate Your Team

A company is nothing without the people who comprise it, and the same can be said for restaurants — it takes many people to run the machine. When a customer posts about a positive experience on Facebook, be sure to pass it on to the team and also thank the customer and tell him you’re doing so — both parties will feel special and appreciated.

However, sometimes people write about not-so-positive experiences, and that can be a trickier situation to manage. “If someone complains about a particular individual or restaurant prior to an objective investigation, take the correspondence off the wall but make sure you let the customer know this and why you are doing it,” says Stupp, adding that your team has a “right to fair treatment” and should not “be guilty in the eyes of the public until proven innocent.” Be sure you resolve any issues, apologize for the perceived wrongdoing and let the customer know what steps have been taken to remedy the situation — follow-through is key if you’re trying to get that customer back in the door.

Also realize that your staff is on social media sites and are essentially ambassadors for your store. Show some appreciation, and they’ll appreciate their job even more.

12. Facebook Is Not Twitter

Sure, it’s easy to automatically syndicate your Twitter posts to Facebook and vice versa, but is it a good idea? No. “You have to think of Facebook as it’s own platform,” says Spurlock. Just consider the 140-character limit on Twitter. That means Twitter-to-Facebook posts will be extremely short (and photos and links won’t show up like they do when you post directly to Facebook), and Facebook-to-Twitter posts will likely get cut off and people may be annoyed that they have to go to Facebook.

“If someone is following you on Twitter, they don’t want to be told to go to Facebook every time for more information on each of your posts,” says Spurlock. “Also it gets rid of any incentive for someone to follow you on both platforms if everything you’re doing on them is the same.”

Variety is the spice of life, and food establishments should know that.

13. Target Consumers With Facebook Ads

A new Facebook feature allows advertisers to target consumers based on zip codes, which means that you can blast an ad to those who live within walking distance of your restaurant. There are some tricks of the trade when exploring the world of Facebook advertising, and it can be an effective way to build your fan base on Facebook.

Mobile Tableside POS is a Game Changer

2011-08-16T09:27:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of FastCasual.com

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

Higher sales, fewer servers, faster table turns, and happier, more loyal customers – Tableside Point-of-Sale offers all this and more. I foresee that it is going to profoundly change the customer experience for the better.

Make POS mobile

Typically, a server spends less than 20 percent of his time interacting with customers. He spends the other 80 percent keying orders into a POS terminal and moving around the kitchen, bar and tables. By moving the POS onto a mobile device such as an iPad, the server can stay on the floor, ensuring that ordering moves faster. For example, the drink order can be put in right from the table. By the time the appetizer order is taken, the drinks are being delivered by a runner. The speed at which this is accomplished could result in a second round of drinks with the appetizers. This could quickly occur with one click on the Reorder button on the mobile POS device.

Keeping your best servers on the floor allows them to serve more tables and provide better service. They have more time to chat with customers and share their passion for the menu, which leads to increase sales.

With a mobile POS that can display full color pictures of every menu item, recommend upsell items and engage the customer in the ordering process, a restaurant could easily see a 10 percent uptick in sales, while reducing the number of servers on each shift.

Tableside payment ROI

Mobile handheld POS systems have big advantages when the customer pays by credit card because the card swipe, located right on the POS device, means credit cards don't leave the table. Also, the card information can be encrypted for transmission to the payment processor via card swipe. With this approach, the restaurant avoids PCI compliance requirements and the restaurant's system no longer holds the credit card information.

Typically, paying the check can be a slow, frustrating customer experience that can color the experience of an otherwise excellent meal. Today, when you ask the server for the check, it has to be printed on the POS and brought to the table. Guests have to wait for the server to come by again to pick up their credit card, go back to the POS to process the payment and return with the payment slip.

Tableside payment enables a customer to pay checks instantly. The check is displayed onscreen, and customers swipe credit cards at the table. They can also add in the tip on the device. The transaction is done in seconds instead of several minutes, making for happier customers and faster table turns.

More than one guest at a table can pay parts of the bill, making for easier split checks. Servers don't have to remember which card belongs to each guest.

Take customer engagement to new heights

Perhaps the biggest promise of tableside POS devices is new opportunities for customer engagement. After paying the check, the server can invite the guest to enter his email address to receive the receipt electronically. A coupon for a future visit can be included in the email to help encourage repeat business. The customer can also rate her service at the tableside or via email. In turn, you can reward servers for receiving the top ratings and highest tips. Finally, the guest can opt-in to receive regular information on specials based on what they ordered last time.

Ultimately, the POS tableside device can help you build customer loyalty.

Leebro POS: Common Restaurant Interior Design and Facilities Mistakes

2011-07-01T10:35:00.001-04:00

Article Courtesy of Restaurant Management by Amanda Baltazar

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

The third of RMGT’s series on restaurant mistakes looks at common interior design and facilities errors. We talk to restaurant consultant Aaron Allen who reveals the mistakes restaurants often make and what they can do to correct them.

http://www.rmgtmagazine.com/content/common-restaurant-mistakes-interior-design-and-facilities

Leebro POS: Fifty Ways to Cut Costs in Your Restaurant without Reducing Quality or Guests' Experience

2011-06-22T10:24:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of Restaurant Startup & Growth Magazine

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

We often talk about the astounding number of ways there are to lose money in the restaurant business whether it's in the kitchen, dining room, bar, storage areas or back office. This being the case, it stands to reason that there are also lots of things that operators can do to stem potential losses by modifying how they do business in these areas.

Here are 50 proven practices that restaurants large and small have found to be effective in reducing losses and as a result put more of their hard earned sales dollars on their bottom line.

You might find it helpful to use these 50 items as a checklist to spot potential problem areas. While some may not have the potential to generate significant savings, it important to remember the cumulative effect that successful implementation of several of these controls could mean to the overall profitability of your business.

1. Lower inventory levels. Obviously, there's a limit to how much you can lower inventory levels; but it's common for many restaurants to have more food on their shelves than they really need. Evaluate your inventory levels product by product and base your reorder levels on how much you think you'll actually use until the next delivery comes in and add in a small, but reasonable safety factor. By reducing excess inventory you'll have less waste and spoilage and you'll likely see your staff do a better job of portioning and handling your expensive products when there is less of it on hand.

2. Daily inventory on key items. This is one of the most basic, yet effective cost controls in the restaurant business and we're constantly amazed at how many independent operators don't' do it. This practice begins with identifying your top 10-15 products that make up the bulk of your food cost. Each day, count and record the beginning or opening quantity on hand for each product. Add to that any purchases during the day. At the end of the closing shift, count the ending inventory and compute the usage for each item by adding the beginning quantity and the purchases, then subtract the ending amount on hand. The result is the amount of each product that was used. Now, compare that figure to the Digital Dining POS product usage report for each product. If actual usage is greater than the Digital Dining POS (theoretical) usage, investigate immediate. Could be a sign of theft, over-portioning or other food-utilization problem.

3. Get rid of trash cans in kitchen. Any restaurant is at risk for losing good, usable food products to their kitchen trash cans. If there's a training gap or people are careless when slicing, dicing or prepping anything in your kitchen, good, usable (and expensive) products can end up in the trash. We know of operators who occasionally remove all the trash cans out of their kitchens and replace them with clear plastic food boxes. Each employee receives a clear plastic food box with their name on it. They are then instructed to place all of their scraps, trimmings and waste into their own food box. At the end of each shift, a manager briefly inspects the contents of each employee's food box. If good, usable product is discovered, it's immediately brought to the employee's attention and, if necessary, they receive some on-the-spot training. As they say, "don't expect what you don't inspect." Ditching your kitchen garbage cans for plastic food boxes, even for a just week or two, will give you the perfect opportunity to find out exactly what's leaving your kitchen and ending up in the dumpster.

4. Check garbage cans in the dish room too. Trash cans are potential profit holes in the dish room too. Smart operators occasionally inspect the contents of dish room trash cans and often find expensive china, glass, silverware and other tableware.

5. Place a video camera in your dumpster area. Dishonest employees will often times steal individual steaks, bottles of liquor or other expensive items by concealing them in purses, backpacks and coats. However, in order for an employee to steal an entire case of product the favored method of operation is to throw it in the trash and come back to retrieve it later. Key item inventory counts help to isolate missing product to a particular shift or day, but knowing how the product was stolen is often elusive. Having a video camera pointed towards your back door and dumpster area allows you to playback the suspicious periods of occurrence.

6. Never allow employees to take trash to the dumpster without manager approval. As described in the previous tip, the easiest method for stealing is to discard the stolen product with the garbage. For this reason, any access in and out of the kitchen door should be controlled. Many restaurants keep the kitchen door locked by installing a panic bar that sounds an alarm if used to exit the building. Any exit is controlled by the kitchen manager or designated supervisor. Specific times are set for removing trash, giving managers the opportunity to visually inspect what is being discarded.

7. Consolidate purchases with a prime vendor arrangement. We've noticed that the practice of buying a large portion of products from one broad-line supplier is much more common in more highly profitable restaurants than it is in marginally successful ones. While one-stop shopping, as it's sometimes referred to, is no panacea, in most cases, consolidating the majority of purchases with one supplier tends to offer the opportunity to lower overall food prices and costs. Prime vendor relationships can be structured in many ways but most operate on a cost plus basis. Suppliers agree to a certain percentage or dollar amount of "mark-up" over their cost for a certain amount of time, often a year. While some operators say they have not found a prime vendor relationship particularly advantageous, many successful independents have and some even claim their close relationship with their prime supplier is one of the main reasons for their success.

8. Audit first and last 15 - 30 minutes of every shift. There's a saying that "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." (C. Northcote Parkinson, Parkinson's Law). This means that when employees are given less time for a task they will work faster and get more work done than they are presently doing. In restaurants, you can often tell if employees have too much time by noticing their pace and sense of urgency during the first and last 15 - 30 minutes of each shift. A casual or slow pace especially during these times, may indicate that they could get the same amount of work done on their shift with fewer hours on your clock.

9. Stop doing a repetitive schedule. Prepare the weekly labor schedule based on anticipated sales and customer counts. As business slows or ramps up, adjust employee hours accordingly.

10. Establish and use detailed specifications for every product you buy. Detailed specs are needed to ensure consistency of your products and to accurately compare bids. You may also discover that a lower grade on some products will still give you results you want.

11. Don't accept deliveries during lunch. During the lunch rush your people are swamped and can't do an accurate job of checking in your products. Have a policy that states "no deliveries between say, 11:00am and 1:30pm.

