There’s no day like game day for sports connoisseurs. Filled with great food, incredible experiences, and lasting memories, it comes as no surprise that these days are often fantasized by even the most casual of sports consumers. However, for many fans, attending games live and in person may not be possible, particularly around special events like the Super Bowl and All-Star Games. Sports consumers still have a convenient option to catch the game at their local table-service restaurant. And some fans have even made a tradition out of it.
With many fans dining out to watch games, restaurant brands have experienced a drastic increase in foot traffic and order volume, ultimately affecting operational performance and long-term success. To support this surge, table-service brands must find experienced technology partners to provide leverageable solutions that fit perfectly into operations.
In our latest webinar, “How Tom’s Watch Bar Scores Higher Sales & Happier Guests with the Right POS”, Dan Doyle, Tom’s Watch Bar Director of Technology, describes the approach they took to overcome high order volume and foot traffic days. Let’s look at some of the key strategy takeaways that Doyle discusses throughout the webinar.
Key Strategies for Overcoming High Order Volume and Foot Traffic
Invest in Tech
When searching for a resolution for overcoming drastic increases in foot traffic and customer orders, Tom’s Watch Bar found immense value in upgrading their existing technology. Originally, they were leveraging systems that were holding them back and limiting employee productivity. According to Dan Doyle, their systems “at the time were handicapping [them], especially on high volume days.” Moreover, “with servers having to run back and forth throughout the restaurant,” whether they were waiting at the terminal to take orders or process payments, was a serious problem for the Tom’s Watch Bar team. What they needed was a new cloud-based point-of-sale solution to act as the central hub of their tech stack and streamline processes. They ended up choosing Brink POS for its cloud-based architecture as well as its ability to scale and ‘play nice’ with third-party solutions. Additionally, Brink’s open API allowed Tom’s Watch Bar to utilize existing systems, as well as tablets, which was the deciding factor in their decision.
Pick the Right Partner
Choosing the right partner was crucial to Tom’s Watch Bar, especially since they have plans to launch more locations across the country. “We are still a smaller company, and we needed a partner that could support ongoing growth and scale with us as we grow,” said Doyle. “Picking the right partners is as important to success as picking the right ideas. And when you find the right partners, it makes everything else work much better.” Doyle credits the experience and expertise of his new partnership with PAR Technology and Resource POS for overcoming previous technology struggles and implementing new seamless and purpose-built systems. Down the line, the expertise of these partners will pay dividends for Tom’s Watch Bar when updating, servicing, or implementing new technology because, as Doyle states, “you can’t know what you don’t know.”.
Benefits of Finding the Right Tech from the Right Partners
Stability
Stability was an important factor for Tom’s Watch Bar when choosing a new technology partner and the solutions they chose to leverage. They wanted to ensure systems were always up and running, and when technical issues emerge, they can quickly be resolved to limit downtimes. “Partnering with the right companies seems to make life go so much easier and more straightforward knowing technical issues and other challenges will get solved quickly,” said Doyle. “Just to know our problems are going to get handled when you send a ticket or email to the teams is game-changing.” Additionally, the stability of their new tech stack has relieved major headaches when configuring systems. The ability to configure solutions and “pump the throughput throughout all systems without any hiccups or interruptions, especially on high-volume days,” has been huge for the Tom’s Watch Bar team. The new systems have proven to be extremely successful, allowing operators to run the restaurant more efficiently and effectively as well as focus on the guest experience rather than attempting to fix bottlenecks.
Increased Productivity
Moreover, Tom’s Watch Bar has seen an increase in employee productivity as the new systems have allowed the staff to stay in their stations during shifts. “It helps them take a larger station, drive sales, streamline the ordering process, and stay in tune with guests,” said Doyle. In fact, their new systems are proving to be so successful that they are even being used as “a selling point for new and existing employees, even when they come into the restaurant during the interview process.” Altogether, the systems have worked far better for the Tom’s Watch Bar team. Training has been straightforward, there have been limited downtimes, and, from an employee standpoint, the new systems have made it much easier to accomplish any task, even clocking in and out.
For brands experiencing significant challenges around high foot traffic and order volume days, finding an experienced partner that can provide purpose-built technology is the solution. Not only will the partners and technologies table-service brands choose to leverage have a lasting impact on operational efficiency, but it will also play a pivotal role in the brand’s long-term success.
Interested in learning more about the partnership and technology needed to overcome high foot traffic and order volume? Visit us at PARTech.com or book a demo today!
