In a cost-of-living crisis, consumers want their pounds and pennies to work hard for them, and so expectations are raised when it comes to going out for a drink or a meal. We wanted to find out what the top frustrations are for consumers when it comes to hospitality visits, to help our customers identify the issues and work out how to solve them – or prevent them from happening in the first place.

Our most recent GO Technology survey in partnership with CGA by NIQ, found that, when asked what the top five bugbears are, the following reasons came out on top:

1. A long wait for food and drink (91%)
2. Hot food served cold (91%)
3. Broken promises on a special deal/loyalty discount (88%)
4. Food served at different times (87%)
5. Waiting for their table to become available (86%)

The good news is that there are many ways tech can help operators tackle these issues and other common issues – read on to find out more…

Implement a range of digital ordering and payment methods

Waiting a long time for food and drink to arrive is one of consumers’ biggest bug bears but using tech to bring ordering and payment to customers is a great, simple solution to combat this frustration.

Providing the option for customers to order via an app online. or having handheld ordering devices for staff to take customer orders on, can help speed up service and make your operations much more efficient. Not only do these alternative ordering methods remove the need for customers to wait to be served in the case of apps or online ordering, but staff are not required to walk back to the main POS to re-key order information in,  which saves time and reduces the risk of mistakes being made.

Leverage digital kitchen management tools

Having a digital kitchen management system helps streamline processes for front- and back-of-house staff which will result in a better experience for the customer – and reduce the risk of hot food turning up cold or food being served at different times.

With kitchen management systems like Zonal’s Kitchen iQ, every order is automatically passed through to the kitchen for fulfilment and electronically displayed on a screen, showing each member of the team what to work on and what their next task will be. The order status is also available to front-of-house staff, allowing them to update customers if necessary. Tracking and managing orders in this way can also help teams manage their workload, as well as reduce and even avoid bottlenecks. For businesses with multiple sales channels, such as delivery or click and collect, kitchen management tech can also provide kitchen staff with complete sight of which channels an order has come from to ensure they pick up orders at the right time.

With a streamlined back-of-house, you’ll also be improving speed of service, enabling you to turn tables faster.

Prioritise digital loyalty schemes

We know that consumers don’t want promises broken, especially if it involves promotions, offers and rewards they believe they are entitled to. With 88% of people finding missing out on these frustrating, adopting a digital loyalty scheme which makes it easier for customers to accrue and use points and rewards, and  for staff to process reward redemptions, will be a great way of avoiding this issue.

With a digital loyalty scheme in place, operators can also make sure that they are targeting their customer-base with rewards and offers that are likely to resonate with them, encouraging them to visit and increase spend per head. When integrated with other tech in the business, operators can combine their loyalty data with  data from across the wider business, to build a better understanding of what they spend their money on, and then create tailored rewards based on this to further drive their loyalty scheme’s effectiveness.

Remove wait times for customers with table management tech

Having a table management system linked to online bookings empowers operators to better manage table covers throughout service. The right system should allow operators full control of their covers, showing a table’s in-session meal stages to manage waiting lists and walk-ins, as well as which will be the next available table based on group size.

The tech can even arm operators with valuable insight such as average table turn times depending on group sizes – helping them to remove some of the guesswork during planning so that customers are never left waiting for their table to become free. In the event that they are left waiting, it provides operators a chance to fix this by communicating when exactly their table will become free or offering them a complimentary drink whilst they wait.

What’s more, this tech can also provide the opportunity for operators to open-up tables for rebooking at the earliest opportunity to ensure tables aren’t sat empty for long.

As crucial technology in the first stage in the customer journey, we understand the importance of keeping your booking system up- to- date to ensure every cover is maximised, guest experience is seamless and business booms!

It’s easy to forget a task  when it only needs to be completed once a year, but this can lead to  important updates being overlooked, and will ultimately result in you not getting the most out of your booking system.

We’ve listed five areas within your booking system that we believe should be regularly checked and maintained to help you maximise capacity:

1. Make sure your email templates are polished and optimised

Your correspondence with guests matters, and with changes frequently being made by different users, it’s worth taking the time to regularly make sure your email templates are not only visually appealing, but also accurately reflect your brand. After making any changes, such as key date closures, adding special instructions or opening up additional seating for the summer, we’d recommend creating a test booking as if you were a guest making a reservation. This helps you to make sure guests are receiving the right information.