12. Ensure the maximum usage of your products. Have a plan to utilize usable trim, byproducts and somewhere else on the menu. Soups, garnishes and even sauces can be prime candidates for food that may be going straight to your trash bin.

13. Use a bus tub for plate scraping in the dish landing area. One of the most common places to lose silverware is in the dish landing area. As plates and glassware are returned, waiters, bus boys or dishwashers will scrape the leftovers into an open trash container -- along with the occasional knife, fork or spoon. Although the magnetic liners used by some help to reduce loss, the best method used is to scrape dirty plates into a bus tub placed on the dish landing area. It makes it much easier for staff to see what has been tossed and the dishwasher can separate errant utensils before emptying the scrapings.

14. Buy only what you need. Over-purchasing is one of the most expensive things you can do in this business. It leads to more waste, spoilage and over-portioning.

15. Use purchase orders. Keep a record of what you ordered, the quantity ordered and the quoted price. At check-in, verify that this matches what is physically at the back door and on the vendor's invoice. Mistakes happen and they are usually not in your favor.

16. Don't let drivers into your storage rooms. Don't tempt people, who don't even work for you, with helping themselves to your expensive products. After properly checking in a delivery, have one or more of your employees put it away.

17. Calculate cash over/short with each checkout. When using Digital Dining POS for ringing sales before the menu item can be produced as explained earlier, the obvious expectation is that there will be a receipt of cash or credit card to pay for that sale. This two-step process wherein the revenue (sales) side of the equation is generated at the cash register or POS level, and the settlement (receipts) side is based on actual receipts, provides a check and balance system where sales should equal receipts. When there is a difference between the two it is commonly referred to as cash over and short (Cash O/S). By using a properly designed cashier checkout form you can catch cash discrepancies for each cashier. Typically you'd like to see this figure no higher than $2 - $5 for a given shift.

18. Use a scale. Weigh products that you buy by weight. Drivers know who uses a scale and who doesn't. Protect yourself from being shorted by at least weighing certain products on a spot basis. Many restaurants weigh everything they buy by weight.

19. Calibrate dial scales. Dial scales are inexpensive and handy portioning tools. But scales can get dropped or knocked around which can lead to inaccurate readings and weights. Keep your scales (and portioning) accurate by regularly calibrating them using a separate weight like a roll or two of coins. A roll of dimes weighs 4 ounces. A roll of quarters, 8 ounces.

20. Focus on selling your highest gross profit menu items regardless of food cost. There are times when a higher food cost can mean more profit. Such is the case when you promote and sell more high cost dishes like steak or fresh seafood and sell fewer lower cost items such as spaghetti or grilled chicken. While the steak may have a high food cost it will usually bring in more gross profit dollars resulting in higher food cost but a larger profit too.

21. Calculate and report on your cost of sales and labor cost every week. It's a fact, what get's measured improves and your biggest and most volatile costs are food, beverage and labor costs. These costs added together are referred to as a restaurant's prime cost and the most profitable restaurants in the industry know their prime cost at the end of every week. When there is a problem, they can react quickly and get it resolved instead of not knowing a problem exists when this information is only calculated once a month.

22. Lock up and dispense towels, aprons and napkins. An often overlooked area for cost savings is that of linen and laundry. One method to reduce this cost is to issue towels and aprons at the beginning of each shift rather than allow staff to get them whenever they want. Likewise, you can reduce linen napkin usage by limiting their use for service only. Never allow you staff to use napkins for cleaning.

23. Lock up your liquor, beer and wine. A proven method for reducing theft and unrecorded sales is to keep backup inventory of liquor, beer and wine under lock and key. Establish a fixed par level for all beverage items that will be stocked in your bar. At the end of each shift, bartenders should bring to the manager all empty liquor bottles (do not allow bartenders to throw liquor empties away), and the number of each beer and wine item needed to bring the stock back to par. Never give the employees the key to the liquor room and only allow management to issue the resupply stock. Keep a perpetual inventory log of all items issued and of deliveries from vendors. Properly maintained the perpetual inventory log should always match the physically counted inventory. Keeping a perpetual inventory also simplifies ordering and week-ending physical counts.

24. Clean draft beer lines regularly. Have you ever watched as your bartender is pouring a draft beer and has the glass tilted to the spout while foam flows down the drain until finally getting the glass full? On average, restaurants waste anywhere from 5% - 10% of draft beer purchases by allowing them to simply go down the drain -- along with your profits. Temperature, air pressure and dirty beer lines greatly affect the yield you get from draft beer. Have your vendor clean and service your beer lines regularly. In many states your beer vendor is allowed to clean your lines for free.

25. Use glass racks to store dirty glasses. In the fast pace of turning tables, loose glasses, especially dirty ones, will eventually get broken. You can reduce breakage significantly by having enough and the proper size dishwasher storage racks. Have staff place all soiled glassware in its respective rack until the dishwasher can run them through. Store clean glassware in the racks and place on mobile rack dollies for transport.

26. Use a metal detector to scan soiled linen bags. It's amazing how much silverware gets thrown into soiled linen bags. Several years ago well before 911, when I was the general manager for a very high-volume steak and seafood restaurant, I was determined to reduce the loss of expensive silverware. I went to a local spyware shop and purchased a metal detection wand like those now used at airports. Our managers would periodically check linen bags before allowing them to be taken to the storage area outside. The dishwasher and bussing staff cringed each time the detector sounded because we then had them empty the entire bag and go through each napkin to find the discarded utensil. Fortunately these detectors made it into the supply industry and are readily available and widely used.

27. Cost out your schedules. As we pointed out earlier, schedules should be made to meet the demand of anticipated sales. Additionally, costing out your schedule by multiplying the number of hours times the hourly rate for each employee will provide a daily labor budget target. If sales are lower than expected then labor needs should reduce somewhat as well. Actual labor cost should be compared to sales daily as a measure of efficiency. Over time, managers will become familiar with the ebbs and flow of sales volume and can react by cutting or adding staff accordingly.

28. Have managers carry a shift card with list of scheduled employees and hours. One of the most effective tools I have ever used in managing labor cost is the "manager's shift card". The typical design was an 8.5- x 5.5-inch, preprinted heavy cardstock, with spaces for entering notes and a list of each employee and their scheduled hours for that shift. The shift manager would carry it during the shift and refer to it often to see when employees should begin side work or cleanup or for cutting servers as business slowed down. Employees were required to bring the printed time slips when clocking out for the shift and the manager would note it on the shift card. This not only reduced the number of employees that "forgot to clock out" but also made it easier for management to stick to the budget. The shift card also serves as a handy tool for making notes to be logged in the manager's log book.

29. Use requisition printers for kitchen and bar; pre-ring orders before service. Regardless of if you have a limited service or full service restaurant, having a Digital Dining POS capable of sending orders to the kitchen or bar will help reduce your cost of sales by at least 5%. By implementing a system where orders must be rung up before the product can be prepared or served, you ensure accountability and reduce the opportunity for theft.

30. Eliminate the open food and open liquor keys from your Digital Dining POS. Every item you sell should have a predetermined selling price, including up charges and add-ons. When you establish selling price you also establish the anticipated profit. Having an unrestricted open key -- doesn't require a manager -- reduces the effectiveness of requisition printers because it allows verbal order overrides.

31. Cost out every menu item and recipe. To be profitable, a restaurant not only needs to achieve specific sales goals but it must also hit certain cost targets as well. However, if you don't know what your target should be then how can you expect to hit it? The first step to projecting a cost target is to create a master inventory list and pricing of every ingredient you purchase. Using the master inventory you can calculate the cost of every recipe and menu item for comparison to the selling price of the menu item.

32. Calculate your ideal cost regularly. The prerequisite for controlling food cost is to know what your food cost should be -- your food cost target. First, you must go through the exercise of costing out your entire menu (as explained above); next, calculate the ideal cost based on actual menu sales mix from your POS product mix reports. This report should tell you the quantity sold and total sales for each menu item for a given period. Simply list the cost of each menu item and the number of sales for that item. Then, multiply the cost times the number of sales to arrive at the ideal cost for each item. Next, add the ideal cost for all items to arrive at the total ideal food cost for the period. Now compare your targeted cost to the actual cost for the period. The difference is the potential cost savings lost to over-portioning, theft and waste.

33. Update the surround cost of your menu. Whether it's table condiments, chips and salsa, bread and butter, or frying oil; every restaurant has food products that make it difficult to allocate cost to specific menu items. Often called plate cost or surround cost, this needs to be considered in order to have accurate menu cost expectations.

34. Pre-portion menu item ingredients. Most restaurant kitchens are fast-paced, high-intensity production lines struggling to serve as many guests as possible in a short time span. Pre-portioning is not only essential to this process but is also necessary to control costs and stick to predetermined recipes.

35. Use recipe quick-reference on the kitchen line. The first thing most cooks learn is to memorize the proper method for cooking a given menu item. However, large menus oftentimes have very similar ingredients and portions and it can be easy for cooks to confuse them. One method for ensuring consistency is to display recipe quick-reference charts at each station. This chart contains a list of the ingredients and portions for each menu item so cooks can quickly verify correct recipe portions.

36. Use an order guide. An order guide is a set of forms that contain a listing of all the products a restaurant uses. It is usually divided into separate sections such as meat, produce, cleaning supplies, paper, etc. The order guide form is used as a tool for counting and tracking all the products that your restaurant uses and must reorder. The most effective order guides include as much order history as the form will allow. By seeing historical product usage, you can adjust your pars as needed and keep inventory at optimum levels. To learn more visit "How to Avoid Running Out of Product With an Effective Order Guide" at http://www.restaurantowner.com/orderguide

37. Maintain accountability for voids, comps and discounted sales. First and foremost, restrict the void and discount functions to managers only. However, you must also have a system to hold managers accountable for maintain documented reasons for voids and discounts. Holding them accountable helps to reduce the likelihood of them using the void function to pocket cash sales. Unfortunately, manager theft is often never caught because of the control they have over POS totals. The only way combat this is to make them accountable for the number of voids and comps.

38. Reconcile cash on hand every shift. Restaurants not only handle many cash transactions, they also must keep a significant amount of cash on hand for making change, paying tip floats and petty cash expenditures. The constant movement of cash makes it hard to spot when there are losses. A proven method for tracking cash on hand is to first never mix cash received from sales with your cash on hand fund. Another technique is to maintain a constant cash supply on hand total that is large enough to meet the cash demands for making change. Third, reconcile all cash-on-hand funds for each cash drawer, change fund and petty cash fund at the end of every shift and have incoming and outgoing managers sign off on them.

