We’ve seen the rise and rise of the super-demanding diner in recent years, grazing to the latest food trends and making a meal of their ethics.
For restaurants competing to win their business, it’s a constant battle to keep up with the latest ideas and innovative offerings.
For example, disruptive Deliveroo have recently announced that they plan to let restaurants on their platform offer dish-by-dish calorie information.
Big groups including Jamie’s Italian, Yo! Sushi and Pho are among those snapping up the opportunity.
It’s tough to keep up with the trends: clean eating, Veganuary, ethical eating, casual dining; but crucial if you want to succeed. And that’s why the restaurant industry has a strong trend of its own – deploying restaurant management systems.
Restaurant EPOS software is proving to be invaluable in the never-ending battle between the hospitality industry and its demons: rising costs, poor efficiency and waste.
Restaurant management systems put power in your hands in a very real way – your serving staff use handheld devices or tablets to take orders and payments right at the tableside.
Restaurant managers and owners, meanwhile, get to enjoy an end-to-end view of operations in real-time, online via their mobile or laptop.
Restaurant management systems also capture useful information about your guests and their preferences. They record which dishes are selling well and also help you identify what’s trending. Cauliflower steak, anyone?
It means that restaurant companies ranging from single outlets to multiples now rely on restaurant POS software to streamline their operations and keep costs to a minimum.
So what features does your restaurant management system need?
We’ve come up with the 9 key questions you really should ask your technology provider.
Is this a dedicated restaurant management system?
Some EPOS systems are designed for retail, but restaurants require more functions than they can provide. You should ensure your system is specifically designed to meet restaurant requirements.
Does the system provide course management?
Demanding guests naturally want the best in customer service, so you need a flexible system so your servers can split courses to assist the kitchen. You should also be able to make amendments easily – substituting a starter as a main course, for instance.
Your serving staff are busy, and they need a simple interface to make this happen. Your restaurant management system should integrate with your kitchen technology, so the right information is delivered instantly to printers or screens at each station.
Can this system really go places for guests?
Your staff will want to send from their handheld devices to different destinations – orders to the kitchen, for example, for orders, and payments to the in-restaurant printer.
Can it help chef design popular dishes that protect diners’ health?
Allergen control is a high priority for any restaurant, and we’ve already seen the tragic consequences of badly-identified allergens in food.
In recognition of this, the Aloha restaurant management system has recently joined forces with KitchenCUT technology, which that tracks potential allergens throughout menus and dishes. It helps chefs keep costs under control, too. .
The system improves stock control by highlighting top-selling dishes, which helps when making procurement decisions and also reduces food waste.
Can it keep my menu under control?
If you offer breakfast, lunch and dinner at your restaurant, it’s easy to end up with an unwieldy menu for staff to deal with on the handheld device.
Advanced restaurant management technology solves the problem. It lets you customise screen layouts according to job codes, and enable or disable menus by terminal or area, the time or the day.
What about diners on the go?
Diners sometimes shift tables, and you need your staff to be able to reallocate their order easily. Make sure your restaurant management system has flexible table maps where staff can allocate orders to specific tables.
The system should also allow them to transfer the ticket, and merge tables or split them up. Aloha’s Guest Manager, for example, suggests the best table taking into account wait time and profitability. It’s smart – it won’t suggest three people are seated on a four top if it’s next to another that could create an eight.
Is it good at managing customers’ bills?
With your restaurant management system, you should be able to split bills easily. That can be particularly useful if you run a casual dining outlet that often seats large parties. This facility It speeds up table turn and creates a swift and satisfying guest experience.
Your system will capture diner data, which is important – if you are aware of their preferences you can dream up targeted email marketing campaigns that will bring them back again and again.
Will customers be inconvenienced by staff training?
No – with a good, intuitive system staff can be taking orders within a couple of hours, giving guests enhanced service.
What else should you consider?
With all its functionality and powerful operational benefits, a restaurant management system is an important investment.
Fortunately, rental schemes are available with an easy monthly payment that make ROI quick; hosted systems mean there’s no need to buy costly hardware.
Take your time in making your decision. Selecting restaurant management software is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make for your restaurant – and for your diners, too.
What benefits does restaurant EPOS bring? See this.
Want to see how digital dining works for you and your customers all day?
What do Google, Dixons, Marriott, Fifa, Uber, Quora and Facebook have in common? On the face of it not much – but they’re just few of the famous organisations which have fallen foul of serious data breaches since GDPR came into force in May 2018.
And with many other organisations still struggling to get to grips with the data legislation, is there something hospitality businesses need to learn from their experience?
The Cambridge Analytica scandal may have caused Facebook some serious reputational damage and some tricky scrutiny, but it is now apparent that the regulations are hitting companies where it hurts most – their wallets.
The most recent and largest recipient of a GDPR-related fine is Google, hit with a £44m fine by France’s CNIL data watchdog.
