Restaurants Equip Wait Staff with Tablets to Boost Efficiency
Restaurants are also starting to equip servers with tablets to take orders. Several brands have piloted tablets for this purpose and are seeing improvements in customer response times. With tablets, staff are not required to write the order and then enter it on another register, which creates opportunity for mistakes. In addition, when the customer is ready for the check the credit card never leaves the customer’s hand, limiting the potential for lost cards and fraud opportunities. They swipe at the table and are out of the door.
With the restaurant market being so competitive, any opportunity to make the guest experience more engaging, consistent and of higher quality becomes a competitive edge.
As restaurants start to embrace tableside ordering with tablets, they are a few considerations they should make.
The use of tablets to manage car side pick-up payments to improve speed of service and customer satisfaction, as well as waitlist and reservation management are two additional areas gaining industry adoption.
Firstly, they must be built for professional use with rugged designs and enhanced security and performance, and can come with enterprise-grade options such as integrated card readers and barcode scanners. They should be designed to endure food and beverage spills, and rough handling from customers and children. A rugged and reliable tablet will optimize service, enhance the customer’s experience, and withstand the hustle and bustle of restaurants.
Specifically to tablets used by wait staff, they should be multifunctional for a variety of restaurant applications. When the volume slows down the tablet with barcode scanner would be used for inventory management and after inventory has been taken the device would be used to ensure operational compliance requirements are being met. In the afternoon the same device can be taken on a catering job and used as a POS register. This multi-function device provides real value for the restaurant.
Panasonic offers a range of rugged tablets built to enhance customer experience and keep restaurants running smoothly. Check out Panasonic’s 7” Toughpad JT-B1 and the FZ-G1 Windows™ Toughpad Tablet.
We’ll be showcasing these tablets and other restaurant technology solutions at NRA Show 2014 in Chicago this weekend. If you’re attending, please stop by booth 2024 and check them out!
