3 Ways to Incorporate Hospitality into Your Business

Let’s face it: many businesses nowadays fall short when it comes to hospitality. It may seem like just semantics, but we tend to think of hospitality as something that lives in restaurants and hotels, and every other interaction with customers is just customer service.  But being hospitable, by definition, is making strangers or guests feel welcome, making them feel comfortable and at home.

Hospitality in business, in part, has given way to the era of speed and efficiency wherein experiences have become more and more automated. As much as we would like to believe that technology alone is the answer to everything, technology can’t replace the emotion of human interaction. We might think “There’s no need to worry about x, y, z because technology will take care of it.”  But the latest tech should be used as a tool to streamline your business and add contemporary flair, elevating the customer experience. Technology isn’t the customer experience. Because experience isn’t about just one, singular thing. Experience is holistic.

What, then, are its parts? Experience is how we go about understanding and engaging with the world around us. It’s input and output. It’s cause and effect. It’s discourse. It’s relationships. It’s everything we are and everything we do. Our aim with technology should not be to usurp human experience but to reinforce it.

Just show you care

Building a loyal consumer base starts with showing up for them. For our restaurant and retail customers, investing in point of sale systems, sound systems, and digital signage is an enormous benefit for them when it comes to ensuring comfort and efficiency for employees and consumers alike, but all of these technology pieces would still not replace the hospitality. The technology doesn’t replace the hostess or sales associate greeting you with a smile and asking if there is anything else they can do to make your experience the best.

Ti Adelaide Martin in her Nation's Restaurant News blog  discusses the subject at length and defines it as follows: “Hospitality is everything that any person, business, or organization does to affect how our guests, clients, customers or users feel. Everything.” she says, further adding “We are all in the hospitality business.”

If hospitality is a skill that is lacking in your shop or restaurant, take due diligence to hone it. People are naturally drawn to connection, so emphasize its importance to your employees. Take care to be mindful of how things can be perceived on your guests’ end and make an effort to create a positive experience for them. ( Likewise, keep in mind that people tend to remember negative events more strongly and in more vivid detail.) There’s no need to force or overthink it. If you operate through the lens of empathy, the rest will follow suit. The common denominator of good customer experience is simply whether or not someone demonstrated that they care.

Connection is key

Bob Phibbs (Retailwire) found in a survey conducted from a pool of over 1,000 consumers that nearly 80% do not feel they are provided with a personalized shopping experience. Further, more than half reported feelings of anxiety, stress, and aloneness. In short, people are feeling disconnected. The answer to resolving this disconnect is to, well, connect. It sounds obvious, but if the statistics are anything to go by, it’s vastly overlooked and underestimated. Talk to your customers. Ask about their experience. Investigate how you can be of better service. Be curious.  Assure them that you can be a safety net when technology has reached its limits, and your business will go far.

Use Technology as a Tool, not a Crutch

Our help desk at Newgentek supports hundreds of restaurants, retailers, and corporate offices across the country.  We use several technology tools to streamline and help our customers. For example, we have a customer portal where our customers can log in and create a service ticket, check on the status of an existing ticket, and interact via messaging with our support team.  This is a great tool for our customers to have visibility, but most of our highly rated customer service surveys are from phone conversations they’ve had with our support team, like the one below:

“EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! This guy is always able to help me out and always with the most positive attitude!! Thanks, Newgentek!!!”

The idea is to use your technology tools to enhance the customer experience and streamline your business for efficiency.  Even the best technology can’t replace a positive attitude!

Let Newgentek help you use your technology tools to better the customer experience! Click below to contact us!

Grub Burger Bar has chosen Newgentek as their Outsourced IT Partner and AV Integrator

Grub Burger Bar has chosen Newgentek as their new outsourced IT Partner and AV Integrator.  With this partnership, Newgentek plans to take a consultative approach to deliver best-in-class help desk support, while utilizing years of expertise in the restaurant industry to standardize Grub’s IT and AV infrastructure across the Grub Burger brand.

Grub Burger Bar (founded by Jimmy Loup and started in College Station, Texas, in 2012) is an elevated, fast-casual restaurant with a scratch kitchen. Grub offers burgers, bowls, sandwiches, wings and a full bar at every location.  They have 23 locations across the U.S. and have continued expansion plans.  Newgentek will not only be providing their current locations with help desk support, but will also be installing their complete IT and Audio Visual stack at future locations.