Although this seems a lot, given that the maximum fine is 4% of global turnover it is a relative bargain compared to the £3 billion it could have been. It remains to be seen what the long-term effects on Google’s reputation could be.
What did they do wrong? They did not meet GDPR’transparency requirements, and didn’t prove a lawful basis for processing the data.
Why this matters to you
If you’re complacent, you could argue that the authorities are only going after the big boys – you can’t get bigger than Google or Facebook – but don’t fall into this trap.
While these cases are high profile, it would be dangerous to assume that the regulatory authorities are not prosecuting smaller companies.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which enforces GDPR and the pre-existing data protection laws in the UK, has prosecuted 180 organisations in the last two years.
Predictably, some of these companies and individuals were actively involved in shady practices such cold-calling or email spamming millions of people.
However, many who were prosecuted were simply negligent in their processes of storing and processing data. The list of enforcement actions makes sobering reading as it includes organisations that should really know better.
What this means for the hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is not immune to the impact of GDPR. Your restaurant management software or PMS may be storing gigabytes of old data such as booking data, enquiries for weddings or brochure requests.
You may not be holding as much data as Marriott but the law does not differentiate on the size of the database that has been breached or who is breaching it. The ICO have successfully prosecuted individuals for much smaller infractions.
In fact, a recent survey found that in the two months following the introduction of GDPR, 45% of hospitality businesses neglected to wipe IT equipment before disposing of it.
The research, which surveyed 1,002 UK workers, also found that 97% of hospitality businesses did not have an official process for disposing of obsolete IT equipment, with the same percentage saying they would not know who to approach within their company to do so.
Hospitality – among the most guilty industries
IT service provider Probrand group, which commissioned the survey, named the hospitality sector as one of the “most guilty industries” alongside transportation, sales and marketing, manufacturing, utilities and retail.
For an industry built, literally, on customer service a breach could not only hurt your turnover it can also damage your reputation as well as meaning that your once-loyal customers will no longer trust you with their personal data which can have a longer-term impact on your future marketing efforts.
It’s not just hard drives containing personal data that you need to be wary of. In fact, you may be ultra-stringent in your data cleaning processes and have security down to a “T” yet still get caught out.
How? A little-known fact that can catch the unsuspecting is that as an organisation processing data you need to pay a registration fee to the ICO or face a fine of up to £4350.
We recommend you do at least the following:
> Get customer consent for all data
> Appoint someone to act as a Data Protection Officer
So if you need to get up to speed on GDPR we’re happy to offer our help and guidance on best practices.
* Check out our dedicated resources to find out more – DOWNLOAD our Easy Guide to Being GDPR Compliant now!
* See how restaurant management software and hotel management software can boost your business.
Predictions for the UK restaurant trade are fairly upbeat as the country heads even further into Brexit turmoil.
Foodservice visits could rise by a huge 93m in 2019 according to one source, as consumers continue to choose to spend their cash on food.
They have a little more disposable income, too, with UK employment higher than ever before, and with wages rising at the highest rate in a decade while interest rates remain low.
So which 7 trends will shape dining in 2019 – and how will restaurant EPOS technology feed into them?
Join me for brunch?
All the signs are that UK diners are eating out less in the evening, and choosing less formal dining when they do. However, that’s doesn’t mean they’ve stopped eating out.
It’s predicted that there will be steady growth in going out for breakfast and brunch, already a popular trend throughout 2018. Lunch will remain a big market this year and is estimated to rise by about 2%.
For these busy guests in a hurry, speed of service will be crucial.
Outlets that benefit from restaurant EPOS will be able to offer quick ordering by tablet. Payments can also be taken at tableside, making the customer experience satisfyingly swift.
Robot welcome
Mobile technology, combined with millennial diners and restaurant POS, is making a great difference in the how restaurants deliver personal interaction with their guests.
Younger diners often prefer messaging to emails or phone calls, so restaurants wanting to grab their business in 2019 will definitely be exploring chatbots.
The technology is already with us – for instance, Open Table integrates with Facebook Messenger. It means people who are chatting about dinner on Messenger can be booked into your establishment by a bot.
Hey, Alexa – get me more business
Alexa, the Google Home Hub and Facebook’s smart speaker have driven up voice searches hugely – ComScore believes that by 2020, they’ll make up 50% of all searches.
For restaurants, this could be massive. Imagine a situation where your customer hears your ad on Spotify at dinnertime and places an order or reserves a table immediately. Restaurant EPOS is available 24/7 to handle the incoming business, of course – even when you are closed.
The technology will also open up a new field of business in 2019 for restaurants who can to offer home delivery for the first time.
Allergy mitigation
No-one wants this trend, but with food allergies on the rise, around 10 people may die in the UK this year because of a bad reaction to an ingredient.
For busy chefs designing tasty dishes, restaurant EPOS is a huge help.
A technology partnership between Aloha restaurant management technology and the Kitchen CUT F&B management platform assists in areas ranging from cost control to ingredient selection and warnings on allergens.
