If you’ve ever dined at a restaurant, chances are you’ve experienced sub-par service at least once. That may have been the result of a poorly trained or apathetic server, or it may have been due to the inefficiencies of the “old way” of doing things (i.e., absent modern technology).
If you don’t have a mobile point of sale (POS) system in your restaurant, you are truly missing out on a much more efficient, streamlined process for seating, ordering, managing inventory and other back office tasks, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty programs. With the recent advances in technology and security, this investment ought to be a no-brainer.
With a mobile POS system, you will be able to:
- eliminate server error
- keep servers on the floor attending to customers
- respond to orders faster
- facilitate fast communication between hosts, servers, cooks, and management
- let customers place orders and send them directly from their table to the kitchen or bar (6 Ways Mobile Ordering Will Change Your Business)
- keep track of inventory
- organize and store recipes securely
- boost security and minimize theft/loss (What to Do if You’ve Been Breached)
- make menu changes easily and immediately across multiple locations
In the market for a mobile POS system? Check out the many features of POSitouch!Â
More specifically, read below to learn about some of the benefits you can expect from a mobile POS system.
Four Reasons to Have a Mobile POS System in Your Restaurant
1. Keep Servers on the Floor
Nobody wants to eat at a restaurant and not be able to locate their server to place more orders, make changes to their order, switch tables, or get their check. As a restaurateur, you know how busy your hosts, servers, bartenders, and kitchen staff can get. Why not make their jobs easier – and the customers happier – by minimizing extra work?
Servers take orders, then drop them off at the kitchen, right? Well, not so fast. On a busy night, a server may be interrupted several times on his or her way to the kitchen to place an order, setting back the ordering process by several minutes. A mobile POS system will allow the server (or customer, in the case of tabletop POS systems) to place the order and send it immediately to the bar or kitchen. That way servers can be available to the customers, creating a more pleasant experience for them.
Guests can also place additional orders and pay their bills without having to flag down a server.
2. Ease of Changes
Need to make changes to an order? No problem. With servers being more available to customers on the floor, changes can easily be made on the mobile POS system and immediately sent to the kitchen.
If a guest wishes to switch tables, the server can re-seat the guest and alert the host/hostess station with the touch of a button, ensuring the seating chart is up to date and avoiding any confusion with seating.
And of course, menus are easily updated for seasonal changes or specials – across one or multiple locations, you choose.
3. Keep the Office Organized
Ever see a crowd of servers hanging around the register on a busy night, waiting for their turn? There won’t be any need for that – with your POS, guests can view their checks and pay whenever they are ready, right there from the convenience of their table, no server intervention required.
A mobile POS will also allow management to access real-time data like the seating chart and inventory.
4. Generate More Revenue
Finally, a mobile POS system makes upselling easier. Your servers will have all the daily drink and meal specials directly in front of them, so if they don’t have the list memorized, it will be readily accessible, making them (and you) look good. And if you have a tableside POS, guests can view the specials themselves, increasing the irresistibility of those delectable delights.
With a mobile POS system, guests can place additional orders at the touch of a button, without having to flag down a server. Want dessert? Another cocktail? How about a mid-dinner appetizer? There’s no etiquette here – customers can order what they want, when they want.
And having information in a database on your mobile POS system makes integrating customer loyalty programs a snap. You now have access to customers for coupons, special deals and discounts, and more – with the goal to increase customer satisfaction, retention, and recommendations.