39. Conduct periodic surprise cash audits on cashiers. One of the most common way's for cashiers (and, of course, bartenders) to earn extra money on the side is to "build the till." It's a simple process of placing all the cash they receive from customers exactly where it's supposed to go, in the cash drawer. However, every fifth soft drink or small order of fries isn't rung up or rung up at a lower price. The customer, however, is still charged full price for everything. This means more cash is going into the cash drawer than the amount of sales getting rung up on the register. Every so often during a shift (on a surprise basis) pull a cashier's or bartender's cash drawer (swap it out with a different one) and take a register reading which will tell you how much cash "should" be in the drawer. Count the actual cash in the drawer and if you come up with a cash "overage", you either have a problem with incompetence or someone's cheating. Usually the latter.

40. Establish daily prep level pars. In order to control freshness, waste and spoilage you need to know the amount of food to prepare for each shift based on anticipated sales. Kitchen managers and chefs that shoot from the hip when it comes to deciding how much and what needs to be prepared oftentimes end up shooting you in the foot. Too much product on hand results in nibbling, waste and spoilage. Too little results in running out of needed supply on the line which in turn means the occasional comp to make it up to the guest. By establishing and constantly reevaluating par levels for all prepped items you help to reduce excessive waste.

41. Track shrink and waste on in-house cut fish and steaks and roasted or smoked meats. Shrinkage, waste and trim are significant factors that can negatively impact your bottom line. If you cut your own steaks, seafood, or poultry, or offer cooked meats such as prime rib, smoked brisket, ribs, roast beef or pulled pork, then it is a certainty that the true cost per pound of the finished product will be significantly greater the original purchase price.

42. Know the optimum sales and number of customers served per labor hour for each day part. If you are using a Digital Dining POS system to maintain time and attendance of your staff, then you already have a built-in secret weapon for controlling labor costs. Most systems include reports showing the amount of sales generated or customers served for every hour of labor expended. Sales per labor hour (S/LH) or customers served per labor hour (C/LH) are a key indicator of productivity. When sales or customer counts are too low this indicates possible scheduling or shift management problems. Likewise, too many customers or too high of sales per each labor hour expended could reveal understaffing problems resulting in poor customer service. Finding the optimum levels for your unique restaurant and meal periods ensures maximum productivity.

43. Use compulsory cash drawers. One of the most common methods for controlling cash at that cash register is to only allow the opening and closing of the cash drawer by ringing a sale or pressing the No Sale key, both of which provide an audit trail. Digital Dining features compulsory cash drawer functionality, which means the next sale cannot be rang until the cash drawer has been closed. However, you may have noticed that many cash drawers are attached to your POS system via the guest check printer rather than directly through the workstation. While this is not always the case, for many POS systems it is not possible to have drawer compulsion functionality when connected in this manner, meaning that a dishonest cashier or bartender could simply leave the drawer ajar to facilitate unrecorded cash sales.

44. Use a customer display at cash registers. Customer displays are used to show the price of each item being rung and the total of the bill. Many customers will watch this process and ultimately challenge any discrepancies, providing a built-in safeguard for keeping your cashiers honest. One of the easiest ways for bartenders or cashiers to steal from you is to under-ring the sale in the cash register while still charging the customer the full amount. When there is not a visible display showing the amount of the sale, then the customer has no way to challenge the amount being charged, thus making it appealing for dishonest cashiers.

45. Never allow more than one person to access a cash drawer. One of the hardest things to detect is when someone is stealing cash when multiple people have access to a given cash drawer, a common practice in quick-serve and limited service restaurants or bars. Many operators defend this practice by saying they cannot afford or do not have the space to provide a cash register for each cashier needing access.

46. Schedule prep for off-peak meal periods. Controlling minimum staffing levels during off-peak meal periods is difficult because you never know when a busload of tourists or a rush of afternoon diners from a convention pr show decide to pop in. Rather than scheduling prep before you open, consider doing the majority of it during open hours and off-peak times. That way if you do suddenly get an unexpected rush you'll have enough bodies to meet the demand.

47. Cross train kitchen line cooks, bartenders and servers. One of the great mistakes many operators make is to rely on certain skilled staff member as the only one that can do a certain job. By cross-training some of your staff to be able to do multiple jobs it allows you to reduce the number of staff scheduled, especially for the kitchen line. It also allows you to supplement an employee's hours by allowing them to work where needed rather than finding a few extra hours to make them happy.

48. Maintain at least a 1/3 of your staff as part-time employees. Retail businesses, including and in particularly restaurants, simply cannot give every worker a 40-hour work week. Retail businesses rely on the availability of part-time workers so that peak periods can have maximum staffing while allowing for staff levels to be reduced as demand wanes. Having additional staff to take up the slack when fulltime workers are absent or approaching overtime is also a great way to avoid excessive overtime. Most restaurants find that having at least one-third to one-half of their staff as part-timers helps in achieving comfortable yet affordable staffing.

49. Filter frying oil every shift. Change fry oil weekly. For restaurants that serve a lot of fried items such as seafood, French fries or appetizers, keeping oil clean and fresh not only enhances the flavor of the food, but also prolongs the useful life and therefore helps in controlling the cost. Considering the average fryer holds anywhere from 35-50 lbs. of oil, costing anywhere from $20 to $50 to fill each fryer, having a daily filtering routine can save big bucks.

50. Turn off unneeded burners, fryers or ovens during off-peak time. An often overlooked opportunity for cost-savings is utility costs. Unneeded gas or electric burners, exhaust hoods, steamers and ovens can use thousands of dollars in wasted energy each year. Add to that the additional electricity or gas for heating and cooling unused dining rooms. Utility costs typically range anywhere from 2½-4½% of overall sales. Incorporating the temperature setting and use of equipment into opening, shift change and closing procedures can produce significant cost savings.

5 Tips for Building a Successful Rewards Program

2011-06-01T12:10:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of First Data

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

Rewards programs can be more effective than other promotions because they promote a long-term relationship, while straightforward discounts become useless immediately after they are used.

If your business is offering coupons, you are competing every day with prices offered by all of your competitors. Great rewards programs, however, carve out a niche in guest’s buying habits and stay ingrained, regardless of what other carrots are waved in front their faces.

The trick, of course, is winning consumers over to your program. The good news is that there is no shortage of candidates. According to ACI Worldwide, three of four Americans participate in some kind of rewards program. The problem is that if you are only getting started, you’re arriving a little late to a party that’s already in full swing.

Here are some tips to help you wrangle loyal customers away from competitors.

Decide what kind of strategy is the best fit for your company. Loyalty comes in several forms. Some loyalty programs revolve around referrals to new customers; others are based on the amount of money spent; some are based on how long a customer has been in the program. If your business handles many transactions, you should probably lean toward a rewards program based on the number or size of transactions. If your business relies on one-time services, you probably want your rewards program to revolve around referrals.

Target the right people. Rewards programs are geared toward your top 10% most frequent guests. If you’re a typical restaurant, more than half of your sales come from this group. It takes as many as 20 new customers to make up for the loss of one loyal consumer, said marketing analyst Keith Colbourn. Try to gather as much information as possible about this group. When do people in this group come in? What dishes or drinks are they buying? What rewards would they value? Of course, don’t limit your rewards program to your most loyal customers, because it is also your goal to attract new customers and engage as large of a group as possible.

Offer tangible goals that are within reach. One of the most common reasons consumers give up on a rewards program is that they can’t envision it paying off in the near future. A good rule of thumb is that customers should be able to reap benefits within the first few months of participation. Also, rewards shouldn’t be too difficult to redeem. Don’t let your rewards program backfire because it frustrates your customers.

Find out what your competitors are doing. There’s no shame in seeking out ideas from your rivals. In fact, this can be one of the best places to find out what works in your sector, or at least what’s been tried already. Look for things you like about competitors’ programs, but also try to figure out things you could improve.

Reach out to your customers. You should use multiple avenues of communication when telling customers about your loyalty program. Maybe your wait staff would be the most useful advocates, or maybe an e-mail campaign is best to generate interest. Most likely, a combination of marketing efforts is the most effective course of action. Even the most well-conceived rewards programs fall flat if they are not accompanied by a concerted marketing effort.

Order Up! Mobile Handheld POS Poised to Modernize Restaurant Service

2011-05-02T12:45:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of Business Solutions

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

The dining experience has become more interactive than ever before, whether it's free drinks at a bar for the Four Square mayor, SNAP Rewards linking loyalty cards to social networks or Facebook Mobile inviting friends to your current location, it's clear that technology and hospitality are tightly intertwined. Forward-thinking business owners are using technology to their advantage—and in some cases—to attract patrons. Making the change to a wireless network is more cost-effective then ever before. For some, the decision even pays for itself--savvy restaurant and café owners are advertising free Wi-Fi that attracts loyal, repeat customers to its laptop-friendly environment. Wireless networks are not only cost effective; they give restaurant owners the opportunity to modernize their entire operation by adding mobile POS devices either in addition to the traditional stationary POS workstations or in replacement of those units.

While many types of businesses use consumer devices like iPads or iPhones for mobile applications, we also recommend ruggedized mobile POS devices that are specifically designed to operate in a harsh POS environment. In the long run, this will reduce unnecessary service calls and downtime for your customer. With the cost of ruggedized POS mobile devices and software decreasing significantly in price, affordable solutions are available for even the smallest cafes and restaurants. Many "consumer" devices out there are being purchased for the "cool factor", however some were not designed for POS environments or do not have the design or security feature sets that are needed in today's demanding market.

A traditional POS system is designed to do a few functions: track inventory, send orders to a kitchen printer and process payments. A mobile POS system makes it possible for restaurant owners and their staff to improve nearly every aspect of its service, from shortening wait times to increasing security for credit card processing.

When an eatery operates using mobile POS devices, the difference is clear from the moment a patron walks through the door. The wait for a table--when there is one--is significantly shorter.

Taking orders on a mobile POS system can save a restaurant time and money by reducing the number of forgotten orders, errors and costly resources spent remaking food or drinks that were improperly entered into the point of sale terminal.

Wait staff can breathe easier without having to rush through ordering at each table and focus more on customer service. A few extra minutes gives a server the opportunity to offer patrons add-ons they may have overlooked, such as drinks, sides and desserts.

After taking an order tableside with a PDA, the order is transferred directly to the kitchen printer so the kitchen staff can begin preparing the dishes immediately. This decreases the number of backups in the kitchen, especially when large parties are present.

When patrons are finished, it's time for the most critical point in the POS process: taking the payment. Traditionally, the server would leave the check, come back to take the credit card, process the payment and then bring back the sales slip to be signed. All of that adds up to a lot of waiting, especially if the restaurant is busy.