Casually brilliant
For several years, casual dining has been an increasing trend in hospitality, with many customers now opting to spend only 45 minutes over their food.
For both the fast and casual sectors, restaurant EPOS provides an incredible toolbox, integrating with self-service kiosks and also with kitchen automation.
It means customers can order, pay, eat and go – and the next customers can be served just as swiftly.
The shrinking labour pool
This is another trend restaurateurs hate having to think about – but labour is definitely in short supply.
Analysts KPMG estimate that around 75% of serving staff in the UK are of EU origin, and Brexit is making many of them think about leaving.
Inevitably, the shortage of skills and labour availability is pushing up wages – it’s an uncomfortable combination if you run a restaurant.
Restaurant EPOS helps by capturing data so restaurateurs can match staffing levels to rollercoaster of trade. It means good customer service is always maintained but costs are kept well under control.
Comprehensive reports prepared by the system confirm what the busiest times are, while the technology also uses the data to provide useful forecasts.
Ethical eating
We’re already seeing Veganuary trending, and many UK restaurants are tweaking their menus in the coming year to cater for this strong movement.
But whether you are vegan or not, ethical food production is a genuine agenda item for both diners and chefs in 2019.
Diners want to be sure that restaurants have food waste under control – and chefs don’t need to be told that stock control is directly linked to a robust bottom line.
Restaurant EPOS reports can promote excellent stock control, identifying the best-selling dishes so stock is correctly ordered, and enabling chefs to control their dishes right down to ingredient level.
So – let’s crack 2019!
We know it’s going to be even more of a rollercoaster ride than usual for the UK restaurant industry. But we also know that those who take advantage of technology to streamline operations will be in the best position to survive the ride.
The benefits of useful software were demonstrated recently when two of our restaurant EPOS clients, Dishoom and Honest Burger, won Best Restaurant Operator titles for their two categories in the Restaurant Magazine awards.
So if you’ve already broken your new year resolutions, it’s time to make a new one – if you don’t have a restaurant management system already, vow to consider one. It will go on benefiting you long after Dry January is forgotten…
When the UK government announced its immigration plan in December, it was greeted with dismay by the hospitality industry.
Kate Nicholls of the industry body UK Hospitality, told The Caterer: “The central plank of government’s immigration policy, to cut off lower-skilled migration with a salary threshold, is fundamentally flawed and will damage the hospitality sector and the wider UK economy.”
It’s another worry for a hardworking industry that is already facing severe skills and labour shortages – to the point where The Observer newspaper carried a story in 2018 entitled: “The great British chef shortage – why eating out is under threat.”
As Brexit has approached, the UK hospitality workforce – which is estimated to be around 6m people – has been disappearing.
In fact, it has been suggested by the British Hospitality Association that the industry could face a staff shortfall of over a million workers by 2029.
The natural result of this skills and labour shortage has been a hike in wages, which has only added to the rising costs for restaurateurs.
The Government promised skills training, but it is taking time; so what can restaurant owners and managers do?
Many have already turned to ever-evolving restaurant POS to provide at least part of the solution to this cooking crisis.
While restaurant POS will never be able to provide you with a great chef, it can help your business make sound decisions about staffing levels.
By capturing accurate data, restaurant management systems take the guesswork out of creating perfect rosters.
By producing informative reports in real time, the restaurant POS makes it simple to match the level of staff with customer demands. It means you can maintain excellent customer service without wasting valuable labour.
The system also ups the value of serving staff – they take orders on hand held devices including tablets and smartphones, so spend less time running to the kitchen with orders.
Their wellbeing and motivation are also boosted, because they are less stressed and tired, and they can engage better with customers. The restaurant POS even offers them upselling prompts as they take orders.
Servers using Aloha restaurant POS can also now check comprehensive food allergen advice.
It’s much quicker than having to go and ask chef or look at a list in the kitchen, and means customers’ health is well-protected.
Customers like to be able to make reservations and orders via an app, and a restaurant management system enables this 24/7, even when you are closed. Once again, it saves staff time, and also gets rid of a tedious manual task.
Even restaurant managers are able to use their time better – restaurant POS can be provided as a cloud-based option so they can keep a check on operations online at any time without travel time.
It removes the need to duplicate head office functions at different branches – another genuine staffing benefit.
As we head into a turbulent 2019, we don’t even loosely know what will happen with Brexit.
But we can feel pretty sure that labour shortages in restaurants are likely to increase – a YouGov survey just a few months ago found that 330,000 hospitality staff were considering leaving the UK.
We know technology can’t supply all the answers. But we do believe restaurant POS can help restaurateurs make the most of who they have – and create a well-run working environment where they want to stay.
Could eating out actually be under threat? Not on our watch…
* See a short video on how restaurant EPOS works with customers all day:
With profits falling, calls for calorie labelling on menus and the growing requirement for tight allergen controls, the necessity for efficient, accurate restaurant management software has never been greater.