Chon Nguyen, Founder of Newgentek, commented on the new partnership.  “I’ve worked with Grub Burger Bar for almost four years.  They were an early customer of my software company Fusionprep, which is a digital kitchen solution and recipe management tool. It’s been exciting to watch Grub’s seasoned restaurant professionals grow the brand with a commitment to Extraordinary food and hospitality. They have an incredible culture and have been an absolute pleasure to work with from a vendor’s perspective. I look forward to the expanded partnership and providing world-class IT and infrastructure services to their operators so they can focus on providing excellent hospitality to their customers”

“We are excited that Grub Burger Bar has selected Newgentek as their technology solutions provider.  Our focus is to provide a consultative approach to technology through excellent customer service, while allowing Grub to focus on their clients’ restaurant experience” said Jared Lederhandler, President of Newgentek

Jimmy Loup, Founder & CEO of Grub Burger Bar providing the following comment.  “I am excited to partner with a technology company that understands the fast-paced and rough environment in which our Operators work every day.  Newgentek's knowledge of restaurants and their willingness to proactively search for solutions that improve customer experience and reduce complexity for our front-line employees was the deciding factor in moving forward with them.  Grub is eager to see our companies grow together.”

About Grub Burger Bar:

Grub Burger Bar is a scratch kitchen offering eclectic burgers, bowls, sandwiches, wings and a full bar. Grub aims to provide an extraordinary experience to each and every guest, from the menu offerings to the service provided. Community involvement and philanthropy are integral parts of the brand’s foundation. Grub Burger Bar currently has locations in Texas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Florida. Visit grubburgerbar.com for more information.

Nebraska Mini Mart Partners with Newgentek to Provide Unique Sound Experience

Newgentek is happy to have worked with The Proper House on their newest concept, Nebraska Mini Mart, in designing and installing a state-of-the-art IT and AV solution!  We look forward to working with them in the near future!

Photo Credit: Skyler June Photography

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tampa restaurant group The Proper House, has partnered with local systems integration company, Newgentek, on their newest concept, Nebraska Mini Mart.  Newgentek’s installation of high-tech audio will provide Nebraska Mini Mart customers with a unique sound experience and in turn will become Newgentek’s Restaurant Showroom, showcasing best-in-class audio products with a thoughtful design for outdoor sound.

Ferrell Alvarez, Executive Chef and Partner at Nebraska Mini Mart, commented on the partnership with Newgentek.  “When deciding on who our AV partner would be on this project, it became a no-brainer that Newgentek was the best fit for us.  Their design and ideals were in line with ours, and once they started to take on the project, and we saw their workmanship, quality of product and customer service, it reinsured our decision.  They completed their scope ahead of time and went above and beyond our expectations.  Moving forward with other concepts, there’s no doubt that we will be choosing Newgentek to handle all of our audio visual needs.”

“We are very excited to have Nebraska Mini Mart as our restaurant showroom in Tampa and are thankful for the partnership.  We have extensive experience in the hospitality industry, and this was a great opportunity to show off what we can do,” said Chon Nguyen, Founder and CEO of Newgentek.

Nebraska Mini Mart is located on over an acre and a half of land, with bocce ball and shuffleboard courts and both indoor and outdoor seating. The menu offers a refined approach to casual favorites.

 

Project Design Overview:

The design for Nebraska Mini Mart began with ten JBL Control Series Landscape speakers positioned on the open lawn area to be unobtrusive and blend well with the landscaping.  The JBL Control series speakers allow for a wide sound radius to maximize coverage.

Underneath the stadium seating, Newgentek installed two JBL Control Series 88M landscape speakers.  These were chosen for the depth of sound, which allows these speakers to carry the lower frequencies for the surrounding perimeter.

In the dining room and on the outside of the building, Newgentek installed five JBL Control Series Surface Mount speakers.  The sleek design and full frequency range were primary reasons for selecting this speaker.  These speakers provide the mid- and high-level range of audio for optimal clarity.

For audio control, Newgentek has partnered with BSS, a division of Harman, to provide ease of use and control of multiple audio functions.  The installed microphone system will allow for Nebraska Mini Mart to utilize an outside musician for specific events.  A BSS controller was installed to allow the local restaurant team to easily select between sources of audio, zone coverage and volume from one interface.

