How to implement automation for a open-air café: simple and beneficial solutions

With the coming of warm days, we say again “hello” to our favorite open-air café terraces. But the question is how to attract more visitors and to provide them a great service? Our answer is: think about bringing automation into your business! Experts of SmartLab Company will give you some ideas of what you will need to implement automation and get more regular clients. Read more about it in our latest blog article!

Mobility is the first step to victory over your competitors

Have you opened a small café but you are afraid that people would rather go to a more famous neighbor? One of the ways to pull ahead of your competitors is the speed of service. And here, easy-to-use and inexpensive equipment for service automation will bring you help.

Install a Wi-Fi router and a POS printer

The advantages of installing a Wi-Fi router are obvious. A Wi-Fi hot spot offers added value to customers using smartphones and tablets. A steady wave of young people, students and businessmen streamed into your café is guaranteed. A special category is freelancers. These quick guys consume gallons of tea and coffee with pizza or delicious croissants and spend hours at the table working on the laptop.

You can also benefit from the Wi-Fi router for your internal business purposes. You will be able, for instance, to organize the system of simple accounting. Single tax payers don’t need a fiscal printer, however they should keep receipts. The purchase of a thermal receipt printer will be much less expensive.

A compact POS printer is a smart choice as you can install it on the bar counter, next to the cash drawer. Where does it take data to print? The data are transferred by wireless communication channels inside the accounting system. This is a POS software which you should install on several tablets.

Hand out tablets to employees

You need no bulky computers or even laptops. All you will need is about 6 tablets for your staff, assuming that your staff includes a:

• Director (owner)
• Book-keeper
• Administrator (bartender)
• Cook (or a person responsible for the kitchen)
• Waiters (from 2 persons)

The accounting software for cafés controls orders movements from customers to the kitchen and back. Besides, you can also track your stock, cash drawer, all actions performed by waiters and make out your own loyalty program. Discounts, bonuses, special offers, QR-codes are set up in the POS application in just a couple of clicks.

You can add QR-codes to your email newsletters sent to customers. Next time the customer comes to your café, he just shows his code which contains the encrypted information about his previous visits, paid amounts and applied discounts. There you have a regular customer!

Provide speed to your customers!

When there is a steady wave of people, it is hard to respect timing of orders. Mind that, or your guest may leave your establishment unsatisfied and next time he will prefer your nimble competitor over you. How to keep him at the table? Offer your visitor a tablet with electronic menu for cafés and restaurants.

Digital eMenu is integrated into the general accounting system. This is an interactive electronic album containing the list of dishes, photos and video from your kitchen.

Do you make the most delicious grilled meat in your city? Then, show how you do this. Establish credibility to your establishment. No one will be able to repeat the art of your chief cook instead this will surely grow visits and increase the number of true fans. Now let’s have a look how the electronic menu works on the establishments’ tables.

How the software of electronic menu works

The customer is turning pages on the touch screen by pressing the interactive buttons. Meanwhile the waiter is serving other tables. He is already entering the given order into the system and delivering it to the kitchen.

The process is very quick and clear. The customer can see the status of his order until the payments for it arrive in the cash drawer or on the bank account if the customer paid with credit card.

Would it be better to install a tablet on the table or hand it out to the customer? If you can control the situation on the terrace, mount the tablets into the tables. In this case you will also need special holders and anti-vandal covers.

Is the game worth the candle?

You might spend much time on staff selection and forming a team, learning new softwares and testing service. It is, however, worth it because that time will pay off in spades. Automation of the open-air café will greatly contribute in regular flow of visitors during the day.

And finally, a warm gift from the Smart Lab Company. Save your money! How to do this? Follow this link!