Optimal service in restaurants
Pager systems and self-service kiosks provide optimal service in restaurants
Self-service via a kiosk is gaining ground more and more in the world.
A kiosk makes good sense to sell more and avoid queues in the store. But it often happens that the guest queues in front of where the food is delivered.
There are generally several solutions that provide a faster service, but in the end a pager system is the optimum. With the delivery of a pager together with the guest’s order at the self-service kiosk, guests can sit down and rest assured that they will be called when the food is ready. When the kitchen has the food ready, you can call the guest with the help of a pager that beeps or buzz and the guest can pick up his food and hand over the pager.
Pager systems in restaurants and cafes have been known for many decades. The guest has always been happy that they know they will get their food when it is ready, hot and fresh, and the serving staff have been happy that they don’t have to run around or scream for the guest.
Pager systems are win-win for restaurants and many other places, and help the restaurant, just like a kiosk, help reduce waiting time, ensure ordering security, and of course provide greater turnover and save staff costs.
More and more people are comfortable ordering from a kiosk solution, as it gives them a feeling of being more in control, and on a kiosk screen you also have the option of showing more and better digital images that can make the guest think it’s more appetizing. So, it is clear that more and more guests of all ages are OK with ordering via a kiosk;
https://www.kioskmarketplace.com/blogs/consumer-demand-for-restaurant-kiosks-is-on-the-rise/
It is predicted that the kiosk market worldwide will increase from USD 22.69 billion in 2021 to USD 52.05 billion in 2028, and although the hospitality market is only a part of this, such a development is of course fantastic, and we are convinced that the pager market will feel this increase as well.
Even if you order your food in a kiosk, the restaurant’s service and work are not finished there. The food must also either be brought to the guest, or the guest must pick it up themselves. It is clear, that for the restaurant that already has self-service, or if the restaurant has a shortage of staff (which is one of the big problems in the hospitality industry at the moment), then the restaurant will possibly convert fully or partially to self-service.
And this is where many restaurants cannot see how an order in a self-service kiosk can be combined with the guests having to pick up the food themselves, because how does the guest get notified that the food is ready for collection? Some might think that a large digital screen on which the collection number is displayed could be a solution. But this is often associated with a queue in front of the screen, and thereby you again have a situation where the guest becomes dissatisfied with having to queue.
Others run out with the food if they have time, but the problem is often that you must find out where the guest is sitting, and this can involve shouting out into the room what dish is brought. There are probably none of the guests or staff who think it is nice to shout and scream.
There are some pager systems that can help with these kiosk self-service situations, regardless of whether you want to run out with the food or you want to let the guest collect it themselves.
If you have to run out with the food, a pager guest location system is beneficial. This is also often called a table tracker system. In principle, it is a pager which the guest is given at the kiosk and which they take to the table. Out in the kitchen or behind the counter, the staff can, on a screen, see where the guest is sitting and can take the food to that table.
Solutions
https://discoversystems.com/product/guest-location-system-table-tracking/
The solution for a system where the guest collects the food himself can be a quite ordinary pager system, where the guest is given the pager together with his order voucher at the kiosk. When the food is ready, a signal is given from the kitchen or the counter to the pagers, which will flash, beep or vibrate. Easy and straightforward.
https://discoversystems.com/product/silent-ordering-system/
An alternative solution for kiosks is to use ordering QR codes on the tables. Here, the guest orders the food by scanning a QR code that gives them a menu and an ordering option (and in some systems also a payment option). In general, the kitchen can then see where the guest is sitting and can deliver the food to the respective table when it is ready.
https://discoversystems.com/product/ordertable/
What many restaurants do not know is that you can also use QR ordering with self-service, and let the guest pick up the food themselves. In those cases, the table is equipped with the QR code and a stationary display in which there is a pager. The guest is informed via the app that when the pagers in the stationary display on the table blink and beep, that their food is ready for collection. This naturally saves the operating staff a lot of time, which can then be used for something else.
https://discoversystems.com/menu-qr-codes-in-restaurants-can-also-be-used-for-self-service/
Contact us for good advice on how you can help your staff and get satisfied guests. After all, we have over 20 years of experience with this.
