6 Preventable POS Mistakes to Avoid. Today’s POS systems make it easy for store owners to sell their products, but that’s not all. Modern POS systems often include many other features that can really help with growth. Properly implemented, a POS system can provide valuable data, facilitate easy inventory management, motivate employees, and so much more. In order to get the most out of your POS system, it’s a good idea to learn about some of the most common mistakes so you don’t make them yourself. Let’s get started. Surface Level Use Because many of today’s POS systems have a user-friendly, plug-and-play interface, many users forget to dig a little deeper. Today’s modern POS systems often include a suite of features that can seriously benefit your business – employee incentives and tracking, ecommerce, email marketing, and inventory management, just to name a few – so why not check them out?
Choosing the Wrong Software Not all POS software is the same, and what works for a restaurant may not be ideal for a retail store. How to Build a Great FOH Team pt. 2. In our previous post, How to Build a Great FOH Team, we talked about how to hire the right staff members to build a strong service team. In this post, we are going to talk about how to implement the right systems and processes to get the most out of service teams. Restaurants are often challenging, fast-moving and unpredictable work environments. Difficult customers, employee absences, and inclement weather are just a few of the unforeseeable circumstances that emerge in restaurants on a daily basis. Not to mention, the restaurant industry is notorious for having a 70%+ year-over-year turnover amongst its staff. That means that at the end of a given year, only about 30% of the staff that were there the year prior will still be there.
A framework for success: service standards and steps of service Service standards provide a macro framework to guide staff to success. For a host, their steps of service might include: For a server, their steps of service might include: About the Author. How the Lack of Food Cost Transparency is Hurting the Restaurant Industry. Much of the innovation in the restaurant industry has been focused on the end consumer experience; there are apps for making reservations, discovering new establishments, soliciting feedback, and paying with a smartphone, for example. The back of the house has been largely ignored despite the significant pain points faced by operators. The one area that has until recently been largely ignored, despite being a huge pain-point for restaurants, is the huge amount of back office accounting required to run any successful operation. Restaurant owners and operators not only have to manually process invoices but also have to wait for their accounting teams to finish monthly financial reports for them to have clarity into the performance of the business.
As food costs changed mid-month, operators have little-to-no idea. Profit margins have improved significantly since the 2008 financial crisis, however they’re still very slim, on average 3-5%. 5 Best Tools for Restaurants to Accept Online Orders. It can be challenging to manage a restaurant. On the one hand, your customers want a delicious meal with no-wait. While you’d love to deliver exceptional food and service to them, you can’t always accurately predict how busy your restaurant will be. And customers can be flaky. Sometimes your restaurant gets so busy that you may lose customers. In this scenario, good news is that your kitchen is busy and you are expecting to have all your tables filled. More technology, please Surveys show that diners expect more technology from restaurants. “Our research indicates that consumers, especially younger ones, have come to expect the availability of technology during a typical restaurant experience.
Online ordering solution offers an additional channel of sales that can potentially expand your digital marketing reach, and find new customers that keep coming back. Also, you can control food quality when you know about a pick-up and dine-in order via technology in advance. Author Bio: Digitizing Food: The Shape of Taste to Come. Technology is always moving forward. We use it not only to help manage our lives and business, but also to have fun. Technology can probably be applied to any aspect of life but has the potential of technology in relation to food been fully explored? We look at latest developments, focusing on the areas of food preparation and the table experience and consider how things may develop in the future.
Some restaurants embrace technology and bring it to the forefront of their kitchen and dining experiences, but others are more reluctant. Going to some restaurants or pop-ups is like going to a gallery, leaving all digital distractions in the cloakroom – this is where art meets food and we admire the chef’s artistry. At the other end of the scale, when we cook for ourselves at home, we are often so busy that we look at food as just a necessity, something to keep us going after a hard day at work while we settle down for a box set binge. There is a place for technology in the restaurant. 10 Reasons You’re Not Prepared for the Minimum Wage Increase. There have been a variety of opposing expectations surrounding the minimum wage increase amongst hourly workers and owners since early 2014. Employers have been dreading the impending minimum wage increase that was introduced a few years ago, while a minimum wage increase is music to the ears of those who depend on minimum wage paid jobs as their sole source of income.
Here, we’ll discuss 10 major pros and cons of a minimum wage increase that many people aren’t prepared for. Our economy has been on a complete roller coaster ride the last 10 years and we’ve seen numerous changes for the good and bad occur since. No matter what political stance people take, it’s evident that we’re all in need of a serious economic change in the upcoming year. Many people’s concern is the value of the U.S. minimum wage increase and what it means for their business and tax dollars. The Pros of a Minimum Wage Increase: Let’s start off on a positive note and look at the pros of a rising minimum wage first.