Thankfully, technology brands are stepping up to the plate, developing cutting edge software and creating strategic partnerships to give the hospitality industry the tools to make their operations safe and profitable.
Kitchen CUT are thrilled to announce their partnership with NFS Technology – the provider of leading restaurant EPOS system Aloha.
With Aloha and Kitchen CUT working in tandem, hospitality teams have the tools necessary to keep tight control of ingredients, recipes, menus and all important profits.
NFS Head of Sales for Hospitality, Chris Cartmell, identified the benefits of the new collaboration, saying:
“The system allows tight cost controls and highlights any potential allergens in ingredients. This live information is then pulled through into every sub-recipe, recipe and dish in which the ingredient is used, making allergens completely traceable.”
Kitchen CUT’s cloud-based, scaleable SaaS technology delivers comprehensive software for complete control over F&B operations in more than 55 countries worldwide.
Whilst many countries are not covered by the EU legislation, there are still the same potential dangers of allergen mismanagement. Allergies are not just restricted to Europe and allergen sufferers need to be cared and catered for globally.
Rather than adopting a manual, error laden approach to allergen management, it makes sense to have a robust system in place that is accessible by all members of the team, not only to ensure legal compliance, but also to provide a seamless service, and to protect your customers and staff.
An allergic reaction due to misinformation or lack of information could have catastrophic consequences for customers, their families and the business involved.
Mistakes are all too easy.
Dishes may consist of multiple recipes pulled together, so an allergen can be easily missed: a few drops of thickened soy sauce, a trace of nuts or maybe a change in mayonnaise supplier could mean that the new one has an additional allergen (such as celery or nut oil) contained within it, that the previous one didn’t.
It’s important for your business to have clear processes and for the teams involved to understand the importance of following them. Here are some of the scenarios you should give thought to:
> If a supplier sends a substitute product with your delivery, what is the process for checking the new allergens? How will you ensure the allergen information for the new product is updated throughout every recipe and sub recipe in which the product is used?
> If a supplier delists a product and you pick an alternative how will you ensure that this is updated across every recipe?
> Managing the switch of entire suppliers, ensuring you update all recipes and menus.
Kitchen CUT provides accurate allergen software by allowing suppliers to upload product price and allergen data through our Supplier Gateway. This is free for suppliers to use and gives complete control and visibility over the products and allergen data being supplied.
Once approved these ingredients are then available in the system to use – chefs can be as creative as they like in the confidence that allergens are traced all the way from an ingredient level through to every sub recipe, dish and menu created. Everything is tracked accurately and automatically updated for you.
With Kitchen CUT, the system not only provides the back and front of house teams with live, accurate allergen information for every product, ingredient, recipe and menu, it also gives reassurance that there is a robust process and system in place to protect patrons against any oversights or potential mistakes that have been made.
Regardless of how big your company is, it is imperative to start taking allergens seriously.
Now is the time to stop relying on individuals as this process is prone to human error, and to start adopting a process and system that tracks allergens direct from your suppliers and vendors all the way through to your menus.
The NFS and Kitchen CUT partnership will allow you to do just that.
You can get more information about Kitchen CUT or a free online demo by emailing sales@kitchencut.com or calling +44 (0) 330 113 0050
The hospitality industry has worried about allergens in food for some time, and several shocking recent cases have brought the topic to the forefront of public concern.
While food labelling is being tightened following the tragedy, UK bars, restaurants and food outlets are already working hard to identify potential areas of risk.
But it’s difficult to be comprehensive.
The NHS warns that there are many different types of allergic reaction to food – and that’s not even counting milder intolerances that can also affect diners.
Drawing up a definitive list of every potential allergen is a headache for any chef – one recent tragedy was caused by a reaction to unlabelled sesame in a baguette.
The responsibility of missing something is a heavy burden. Food allergy causes at least ten deaths a year in the UK, according to the Food Standards Agency.
And once you have a list for your food preparation, how do you make sure your serving staff are aware of everything on it?
Thankfully, restaurant management technology is rising to the challenge.
NFS Technology – the provider of leading restaurant management system Aloha – has formed a strategic partnership with innovative food & beverage management platform, Kitchen CUT.
Kitchen CUT’s (www.kitchencut.com) cloud-based, scaleable SaaS technology delivers comprehensive software for complete control over F&B operations.
The combination of our Aloha and Kitchen CUT’s system creates a perfect way for hospitality teams to keep tight control of new dishes and beverages in areas ranging from cost to ingredient selection and allergen warnings.
NFS head of sales for hospitality, Chris Cartmell, says: “This adds enhanced functionality to our powerful restaurant management system.
“The system allows them to work to tight cost controls and highlights any potential allergens in ingredients. This live information is than pulled through into every sub-recipe, recipe and dish in which the ingredient is used, making allergens completely traceable.”
