With Summer fast approaching, resulting in much warmer weather, especially here in WA it has got us thinking about two important things:
The beach
The value of tableside ordering and handheld POS systems
As we all know Summer is considered the patio season with many more people enjoying the outdoors and sitting outside, especially at restaurants that offer outside seating. Hence, we wanted to highlight the importance and benefit of having handheld POS devices for your restaurant and how these devices can take your restaurant to the next step.
Increased efficiency and overall focus on customer experience
Did you know that, on average, a waiter walks back and forth to the POS system 4-5 times for every table? Think about it:
Greeting the customer
Taking orders
Entering orders
Adding additional drinks
The entire check-out process
Printing a receipt
Any waiter will agree: This takes a lot of time. With handheld restaurant POS systems, you will bring that number down to zero — servers will have the terminal with them wherever they go, reducing the time spent running back and forth across the restaurant. This increases efficiency while also permitting your waiters to focus on building greater relationships with each table and enhancing the guest experience.
Increased table turn around
We have noticed that restaurants using handheld POS devices can turn tables around 15-20% faster than restaurants that do not. This just means a potential increase in sales by 15-20% during your busiest times, assisting you to get more revenue out of each table, server, kitchen, and restaurant.
Why is this? We've previously covered the time it takes to walk back and forth from table to terminal, but let’s think about the bigger effects — using a handheld POS system means that food is getting sent to the kitchen 3-5 minutes faster, so customers get their food 3-5 minutes faster.
At the end of the meal, this reduces the number of steps it takes to close the tab. Servers don't have to be signalled for the check, run to the terminal, run back to the table, wait for guests to decide on a payment method, come back, run the bill, and bring back the receipt.
With a portable POS system, it becomes a simple one-step process. Whether it’s by getting to tables faster and offering pay at the table or getting out from behind the counter and bursting lines during busy hours in a QSR, these systems work.
Increased return on investment
If you own a restaurant, you must think like a businessperson. ROI (return on investment) may sound like a corporate term, but it is equally important in the restaurant industry.
By building deeper customer relationships and increasing table turn around rates by 15-20%, the value of handheld POS systems pays for themselves. Serving more customers more efficiently and enticing them to come back for more means more profit for your business. This is the ROI you can get from a restaurant POS system, and it shouldn't be ignored.
If you’re interested in incorporating handheld POS devices into your business, please contact 21st Century Business Equipment for your business technology needs at 9321 8902.