The New Dining Experience: Connected Food Sensors. Portable sensors now have a seat at the dinner table — and letting consumers know exactly what’s in their food. How will this new technology impact the dining experience? Connected food sensors have been entering the consumer market at an astounding pace and are now showing up at the dinner table. Consumers can test their food for caloric content, determine if allergens are present and see if the food on their plate truly is what was promised on the menu. These sensors are connected to the internet, the data shared with the public – creating reviews that are no longer subjective, but backed by science. We’re familiar with consumer restaurant reviews, but now, what happens when these science-based reviews become part of the dining experience?
The evolution of reviews In our always-connected world, everyone with a smartphone is a critic. The changing consumer But why are consumers turning to these new food sensors in the first place? What does all this data mean? Change is not easy. How to Build a Successful Marketplace Application. Building application for E-commercial purposes becomes a noticeably more popular choice among all other types of the app development. The statistics we observe these days say that by the year of 2020 mobile shopping apps will take over 45% of the total e-commerce market (according to BI intelligence). There is plenty of opportunities to create an interesting and compatible product. All you need is a good business idea and bring the professional implementation into life. Fortunately, shopping app development allows lots of variations in its building and designing process, not to mention that the general audience nowadays represents so many different tastes that everyone can find a niche.
At this stage you are probably wondering what knowledge about app development and what information about the market you need to make a marketplace app for iOS. Also, what different efforts will it take if you decide to create a marketplace for Android? The most essential steps for a brand new shopping app. How Conscious Eating is Transforming the Food Industry. Nutrition For restaurants seeking to gain a competitive advantage, catering to the explosion of customers who are becoming conscious of what they are eating is a great way forward. With new wearable technology and the rapidly growing trend of tracking of personal health, consumers are begging the restaurant industry for meal data. Millennials are a great example. As stated in a previous RMagazine article, they go out to dinner more often than their predecessors ever did, and as a result, their buying power is rapidly outgrowing other demographics.
Information has become such a cornerstone in millennial’s lives resulting in the rise of the most informed customers in history. They have begun to expect restaurants to provide them with detailed information about their meals. Millennials find tremendous value in digital health technologies that focus on personalization and can satisfy some of their needs with fitness apps, but the restaurant industry is severely lacking in this area.
Laws. Wow Your Customers With These Digital Signage Tricks. With many restaurant owners recognizing the digital signage era is here to stay, it is natural for them to ask, “What’s next?” The basic advantages of digital signage—being able to update menus at any time, customizing selections by location and time of day, and giving patrons information ranging from wait times to personalized messages—are now well known to those in the industry. From here on, ensuring a restaurant utilizing digital signage stands out from its competitors, will require foresight, creativity and originality. Some restaurants are already taking digital signage “to the next level” in various ways, such as by overhauling the content and format of digital signage menu items.
Other tactics can include utilizing higher-quality, larger screens with better resolution, which are likely to capture guests’ attention a lot more than older, smaller models of digital signs could, according to a report in AvNetwork.com. But this is just a start. Trick #1: Build a mystery. How Workforce Scheduling Impacts Your Bottomline. They are various reasons as to why a business may not be making any profits. It could be that the manager is not putting enough effort towards managing the business, or perhaps its marketing plans are no longer effective.
But for the better part, the loss of profits can be linked to ineffective workforce scheduling. Efficient workforce scheduling in any business organization is usually evident in its operations, profit generation and employee satisfaction. On the other hand, inefficient workforce scheduling can be seen in form of increased absenteeism, lack of collaboration, poor retention of employees, reduced profits, etc. Unfortunately, most business owners and managers often fail to understand the importance of proper workforce scheduling. As a result, they end up losing huge benefits that usually accompany an effective scheduling process. A good shift schedule makes sure that every shift has an adequate number of employees to run things as smoothly as possible. Hubworks App Market. Creative Marketing Guide For Restaurants. To be successful in food industry you should make marketing your restaurant a priority. By marketing your restaurant correctly you will engage your customers and keep them coming back.
Regular customers are key for business success, with apps like instagram you can encourage clients to share their experience at your restaurant, word of mouth is vital if you want to reach out to people, it’s important to create tags for your business on social media platforms so people can get a direct link to your restaurant. This just one technique but you might even get mentioned in an important food blog by making your online presence felt.
To find out more about marketing your business in a new and exciting way check out my infographic on “Creative Marketing Guide For Restaurants” About the Author: About the Author Corlynne O’Sullivan is a communications assistant for Market Inspector, who is interested in marketing, design and new technologies. Share This Story, Choose Your Platform! What Is Cloud Computing and Why Use it For Your Restaurant? For years, companies such as eBay, Amazon and Google have used cloud computing to bring easy-to-use services to consumers by offering a fundamentally faster, less risky, and more cost-effective alternative to on-premises hardware and software. From computing power to computing infrastructure, alongside applications, business processes and personal collaboration — they can all be delivered to you as a service wherever and whenever you need.