Mobile POS applications allow wait staff to print a check on the spot and process the payment tableside. It's fast and secure--the diner's credit card never leaves their sight and virtually eliminates the possibility of security breaches or theft.

For restaurants and cafes that have extended service areas, such as an outside patio or curbside pickup, mobile POS gives servers the ability to process orders and payments outdoors without re-entering the restaurant to swipe a credit card or print a receipt.

By eliminating the waiting a server spends at a traditional POS terminal inputting orders, rectifying errors and processing payments, overall productivity and profitability at the restaurant will improve. Obviously, shorter wait times are desirable for everyone: customers will be seated quickly and receive prompt, attentive service. Servers are sure to see an uptick in gratuities from the increased table turnover and patrons who are pleased with the noticeably faster service.

What Makes a Great Restaurant Host

2011-04-01T11:01:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of Inc. by Clarissa Cruz

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

Front-of-house hiring tips from Marea's Michael White, Comme Ca's David Myers, and Blue Ribbons' Eric and Bruce Bromberg.

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We've all experienced it: A haughtier-than-thou hostess whose IQ is commensurate with her bra size. Or a dissembling host reminiscent of the "five, ten minutes" maitre d' in the Chinese restaurant episode of Seinfeld. So how can a restaurant's owners make sure they get the right person representing the front of house? I asked restaurateurs what they look for when hiring a host or hostess.

Michael White, chef/partner, The Altamarea Group, which operates Marea,Osteria Morini and Ai Fiori in New York City. "[A good host/hostess] is quick witted, cordial with a photographic memory. And presentable. There is never a second chance to make a first impression."

David Myers, chef, Comme Ca, in West Hollywood, California, and The Cosmopolitan, in Las Vegas. "I can tell in the first few seconds of meeting an applicant whether they will make a great hostess. They need to be gracious and confident. The host controls the entire flow of the restaurant and needs to know what is going on in the restaurant at all times. On the busiest of nights when 300 people come through the door, decisions must be made under pressure to accommodate each guest, ensuring that they have a phenomenal experience with us."

Steve Scott, director of operations for Starr Restaurants, which operates Buddakan and Morimoto, in New York City. "I look for someone who has a great smile, intelligence, hospitality and wit. I think it's ok to say 'It is so nice to see you Mr. or Mrs. X' as long as they are repeat guests or a recognizable personality. No additional conversation that details any personal information should be allowed."

Eric and Bruce Bromberg, chefs, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill at The Cosmopolitan, in Las Vegas. "We [don't hire] 'just a host.' We have continuously looked for people that are welcoming and comforting to the guest throughout the meal, as opposed to someone that just greets hello and goodbye."

Rodelio Aglibot, chef, BLT Restaurant Group. "A great host always has a smile on his or her face, and never thinks twice about putting the customer first. Please andthank you go a long way, especially in the restaurant industry."

Rogelio Espin, general manager, Graffit, in New York City. "The most important thing is personality because they are the first face that customers see when they come to the restaurant. Self-confidence is also of utmost importance. I do not hire shy people and I look for friendly people that have the ability to make our customers feel important and comfortable at the same time."

Andrea Cavaliere, chef, Cecconi's, in West Hollywood, California: "[A good host/hostess] has the ability to stay calm in difficult situations, keeps a cool head, does not take things personally, always stays professional no matter who is in front of you. Calling [return guests] by name and recalling their favorite table and server are all important characteristics."

Karen and Quinn Hatfield, chefs, Hatfield's restaurant, in Los Angeles."Maintaining composure at all times is very important. A great host is warm and welcoming, graceful, and doesn't get put out easily by myriad requests. When hiring I look for likability and someone sharp. There is a lot of strategy and constant change in seating details, so the host needs to be able to adapt."

Costas Spiliadis, chef, Estiatorio Milos, in New York City. "The characteristics of a good hostess include a good disposition, one who is well spoken and who makes all my customers feel like that are our best customers."

Best Practices and Tips for Restaurant Web Design

2011-01-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

Article Courtesy of Crowd Spring

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

Whether you’re an entrepreneur opening your first restaurant or a seasoned business owner with many years of experience in the restaurant industry, you face many challenges. Among the most important of these challenges is your restaurant’s website. A strong web design can help a restaurant to more effectively market itself, can help convert visitors who find the restaurant by searching, for example, on Yelp, shopping for a deal through Groupon, or searching on Google or Bing.

Today, we’ll review 10 web design marketing best practices and tips for restaurant web design.

1. Keep the restaurant web design simple and fresh.

Your restaurant’s homepage is typically the most important part of your website. This is what your potential customers will first see when they visit your website and is often the link listed on various directories like Yelp. Because most restaurant sites have fewer than a 10 pages total, the homepage is also an important anchor for your overall site.

Think about your potential customers. What are they most interested to find on your site?

Most potential customers visit your restaurant to find hours of operation, phone number for reservations, directions (put a map on your directions page and make it easy for users to get directions, right on your page – here is an easy way to add a map), and a full menu (with prices). If you have several menus, list all of them. Make sure that those items are clearly labeled and easily accessible on your homepage – most visitors are not patient enough to play hide and seek on your site and a majority are visiting your site to look for either your menu or phone number.

In fact, consider including your hours and phone number on every page on your site.

Also – if you have a kids menu and welcome kids, make that clear on your site and make the kids menu available. I can tell you from personal experience (I have three kids) that this is important for parents who are looking for a meal with their kids.

Remember too that many customers will find your restaurant’s homepage after reading reviews, so keep the content on your homepage focused and short. People typically read only 28% of the words during an average visit, so don’t overload your homepage with a lot of text.

Tip: Make your menu available as text, not as a downloadable PDF. Users don’t like downloading files and many will be accessing your site without the ability to view PDS. If you want – make a PDF available in addition to the text menu.

Tip 2: Here are some good examples of fresh restaurant website designs.

2. Pay attention to colors.

Color produces an emotional response in people – and importantly, different colors trigger different emotional responses. For example, red and orange are said to increase heartbeat and breathing. You’ll find red color on many restaurant websites (and inside many restaurants – including on table cloths).

Black is generally correlated to a more upscale offering – it reflects elegance and sophistication. For a good read about colors and what they mean in different countries, I recommend you read: Colors in Web Design: Choosing a right combination for your Website.

Tip: Don’t overload your site with photos or graphics. Although it’s been said that a picture can say a thousand words, pictures can also confuse and diffuse attention. Pick a few good restaurant or food shots and feature those on the homepage. Make sure you show high quality photos. The photo you took with your iPhone at 11pm isn’t going to cut it.

3. Consider Performance.

Don’t use flash. Period. It doesn’t make you fresh and edgy. It simply annoys your users. And it doesn’t help you much in search engine optimization.

Don’t play music on your site. People hate it. Save the music for your restaurant.

Keep in mind that people are generally impatient when browsing websites and slow load times do impact conversions (getting people to buy your products or services). If your site design is graphically intense, you need to make sure you’ll have the hardware infrastructure and bandwidth to support the designs.

Consider also that your visitors might be visiting from laptops and mobile phones, so try to avoid designing pages for a large monitor size or pages that use more complex features such as flash animation or navigation (flash isn’t supported on the iPhone, for example). This is a very common problem for many restaurants. In an effort to appear more upscale and modern, many restaurants chose to implement flash-based websites and while some of them are nice, they simply don’t work in many mobile phone environments. Another reason not to use flash. I can’t stress that enough!

4. Emphasize discounts and special events.

If your restaurant runs promotions or has special events, make that clear on the homepage. Although your visitors might be looking for a place to eat today, it helps to let them know that you’ll have special events in the future too – that way, you might turn a casual browser into a regular customer.

Tip: Keep the discount/special event content fresh. If the event or discount has already passed, remove it from your site. Modern content management systems (like WordPress) make it easy to manage such content.

5. Organize your site to provide a better user experience.

Search engines prefer websites that are properly organized. This is important because you want your restaurant to come up in people’s search results when they search on Google or Bing. Remember also that you’re not just designing for search engines – people also prefer good organization. Have a strong navigation menu that clearly tells users (and search engines) how they could navigate your site.

For example, can visitors to your site easily make a reservation or order by phone? Is your phone number clearly visible on the homepage?

Tip: Use bold and larger fonts to present key information or to stress things you want the readers to notice. Add text color to stress the most important information. Keep in mind that most people will ignore content if the headline above the content doesn’t interest them – so don’t ignore good headlines (more on that in tip 6 below).

6. Content is important.

You may already know that search engines index sites based on the quality of content (and links). The more content on your site, the more attractive your site becomes for search engines (more about search engine optimization in tip 9 below).

People also like content. Don’t ignore headlines – they can be very powerful and can mean the difference between a visitor reading the rest of the content and leaving your site.

People also like to see how your restaurant differs from others. For example, if you offer dietary considerations for gluten-free, kosher, diabetic, vegetarians or vegan dieters, prominently mention this. Saying so will help with search engine results and will be very helpful if people are loooking specifically for such information on your site.

Tip: Study your successful competitors. Look at their websites, site colors, voice, use of graphics and photos, and organization. You also can look at the sites of restaurants you admire around the country (or around the world) to see how they present content for their visitors.

7. Understand the difference between design and development.

To build a website, you’ll need both design for the site and development of the site. Although some freelancers can do both, the skills for design and development are typically different and you may want to leverage different people for each part of the job. Freelance web developers tend to specialize in frontend or backend work.

Frontend developers tend to focus on the client side – what your users see when they visit your website. Backend developers usually focus on the interaction between the server and databases.

Backend developers often work on a number of things, which include scripting to permit your users to interact with the site, web server configuration, and developing e-commerce features, such as a payment system. Good freelance web developers are skilled in multiple areas, including web design, information architecture, usability engineering, web content management systems, web server administration, database administration, software engineering, project management, network security, and search engine optimization.

Tip: If you decide to hire a freelance web site designer and/or developer, you should look for at least three people (or shops) and ask them for detailed quotes. You should also remember to ask for a few examples of their prior work so that you can evaluate their style and experience.

8. Consider the domain but don’t obsess about it.

Your domain will communicate important information to your visitors. First and foremost, you want your visitors to remember your restaurant’s name. If the site URL doesn’t contain the name or contains only a portion of the name, your visitors might become confused and think that they’re on the wrong website. If you’re unable to find a URL that matches your small business name, you can consider changing the name or finding an alternative URL that includes the name – or or one that complements the name.

Tip: Consider how the URLs on your site will look to search engines and people. Where you can (this is not difficult to do when you use content management systems – such as a WordPress blog), use natural sounding names for your URLs and titles.

