Spring is approaching, and so is outdoor serving in the restaurants
In the northern countries we love spring. Finally we can get out into the sun, after a long and dark winter.
This is exactly why guests want to enjoy their food outside as soon as possible, even if you sometimes
must bring blankets and heat lamps to help. The first time you can eat outside is a clear sign of spring
and the coming summer. And everyone is looking forward to it.
Outdoor serving is often associated with the serving staff suddenly having to run longer and have a different workflow.
It requires a change in the kitchen, which must adjust to the fact that a longer time may pass
between a waiter coming by and collecting the food for the guest.
There are many ways to improve the workflow, and make communication between kitchen staff
and serving staff easier and smoother:
SERVER CALL SYSTEM – WAITER CALL SYSTEM
Is the easiest way for the kitchen to inform the serving staff that the food is now ready for collection,
or if you have a question for the waiter or want to give another message.
The advantage is also that the guest gets the food as soon as it is ready, fresh, and hot.
GUEST CALL SYSTEM
A guest call system is often used for situations where the guest orders the food at the till
or a counter, and is handed a pager that beeps, buzzes, flashes, or vibrates when the guest can pick up his food.
ORDER BY QR CODE
More and more restaurants are starting to work with the guest being able to order using a QR code.
This is also good if there is a long way from the serving staff to the guest on the terrace.
The guest can view the menu in peace, order via app, and possibly pay, and the kitchen
can see on either the kitchen printer or KDS (Kitchen Display System) which table has been ordered.
In most cases, the food is brought out by a waiter, but what many do not know is that it is also
possible to make the same serving, but where the guest collects the food themselves when it is finished.
The solution is Discover System’s new TableCall System, which is basically
a pager in a display placed on the guest’s table. When the guest orders etc,
he receives a message in his app that the food can be picked up when the pager
in the display flashes and beeps. An easy solution that also allows you to overcome staff shortages in restaurants.
So, with some form of pager system, restaurants can avoid having to work extra due to outdoor serving and can overcome staff shortages.
One of our partners in Germany has also created a lot of information about the possibilities for outdoor dining, which can be seen here:
https://www.gastronovi.com/de/blog/2023/03/tipps-aussengastronomie-aussenbereich/
https://discoversystems.com/product/staff-call-system/