The “cloud” in cloud computing can be defined as the set of hardware, networks, storage, services, and interfaces that combine to deliver aspects of computing as a service. Cloud services include the delivery of software, infrastructure, and storage over the Internet (either as separate components or a complete platform) based on user demand. While cloud computing is undoubtedly beneficial it is not without its cons. Let’s acknowledge the benefits of cloud computing first: Now let’s check out the disadvantages of cloud computing as well:
Pros & Cons of Closing Your Ice Cream Shop for Winter. When subzero temperatures start creeping in, ice cream shops tend to see less and less customers walking through the door. So, here’s the big question many ice cream businesses are asking: Should I stay open this winter? When it comes down to it, we can’t tell you whether to stay open or not. It all depends on your customer demand, clientele, finances, and climate. Instead, we’ll go over the benefits of each option, so you can decide which is best for you. Cons of Staying Open During the Winter Although an ice cream shop in the coldest of cities is bound to get some traffic during the winter, you still have to consider the costs associated with ingredients, equipment repair, utilities, and paying your staff. Enroll in winter classes. Pros of Staying Open During the Winter It may sound crazy, but it can actually be beneficial to keep your ice cream parlor open during the winter months.
Reduce your hours of operation. Whether you stay open or close this winter is all up to you. Pt.1 How to Build a Great FOH Team. The restaurant industry is more competitive and challenging than ever before. Rent and labor costs have skyrocketed. There are over one million food and beverage outlets in the U.S., and delivery only restaurants, lowering grocery prices, and direct-to-consumer meal services make this one of the most difficult times for restaurant operators. With social media, consumers always have a place to publicize both the good and bad. The bad can destroy a business. This is the age of the consumer. To deliver great service, three things have to be in place: the right team, clear service standards, and a system for measuring service performance.
Management Service is a group effort, and it begins with management and the culture management creates. Experience The experience of a manager is critical. Communication The ability to effectively communicate is one of the most important traits of a good manager. Leadership Managers must also lead by example, knowing when to delegate and when to jump in. Food Waste Awareness Efforts and Trends. Watch Your Tips! MobileBytes Certifies Epson TM-m30 POS Receipt Printer. Medical-Quality Contamination Protection. 5 Ways Technology is Reinventing the Wait. Business Catering 101: The Art of Serving Corporate Customers.
Data Breaches and How to Secure Against Them. Lies of the Food Industry. Foodler is raising expectations within delivery apps. Do You Know How to Improve Your Customer Service? 5 Tips on Empowering Restaurant Employees. First International Restaurant Located in Dubai’s Ibn Battuta Mal. Do You Know How to Improve Your Customer Service? Foodler is raising expectations within delivery apps. Celebrating National Sandwich Day. Delivery Services are Changing the Future of Restaurants and Food Forever. Restaurant Marketing Tips: How to Effectively Use Hashtags. Loaded Fries Are Trending in the Restaurant Industry. The Impact of Millennial Culture on the Restaurant Industry. A Little Disney Magic at RSummit 2016. 3D Food Printing: The Future of Restaurant Technology. Will Your Next Restaurant Employee Be a Robot?
Executive Spotlight: Russell Ryan, Highway Inn COO, on Tackling Tough Employee Scheduling Issues. RSummit, Restaurant Technology Conference, Announces Keynote Speaker. RMagazine to Host RSummit, a Restaurant Technology Conference. Restaurant Job Board. Restaurant Employees By The Numbers. Fast Food Statistics. Knowing the Business Diner. The Cost of Customer Loyalty. RMagazine | Restaurant Technology, Software and Industry News. 3D Food Printing Is Making Its Way to the Dining Experience - RMagazine. Employee Shift Scheduling Tools for Restaurant Manager | Zip Schedules. Restaurant Employee Work Schedule Maker Software and App | Zip Schedules. Why Is Company Culture Important to Your Restaurant Operation? - RMagazine. Best Payment Processing Options for Small Businesses - RMagazine. Commercial Fryers: a Buying and Maintenance Guide - RMagazine. The Budding Restaurateurs New Restaurant Operation Checklist - RMagazine. Food Safety Certification for Your Restaurant - RMagazine.
Restaurant Business Intelligence: Harness the Power of Data to Elevate Your Food Business - RMagazine. Are Businesses Ready for EMV Payments? - RMagazine. The Best Methods for Dealing with Upset Customers - RMagazine.