9. Don’t forget search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).

For restaurants, like many other small businesses, efforts spent on one marketing initiative typically take away from other marketing initiatives. Search engine optimization and search engine marketing are highly specialized fields and require a substantial investment of time to learn. But SEO and/or SEM campaigns can provide great leverage to restaurants and as a result, should not be ignored. Although much of your traffic will come from review sites like Yelp, you can also find a lot of potential customers on local search engine searches.

10. Personality!

People are attracted to restaurants with personality – so make your purpose, passion and differences clearly apparent. You don’t need to write 1000 words about the history of your restaurant – keep that content focused and make it fun and engaging.

Profit Tip: How Gift Certificates Can Provide More Holiday Cheer

2010-10-19T15:34:00.000-04:00

Article Courtesy of RestaurantOwner.com

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

In the next 30 days or so we'll be getting into the hottest selling time of the year for restaurant gift certificates and gift cards.

Restaurants that sell gift certificates see several benefits, most notable of which is the immediate bump in cash flow. One of our members, whose restaurant opened last October, said he raised over $70,000 selling gift certificates during the holiday season, enough cash to pay off the balance of his opening costs.

Whether it's re-loadable gift cards or printed certificates, operators are finding creative ways to promote their sales

including point of sale marketing at the counter, on table tents, their website and even by displaying promotional material in the restrooms. Some restaurants also provide incentives for servers to sell gift cards and certificates to their guests.

Value added promotions, such as buy a $25 gift certificate for $20, or get a $25 certificate free with purchase of a $100 certificate, are well received by guests looking to find a welcome gift at a bargain price. Considering that gift certificate redemption rates average around 80-85%, the cost of printing and promotion is usually offset by the savings of those that are never redeemed.

Another advantage to operators is that most guests will spend more than the value of the gift card, resulting in higher check averages and increased sales. Add that to the fact that most gift certificate users are accompanied by full paying guests.

If you don't presently offer gift certificates, now would be a good time to reconsider. If you do sell them, start planning soon about ways you can promote them, making for more holiday cheer for all.

How Important are Your Guests?

2010-09-28T12:22:00.000-04:00

Profit Tip of the Week courtesy of restaurantowner.com

The Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining POS Provider

You know this but how long has it been since you reminded your staff just how important your guests are?

OUR GUEST

1. Our guest is the most important person in our business.

2. Our guests are not dependent on us. We are dependent on them.

3. Our guests are not an interruption of our work. They are the purpose of it.

4. Our guests do us a favor when they come in. We are not doing them a favor by waiting on them.

5. Our guests are parts of our business -- not outsiders.

6. Our guests are not just money in the cash register. They are human beings with feelings, just like us.

7. Our guests are people who come to us with their needs and wants. It is our job to fill them.

8. Our guests deserve the most courteous attention we can give them. They are the lifeblood of this and every business. They make it possible for each of us to receive a pay check.

9. Without our guests we would have to close the doors of our restaurant.

. . DON'T LET ANYONE ON YOUR STAFF FORGET THIS.

New Federal Legislation Impacts Expiration Dates and Fees for Gift Cards

2010-08-31T15:59:00.000-04:00

Featured in Nation's Restaurant News by Lisa Jennings

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining Provider

New rules involving the sale of pre-paid gift cards and incentive offers, including limitations on expiration dates and dormancy fees, went into effect Sunday as a result of federal legislation adopted earlier this year.

The legislation, which affects gift cards sold or issued on or after Aug. 22, is designed to address concerns raised in recent years by consumers, who are increasingly buying gift cards.

For the first half of 2010, the number of restaurant gift cards sold rose 12.4 percent over the same period last year in the quick-service segment alone, according to a study by Atlanta-based First Data Corp., an electronic commerce and payment processor. At casual-dining restaurants, gift card sales increased 6.1 percent for the first half of the year. The sale of gift cards overall, including those offered by retailers, rose 2.7 percent.

Under the new rules, gift cards must be good for at least five years from the purchase date. Any money later added to the card must also be good for at least five years, said David Koenig, director of tax and profitability for the National Restaurant Association.

In addition, consumers may be able to use the unspent money on a card even after it expires. If the card expires in five years, for example, but the money left on the card doesn’t expire for seven years, consumers can request a replacement card at no cost.

The new rules also place limits on fees for dormancy or inactivity, as well as usage or maintenance fees. Generally, fees can be charged if the card has been inactive for at least 12 months, for example, but a fee can be charged only once per month after that. Restaurants are allowed to charge fees for replacing a lost or stolen card.

Restaurant companies must disclose the card fees and expiration dates clearly on the card or packaging, though Koenig said the rules do not specify how such disclosures must be made.

Rebekka Rea, associate director of the Retail Gift Card Association in Oklahoma City, said the new rules are not likely to have much of an impact on the gift card industry as most retailers and restaurants have long eliminated expiration dates and dormancy fees.

“Our industry has already been self-regulated to be more consumer friendly,” Rea said.

The Retail Gift Card Association, which represents about 33 companies and 60 brands — including major restaurant companies such as Subway, Dunkin' Brands, Darden and Brinker International — asks members to abide by a code that includes limiting fees and eliminating expiration dates, she said.

“The biggest impact for restaurants will be the way gift cards are packaged,” Rea said. “They need to be sure the terms and conditions are clearly visible, and we would recommend that they also be stated on their websites.”

The new rules do not apply to some reloadable pre-paid cards that are not intended or marketed as gifts, said attorney Amy Pierce with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Sacramento, Calif.

Chain operators have to be careful, however, because if any location markets the card as a gift — even a picture of a bow on the card could be a problem — the entire chain’s cards would lose the exemption and must comply with the new rules, Pierce said.

Also not covered are cards given as a reward or part of a promotion, Koenig said. For example, a $15 gift card given by a restaurant if consumers purchase $100 or more may have fees and an expiration date of one year, rather than five. Regardless, however, restaurants must clearly disclose the terms, he said.

Also excluded are cards that might offer a free meal or a percentage off the next visit — so long as they do not mention a specific value.

Pierce said restaurant operators must also be careful to comply with state laws regarding gift cards, as the federal rules do not pre-empt local requirements, so long as the state requirements are more protective of consumers.

In California, for example, gift cards can’t have expiration dates, but cards are exempt when no money has been exchanged, such as for a loyalty or reward card. So retailers can set an expiration date on such cards, but, according to state law, it must be printed in all caps in 10-point font on the card, Pierce said.

“The devil’s in the details,” she said.

7 WAYS TO JUICE UP BEVERAGE SALES

2010-08-24T15:16:00.000-04:00

Featured in Restaurant Hospitality

Tri-State Area's Premier Digital Dining Business Partner

Your waitstaff carries a lot of weight when it comes to your beverage business, according to a new report from Technomic. Nearly one quarter (23 percent) of consumers in a recent online survey say they would consider ordering a beverage they had not tried before if the server recommended it. Heavy consumers of beverages were most likely to be swayed by a suggestion, with 30 percent acknowledging that a server’s plug for a drink would influence them.

“This likely indicates that these consumers are more open to trying new beverages overall and suggests that operators may be able to use server recommendations to market new, limited-time offers or seasonal beverages toward this group,” says Darren Tristano, executive v.p. at Technomic.

The findings are included in Technomic’s new Beverage Consumer Trend Report, which looks at more than two dozen beverage types, including soft drinks; coffee beverages; bottled water; sports, energy and fusion drinks; lemonade; tea; smoothies; and more. The report contains menu, consumer and competitive insights and looks at current and emerging menu trends and consumer consumption behavior, purchasing decisions, attitudes and preferences for beverages.

Tristano suggests these strategies to spur liquid refreshment sales:

1. Consider investing in a separate nonalcoholic/adult beverage menu and table tents to promote limited-time only seasonal beverages and signature items.

2. Servers should always take a beverage order separately from the food order to create an additional point of choice.

3. Pointing out limited-time only seasonal drinks and signature beverages, which can promote impulse buying behavior.

4. When taking adult food orders, servers should recommend adult beverages that pair well with their entrée.

5. For teenagers, nonalcoholic (and potentially high-profit) mocktails provide an opportunity to feel more like a grownup.

6. Innovative options could be suggested to younger consumers, who show a greater interest in new and unique beverages.

7. Finally, servers should be diligent in recommending coffee, tea or specialty beverages that can be served with desserts.

Overall, Tristano adds, servers should be educated in understanding the varying interests and needs of consumers age groups in offering specialty, adult, traditional and energy drinks.

And if you’re wondering whether the economy has affected alcoholic beverage sales, you’ll be happy to know that the latest Gallup poll says 67 percent of U.S. adults now drink them—a 25-year high.

To Serve is To Rule in ANY Economy

2010-08-20T11:38:00.000-04:00

Featured in RunningRestaurants.com by Laurie Brown

When the economy declines, many companies suffer and some even go out of business. It's not just that people are buying less, it's that their buying habits are changing. I don't know about you, but when money gets tight, I get choosier about where I spend my money. I want not ONLY a great product - I want exceptional customer service too.

It is critically important to up your game when the market is tight. Businesses that have learned to thrive in tough economic times are worth looking at and learning from.

Why is Beau Jacks (a suburban Detroit restaurant) doing so well? What keeps their customers coming back three or four nights a week — even in the midst of Detroit's depressed times? Why are customers willing to stand in line or wait at the bar for long periods of time? The reason is magic – and that magic is the owner, Gary Cochran, and his take on running his business the right way.

Don't do traditional advertising
Cochran doesn't buy traditional advertising. He puts his money into supporting his loyal customers' causes. When his customers ask him to buy ads in yearbooks, pay for sponsorships, or support charitable golf outings, he does it. He says, "I do my advertising with the people who eat with me." How are your potential customers finding out about you?

Keep your staff pumped up
Cochran created a weekly newsletter for his employees. It includes a motivational quote — intended to keep his people thinking positively — at the bottom of every issue. He tells them, "We don't have to take part in this recession if the food and service is great." What are you doing to inspire your staff on a weekly basis?

Have high standards
Cochran makes sure that his parking lot is repaved and painted every year whether it needs it or not. He has an iron and ironing board available outside of the staff's dressing room to help everyone look impeccable. He believes that good is not good enough, and says to his customer's, "I don't want you to pay for good, you pay for great." Paying attention to details can make all the difference.

Treat your customers like members of a private club
Cochran encourages his staff to learn customers' names and preferences. "I always tell my staff that if they worked in a country club, they would remember their customers' names and that they like five olives in their martinis." He also provides his staff with business cards that they give out when they hand their customer the bill. He encourages the staff to tell the customers, "Ask for me next time you come in." How many customers are asking for you?

