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In a restaurant, getting the order from the
customer to the chef needs to be quick and accurate. While the pad
and pen will never go out of fashion, increasing numbers of
restaurants are turning to more technological methods to speed up
the process. Hand-held terminals are one way of doing this.
What is a hand-held terminal?
Put simply, it’s an electronic pad that the
waiter holds in his hand while inputting the customer’s order.
The order is then transmitted to the kitchen, where it will be
printed out or displayed on a screen for the chef to see.
It is a way of bypassing the need for the
waiter to either take the written order to the kitchen or to go
over to a static terminal and input the order.
New generations of hand-helds can also swipe
credit cards and print receipts at the customer’s table.
How do they work?
The waiter will input the customer’s order
in the same way he would with a static terminal – keying in the
basic order and any changes or special requests. For example, how
the customer wants their steak, or whether or not they want
mushrooms.
The order is then transmitted on a standard
frequency to a terminal in the kitchen. In big restaurants, it is
possible to have multiple terminals in the kitchen for separate
parts of the order, e.g. starters, main course, etc.
In an average-size restaurant only one
discrete aerial is needed to beam the signal around the building.
This could be fixed to the ceiling, for example, or on a wall.
What are the advantages?
Efficiency. The order can go straight from
the waiter to the chef in an instant, and so can any changes to
the basic order. The system can also keep track of stock and
availability, so if a customer orders fish but someone’s just
had the last one, the device will tell the waiter that the item is
unavailable.
The waiter will not need to waste time going
back and forth between the table, a static terminal and the
kitchen.
The system will give all the reports of an
ordinary EPoS (electronic point of sale) system, making it easier
to track stock, turnover and payments.
If the device can take payments at the table
then it increases security surrounding staff and credit cards. The
card will not leave the customer’s sight, making “skimming”
or card-copying very difficult.
What are the disadvantages?
There’s always a danger with any technology
that it will go wrong. No matter how much money you’ve spent you
will need contingency plans that can kick in if the whole thing
crashes.
You will also need to train staff how to use
the hand-helds effectively.
Plus, of course, a system like this will cost
a lot more than a few pads and pens.
What will it cost me?
The cost will depend on the size of
restaurant. But for an average 100-seat restaurant a full package
of hand-helds, transmitters, kitchen terminals, support and
training will set you back by about $31,000.
How long will they last?
When buying any piece of technology, you tend
to worry that the whole thing will be obsolete as soon as you’ve
bought it and you’ll have to fork out thousands of pounds every
year for upgrades.
The truth though, especially with hand-helds,
is that they last as long as they work for you. There are examples
of less-sophisticated hand-held terminals still in use after 15
years. As long as you have a system with good support from the
manufacturers and installers you shouldn’t have too many
problems.
What should I be looking for when I
buy them?
Make sure the package you’re buying
includes good support in case it all breaks or crashes. It’s
also advisable to try to include training for your staff in the
price.
Get some referrals form any installer: who
else have they worked with?
Go and see the kit in the environment of a
proper working restaurant. Ask the owner what they think of it.
Don’t just let the salesman pick somewhere or take their word
for it when they do a demo in your office.
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