How classic contemporary Indian restaurant The Tamarind Tree streamlined operations and freed up staff to spend more time with customers.
The cuisine combines old favourites and authentic dishes with exotic spices, fruits and herbs. Drinks range from Babu Lychee vodka with lychee juice, fresh ginger, lemon grass and lychee, to a Coriander Cooler Gin and Benedictine with coriander and cucumber
Recently refurbished, the 150-seat restaurant had a manual front of house system which did not meet its needs. According to Mr. Shobbir Ahmed, the owner, too much staff time was spent taking orders, running to the kitchen and writing bills, instead of improving customer service and potentially increasing revenue. Also, without cash controls or management information easily available, management could not judge which menu item was performing well or badly
Aloha to the rescue
To streamline service and release staff for customer service, in July 2008 the restaurant installed Aloha, the leading EPOS system from NFS Hospitality. The three-terminal Aloha system includes kitchen printing, which has given the Tamarind Tree the great benefit of accuracy. Chefs now get accurate information printed directly in the kitchen, rather than trying to read handwritten orders. This is faster and avoids waste. And as all food and drinks orders are recorded accurately, customer service is improved and sales value increased.
NFS also installed the Delivery Module as part of Aloha. This allows the restaurant to track client information and speed up the order process as customers are identified by either postcode or phone number. Capture of preferences and previous orders helps to improve service, speed order taking and boost the up-selling process, as customers are reminded of the dishes they ordered the last time.
“We are pleased that the Delivery Module will help us build a valuable source of client information and give our customers better service and more accurate order capture,” comments Mr Ahmed.
Special praise for NFS implementation and training
“The NFS service was excellent and the trainer stayed in contact after the installation, making sure we were able to get to grips with some of the finer aspects of the EPOS system,” continues Mr Ahmed. “Even simple things like the quality of the cabling, which was completely hidden, make a big difference. It all reflected a high level of care and attention to detail.”
Going forward, Mr Ahmed plans to take advantage of further functionality within Aloha. “We are happy to recommend NFS Hospitality,” he says.
