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From Chaos to Control: How PAR Brink POS Transforms the Daily Grind for Restaurant Staff

PAR Team — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 05:00:04 +0000

In today’s restaurant landscape, where new technology and flashy trends vie for attention, a fundamental truth remains: human connection is the bedrock of truly remarkable guest experiences. As Brett Schulman, CEO of Cava and a valued PAR customer, aptly said in a recent QSR article, “the people who deliver great service every day, in every restaurant, every shift” are what set winning concepts apart. Well-trained, motivated, and engaged employees are the architects of genuine hospitality, crafting seamless operations, top-notch service, and a welcoming atmosphere that inspires loyalty and repeat business.

However, the industry faces a harsh reality: high staff turnover. According to a National Restaurant Association survey, nearly 62% of restaurant operators lacked the personnel to meet customer needs in 2023. This revolving door of employees disrupts operations, leaving knowledge gaps and requiring constant re-training. The impact is significant: increased training costs, compromised service quality and consistency, and ultimately, a dampened bottom line.

In this tight labor landscape, prioritizing the staff experience is crucial. Restaurants need to invest in technology that empowers their employees. The POS system – pulsing with omnichannel orders, data, and the constant churn of a busy day – holds immense potential to transform the staff experience. Streamlining operations, automating tasks, and minimizing errors frees staff from stress, allows faster service, and equips them for success. By creating a smoother experience with the right POS, you’ll see the rewards in efficient operations, happier staff, and delighted guests. For this, choose a complete POS partner – powerful tools, scalable tech, purposeful customer-focused innovation, and trusted allyship.

PAR Brink POS: Designed for Staff Success

PAR Brink POS, a leading cloud-based POS system, addresses staff-centric needs head-on. Built with meaningful innovation that prioritizes user needs and experience, Brink empowers your team from day one. Its flexible design and powerful functionality ease morning rushes, dinner crowds, and everything in between, reducing friction and making work less stressful.

Let’s explore some of Brink’s fantastic capabilities specifically designed to address common employee pain points ultimately making their jobs easier, more efficient, and more rewarding.

Resilient In-Store: In the hectic restaurant setting, a few things stress staff like a malfunctioning POS. Brink POS is designed to ensure that employees never lose access to their POS in-store, even in high-demand situations or technical disruptions. Even if the primary register stumbles, a dedicated backup seamlessly steps in, running independent of the internet and the cloud. This ensures that staff can focus on what they do best – delivering exceptional service – without the stress of tech meltdowns.
Configured To Staff Comfort: Take the guesswork out of the POS setup with flexible configurations and easy-to-customize screens. Brink bends to your restaurant, not the other way around. From out-of-the-box templates to custom menus and workflows, Brink fits your desired brand and processes. Staff learn in 30 minutes, not days, thanks to the intuitive interface and familiar feel. Less clicking, less training, and less stress ensures happy staff – it’s a Brink thing.
Easy Order Management: Sleek order preview panels let staff see up to 8 orders at once on the menu screen, allowing them to scan, validate, and process orders in seconds. No switching screens, hunting for details, or order confusion. Plus, Brink’s tablet-optimized drag & drop lets you shuffle orders on the fly. Easily manage the flow by moving orders, saving spots, and keeping everything organized with a single swipe. Brink ensures your team always stays in control.
Stress-free Pick-Ups: The Bag Chit feature consolidates all crucial order details onto one receipt, providing staff with a clear and concise overview of each guest’s to-go order. This eliminates the risk of order mix-ups and establishes a smooth pick-up process for both employees and guests, ultimately reducing stress and frustration for all.
Charitable Giving Made Easy: Brink’s Round Up for Charity functionality lets guests seamlessly support their favorite charities with a single tap at checkout, without the need for cashier prompting. It transforms potentially awkward moments between the guest and cashier into pressure-free, positive interactions. With manual prompting out the door, checkouts flow faster, making everyone happy.
No More Payday Panic: Brink POS automates pay rate changes, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and workplace equity. No more manual scheduling or calculations. Operators gain insights into future labor costs and can synchronize adjustments for all employees fairly. Freed from administrative tasks, managers can focus on strategic initiatives and better support their staff.

Investing in a staff-friendly POS system like PAR Brink POS is more than just a purchase; it’s a strategic move. Empowering your team with the right tools and support leads to a ripple effect: happier employees, smoother operations, and ultimately, better bottom line. It’s a win-win that keeps your business thriving for years to come.

Visit us at Brink POS or request a demo today!

The post From Chaos to Control: How PAR Brink POS Transforms the Daily Grind for Restaurant Staff appeared first on partech.com.