In addition, serving staff using Aloha handheld devices or tablets to take orders at tablesideare able to access allergen information from Kitchen CUT user-friendly spec sheets and menus.
As Phil Linton, Commercial Director of Kitchen CUT, says: “It’s is our combined objective to provide increased transparency and profitability for restaurants.
“We’re looking forward to building on the successful working relationship we have established with NFS and their customers over the past 12 months.”
The same goes for us, Phil.
And we hope this pioneering partnership will help our clients not only to grow their businesses, but also – crucially – to protect the precious wellbeing of their customers now and in the future.
Imagine a world where an ad for your restaurant is playing over Spotify at dinnertime and your customer can then immediately place an order or book a table.
That’s true one-to-one interaction – without a keyboard or touchscreen in sight.
It is very apt to be writing this post in a week when Google announced their new Google Home Hub and Facebook launched their new Portal smart speaker.
The smart speaker market has grown at a blistering pace. By April this year they had penetrated 20% of US households with wi-fi, up from just 8% in June 2017 – the hardware is well on its way to being mainstream.
With growing demand coupled with still untapped huge growth potential it’s easy to see why Google and Facebook would invest in the technology.
ComScore predicts that by 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice searches.
How could this help you?
Previously, smart speakers such as Alexa were used for in-home dining – a convenient way to search for recipes or order ingredients while listening to Spotify or doing housework.
But now, it looks as though voice searches will also be a big player in the eating out market.
Alexa and Google now integrate with Open Table, so if you were thinking of signing up to that platform now may be a good time to join.
As the search is voice activated it is far more efficient for your guests than having to use the App or website – just say the date and time and it’s all done for them.
If you think that’s sounds simple, then the integration with Just Eat is even more intuitive – your customers can simply ask to reorder their last meal.
Another aspect of voice search you can capitalise on is that of restaurant recommendations.
Before they make a decision, customers can ask their smart speaker for restaurant reviews.
If the predictions are correct about voice search, then it’s crucial that you have great online reviews. You should consider social media reputation software if you are looking to maximise the benefits of TripAdvisor reviews.
What you need to make the most of voice searches
Smart speakers enable restaurateurs to plug into the whole digital journey for customers while taking advantage of the powers of digital transformation.
At the centre of any digital environment you need a robust restaurant management solution to ensure your operation is running like a well-oiled machine.
Key to the digital customer journey is the ability to:
> Send orders straight from the website to a kitchen automation system. Kitchen automation will speed service and reduce waste
> Integrate OpenTable payment to the restaurant’s mobile payment gateway – creating a convenient and seamless digital experience for your guests
> Respond rapidly to any negative social media reviews so that you can ensure that the only news that they get to hear is good news
> Create compelling loyalty offers – you have their email address and they are digitally engaged so what better audience do you have to help you increase revenue?
> Access real-time business intelligence to see which channels are producing the most sales and then scale the successful platforms.
A world of potential
We feel voice technology has a great deal of potential when integrated into existing delivery and booking technology.
And the machine learning capabilities of these platforms means that Google, Amazon and Facebook can leverage huge amounts of data about your customers which you can use for targeted paid advertising.
It’s a perfect situation, using paid ads to generate new business coupled with the convenience of voice for them to place their order or book a table.
A win-win for everyone – convenience for them and an instant return on your advertising for you.
More than 4,000 new restaurants have opened in the UK in just the last four years – yet there’s also been a huge downside, with many – including some big names – closing down.
So in these most mixed of times, how do you make sure YOUR restaurant is one of the survivors?
Let’s start by pinpointing some of the reasons for 2018’s restaurant rollercoaster ride.
Brexit blues
The pound has been in state of flux ever since the Brexit vote, and it’s had serious repercussions for the industry because the cost of basic ingredients has risen in costs.
Margins have also been squeezed by other factors, such as the minimum wage rising by more than 19% in the last five years.
One high-profile victim has been Jamie Oliver, who cited the Brexit blues when he was forced to close six of his restaurants in 2017, and 12 more this year.
The repercussions of Brexit are not just being felt on the foreign exchanges. The EU represents a pool of talented hospitality workers which UK restaurants have relied on.
Three million people work in the hospitality sector in the UK, of which over 750,000 are EU nationals. A staggering 75% of serving staff are from the EU, according to a report from KPMG.
Many have already left, and with the Government slow to introduce necessary training for British-born staff, not effective until 2022, a labour shortage is imminent. No chef = no restaurant.
The perils of private equity
Private equity has long dominated the restaurant and bar sector, with deals hitting a record high in 2016.
This influx of money came at a time when there was still uncertainty over Brexit. The taste for investment in the sector has stalled and this has also been coupled with over-ambitious restaurant chains expanding too quickly.
So the market is over-saturated. With so many choices, consumers have possibly got bored with the casual chains.
In addition, online ordering apps such as Deliveroo and Just Eat offer an attractive alternative and have taken a large share of consumers’ discretionary spend. They also deny restaurant clients the opportunity to upsell high margin items such as drinks.
