Pub Technology – The Best Pub Technology for Growth

 

 

 

In recent years, pub businesses have realized the importance of embracing pub technology to achieve meaningful and desired outcomes.

With the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the no-contact policy emerged, which emphasized the use of new trends and technologies in the UK’s pub industry.

Read on to delve into some of the successful applications of pub technology that have transformed the way these businesses function.

 

6 effective pub technology tools to boost your business

 

1. Automated order booking/reservation software
2. Integrated Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS)
3. Ordering app for chefs/pub owners
4. Digital booking systems
5. Smart systems
6. Seat and redeem systems

 

1. Automated order booking/reservation software

 

Pubs often struggle with receiving, recording, managing, and updating customer orders.

This causes them to employ more staff than required, and the pub owners end up spending a lot on workforce management.

Technology comes to the rescue. Various software, like the ConnectSmart Host solution from QSR Automation, lets you juggle these errands efficiently while making your customers more “self-reliant”.

So, how does it work?

Well, a tool like this enables customers to make a reservation, add themselves to the waitlist, and stay updated on the ordering status.

 

 

The software makes this possible through two-way SMS texting on the customers’ mobiles.

From your standpoint, the tool serves as a point of contact, letting the host know of all the activities going on on the floor and intuitively informing you of what’s needed next.

This, in turn, makes staff monitoring and task delegation simpler and more efficient. As a result, you can reduce your investment in hiring more staff to take, manage, update, or track orders and inform customers, thereby paving the way for employee retention.

On the whole, pub technology tools like these help manage staffing costs, focus on retaining staff, and most importantly, create a hassle-free yet gratifying customer experience.

 

2. Integrated Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS)

 

Yet another challenge most pubs and restaurants face is the vulnerability to taking orders wrongly.

It’s quite possible that a staff member is new and is going to attend to customers for the first time.

Or, on special occasions, your pub is overcrowded, and you just have a couple of staff to take the orders.

In such scenarios, it might be overwhelming for your staff to note several orders manually.

This is where EPoS comes in.

 

 

With its exceptional data collection and robust report-generation features, EPoS has significantly enabled pubs worldwide to save time and resources.

That said, integrated EPoS takes pubs to the next level. Your staff takes the order on their handheld devices through an integrated EPoS system, and the team member in the kitchen receives it instantly.

This considerably saves time and reduces the chances of errors in the orders.

EPoS also facilitates cash-free payments at the table, making everything an absolute breeze, especially for millennials.

 

3. Ordering app for chefs/pub owners

 

It’s a common experience among chefs across pubs and restaurants to face challenges in ordering ingredients for the next day after a long, tiring night shift.

While your chefs may scribble on paper or make a hasty phone call to the suppliers, most often, you will have received some inaccurate deliveries!

Again, technology comes to aid in the form of an ordering app.

 

 

An example of this amazing pub technology is REKKI, which lets owners and chefs search for suppliers, select items, place orders, and pay instantly through the app.

Some of these apps show a list of previously ordered items, which allows you to verify and place the order, thereby eliminating the chances of ordering wrongly.

Such tools greatly enhance efficiency, save time, and have truly revolutionized the pub ordering process.

 

4. Digital booking systems

 

Whether you are just starting out or an established brand, your pub thrives because of your customers.

That said, you need to “remember” your esteemed customers’ preferences, habits, tastes, and other choices to best cater to them.

Practically speaking, is it possible for your staff to always keep all this data in mind about, say, 10 customers? Certainly not.

Enter the digital booking system.

This tool harvests the customer data and lets you offer them personalized discounts, gifts, or other goodies.

 

 

Your digital booking system plays the role of a “customer’s representative,” letting you know their preferences and choices and helping you serve them best.

Additionally, by combining your digital booking system with a customer loyalty program, you go a step further by offering them appropriate rewards based on their habits and tastes.

A digital booking system is an excellent pub technology tool that could go a long way in forging long-standing customer relationships while building your brand.

 

5. Smart systems

 

Regardless of your pub size or outreach, tracking your spending is crucial.

As a pub owner, you must stay updated and aware of where and how your cash flows, expenses are incurred, and any unaccounted expenditures.

In essence, you need visibility and transparency in all your dealings with customers, staff, suppliers, and any third parties.

Smart systems are a prime trend in pub technology.

 

 

All your data is in one place, and at the click of a button, you gain actionable insights into your expenses on stocks and wages, areas where you can reduce costs and boost your revenue.

These systems offer collated and summarised information, visualized as easy-to-read charts, graphs, or dashboards, thereby simplifying the entire process of your cost-benefit analyses.

 

6. Seat and redeem systems

 

Most often, during festive occasions like Christmas and New Year, your pub will be thronged with customers.

While you may wish to serve everyone – regulars and prospects – there could be space constraints.

This makes pub owners offer book-in-advance options to some privileged customers.

Nevertheless, if a customer reserves a table and doesn’t arrive or even cancels the booking, the resulting no-show causes you to incur a huge loss.

 

 

Again, this can be tackled with emerging trends in pub technology.

A seat and redeem system lets customers make a pre-payment, and the deposit is assigned when the guest is seated.

This adds an element of certainty that the customer will turn up, reducing the risks of no-shows. In addition, it reduces time otherwise spent going to each customer’s table to collect the payments.

While this was initially unwelcome for pubgoers, customers have now mellowed down in their mindsets and are willing to pay a deposit.

 

Wrapping up

 

Pub technology is here to stay. From managing staff costs and streamlining the ordering process to tracking pub expenses and carving rewarding customer experiences – technology is the key.

Most pubs are already tapping the potential of technology tools; get started today if you haven’t yet.