Treat special needs customers differently
Even though Cochran's customers may be willing to wait up to 45 minutes to be seated, he understands that it can be a hardship. When a customer is using a walker, he tries to seat that customer sooner. If customers have small children with them, the wait staff may place an order for chicken strips (on the house) so that there is food for the kids the minute the family sits down. "One size fits all" is a completely out-dated concept. Don't be afraid to cater to the special needs of your customers. They will love you for it.

Don't ask your employees to do anything you wouldn't do
Cochran hasn't had a day off in the last 18 months. He can often be found with a coffee pot in his hand, bussing tables, or picking up a dropped napkin. He treats his staff so well that he has kept many of his employees for decades. His newest employee has been with him for six years.

Are you a servant leader? Do you model the kind of behavior that you want your employees to emulate? Don't be afraid to do what has to be done. It will inspire your employees and your customers.

Empower your employees
Cochran's servers know that if they are overwhelmed with customers and are unable to provide great service, they can buy the customer a dessert with apologies. If there is a problem with food, they know that they can go to the chef or a manager and get the issue resolved. Are your employees empowered to solve the problems that occur in your workplace?

Even in the hardest times, focusing on exceptional customer service can make your business virtually recession-proof. Pick one tip and try it for two weeks. Then add another. Be patient and stay focused. Truly great customer service is a differentiating factor that can't be beat.

4 Ways to Beat Your Restaurant Competition

2010-08-12T13:25:00.000-04:00

1. Know Your Enemy
In the ancient words of author Sun Tzu ("The Art of War") , you must "Know your enemy as you know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat."

In today's world I hope you look upon your competition in a friendlier light then Tzu did but the message still holds true. It is extremely important to know the details of your competitors.

Go eat at their establishments and find out for yourself how their food tastes, what their service standards are and what their marketing message is. My advice, make sure your food is as good and your service is better.

2. Market Your Specialty
Once you know everything about your competition you can identify what it is you offer that is unique or special. So what do you do if you don't have anything that makes you unique or special...you get it! When a guest asks their waiter "what makes this restaurant special", or "what's your specialty here", they need something to talk about.

Once that specialty is defined you can build your marketing message and spread the word with the help of your service team (who are really your salespeople).

3. Tune in Your Customers
If you want to be competitive you have to give your guests what they want while keeping in mind their wants may change quickly. Of course we all know they want great service but there are other things as well.

For instance, if a large percentage of your lunch comes from a business that just implemented a strict lunch hour you need to make sure your staff understands that those guests need to get in and out in under 1 hour. If you are noticing people aren't ordering as much chicken because of the bird-flu scare then run beef specials.

If you really want to know what your customers want, ask. Say something like this: If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about my restaurant what would it be?

4. Touch Your Guests
In any business, complacency is the enemy. If the owner, general manager and service team aren't continually working the floor, thanking the guests for their business and asking them to come back, you can be sure your competitors are. People like to eat out at places where they feel welcome, special and important. So make this a top priority in your restaurant.

Setting up an ongoing marketing program that "touches" your customers is a great tool to build your business as well.

The Real Value of Tableside Handheld Ordering

2010-08-10T11:37:00.000-04:00

Posted in Hospitality Technology by Brian Vick, Owner of Brian's Cheesesteaks

The on-going goal of improving both profitability and customer return visits is constantly on the minds of restaurant owners and mangers. While numerous articles and opinions have focused on how to use loyalty programs, aggressive (and smartly applied) promotions, and advertising through social media, these are not the only strategies that operators need follow in the pursuit of their goals. Handheld wireless ordering, which has remained under the radar as a way to realize tremendous costs savings and increased profitability for some time, is rapidly coming to the forefront as more proprietors recognize the value of such devices. What's more, new, low-cost technologies like Apple's iPod touch and iPhone, are putting handhelds in an even brighter spotlight.

Six Benefits of Handheld Ordering
The first improvement realized was a decrease in the average amount of time a ticket was open (from order until delivery) at the table by a little over 40%. Servers no longer had to waste time walking to and from the point of sale (POS) station, wait to place the order due to being stopped by customers at a another table, or stand in line if another server was using the POS station to place their own order.

The second and third improvements that resulted were directly related to the decrease in the open ticket time. Speedier service led to increased table turns, and perhaps more importantly, a greater average check amount. Why? Customers now had time for dessert which was additional revenue that went right to the bottom line. Restaurants are able to seat more customers during the day and generate a 10% revenue increase at the same time.

The fourth improvement came in the form of improved customer service levels. Not only did customers' meals arrive more quickly, but they knew that as soon as they told the server what they wanted, the order was off to the kitchen. That helped drive more repeat business. Believe it or not, customers pay attention to how long it takes their server to place their order after leaving the table. Since the order was placed instantly, servers simply moved on to the next table to make sure everything was all right, take the next order or up-sell that dessert.

A fifth improvement was a dramatic reduction in order errors. The kitchen no longer had to decipher hand-written tickets and eliminated the precious time spent recalling the server to clarify an order. That not only improved customer service and speed-of-order-delivery even more, but it directly took out cost and waste from orders read incorrectly and the resulting remakes.

A final benefit is that environmentally conscientious proprietors can "go green." It may seem trivial, but using handhelds significantly reduced power consumption. Even the most efficient POS terminals use a lot of electricity, but handhelds use only a fraction of that.

New Technologies Come Into Play
Today, handheld POS ordering and payment solutions have moved toward low-cost, easy to use and intuitive devices such as an iPod touch. This is dramatically changing the attitude toward tableside ordering and payment. The iPod and iPhone interface is well known to today's generation of servers, and some input methods, such as using abbreviations, is as easy as texting without requiring servers to drill up and down through endless order entry screens. In addition, many servers already have these devices so there is virtually no additional cost as they simply download the POS app.

With PCI Compliance and the ever-present threat of customer's credit card information being "skimmed," pay-at-the-table will soon come to the front and center as customers are more reluctant to let their credit card leave their sight.

The proven benefits of handhelds, along with the changes in technology, have put tableside ordering and payment more into the spotlight than ever before.

Sign Up to Find Out "How To Select A POS System For Your Restaurant" Webinar

2010-08-04T14:38:00.000-04:00

As a leader in your organization, you’re expected to make smart business decisions to stay ahead of your competition. Your team looks to you for strategy, ideas, and leadership.

We know it’s not easy to stay on top of emerging technologies and new business strategies. There never seems to be enough time in the day to learn what strategies the elite restaurant and hospitality organizations are implementing to thrive in this challenging economy.

Join us on August 5 for our Thought Leader webinar series as we present, How To Select A POS System For Your Restaurant

You’re an expert in the restaurant and food service business, but do you know how to select a Point of Sale (POS) system that fits your business today and will grow with your business in the future?

In this webinar, you’ll learn:

The differences between a general POS system and restaurant POS system

How certain technologies can speed up service

Which POS features are must-haves for restaurant owners

How to select a POS system that fits your business today and will grow with you in the future

When you stop learning, you stop growing. Register Now >>

9 Ways Restaurants Can Use Facebook

2010-08-03T11:18:00.000-04:00

Should your restaurant be on Facebook? Well, Facebook has over 400 million users, and it claims that 50% of its active users log in at least once per day. It’s a great way to promote your restaurant and its going on and best of all, it’s free. So the question is really why you wouldn’t be on Facebook. To help get you started or to help you get the most out of your restaurant’s current Facebook page, we bring you 9 ways restaurants can use Facebook.

1.Create a Facebook Page
This one seems obvious. Creating a Facebook page is simple: Just sign up and fill out the basic information about your business. Click here to sign your restaurant up for its own business page. You can also designate yourself as a local restaurant under the “Local” option. Many smaller restaurants have abandoned their own website in favor of their Facebook page. Some restaurants have both and link them together.

2.Use Updates to Convert Fans to Your Marketing Goals
Posting simple status updates about your business — or really, anything you think is relevant — will be seen by users in their homepage news feeds. This is a great way to keep your “fans” updated with your goings on as well as to stay top of mind when your fans are thinking about dining out.

3.Interact with Your Fans as Much as Possible
When a customer approaches you in real life to tell you what they think of your business, you’ll listen. So why not on Facebook? You might hear some useful criticism, or some timely compliments. Also, when you respond, you’re more likely to get them to respond — this additional activity further increases the chance your fans’ friends will see and learn about you.

4.Create and promote events online and offline
Let people know about a special Mother’s Day brunch or a regular Friday Happy Hour by sending invitations and ask people to RSVP on Facebook. This can be a great way to increase viral marketing as information about Facebook Events travels through news feeds from your network of friends and family outwards to create a greater social media footprint.

5.Use Multimedia to Show Off your Food and Dining Experiences
Photos and videos say a lot about food, if not the overall style of your establishment. Make sure to let your fans see what you offer by posting your latest or most prized dishes. Also, photos and videos of events and happy hours can be great PR.

6.Integrate Your Page with Other Marketing Efforts
Are you also running some sort of contest or special on another site? Make sure your Facebook fans know about it. Integrate all your marketing channels. The more touch points you have with your customers and potential customers the better chance of success you have.

7.Use Existing Applications to Promote Your Story
Polls, quizzes and other types of applications are readily available within the admin section for page owners, and they just take a few clicks to install. Start off modestly, try a few, and see what works.

8.Make your Page engaging with applications
Show your restaurant’s great ratings by displaying the Zagat application or add a reservations widget through Open Table on your main page; display a video of the chefs making the house’s special; allow users to click through an interactive menu. The possibilities are endless.

9.Create an App Just for Facebook Fans
A little more advanced and this is for restaurants with larger marketing budgets, but it’s worth exploring whether or not an app would make sense for your users.

Are You Ready for IRS Audits?

2010-07-29T13:31:00.000-04:00

Over the past several years, the IRS examination of small businesses, which it defines as those with assets less than $10 million, has significantly increased. In fact, a recent report by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (“TRAC”) shows that IRS audits of small businesses has increased by 30% over the last five years. Surprisingly, that same report showed that the audit of large businesses, defined as those with assets greater than $250 million, have actually decreased by 33% over the last five years. With this increase in IRS scrutiny, small businesses must be ever mindful of maintaining internal controls and excellent books and records to support their tax filings.

In its review of total revenues, the IRS will often begin by comparing daily POS system information and the related bank deposits. This procedure should provide the examiner adequate comfort that revenues have been properly recorded. However, if the examiner has difficulty using this procedure to tie out total revenues, other indirect methods may be used to estimate food sales.