Many famous private-equity backed chains have had to apply swingeing cuts. Some are even talking of closing 100+ sites.
It’s not just a few outliers pulling the sector down. According to research by accountancy group UHY Hacker Young, 35 of the UK’s Top 100 restaurant groups are now loss-making.
Again, they cite falling consumer confidence and higher staff costs as well rising business rates as being to blame.
You can rise above it
It’s tough, we know. But the restaurants that are thriving are those who make the savviest use of restaurant management technology to drive operational and sales performance.
For instance, companies using Aloha restaurant management systems, such as Nando’s, are still reporting increases in both gross profit and revenue.
Technology can transform a business in a number of key areas:
Marketing
Technology makes it simple for restaurateurs to create targeted marketing campaigns and increase footfall – crucial when your customers have so many choices for their discretionary income.
It pays to be creative. One innovative marketing initiative from Nando’s is their Music Exchange which they have used to keep themselves top of mind while capitalising on their place in pop culture.
Obviously, not everyone has the marketing budget of a Nando’s or the patronage of Ed Sheeran or Stormzy…
However, on a smaller scale it is possible to pivot your restaurant to, say, becoming a focal point for local live bands on a traditionally quiet night of the week.
Using cloud-based EPOS it is easy to capture diners’ data to use in email promotions. The system can also post your events and promotions to social media – easily amplifying your exposure.
Loyalty programmes
Once you get the customers coming in, you want to keep them coming back for more. It’s all about creating long-term clients as opposed to short-term sales – after all, it costs the same to generate both, and you need to get the best return on your marketing investment.
A good restaurant management solution includes features that offer multiple ways to reward repeat custom:
> Gift card credit
> Real-time rewards
> Item-based rewards
> Points-based rewards
Good restaurant technology makes this easy to administer and for restaurant groups these loyalty schemes can be applied across all sites at the touch of a button.
Social media marketing
While email marketing has its place, increasingly we find our clients are relying on social media to get the word out. Millennials in particularly live their lives through a prism of Instagram likes and followers.
A restaurant’s reputation can live or die on the nature of its online reviews.
With technology it’s now possible to promote your business while also monitoring your online reputation, sending out social campaigns at a national or site level.
A good mobile solution further enables restaurateurs to monitor social media feedback in real-time and respond quickly before any reputational harm is done.
Theft prevention
You can be knocking it out of the park with your social media, email marketing and loyalty programmes but it you need to make sure that you keep your eye on the ball with your margins.
Unpalatable as it may be to admit, light-fingered staff can sometimes hit your bottom line through theft and scams.
With fraud detection software you can spot patterns of suspicious behaviour – in real-time. Once staff know they have nowhere to hide they are far more likely to act honestly.
Labour control
Labour is one of the highest costs for any restaurant operator – but luckily, it’s a variable cost that can be kept under control with technology.
It’s a fine balancing act – having enough staff at busy times to ensure optimum guest satisfaction while ensuring that you are not overstaffed at other times or paying unnecessary overtime.
With restaurant technology it’s possible to forecast what labour is required, create rotas at the touch of a button and slash unplanned overtime with full integration to payroll.
Research firm Gartner suggests that by 2020, customers will manage 85% of their engagement with a restaurant without interacting with any of the staff in human form.
While for some this may seem a little dystopian, it would certainly save money on staffing while speeding service.
But for now…
In the meantime, using technology is the best way to maximise revenue and increase efficiency of your human staff.
Industry expert Luis De Souza of NFS Technology says digital dining has accessed every area of the industry; and it’s providing a valuable boost in challenging times.
“Here’s your burger and fries, sir – would you like extra digital with that?”
The answer from today’s diner is almost always a resounding yes, according to restaurant industry expert Luis De Souza.
And he’s convinced that the digital transformation trend is truly engaging the UK restaurant industry could well provide answers to some of today’s challenges.
“We’ve seen an extraordinary pace of change in diner behaviours over the past few years, and restaurants are having to work hard to keep up with it,” said Luis, chief executive of Restaurant Show exhibitors NFS Technology.
The changing digital landscape
The trends he is talking about affect both in-restaurant and takeaway eating and are affecting everything in the casual and fast-casual dining sectors.
To-go consumers used to call in and wait while their food was prepared; now, they order online, either for collection or delivery either directly from the outlet or via a Deliveroo-style service.
In-restaurant dining, too, looks a lot different as customers seek restaurants and review online before making their reservation. They then enjoy a digitally-enhanced experience all the way from being seated to ordering and payment – and beyond.
Even fast-food diners are getting faster, making their choices from self-service kiosks and boards linked directly to kitchen automation.
An increasingly mobile experience
Luis points to several eye-opening statistics that highlight exactly how much things have changed already.
“A recent report found that an astonishing 75% of people said they had consulted Facebook to find a place to dine,” he said.