2. Monitor turn times

Monitoring and updating turn times is crucial for smooth operations. With accurate data, you can maintain optimal table turnovers and minimise wait times for customers, helping you manage your bookings effectively, improve guest experiences, and maximise revenue from every cover.

Zonal’s Table Management solution allows users to export turn times based on several factors, to build an accurate picture of current performance. You can then adjust booking durations accordingly, for example if your dwell time is set to be extremely high, reducing it down to a more realistic value can open up additional availability and increase yield.

3. Stay on top of opening/holiday hours and table layouts

Updating layouts or creating new ones for key dates in your booking system is essential for optimising seating arrangements. Tailoring layouts to accommodate increased demand during special occasions or holidays helps maximise capacity, reduce wait times and enhance overall dining experience for customers.

4. Consider additional booking channels…

Don’t overlook the various additional channels available to drive online bookings. An online offering reduces in house costs and having an easy journey can deliver a great journey for the end user.

Reserve with Google, Facebook and Instagram from Mozrest enables you to convert Google searches, Facebook and Instagram followers into bookings, by adding a simple ‘book now’ button to your business listing, allowing you tap in to more potential bookings and provide a more streamlined experience for guests.

In addition to online booking channels, there is also the ability to implement automated telephony systems. So that when a customer does wish to pick up the phone – the system can do it all for you. It’s not for everyone, but definitely worth looking into.

These come with an additional cost, however you’ll be picking up missed bookings that may otherwise have gone elsewhere and of course the time your team don’t have to spend on the phone completing what could have been achieved online is of great benefit.

5. Stay up-to-date with what’s new!

Zonal Bookings is constantly evolving with new features and functionality. Stay ahead by keeping track of these updates through our Product Portal. Planning is key when implementing changes, review your timelines – you probably don’t want to implement changes to ways of working at peak times or when support levels are low. To obtain good adoption, get buy in through testing. To see satisfaction, follow up and make the required tweaks and changes.

We’re here to help you make the most of your booking system. If you have any questions or need assistance with implementing new features, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.

If you have any further questions on any of the above functionality, or any of your other Zonal solutions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

With Easter and the first bank holidays of the year just around the corner, it’s crucial to plan ahead to avoid any disruptions caused by limited supplier hours. To help you navigate this period smoothly, we’ve outlined five easy steps for Acquire users to create exception rules for delivery schedules, and set up reminders:

1. Log into Acquire Head Office and navigate to Admin Functions from the toolbar at the top of your screen, then select Delivery Schedules.

2. Once in Delivery Schedules, click on the Exceptions tab. From there, select the supplier you wish to add an exception for, followed by the green Create Exception button.

3. Give your Exception a descriptive name, we recommend including the supplier’s name and the exception day within the name of your Exception.

4. Next, you’ll need to enter date information for your Exception. Click the Green plus icon twice to add two date fields. In the top field, enter the date that you want the Exception to apply to, this is the only information you need to fill out on this date field. Make sure that you leave the “Delivers” box unticked. In the bottom date field, enter the new delivery date allocated for this period, ensuring the “Delivers” box is ticked, this will allow you to add an additional day outside of your normal schedule. Specify how many days in advance orders need to be placed and the cut-off time. If your Supplier will only allow one order to be placed per site prior to cut off time you will also need to select Limit Ordering, if the Supplier will allow multiple orders prior to cut off time, you will not need to select this.

5. Finally, click the green Assign Schedules button to open the Assign Delivery Schedules to an Exception page. Choose the delivery schedule for the exception by ticking the box and pressing ok. Your exception is now added to the chosen schedule.

You can view the changes to the schedule by selecting Preview Schedules. This will then display the delivery schedule calendar indicating the actual delivery date for the Exception.

By following these steps, you can configure delivery exceptions to ensure smooth operations during Easter and beyond. We hope these guidelines prove helpful in managing your Acquire solution effectively.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our team. We’re here to help you make the most of your Acquire system and ensure a seamless experience for your business.

If you have any further questions on any of the above functionality, or any of your other Zonal solutions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

With more than 40 years’ experience under our belts, and a team packed with industry natives, we pride ourselves on our employees’ expertise around what hospitality all is about. Meet some of our dedicated innovation team, responsible for the delivery of products across our connected ecosystem of technology solutions.