shorten order-to-delivery times in dispersed environments and ultimately increase average check sizes and reorders. “Staff can also be repurposed, with servers focused on individualised guest engagement, while runners manage order deliveries,” he says. “This reallocation of resources helps increase service efficiency, which positively affects satisfaction levels and encourages repeat business.” As TouchBistro chief executive Alex Barrotti puts it, a good EPoS system basically allows an operator to run a more streamlined and efficient business, where staff enjoy working and customers want to keep coming back. “Staff will require less training on the menu
or specials, will have customer bills automati- cally calculated by the EPoS, and difficult bill splits will require just a tap, so overall they will feel more comfortable and be able to focus more on providing exceptional service,” he says. “There will be fewer errors on customer orders and bills, smoother operations in the kitchen due to less confusion about what is ordered and seating assignments will be smoother in busy times,” he adds. And that’s not to mention the financial impli- cations. TouchBistro has had operators report an increase of up to £1,000 a night due to the increased efficiency from tableside ordering. Meanwhile, at Bath Pub Company, which recently installed Zonal’s EPoS terminals and iServe handheld mobile devices, there has been a significant improvement in efficiency and productivity. The system offers a replace- ment for the traditional order pad, providing access to EPoS functionality on an iPad so that team members can take orders and print and process payments from anywhere in a venue. “We have been able to turn tables quicker, increase sales with slicker service and reduce waste through cutting down on mistakes,” says co-founder Joe Cussens.
STRATEGIC THINKING As well as improving efficiency, EPoS also has the potential to help operators bring in more business. According to Saunderson, in order to achieve this, a restaurant owner needs to know what their current diners want and expect from a business, what makes their reg- ulars convert from interested to repeat cus- tomers and what isn’t working for the menu. All of these questions can be answered through an EPoS’s built-in reports. “From there, you can make educated, strategic deci- sions to increase your revenue,” he advises, adding that an EPoS should also come with customer loyalty and personalised market- ing features or integrations to help operators further act on the insights they find. “Restaurateurs with the right EPoS system are equipped to start optimising an experi- ence that resonates with their guests, which increases satisfaction and leads to more repeat business.”
Chapman agrees. “The data that is col-
lected offers operators invaluable insight into customer behaviour and trends, so that res- taurants can drive additional revenue through a range of initiatives, such as personalised
40 | Technology Prospectus 2020
Peggy Porschen makes efficiencies with EPoS
Peggy Porschen’s namesake London-based bakery, café and restaurant has been booming since she started counting A-list celebrities such as Stella McCartney among her clientele. However, until she implemented Lightspeed’s EPoS system, she had major issues with efficiency and stability. Staff would come in
to work and be told that networks were down and there would be issues with syncing information. As
managing director Brynn Morrow explains: “We lost sales, tables were walking out without paying – we were comping loads of guests.” In addition, closing time
was painful as it involved consolidating two reports from two different till systems to see how the day went. Since the restaurant
adopted Lightspeed in early 2019, things have changed significantly. Not only does the Liteserver address any potential WiFi issues, but
managers can now check on sales throughout the day from their phone and close using one system, saving a significant amount of time. Morrow is even able to spend more time with his son than he did previously because the information he needs is constantly accessible to him. “I use the Lightspeed reporting constantly on my phone, so I know exactly what’s happening with my business,” he says.
www.thecaterer.com
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