Leading restaurateur Adrian Valeriano recently said data showed more than 47% of reservations currently originate on mobile phones, and described the finding as “massive”.
“I could go on,” says Luis. “The statistics show an incredible change in the way everyone is using restaurants.
“Much of it is driven by millennial behaviour, but it’s not just young people – many people are now becoming used to accessing every area of their lives via their smartphone or tablet.
“Even in the restaurant, people are enjoying a digital experience – around 25% of people use their smartphone while eating, to access information or entertainment, to play games or even to interact with other diners.
“As even younger generations continue to join the dining world, that’s a trend that is going to continue growing.
“In fact, keeping up with the digital transformation of the restaurant market is already becoming a necessity rather than a luxury – and restaurants of all kinds ignore this new world at their peril.”
Beat Brexit with technology
2018 has already been a challenging year for restaurants, with several high-profile restaurants in difficulties.
“It’s unlikely that the uncertainties of 2019, with Brexit looming, will make things any easier,” said Luis.
“Restaurants need to take advantage of every opportunity that is on offer. And I believe that those who fully embrace digital transformation are the ones who will survive and prosper.”
NFS provides EPOS and restaurant management technology to restaurants, hotels and bars across the UK, who use it to streamline their operations and engage better with consumers.
“Technology has gone way beyond simple EPOS now to help restaurants manage every aspect of their business in a more efficient and guest-friendly manner,” he said.
“Restaurant management software helps them find your establishment online and make a reservation – often through solutions like OpenTable.
“The technology then provides staff with real-time seating plans that gets guests seated quickly or manages their expectations on wait time.
“Diners are now finding it more and more acceptable to choose from tablet menus where available, and serving staff take orders on handheld devices at tableside and send them direct to the kitchen for immediate preparation.
Behind the scenes, the software is working away providing valuable business intelligence and reports, spotting trends, identifying best-sellers and helping keep stock under control so waste is kept to a minimum.
It also helps with staff issues, helping restaurants to roster effectively and reduce opportunities for fraud with its detailed capturing of every keystroke.
Luis sees digital transformation leading to further innovations and benefits for the industry.
“Dynamic pricing is one area that the restaurant industry has been slow to adopt,” he said. “However, it’s now well-accepted in areas of consumers’ lives ranging from air travel to hotel booking.
“I believe the business intelligence capabilities of restaurant management software will enable the introduction of dynamic pricing across many different restaurant environments.
“It has benefits for the industry, of course, but also for customers, who enjoy a good deal.”
In fact, it could well be said that digital transformation brings more benefits to customers than even to the industry.
Its constant data capture enables the personalised experience that is dear to consumers’ hearts these days – and restaurants with information about their guests’ preferences can create targeted offers that are guaranteed to appeal to them.
NFS will be at the Restaurant Show at Olympia from 1-3 October and expect a keen interest in their digital restaurant management technology.
“These are exciting times in hospitality technology, with capabilities on the rise all the time as systems evolve to meet the new demands and requirements of both diners and restaurants,” said Luis.
“We can’t make the times any less challenging for restaurateurs.
“But by supporting their digital transformation, we can provide them with an end-to-end view of their operations and a high level of control at all times. That’s a powerful weapon in any modern restaurant’s armoury.”
When the LinkedIn network features around a thousand managers who describe themselves as ‘Chief Happiness Officer’, you can tell that well-being has moved right up the workplace agenda.
That’s only right and proper, of course, from a moral point of view. But it also makes sense from a business perspective – happy and comfortable workers tend to be more productive. And the benefits of creating a connected workplace where people can collaborate and get on with their jobs easily go even further than that.
As workplace strategist Joelle Jach said recently: “By understanding the connection between humans and their environment, and by providing an environment that supports human needs, organisations can target cost savings as well as an engaged workforce.”
He argues that comfort and wellbeing also have a direct impact on employee retention; we all want to work somewhere that’s nice to be.
However, Jach also warns that open-office environments can cause feelings of stress and exposure that need to be addressed by workplace design.
And he also argues that while technology has made working far more flexible, social interaction is an important part of a creative and productive office life and managers are needing to take it into consideration.
So are we happy in our current working environments?
Part of that is definitely down to us, the workers. A survey of the personalities of more than 3000 UK employees found that those who had most good days at work were those who scored high for positive emotions and enthusiasm, lower on depressive tendencies and who tended to start things and finish them.
You might say: ‘Well, they would have good days, wouldn’t they?”
But the co-author of the study, Manchester University professor of organisational psychology and health Cary Cooper, says:
“The implication here is that employers should try and recruit people with these characteristics but, of course, some people who lack some of these characteristics may have key skills that are even more important.
“And, even if you do recruit with happiness traits in mind, being content at work will to a larger extent depend on the workplace culture that truly values staff,trusts them, manages them humanely and compassionately and provides them with greater balance in their lives.”
This is a real wake-up call for every business that wants to succeed and prosper.
