October 2019 Digital Issue
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EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGY<br />
TABLETOP TECH<br />
Improving efficiency<br />
with tableside and<br />
tabletop tablets<br />
By Shelby O’Connor<br />
iSTOCK.COM/DJILEDESIGN<br />
Tablets are making the move from a<br />
source of portable entertainment to<br />
an invaluable tech tool for operators.<br />
“Tableside ordering is where<br />
tablets really shine,” says Scott<br />
Waldrum, vice-president of Marketing at<br />
B.C.-based Squirrel Systems, which specializes<br />
in restaurant point-of-sale systems. “Having<br />
your server come over and be able to order<br />
directly from the tablet at the table has a<br />
ton of benefits for guests, as well as the<br />
restaurant.”<br />
The goal of Squirrel Systems’ tablets is<br />
to help elevate guest experiences by making<br />
service more efficient. “When you have<br />
tableside ordering and then runners to bring<br />
the food out, you get more attentive service,”<br />
says Waldrum. “Servers aren’t running back<br />
and forth to put orders in and get food. [It]<br />
changes the operational model of the floor.<br />
Servers are with customers more often and<br />
can handle more tables.”<br />
Servers can also be armed with a wealth<br />
of information to help customers make dining<br />
choices. Tablets can be programmed to<br />
include the ingredients in each dish, wine<br />
pairings, calorie counts, specials and inventory<br />
counts for specific dishes so servers know<br />
exactly what’s available.<br />
Restaurant-management teams also use<br />
tablets to access real-time data and reports to<br />
organize day-to-day operations. “The older<br />
model would have managers in the back<br />
looking at reports, data and managing the<br />
restaurant,” says Waldrum. “If the managers<br />
have tablets, that’s all available to them while<br />
they’re on the floor. [They can look at] average<br />
check sizes, table turns — those are the<br />
metrics they measure for shifts.”<br />
Kitchen automation helps tablets connect<br />
the front and back of house. “When an order<br />
comes through from the server on the tablet<br />
or regular terminal, the automation system<br />
sends different parts of that order to different<br />
stations,” explains Waldrum. “The order<br />
is separated appropriately, depending on how<br />
long it takes to deliver those items, so it all<br />
comes out together.”<br />
For those who want technology to play a<br />
larger part in giving customers control, Presto<br />
offers several tablet solutions, including a<br />
tabletop system called PrestoPrime and Presto<br />
Wearables — a watch-like platform worn on<br />
staffs’ wrists. The wearables can immediately<br />
notify servers when an order is placed by the<br />
customer through the tabletop tablets and<br />
when the kitchen has finished making that<br />
table’s food, leading to quicker and more<br />
attentive service.<br />
The PrestoPrime tabletop device allows<br />
guests to place their own orders. Restaurants<br />
can customize their tablets and choose how<br />
much control their diners have over menu<br />
options. “Our customers can pick how much<br />
[information] is exposed to the customer —<br />
some want the entire menu and some want<br />
a partial menu,” says Rajat Suri, CEO and<br />
founder of Presto.<br />
If customers have dietary restrictions, Suri<br />
says “[the tablets] can be programmed with<br />
dietary information, nutritional information,<br />
calorie counts and can allow [guests] to filter<br />
[menu options] by different diets.”<br />
As guests wait for their orders to be<br />
brought out, they can engage in one of the<br />
many games offered by the tabletop platform.<br />
“We have multi-player trivia so people can<br />
play against real people, in real time, in the<br />
restaurant or across the country,” says Suri.<br />
“We [also] have kids’ games and digital<br />
board games.”<br />
Partnered with the newer Presto Wearables,<br />
the tabletop tablets also immediately notify<br />
managers when a guest is unhappy so they<br />
can quickly resolve issues and generate positive<br />
experiences.<br />
Suri believes guests are happier when they<br />
can control their own experience. “We capture<br />
around 20 times more guest feedback on our<br />
system than any other system out there,” he<br />
says. “The restaurants can use [the information<br />
from the surveys] to drive better performance.<br />
With immediate feedback, if a guest<br />
is unhappy, they can be talked to and rescued<br />
before they leave the restaurant.” FH<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2019</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 49
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