Mike Hinojosa
A quick scroll through any food delivery site will prove: we have more restaurant and food delivery choices than ever before. While consumers have the luxury of choice, this also means restaurants often have just one opportunity to get it right. A forgotten menu item or lengthy wait time could be enough to lose repeat business and drive people away. Still, getting it right requires more than great service and excellent food. It’s also important to have quality tools helping make your processes smooth and efficient.
Let’s face it, accuracy and promptness are essential factors in restaurants. A busy kitchen can struggle to maintain control in an environment driven by chits that can get dirty or lost. Introducing modern technology into the kitchen can improve efficiency as well as food quality and consistency. Intelligent kitchen display systems (KDS) are growing in popularity as a way to support the chef in controlling high-volume environments and at the same time providing cooks information to manage their stations more effectively.
Digitally displayed orders are easy to read, clearly organized and better for the environment, too. Meanwhile, the kitchen can quickly and easily get started on an order without having to worry about pulling a chit off the printer and hanging it on the line. Using a digital process that a KDS provides affords the waitstaff greater confidence when serving their guests, knowing the food will come out on time and of the highest standards.
A KDS makes every aspect of ordering, preparing and serving simpler for restaurant establishments – from quick-serve to fast-casual to fine-dining. When speed and accuracy are critical, the KDS can track who is ordering, at what line the food was produced and how long it took to deliver the food. Chefs and managers can work more collaboratively together assessing the KDS data to improve day-to-day operations and ultimately enhance the guest experience. This in turn lowers costs by reducing waste and improving labor productivity.
Digital menu boards provide for a quick, easy and cost-effective way for restaurant owners and managers to modify a restaurant’s menu. Menu boards also allow flexibility to adjust items and prices for different meal periods or seasons. For example, you can set higher prices during your busiest periods to boost your bottom line and offer guests greater variety in their dining choices.
It’s no secret the smartphone has changed the way we live. It has also had a profound impact on the way we order and pay for food. With the ever-growing popularity of on-demand services, more and more restaurants are providing flexible ways to order and deliver to their guests through technology. From delivery to public spaces to pop-ups to food trucks, technology is opening doors for restaurants that were never possible before. Some resort and hotel venues opt for technology that enables them to deliver to guests, almost regardless of their on-property location – on the casino floor, poolside or in their room. Guests scan a QRC or barcode at their location, place an order and items are delivered directly to the guest with very little interaction otherwise.
Working in the fast-paced environment of restaurants can be chaotic at best. The high demand for prompt service can be challenging to meet, but with the help of digital tools more restaurants are seeing impactful results, leading to higher guest satisfaction.
Mike leads the POS product management effort for Agilysys’ InfoGenesis, rGuest Buy and all guest- and staff-facing mobile technology. With more than 15 years serving in leadership roles with increasing responsibility at Agilysys, Mike brings a strong background and in-depth knowledge from virtually every market segment. Having led large-scale implementations at many industry-leading hospitality enterprises, he continues to serve as a key contributor to the overall product and development strategy. Mike was raised and currently resides in Silicon Valley, where he enjoys spending time with his family and, when time permits, surfing, skiing and playing golf.
READ MORE IN THE SUMMER 2019 EDITION OF GAMING & LEISURE MAGAZINE.