With the cost of workspace continuing to escalate, many organisations are looking hard at their offices and meeting rooms, and examining how their workers actually use them.
They know the UK workforce is becoming more mobile, and that offering an element of flexible working – where people drop in and out of the office as appropriate – can be both cost-effective and appealing to staff.
So many corporates are taking the opportunity to re-design their existing workspace, or even moving into new purpose-built space designed by architects with wellbeing and productivity in mind.
Things have moved quite a way since companies simply installed ping-pong tables or – in one case – a slippery slide from one floor to the other.
We’re not talking about short-lived fun any more, but rather about sustainable design with mental health at its core. So first, let’s look at what office designers are having to cater for:
5 trends changing the way we use our workplaces:
> Flexible working
> Activity-based working
> Video/Audio conferencing
> Digital signage/Wayfinding
> Business intelligence
Flexible working is perhaps the biggest of these changes, and it’s on many people’s minds – a recent survey found a third of UK workers would rather have flexible working than a pay rise.
It’s particularly popular with mercurial millennials; around 70% said they would appreciate a flexible working environment.
But while other studies have found that being able to work in different locations is empowering and satisfying, that only applies if organisations implement carefully thought-out policies.
There’s nothing satisfying or empowering about walking round the office with your laptop looking for somewhere to sit.
The most savvy companies are dealing with this with the help of workspace software that enables flexible workers to find and book the space they need online, often even before they come into the office.
Workspace management systems are now so sophisticated they can help staff select not only a desk or room, but also a quiet spot, a cool or warm area to work or specific technology they will need.
This kind of technology is also invaluable in responding to the worldwide change in activity-based working.
In previous decades, most offices had formal meeting rooms, often including a large boardroom that was seldom used.
As business imperatives have changed and costs have risen, that kind of meeting space is increasingly a thing of the past, with offices opting for bookable and flexible space where people can get together.
Informal collaborative areas have also become the norm – but as with agile working, it’s important to make sure all of these moveable feasts are easily available for consumption whenever they are needed.
Meeting space manager software is providing an answer. As with desk booking software, it shows the spaces available on graphic screens accessible and bookable from mobile devices.
Meeting space manager software integrates with Outlook, and also with occupancy sensors that can detect if a room or space is standing empty.
If no-one shows for a meeting, the meeting space manager software automatically restores it to availability so someone else can book and use it. The reduction in admin time is significant – and so is the reduction in valuable rooms standing empty.
Video/audio conferencing is a modern technological phenomenon that’s almost the norm in offices across the world today.
Companies like it because it cuts down on travel costs and promotes easy collaboration – and workers like it because they don’t waste stressful time fighting their way to meetings through heavy traffic.
The organisations that see the best uptake of VC are those that make it easy to use. Meeting space manager software is valuable in this area, because it helps staff organise and book their video conference in multi locations, automatically adjusting for any time zone differences.
The system will make sure the necessary equipment is available, and staff can book it – and even catering for the event – in a single online transaction.
Perhaps best of all, it removes a major irritation and obstacle to effective use of video conferencing. Staff can be daunted by the idea of setting up a complex VC meeting only to find a detail such as the time needs to be changes.
Meeting space manager software removes the strain completely – any changes are notified automatically to all involved in the meeting (even the caterers).
Another technology that integrates with meeting space manager software and enhances it is digital signage/wayfinding.
This is in part a response to that huge creator of frustration in the workplace – the no-show. How many times have you sat waiting in a meeting room for someone to turn up?
Advanced digital signage reduces no-shows by providing check-in and check-out, and by acting as a wayfaring guide to make sure the right people get to the right meeting – even visitors to the building.
In-room signage can also provide attendees with the ability to extend the meeting from inside the meeting room, and also provide connection to link room equipment and facilities such as HVAC.
All of these technologies are behind the rise of the final major trend in the way we run our workplaces – business intelligence.
Meeting space manager technology provides a wealth of data on which the office manager or FM professional can base sound decisions.
How is that space really being used? With data at the manager’s fingertips – available online via a mobile device – there is no longer an element of guesswork to planning the future configuration of the office.
Designing for concentration, collaboration, confidentiality and creativity
The five important trends I’ve outlined are already having a major impact on the way we work, and on how office design is evolving.
In order to keep staff happy and efficient, it’s vital to respond to these trends successfully, consistently and on a continuous basis.
As a report by the World Green Building Council notes:
“There is a complex relationship between the office worker and his or her co-workers, the tasks they carry out and the physical environment in which this takes place.
“The way the interior of an office is configured has a profound impact on concentration, collaboration, confidentiality and creativity – and can therefore either enable, or limit, productivity. It can also have a very direct impact on health and wellbeing, which in turn also impacts productivity. “
In other words, when we design our office spaces, we design for life. And in the future, even more than now, the organisations that care about efficiency and mental health will be linking design, productivity and wellbeing in their meeting rooms.
