'Smart' Servings up Table Turnovers

Walk into one of the many Anjappars or Nalas Appa Kadai’s in the city, you might just run across waiters who seem to be looking at their watches a mite too much. Not to find out how long they have left in their shifts but because those funky little watches are now part of their jobs.

Several of Chennai’s big names in the restaurant business, including Dindigul Thalapakatti and Adyar Ananda Bhavan, have begun adopting these ‘Fast response systems’ in order to increase their ‘efficiency’ and table turnovers. But more important, say restaurateurs, are the data analytics and monthly reports that come with the systems.

“The systems are helping. We have managed to see substantial increases in overall efficiency in the few months that we have had them in place,” admitted Kandasamy Anjappan, of Anjappar Group of Restaurants. The group has already implemented the systems in over 10 of their branches.

So, how is a little watch and a few reports helping restaurants make more money? The key, according to restaurant owners, is the time it cuts down in responding to customer requests.

Each smartwatch is tied by radio frequency connections to four or more plastic menu card holders on tables. These in turn have four or five basic buttons, depending on the model, for simple requests. For example, the options may be calling for the bill, calling for a drink, requesting service and cancelling the last order.

“Once a customer presses the option, the requests are sent to the watch worn by that table’s waiter and the central console,” explained of Gopinath Jaymalrao, CEO of Strobilanthes, the Chennai firm which makes these systems.

The systems make jobs a lot easier for waiters and supervisors alike. According to N S Udayakumar, Managing Director of Epicurean Events and Services, which owns the Nalas Aappakadai chain of restaurants waiters seem to like it, but it is the quarterly reports that make the systems attractive.

“As far as we have seen, they show us things that so far it hasn’t been easy to pinpoint. Like which table sees more turnovers, where people don’t like to sit, etc. We have implemented the systems in a small portion for now. We will extend them to the rest after we see how well they perform,” he said. Another major chain that doesn’t want to be named has even used the system to weed out embezzlement. The reports of the trial system had shown a table which had many requests for service but hardly any revenue generation, which led to the discovery that a waiter and a supervisor were collaborating to funnel away the bills from that table. The systems are also finding traction because of the relatively low cost of capital. The cost of a package of 5 remotes(menu holder) and a watch is typically below `25,000 and the reports cost around `60,000 a year. “These costs are not that big and the system is likely to recover it in a year,” said Anjappan.

Source : newindianexpress.com