Those techniques may include, for instance, ingredient mark-up calculation: The IRS agent may test the restaurant’s reported pizza sales, for example, by reference to the amount of ingredients, such as flour, cheese and sauce, purchased during the year. The agent would also need specific pizza recipe information, such as the amount of ounces of flour, cheese and sauce that are used in making a large cheese pizza. Based on this information, the examiner may attempt to approximate the number of pizzas sold during the year, and estimate the total revenues from pizza sales accordingly.

As you can imagine, each of these methods can result in an unreliable estimation of total revenues by the IRS examiner. For example, factors such as food spoilage are often not considered within these calculations. As a result, such indirect methods of estimating revenues could lead to a proposed adjustment by the IRS examiner, and additional income taxes assessed. Unfortunately, such an assessment could have possibly been avoided if the restaurant owner had maintained a more reliable set of records to support its sales activities.

For larger restaurants that tend to have more internal controls in place, an IRS agent may be able to verify total revenues without having to use any indirect methods in the process. In that situation, the agent may focus more on the deductions and income tax incentives claimed, including:

Costs of intangible items: There are many intangible costs unique to the restaurant industry, such as franchise costs and liquor license costs, which must be spread over 15 years, even though the useful period of such costs may be considerably less. Restaurants that either immediately deduct such costs or amortize them over shorter periods may find themselves with disallowed tax deductions upon examination.

Employment related tax credits: Restaurants are eligible for several tax incentives related to its workforce, most commonly including the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and the FICA Tip Tax Credit. Since recent legislation has made these credits even more beneficial for restaurant owners, IRS agents approach these credits with even greater scrutiny. Accordingly, restaurants should be certain to properly maintain the related documentation, including certified employment forms, that are often required to claim such credits.

The overall IRS examination rate for small and mid-size businesses is still relatively low, even considering the recent increases. However, restaurant owners should remain focused on maintaining proper internal controls and reliable books and records. Doing so will not only make an IRS examination less painful, but will allow the restaurant to maximize its long-term profitability and growth.

Every Restaurateurs Number 1 Priority Should Be Backing Up the POS Server

2010-07-22T11:06:00.001-04:00

You are the owner or manager of a restaurant. You come into your store on Monday and the computers are missing. You were robbed.

You are a student and just completed your history term paper. You turn on your printer and a power surge fries your computer. It won't turn on.

You have over 2,500 baby pictures of your newly born child (now 3 months old). You boot your computer and get a blue screen.

You spent three weeks getting your checkbook up to date, turn on your computer and get a virus notification. You can no longer get to your checkbook.

You illegally downloaded over 10,000 songs from Lime Wire and your computer hard drive no longer spins.

No matter what you use your computer for, just imagine what will be lost should your computer be gone (lost, stolen, fried, or just plain broken). You have just lost all of your important data, files, photos, music or whatever else you may have stored on your computer.

Backing up your POS server is YOUR responsibility. If you are the owner or manager of a restaurant, you need to know how your POS server gets backed up. You also need a written plan to get your business up and running due to the loss of one or more of your POS terminals via computer failure or theft.

Understand, a broken or stolen computer can be replaced. The inventory, other data, photos, music, and other lost items can never be replaced. That's why, you need to make sure you backup all of your data.

The way you back up your data depends on the importance of the data.

If you own or manage a restaurant, you may want to backup your data on a daily basis. Should you lose your data, you will only be losing one day's worth of data which may not be catastrophic.

Profit Tip: How Do I Handle Separate Checks

2010-07-20T13:33:00.000-04:00

If You Dread Hearing "SEPARATE CHECKS PLEASE"

Many servers cringe inside when they hear the request for 'separate checks.' It can add several extra steps to the settlement process, takes more time and can leave guests frustrated, especially when they're in a hurry to leave.

Most operators wouldn't think of refusing separate check requests so here are some ways to help servers better deal with them.

Train servers to tactfully ask, when appropriate, up front, who is on what check. Don't wait until the end of the meal to find out when it will take more time to separate the tabs. Most POS systems will allow entering separate tabs and can assign them all to the same table.

If you use a cash register, servers can write checks separately and record the entire order on one of the kitchen copies or write the table number boldly on both copies.

Identifying separate checks and creating separate tabs at the beginning of the meal can definitely help speed settlement but another factor to keep in mind is how many POS and credit card terminals you have. Regardless of how you process separate checks you run the risk of gaining a reputation for slow service if you don't have enough.

A reliable rule of thumb is to have one terminal for every 4 to 5 servers on the floor. Anything less may result in bottlenecks and slow downs at the POS terminals when it's busy.

Separate check requests aren't going to go away. A few adjustments could help your servers deal with them much more efficiently.

6 Common Dining Room Floor Plan Mistakes

2010-07-14T11:27:00.000-04:00

Did you know that people sitting at a good table will purchase 15% more than people sitting at a bad table.

People sitting in a booth will buy more than people sitting at any other type of table.

Stephani Robson is a Ph.D. and an expert in consumer seating behavior. She's also the author of Seating Charts That Work (6 Common Dining Room Floor Plan Mistakes and How to Avoid Them) that appears in the July 2010 issue of Restaurant Startup & Growth.

Dining Room Mistake No. 1. Having the Wrong Table Mix.
Many restaurants have too many tables for four ("four-tops) because it allows you to seat parties of one, two, three or four at any of these tables. If your restaurant is quiet, it doesn't matter. In a busy restaurant, you are wasting 50% of your space when you seat a party of two at a table for four. Analyze your restaurant statistics. What proportion of your guests are deuces? Do you need more tables for your parties of two? If you have too many deuces, you can easily combine two of these tables and make it suitable for a party of four. You can't divide a table designed for four people in half.

Dining Room Mistake No. 2. Putting Your Two-Tops in the Wrong Place.
In almost every case, guests strongly prefer to sit with at least one side of their table "anchored" by walls or other impermeable structures, especially when they are in a party of two. So put your deuces along walls or partitions, next to some kind of design element that helps your guests define their personal space.

A bad idea is to place deuces down the center of the dining room.

Dining Room Mistake No. 3. Ignoring Breezes and Blasts.
A cold, wind-blown guest is a miserable guest. It is not going to help your guests stay longer and buy more.

Dining Room Mistake No. 4. Forcing Guests to See What They Don't Want to See.
Guests want to see four things when they dine at your restaurant: What's on the table in front of them, the people they are dining with, the view (if you have one), and at least some of the rest of the dining room. People feel more comfortable when they have some idea of what is happening in the space around them, so don't make booth backs too high. Guests don't want to see things like wait stations, restroom doors and storage areas.

Dining Room Mistake No. 5. Keeping Staff From Seeing What They Need To See.
Great servers always know what needs to be done on their tables. Having partitions, high walls, and odd configurations make it more difficult for a server to properly serve their tables.

Dining Room Mistake No. 6. Hobbling Your Staff With Bad Service Area Design.
In many restaurants, service areas aren't so much designed as plopped into the dining room almost as an afterthought. Staff may have to walk too far to get an extra fork or refill water or coffee. Put your service areas no father than 25 feet from any table. As a rule of thumb, no table should be more than 60 feet from the food pickup area.

Tips on Selecting the Best Restaurant Lease Term (or Length)

2010-07-08T13:42:00.000-04:00

The term (or length) of your restaurant commercial lease is an important part of your business plan and ensuing lease negotiations. However, most restaurant tenants do not take enough time to consider that one day they will eventually want to sell the restaurant. Alternatively, they may want to expand/downsize, relocate or close and so do not give the term of the lease the attention and consideration it truly deserves.

The industry standard lease term for a restaurant tenant can be either five, seven or 10 years, but often not shorter). We all know how restaurants are expensive to set up and, therefore, a 10-year amortization period is normally required on the initial term to justify that initial capital investment cost. Another point of consideration is that many restaurateurs can gain certain tax advantages by entering into consecutive shorter lease terms (for example, an initial term of four years followed by two renewals - of one and five years - and pre-exercised for a continual 10-year term). Your accountant can best explain this for you, but this effectively serves the same purpose for the restaurant tenant and the landlord, while benefitting the restaurant tenant.

Lease renewal options represent part of the overall term of the lease agreement and therefore should be negotiated at this time as well. The renewal option term is defined as the period of time which follows the initial lease term. This longer term protects the tenant so that the landlord cannot either take the space back or offer it to another tenant. Renewal options can benefit the restaurant tenant and, therefore, one to two five-year renewal option periods are common place if the landlord will agree to this.

In the real world, 10-year restaurant leases are attractive to both the landlords and the brokers who represent them. The landlord is assured of a long-term tenant while the broker, who works for the landlord, earns a commission for the term of the lease agreement. The longer the term you sign for, the more commission a broker is likely to earn. Overall, this should give the tenant increased negotiating power since the landlord is gaining the security of a 10-year term and the landlord's broker is earning up to twice the commission he/she would normally have expected from signing a five-year tenant.

Suppose you come to the end of your initial lease term and you do not have a new agreement, renewal or extension agreement in place. You will enter into what is called the overholding/holding over period. In itself, the overholding period is not a problem; however, many lease agreements contain a clause that states the restaurant tenant's rent will substantially increase during the overholding period. I have reviewed leases with built-in increases of up to 300 per cent for the overholding period. A 50 to 100 per cent increase is the industry standard. Why does the landlord charge so much? The landlord wants certainty. This is the landlord's way of preventing you from sitting back, stalling or remaining uncommitted about signing a renewal or going month-to-month.

If you wish to sell your restaurant business before your lease ends - for instance, during year four of a five-year term - the renewal option and terms will be critical to the purchaser. It is absolutely essential that the buyer be approved by the landlord and the option is transferrable to him/her (and not personal to you).

You should also know that the lease renewal term does not need to be made in five-year increments. A restaurant tenant can renew his/her lease agreement for any length of time the landlord will agree to. Alternatively, a right of termination could be negotiated if you need flexibility in the term. A right of termination is a special clause in the lease agreement which gives the tenant the right to cancel the lease. This is a one-time event … if things are not going well for you into a five-year lease renewal term, you can negotiate to leave earlier at 24 months.

Making Your Restaurant Website Sell For You

2010-06-25T17:25:00.000-04:00

Does your restaurant's web site sell for you? If your site is like most then the answer is probably not. It's an opportunity that the large majority of independent restaurants are not taking advantage of. Let's look at some ways that your restaurant's site can go beyond the basics to help boost your sales and profits by capturing revenue that may currently be going elsewhere.

