Having undergone a significant investment by Caledonia Inns, Revenue Manager John Mustard also wanted to upgrade Black Ivy’s outdated technology to support the hotel’s focus on delivering exceptional customer service.

Zonal was the only solution to go for according to John. Having worked with Zonal throughout his 30 year hospitality career, John had never found a technology partner that could match the range of solutions offered by Zonal and the 24/7 support service.

“I have worked with other technology providers over the years, but Zonal always stands out for its intuitive, smart design and reliability.  Zonal spent 40 years perfecting the technology, which always keeps up to speed with advancements, so you know it’s going to work, be relevant and not let you down.  Also, the support is excellent; the help desk is quick to respond any time, even at weekends,” says John.

Following its refurbishment, Black Ivy has fast become popular with locals, as well as with visitors to Edinburgh.  The hotel boasts 22 uniquely designed bedrooms and two busy bars and a popular food offer, dishing up classics with a twist, averaging 1,000 covers a week.

The Drafthouse, specialises in offering a range of lagers, craft creations and guest taps on rotation and is renowned for its Tank Beer.  Also featuring a stage area, regular live entertainment is a big hit.  Outside, there is a 60-seater al fresco Terrace, which overlooks Bruntsfield Links Park.  Featuring fire pits, customers enjoy a campfire vibe outside and with two full-size table tennis tables inside, the venue is a great place to mix business with pleasure.

For John and his Black Ivy team, Zonal technology has made managing all the different elements of the business seamless.  Zonal’s EPoS system connects with the hotel’s property management system (PMS), Rezlynx, so residential guests can bill any drinks and food directly to their room tab.

John explains: “For us this is a big plus of Zonal; its technology is incredibly flexible so can integrate with other technology solutions that we may have, such as Rezlynx.  This means that our Zonal EPoS is the single reporting vehicle for our accounts team, giving them real-time data that allows us to keep a handle on sales and overheads.”

But it’s not just about operations, the customer journey is also key to Black Ivy’s success.  Zonal’s kitchen management system, Kitchen iQ, has been a game changer along with iServe, a handheld electronic order pad that offers access to EPoS functionality on an iPod or iPad from anywhere in the venue.

John adds: “With two bars, including our popular Terrace, switching to iServe has been a winner for our team.  They no longer have to run back and forth to the bar to process orders, giving them more time to focus on our customers.  Food orders are also fed directly into Aztec and sent through to the kitchen, again saving time and the risk of mistakes.

“Our chefs really liked Kitchen iQ as the system makes their lives easier and less stressful.  Now if you ask them would they go back to paper, the answer is a resounding no!”

However, according to the latest data from guest feedback service Feed It Back, speed of service remains the second top gripe, with 17% of negative reviews relating to poor speed of service, despite a 4% fall from February.

Feed It Back chief executive Carlo Platia said “The really interesting part is when you dig down into the granular detail of the data and find out that it’s actually the wait time between the starter and the main course that is frustrating customers. With this richness of insight, you have the tangible information you need to improve your customer experience.”.

Our GO Technology Report produced in conjunction with CGA, which polls 5,000 UK adults, backs up these stats, reporting that customers put swift service and convenience at the top of their list of priorities, with 72% of those surveyed claiming food not coming fast enough as their number 1 frustration.  With nearly half of customers wanting more speed when it comes to food orders arriving on time, it’s a complaint common to all age groups, particularly at lunchtimes, when many are watching the clock and every second counts.

This is where integrated systems really come into their own, because they can get serving and kitchen staff working in harmony to give customers what they want: good food, served quickly and accurately.

To reduce this frustration, technology can help ensure orders are taken correctly, processed accurately and arrive in the kitchen efficiently. Zonal has developed a number of solutions to tackle these issues.

When it comes to taking orders quickly and accurately, iServe, is a cost-effective replacement to the traditional order pad, which can be installed on any Apple iOS device to create a mobile EPoS app.  Team members can take orders and print and process payments from anywhere in the venue, without the need to return to the POS.

With iServe, orders are processed faster with staff visits to the bar and kitchen reduced, giving the team more time to focus on delivering a great customer experience. iServe can also drive spend per head through upsell prompts and links with Zonal’s online booking and table Management and loyalty systems to deliver a truly integrated solution.

Once the order has been taken, Zonal’s comprehensive kitchen and service management solution provides visible real-time information to both kitchen and service staff. It removes the risk of delays in the kitchen and poor communication between waiting and kitchen teams, which can be a cause of frustration for consumers.

There is no doubt that technology, driven by consumer demand, is transforming the hospitality industry, and the key to success is integration. In order to overcome issues such as speed of service, operators need to embrace change and unify their systems, automate everyday interactions, allowing them to extend their competitive advantage.

You can read more on the topic of speed of service in our GO Technology ‘The Need for Speed’ report. Download now.