The latest hand held and tablet technology can increase sales and profit.

Handheld technology for wait staff has been around since the 1990s, with a number of companies in New Zealand leading the industry with these products. New Zealand has always been a technology leader and in the 1990s, these were received with interest and trepidation. Things have come a long way in the last 20 plus years, and the most significant change has been the advent of iPhones, iPads, Windows 7 and Google’s Android phones and handheld units.

Most staff nowadays are used to using a tablet and smart phone as an everyday device. Handheld wait staff terminals are not just fancy gadgets to make the restaurant look tech savvy; they are not just a way of reducing the cost of note pads, or a way to reduce the time staff spend walking to and from the kitchen. While all of the above are valid reasons for implementing handhelds in a restaurant, the real benefit of them are as a tool to increase customer service and your customers’ spend.

A properly designed and implemented handheld will provide information to the wait staff on food and wine matches, on the guests’ previous orders and today’s specials. Effectively trained staff can provide greater customer service by being fully attentive to their tables and manage their guests’ evening by “calling away” the mains when they are required and requesting a bill to be brought to the table at the end of the evening.

Modern technology with effective training will increase your customers’ satisfaction and service and increase your business turnover and profit.

Where is tablet technology heading? Since the iPad v1 hit the market, quickly followed by Windows 7 and Android tablets, restaurants have been looking for ways to use them to enhance the customer experience. Restaurants in Australia and the United States have used them to replace staff and allow customers to order directly from the tablet to the kitchen. This is a contentious direction for the technology and not a direction that is globally supported in many restaurants.

But tablet technology has a place in a number of environments, without removing the important human touch of quality wait staff. Table technology is being used to deliver high quality, highly informative and visually pleasing wine cellar information, allowing the guest to select their wine based on the food match of the restaurant available meals and search through the cellar for exclusive bottles of their favourite wine.

Tablets can help risk adverse customers! I think we all have our favourite Indian, Chinese, Moroccan or Thai restaurant. The selection is usually fantastic and full of many great dishes, but instead of the many fantastic dishes like Palak Paneer, the risk adverse customer goes back to what they know and chooses Butter Chicken.

New tablet technology allows the shy customers to get a more interactive menu than a standard printed one and rather than feel they are embarrassing themselves by asking a simple question about a common dish, they can read all about it, how it is cooked, where it comes from and what the ingredients are and make a new selection that leaves them wanting more.

In summary, the latest technology is there to enhance the customer experience, improve customer service and as a tool to increase the businesses turnover and profit. Handheld and tablet technology is changing every day, and software is continually being developed to make the life of all wait staff and hospitality owners easier.

For more information or previous articles, feel free to contact Menumate in Australia on 1300 886 942 or New Zealand on 0800 657 300 or via email on
sales@menumate.com.