Drive-Thru Technology is Evolving as We Know It: A Quick Dive into the Current State of Drive-Thru Solutions

PAR Team — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 20:03:43 +0000

The drive-thru plays a crucial role in QSR operations and has only seemed to grow in popularity in recent years. Throughout the pandemic, drive-thru operations drastically increased in demand as consumers desperately needed an escape from the woes and boredom of quarantine. In fact, the QSR drive-thru was one of the few avenues consumers could access to order their favorite meals at the time. And they quickly discovered the advantages of this ordering channel as it not only provided them with a means of getting out of the house and grabbing a quick meal but also provided them with the convenience and contactless experience they desperately needed.

Today, roughly two years since COVID restrictions were lifted, QSR brands are still experiencing an impressive surge in drive-thru ordering. However, as advantageous as an increase in drive-thru customers may seem, it has actually resulted in longer lines, slower speeds of service, and a decrease in order accuracy.

To keep up with customer demand and combat drive-thru operation woes, QSR brands quickly realized that they must implement new cutting-edge solutions not to replace their existing ones and existing employees, but rather to work with them to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and operations. And some of our favorite QSR brands are already turning the corner by installing tech-savvy solutions to bolster drive-thru strategies, ultimately changing the drive-thru game as we know it.

Facilitate Faster Service Times by Prioritizing Digital Preordering

Going to a drive-thru just to discover a line around the block is a sight for sore eyes. No consumer wants to wait in astonishingly long lines with rollercoaster wait times for a “quick” meal at the drive-thru. But this has become a reality for consumers, and QSR operators are taking the ultimate measures to combat this challenge.

One such strategy that has proven to chew through drive-thru lines is prioritizing digitally pre-ordered meals. To make this happen, some operators have been able to leverage existing solutions, like mobile ordering apps, QR codes, ordering screens, and intercoms, and pair them with new drive-thru solutions. Drive-thru operations that prioritize preorders can facilitate faster service speeds because meals can be prepped and paid for before consumers enter the line. And this strategy is already in use in drive-thru operations like Taco Bell Defy, a completely contactless drive-thru in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Taco Bell Defy understood the pain points that came with drive-thru operations and set out to create a 2-minute or less drive-thru experience. By not only prioritizing digitally pre-ordered meals, but also taking the standard 1-lane model and expanding it to 4, Taco Bell Defy was able to overcome the challenges that drive-thru operations produce and has created a rapid experience that accurately fulfills orders.

Increase Order Accuracy by Leveraging Artificial Intelligence

Another innovative solution that has been making waves in the drive-thru lane is the use of artificial intelligence. And no, artificial intelligence in the QSR drive-thru does not mean the use of physical robots facilitating every part of operations. Rather, AI is something you will experience, but may not physically see. Artificial intelligence can be used in the drive-thru to detect and recognize when cars enter the line and their place in line. It can be used to detect customer voices at the point-of-sale/intercom system, accurately take orders, and relay it to the kitchen staff. Most of all, brands can leverage artificial intelligence for data control and receive crucial information about the customers they serve like favorite meals, preferred payment methods, visit and spending behavior, and so much more.

Brands that leverage AI, like Panera, have been able to maximize efficiency, order accuracy, and speed of service. Last year, Panera Bread began testing drive-thru artificial intelligence to enhance customer experiences. And what they created was a proprietary voice AI ordering technology called “Tori”. Panera states that “Tori” drive-thru AI will decrease customer wait times, increase order accuracy, and allow employees to focus on the most important factor to operations: the guest.

At the end of the day, brands in all industries are not implementing new and innovative technologies in their drive-thru to replace employees and existing solutions. Rather, it is being implemented to assist them, work alongside them, and make their daily tasks a whole lot easier. Think about it like the self-checkout lane at your local grocery store. The self-checkout lane has not replaced grocery clerks, but rather has made their jobs much easier by reducing line sizes and facilitating faster checkout times. There will always be a living and breathing employee at the self-checkout exit to tell you “Have a good day”. And the same can be said for the restaurant, retail, and convenience industries. Brands, like Taco Bell and Panera, leveraging new and innovative solutions, like digital ordering and artificial intelligence, have been able to establish an efficient, consistent, accurate, and exceptional drive-thru experience for their customers every time. The future is now, for drive-thru operations, QSR and fast casual operators must ensure they have the proper technology to keep up with the changing times.

Are you interested in learning more about leverageable drive-thru solutions? Visit us at PARTech.com or request a demo today!

The post Drive-Thru Technology is Evolving as We Know It: A Quick Dive into the Current State of Drive-Thru Solutions appeared first on partech.com.