Online Ordering
This is a true growth category and area of opportunity. The large chains are getting into online take-out ordering in a big way. Independents need to get in on the action. Families are looking for better (i.e. not fast food) take-out options that are easy, flexible and familiar. This is a 20% to 30% sales growth opportunity waiting to happen for your restaurant.

Taking Reservations Online
One rule of business is "make it easy for your customers to do business with you". This certainly applies to online reservation systems. For customers, online reservation taking offers a speedy, around the clock option for making dinner plans. There is a certain demographic that loves this feature. They are, for the most part, tech savvy, professionals with high levels of disposal income. Sounds like a good target audience, no?

Gift Cards
If your restaurant has a gift card or gift certificate program in place then you need to be promoting and selling your cards online. An easy to use secure order form can help your restaurant bump up its gift card sales to the next level. An online gift card option or even an instant gift certificate option meets the needs of the time crunched gift giver where an order can be completed in just a few minutes. Get this on your web site and promote it. This is a no-brainer

Parties & Catering
Events, parties and catering are terrific profit centers for your business. Rarely, however, does a restaurant use its web site well to promote these offerings. Think about having full screen photos of your private rooms or facilities. Event menus and catering prices should be readily available, even if they are only samples. Floor plans with layouts and dimensions can easily be included. A virtual tour similar to a "house-for-sale" listing can easily be created. Let beautiful pictures and bountiful information do the selling for you.

Merchandise
As with gift cards if you have logo merchandise or other products that you sell in your restaurant then have them for sale on your web site as well. For most restaurants a basic e-commerce application is all that is needed. This is cheap and easy and almost any web hosting company or developer can help you get up and running fast.

Now Open
The truth is your restaurant's web site should be selling for you 24/7/365. Don't make the mistake of having your restaurant's web site be just a yellow page listing with your name, menu and phone number. Take advantage of all that the Internet has to offer by expanding your web site to include some of these interactive and e-commerce options as a way to increase your restaurant's bottom line.

Rules of Thumb for Beverage Costs: How's Your Restaurant Doing?

2010-06-22T11:36:00.000-04:00

Although every restaurant is unique, industry rules of thumb can provide a valuable starting point for evaluating and understanding how your restaurant is performing.

While there will always be exceptions, here are a few beverage cost rules of thumb that we've found to be quite reliable over the years when working with operators who have collectively managed thousands of diverse restaurant operations.

Alcoholic beverage costs: Liquor, beer and wine costs will vary among restaurants due to a number of factors but here are typical costs in percentages:

* Liquor - 18 percent to 20 percent.

* Bar consumables - 4 percent to 5 percent as a percent of liquor sales (includes mixes, olives, cherries and other food products that are used or consumed exclusively at the bar).

* Bottled beer - 24 percent to 28 percent (assumes mainstream domestic beer, cost percent of specialty and imported bottled beer will generally be higher).

* Draft beer - 15 percent to 18 percent (assumes mainstream domestic beer, cost percent of specialty and imported draft beer will generally be higher).

* Wine - 35 percent to 45 percent (the cost percentages of wine can vary dramatically from restaurant to restaurant depending primarily on the type of wines served. Generally, the higher the price per bottle, the higher the cost percentage).

NOTE - All percentages above are the ratio of each item's cost divided by its sales, not total sales or total beverage sales.
For example, liquor cost percentages above are based on liquor costs divided by liquor sales. This applies to the non-alcoholic beverage costs discussed below as well.

Non-alcoholic beverage costs: Historically it has been standard industry practice to record non-alcoholic beverage sales and costs in Food Sales and Food Cost accounts. However, we've found that many operators are now breaking out non-alcoholic beverage sales and costs and report on them separately as "Soft Beverages."

* Soft drinks (post-mix) - 10 percent to 15 percent (another rule of thumb for soft drinks is to expect post-mix soda to cost a little more than a penny an ounce for the syrup and CO2).

* Regular coffee - 15 percent to 20 percent (assumes 8-ounce cup, some cream, sugar and about one free refill).

* Specialty coffee - 12 percent to 18 percent (assumes no free refills)

* Iced tea - 5 percent to 10 percent iced tea is the low food cost champ of all time. Cost of the tea can be less than a penny per glass. Biggest cost component in iced tea is usually the lemon slice.

FINAL POINT: While every restaurant is different, if your costs are running significantly higher than the averages above, it might be smart to investigate your pricing, beverage controls and the possibility of theft.

New York City Set to Serve Grades to Eateries

2010-06-17T16:51:00.000-04:00

The city's Department of Health rolled out its final rules yesterday for a system that will require restaurants to post letter grades based on inspection scores beginning in late July.

Those in the restaurant industry were quick to voice disappointment. The rules didn't have significant changes from those posted in April despite vigorous opposition voiced at a public hearing last month.

A city chapter of a restaurant trade group is exploring a legal challenge and protest, said Robert Bookman, an attorney for the New York City chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association. "We're looking at all of our options," said Mr. Bookman.

Don't expect A's, B's and C's to spring up at all of the 24,000-plus affected eateries overnight. The Health Department said it will take about 14 months before the placards appear in every storefront and the first wave of letters will be A's because of the way the policy is designed.

Restaurants that receive a B or C can opt for a second inspection a few weeks later. After that inspection, those that contest their grades can install "grade pending" signs until the matter is resolved.

Restaurants that fail to post their letters will be fined; the Health Department is recommending a $1,000 fine.

The scores are based on an inspection cycle in which restaurants are inspected about once a year.

Health officials said they listened to concerns about nonfood violations being factored into their letter grades and took some of them out. But restaurant owners say the inspections are arbitrary and too many nonfood violations will still be counted.

Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said he didn't think restaurants with C's would necessarily lose business. "I actually think probably most people won't make their decision based upon a letter grade," he said. "But some of them will. And even a small percentage of them is enough to provide an economic incentive for restaurants to improve their practices."

Restaurants have said the system will put those with C's out of business. Dr. Farley said the industry has made similar dire predictions when the city banned smoking and required calorie postings in some restaurants.

Asked if he would eat in a C restaurant, Dr. Farley said, "You know, depending on the circumstances, I might."

But he added, "I certainly would prefer restaurants that have higher letter grades."

Digital Dining Recognized as a RSPA Certified Retail Technology Provider!

2010-06-03T13:45:00.000-04:00

Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) is an industry association dedicated to the retail technology industry. Their members include resellers, distributors, hardware manufacturers, software developers, consultants and service providers who bring retail technology solutions to the marketplace. RSPA has been in existence for over 60 years and is pleased to name Digital Dining/MenuSoft Systems as an RSPA Certified Retail Technology Provider.

Top 10 Reasons You Should Buy From an RSPA Certified Partner

10. You are assured that an RSPA certified reseller has integrity.

9. An RSPA certified reseller provides jobs for your community.

8. An RSPA certified reseller can service your equipment at 5pm on a Friday.

7. An RSPA certified reseller can guide you in your purchase decisions so your POS equipment supports the peripheral equipment that you need to interface in the present and in the future.

6. A certified RSPA reseller is qualified to consult with you about every aspect of your business that impacts the function of your POS system. Do you want to interface your security camera with your POS system? Why or why not?

5. Your RSPA reseller will guide your PCI compliance needs.

4. An RSPA certified reseller provides you what’s needed, not just what they have to sell, and shows you the way to increase profits by doing so.

3. An RSPA certified reseller will help you gain an edge over your competition by providing the products, services and support you need.

2. Your RSPA certified reseller can optimize your profits by showing you how to reduce waste,prevent employee theft, and create higher per-customer sales.

And The Number One Reason You Should Buy From an RSPA Certified Reseller
1. An RSPA certified reseller is your partner, not a one-time transaction. They want your business to be profitable just like you do, and can help you succeed.

46.4% of Restaurant Operators Looking Towards Wireless Tableside POS Solutions

2010-06-02T18:41:00.000-04:00

When Hospitality Technology polled their readers on POS software purchasing plans, the POS Software Trends 2010 poll revealed that 46.4% of operators consider tableside POS for ordering and/or payment to be an interest for 2010. These sentiments were again reflected in the Restaurant Technology Study which indicated that there has been a significant increase in the percentage of companies using wireless handheld POS terminals in the period between 2009 (15.3%) and 2010 (27%). Sixty-three percent of respondents indicate that wireless POS terminals increase guest satisfaction, and 56% indicate that they increase guest credit card security. What's more, IHL's North American Hospitality POS Terminal Market Study identified that hospitality establishments are moving more and more toward wireless technologies, flagging this as a trend for the years ahead.

Our Client Cake & Shake Dessert Cart Makes Its Tasty Debut in Washington Square Park!

2010-05-27T10:29:00.000-04:00

Cake & Shake opened its first dessert cart, on the northeast corner of Washington Square Park, with a concept that is oh-so-New York: high-end ingredients served in eco-friendly, portable packaging.

All the basic baking elements are organic, including the eggs, milk, sugar, butter and flour. The paper products are 100% recycled. The straws and cupcake wrappers are biodegradable.

Gina Ojile and Derek Hunt came up with the recipes for each $3 cupcake. The result? Chewy, moist and delicious snacks that go a leap and bound beyond run-of-the-mill.

The Cake & Shake cart will be in Washington Square Park from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week from here on out. Their second target is station outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art that should open in the coming months.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2010/05/27/2010-05-27_cake__shake_dessert_cart_makes_its_tasty_debut_in_washington_square_park.html?r=lifestyle/food#ixzz0p8lJSjz9

Arby's Utilizes Digital Dining for Immediate Cost Savings

2010-03-30T17:44:00.000-04:00

RCNY Restaurants LLC, a New York City-based Arby's franchisee, is one of the most recent quick service restaurant owners to select the combined Digital Dining/DigitalPersona solution. RCNY discovered the addition of DigitalPersona fingerprint biometrics to their POS software provided immediate cost savings by preventing employees from clocking each other in and out and by eliminating unauthorized manager overrides at the register. The franchisee also realized that the Digital Dining/DigitalPersona solution helped to increase productivity by moving customers through order processes faster.

"With fingerprint biometrics, we have found a reliable way of preventing employees from clocking each other in and out that just wasn't possible before," says Raymond Chera, Franchisee, RCNY. "We are now able to hold our employees accountable for their time and the transactions they handle. The biometrically-enabled POS terminals are a key part of our strategy to reduce employee fraud and increase productivity at the till."

Leebro POS is a Digital Dining "Big 8" Dealer in 2009

2010-03-25T11:23:00.000-04:00

Leebro POS was selected into the elite "Big 8" for Digital Dining. The Big 8 is an honor given by Digital Dining to the dealerships that ranked in the top 8 for new clients in a given year. Find out more about Digital Dining at www.leebropos.com