The Pros and Cons of Restaurant Pay-at-the-Table Technology | Toast POS - 0 views
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Pay-at-the-table apps are becoming increasingly popular among restaurants of all levels, from fast casual to fine dining
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These apps started as a way for small businesses to streamline their payment processes and reduce technology overhead
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And yet, many restaurants that have clung to the paper receipt model for years are moving this direction, as it saves the restaurant both time and money, increases profits and tips, and reduces waste. It also provides benefits to the customer, which makes pay-at-the-table even more appealing.
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While 68% of diners agree that pay-at-the-table technology improves their experience, restaurant managers and trainers will need to research and test best practices in these situations to provide the customer with the optimal experience.
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While pay-at-the-table speeds up this process, it can make some customers feel unwelcome to sit and enjoy one another’s company.
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No point of sale system is perfect, but pay-at-the-table programs provide an option that reduces your overall spending on paper products, while also providing your customers with a sense of security. Add in the high morale due to increased tips and less wasted time, and your employees will be clamoring for pay-at-the-table options.
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A pay-at-the-table system also gives customers the opportunity to use even more secure forms of payment like Samsung Pay or Google Wallet, which uses biometric information or passwords to securely store and transmit credit card numbers.
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Because pay-at-the-table systems are designed using software best practices, they provide easy access to financial data for both customers and restaurants. Restaurants can connect easily to many accounting systems over an API port, automatically sending financial records and updating restaurant accounts without time-consuming and tree-killing paperwork.
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Pay-at-the-table systems reduce trips back and forth to the POS terminal, which in turn decreases the time it takes to close the sale. This lets tables wrap up their meal and get back to their day quicker, and reduces friction due to split checks or servers multitasking while payments are being made. Some restaurants have seen increased table turn by 15 percent or more, which in turn increases revenue for the restaurant and increases customer happiness as they get to their table faster.
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Restaurants are some of the worst offenders for waste in general, but getting rid of paper receipts help companies reduce their overall waste and receipt expenses. Paper receipts require purchasing rolls of paper and ink cartridges, or if you choose to use thermal paper you run the risk of exposing employees and customers to BPA, a known carcinogen.
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Pay-at-the-table gives customers a sense of security knowing that they keep control of their credit card and its financial information
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Pay-at-the-table is an investment when you factor in the cost of enough technology to reasonably serve the entire restaurants. Despite these expenses, you may find that the initial investment pays dividends because you avoid costly software updates and the eventual expense of a specialized POS register.
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Convenience and efficiency should be the bread and butter behind any food operation. Restaurant owners have to worry about so many aspects from budgeting, staffing, scheduling, ordering, and everything else in between. The operational advantages with tablet POS systems are numerous. Typically tablet POS systems have a lower initial investment with hardware and software than traditional systems. This helps greatly reduce the overhead cost and improves ROI, helping restaurant owners to properly keep in line with their budgets.
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This article details the up and coming new trend of restaurants offering customers the ability to be able to pay at their table. The article details the various pros and cons associated with the type of service and how it can benefit the customer as well as the employees of a restaurant establishment. While not perfect, there are many pros associated with a pay-at-the-table service that are hard to ignore, and it is my humble opinion that this kind of service will continue to catch on into the near future. Customers are increasingly looking for new ways to utilize technology to their advantage to be able to get in and out of a restaurant and pay-at-the-table technology definitely allows that. The companies that adopt this kind of technology will increasingly see their profits grow as well as their table turn increase.