Technology Transforming the Restaurant.
The last two years have had a worse impact on restaurants. Though the only orders that supported them during the lockdowns were from their own websites or food delivery sites, the real spark of this business is in the customers who walk in. But now, as the scary part of the virus is over, many restaurants and hotels are opening, or have already opened their places in the last few months around the globe. If you are a restaurant owner, you know how hectic it is to manage one. Orders, customer satisfaction, cleaning, food quality, vendors, and timely service are some of the top things that need managing every single day.
The usual way orders are taken is to write them down on paper and then forward them to the kitchen. But as more people are turning towards outdoor eateries, the system of writing it down has become outdated. New technologies are helping restaurants manage and deliver orders on time, which in turn makes for a happy consumer experience. Let?s go through some of the most trendy technologies out there in the USA:
Inventory Management:
This is one of the mandatory tasks that must be checked every day. If the kitchen misses out on some ingredients or beverages while there is an order for them, it’s going to be a bad day for the owners. A crucial thing is to buy the optimal quantities of required items so that they get utilized before their expiration. Statistics say food waste costs the food industry a mammoth $100 billion each year. A solution for this problem is to have digital inventory tracking. This technology helps reduce food waste to a minimum and helps the owners run their places effectively and sustainably.
This will save the managers from excessive buying, delayed ordering and losing money on expired food. This works very well to support sustainability, as food waste is causing a lot of damage to the world. Software assists in analyzing requirements as per the business as well as the storage space available in the restaurant, which is a relief for owners as at the end of the day, what is getting thrown out of the restaurant?s kitchen shouldn?t be unutilized food.
Online Payment System:
This is the pick of the lot when it comes to technologies for restaurants. The online payment system has been a radical invention to help people pay quickly without the need for cash. Contactless payment methods were widely used during COVID and even after it ended. And this has also found its way into restaurants and cafes. They are happy to provide QR codes to receive payments, or bank details to get the bill paid directly into their account. This is a safe and fast means of payment and saves you the work of managing and counting cash. This removes any contact with a person, as you have to do when dealing with cash.
QR Codes Technology:
As digital payments are a common way to scan QR codes, why not have the same in restaurants to have various services done? Even in post-covid times, people are looking for ?no-touch? options wherever they go. QR codes can be printed on doors, tabletops, coasters, t-shirts of the staff or posters that can showcase digital menus when scanned. This saves them from touching the printed menus, which circulate on every table, while the digital menu is displayed on their own phone or tablet. Another great thing about it is that you don?t have to install any apps to get this feature. Cameras are already equipped with a scanning feature. It saves costs for the management, as you don?t have to print the menu again and again, whenever you wish to edit the menu or prices.
Bluetooth Temperature Sensors:
If you are running a restaurant or cafe in the USA, you must be aware of the norms issued by the FDA. You need to adhere to the guidelines issued, and it’s hard work in itself. The primary job of eateries is to provide good quality food with great hygiene levels. And in order to do that, you need to have a regular check on the cleanliness of your place, of the machinery and of the storage of your food and beverages. Bluetooth temperature sensors help in checking the temperature of the machines that are being used at the restaurant. The temperature indicates whether the food and machine are of standard quality or not.
VR Onboarding:
This technology shows a virtual tour of the company for new employees, suppliers, trainers and interns. It is known as ?Virtual Reality Onboarding?, which, as the name suggests gives the overview of the company?s premises. It also assists in the training of new hires in the office without even going anywhere physically. They simply need to be equipped alongside the VR setup, which is software-based, and the user must put on the headset to begin viewing things around them. They also have the opportunity to visit workplaces where employees are working in real time.
This tech can also be used in watching how a job is being done while others can learn from it. It can be very useful in your restaurant for employees to see how things take place, and suppliers can onboard using it. This leads to an increase in productivity. Franchisees can also be taught about the process of how things should take place with VR. Some restaurants around the world are experimenting with VR for their customers, to immerse them in the experience of their outlet. This results in better customer engagement.
Automated Purchasing System:
Automatic purchases can help you avoid mistakes that can happen in accounting. For example, incorrect billing, mistakes in invoices, a lot of paperwork, unorganized processes, and many such things can be avoided with an automated system. An automated purchasing tool includes benefits like improved visibility, predicting the next source of risk, timely working, on-time invoices, and decreasing cost by minimizing the use of manually entered data and paperwork.
Schedule Maker:
Restaurants are usually open for long hours, and some are even open 24 hours a day. Employees are assigned different shifts throughout the week so that the work can continue while the employees shuffle as per their schedules. As a regular activity, this scheduling needs to be perfect so that everyone works as per their allotted time, and the schedule remains up to date. Doing this manually is a hectic job. Optimized schedule makers aid in keeping this process smooth and organize shifts in such a way that the restaurant doesn’t come to a halt. This software helps in sharing schedules in real time, and has easy editing features. If an employee is unable to work any shift, changing the schedule and assigning different times to others is simpler.
