The dynamics before launching your restaurant are immense. You want to make sure everything is in the right place, double-checking and anticipating the opening hour. There is a saying that restaurants don’t open, they launch. Which means that when launching your place, you want to make sure you do it through a huge event, with the right people and pleasant atmosphere. That sums up the day or night of the official opening ceremony.
However, speaking long-term, how do you launch your restaurant to be successful? What items determine this success nowadays, based on the trend in demand for current generations.
It is no elephant in the room that the answer is technology items. Quick, simple, and innovative trends are shaping the way restaurants work their way to success. And we have listed below 7 out of the must-have technology features to ease your way towards this journey:
Digital Menu Boards
Gone are the days when an order is taken through writing. Although it may first sound like a fancy investment, it is very much the opposite. Since you’re moving away from the traditional menus, you no longer have to update your printer constantly based on the menu’s offers, promotions, and changes. You won’t have to put in and put out poster boards either. You can freely personalize the menu, according to your customer’s preferences. Feel free to add graphics, videos, animated gifs or list specials, as these features will persuade more people, and they will actually make your menu come to life.
Table Management System
Having a system that allows customers to book a table online will provide you with so much good feedback and recognition. That’s because through them you will save up time for your customers. Nobody wants their ideal dining night to fail because of waiting in line for a free table. By using mobile platforms, you are able to monitor everything that happens in your restaurant, and at the same time, notify your customers through a text on the availability of your tables. Waitlist Me is the perfect example of such a mobile app that will improve customer’s dining experience and your staff’s time management skills as well.
Employee scheduling software
When speaking about time management, what could really save you a lot of time would be an app that sets your employee’s schedules. We’re talking about schedule software through which you could easily coordinate employees and save up even the costs of an HR department. Some of the best software schedules have tools that allow managers and employees to access shared work schedules, feature manager approvals, employee communication, and shift swapping. Many provide time and attendance tracking for free.
Inventory tracking systems
Inventory tracking systems allow your employees to focus on other, more important things instead of ticking a box manually to all the inventory you need without having too much on the warehouse. It will also save you from the struggle of having to do an inventory recount to ensure your records are accurate. Once you make sure that through inventory tracking you have the right on-hand products available to meet the immediate needs of your customers, your efficiency will have them back in your restaurant with a blink of an eye.
Loyalty programs
What customers love about a place and what keeps them going back, there is also the treatment they receive. We all like to be shown appreciation every once in a while, and if you have learned a customer’s usual, you should probably give him a discount on it or add an extra portion on the house. Loyalty programs involve many aspects from happy hour specials to membership credit loyalty cards, where guests can add money to or spend money with and accrue “stars” or “points” as a result. However, the point is that offering rewards to your loyal guests motivates them to promote you and choose you continuously and in the long-term.
Interactive tables
Considered as a luxurious item, however quite attractive to different customers. What interactive tables provide for the customer is complete control over their dining experience. They can pretty much see everything from the chef’s specials, drinking recommendations, special offers, and food suggestions. If they want to dig a little deeper, they can learn more about the ingredients and customize their order according to their preferences.
Not to mention the fact that during the long anticipation for food, you can also entertain through games and fun apps, all available on the surface of your interactive table. If investing in these items sounds daunting to you, you can always rent them and see how they work out for your restaurant.
Learning Management Systems
What can make or break your restaurant is a bad customer experience. No matter how much you rely on the appealing assets of your restaurant, training your staff to these emerging trends of technology and talking about ways to enhance the business altogether should be a top priority. That’s why you should consider LMS programs that can guide new hires and current hires as well, and that can evaluate their performance through different methods. LMS and their benefit rely on the fact that the training programs can be done regularly and on a self- paced rhythm. Bear in mind that investing in your staff’s development is as fundamental for success as the innovative items you’re most willing to install.
About the author
Valmira Rashiti is a practical mystic, book worm and very much fond of words, whether written or spoken. She currently writes for Kiwi, which is a restaurant LMS that aims to help restaurant owners train their staff in an easier and more effective way. In addition, they offer online training courses for different restaurant services.