About The Proper House:

The Proper House now has two restaurants in the Bay area, with a third set to open before the end of the year.  Their first concept, Rooster & the Till, was recently named the #1 Best Restaurant in Tampa by the Tampa Bay Times.  Rooster & the Till and Nebraska Mini Mart are both located in Seminole Heights.  Gallito, a modern taqueria, will be their next restaurant and part of the Sparkman Wharf project in Channelside.

 

About Newgentek:

Newgentek is a full service systems integrator focused on being a strategic partner providing turnkey solutions for our clients.  Our Restaurant and Retail division serves multi-unit operators and our Unified Communications division serves corporate and enterprise clients.  Our goal in both divisions is to turn customers’ infrastructure, network, point of sale, and audio visual requirements of any complexity into manageable, easy to use solutions through our industry leading workplace transformation process.

For more information, please contact:

Megan Nguyen

Vice President, Sales & Marketing

megan.nguyen@newgentek.com

813.283.0684

What is a Certified Technology Specialist and Why is it Important?

The Audio Visual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA), is a hub for professional collaboration, information, and community, and the leading resource for AV standards, certification, training, market intelligence and thought leadership.  For more than 30 years AVIXA has administered the Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) Program.  Within the CTS program, there are three levels of specialists - CTS, CTS-I and CTS-D.

CTS is the general audio visual certification, CTS-I is specific to the task of installation and CTS-D is specific to the task of design.  Currently there are more than 12,000 CTS holders and more than 2,000 hold either CTS-I or CTS-D credentials.  

In June, more than 44,000 visitors attended the InfoComm Show in Las Vegas and more than 80,000 attendees are expected to attend Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) Show in 2019. As the industry continues to mature and develop, the CTS certification remains a coveted certification.

As a current or potential client you may be thinking ‘Why is it important for my organization to work with a solutions provider that has Certified Technology Specialists?’  

The CTS program benchmarks industry personnel against peer developed standards which upon successful completion of the exam, provides a three year certification.  At the conclusion of the three-year period, either the holder must have obtained 30 renewal units (RU’s) as outlined by AVIXA or the certification lapses and is no longer valid.

There are many professionals within the audio visual industry and the ability for customers to feel comfortable and confident in working with a particular company should begin with a clear understanding of their abilities.  

At Newgentek, we feel certifications and industry training are important for employee development and an integral part of delivering the very best solutions with a strong knowledge base behind it.  We are proud to say that today we have eight (8) people within Newgentek that are CTS holders and will continue to grow that number in accordance with our company growth!

Our Recap of the 2018 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago!

What exactly is the National Restaurant Association (NRA)?  The NRA is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations.  The association was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.

On Saturday, May 19th, NRA kicked off its 99th Annual Show in Chicago which ran through Tuesday, May 22nd.  Many folks, including myself, wondered why the NRA show is in Chicago - that answer is easy. To start, Chicago is home to 7,300 restaurants, which ranks in the Top 10 Cities in America.  With 22 of the 7,300 restaurants ranked as Michelin starred restaurants, it's not hard to find top quality eating experiences.

Now back to the show…50,000 folks from around the United States attend the show to meet with 1,800 exhibitors representing equipment and products related to the Food and Beverage sector, furnishings, decorations, paper, plastic supplies, services, tableware, food itself and our personal favorite - technology.

In short order, the restaurant industry has evolved at a rapid clip to incorporate technology kiosks for ordering, interactive signage for menus, digital kitchen solutions, pay ahead technology and now the ability to incorporate robots into automating the process.

Gwen Brannon, Director of Guest Insights and Analytics at The Coca-Cola Company shared with operators during a panel session that “People are tethered to digital devices”.  We all see technology in today's society taking our industry to new heights.

There were a few key manufacturer partners that stood out with new technology offerings - here are a few of those partners:

PAR Point-of-Sale:

Par’s point-of-sale technology, referred to as Brink, is a cloud-based software that easily adapts to support the evolving needs of customers.  As a cloud-based POS software solution, Brink does not require a back-office computer, and all your data is safe, secure and accessible in the cloud.  There are no upfront licensing fees, and upgrades are included and performed automatically. To recap, here are the four main reasons Brink POS is a leader in our industry:

• Automatic Upgrades
• Secured Data
• Accessible Anywhere
• Fault Tolerant

For more info on Brink, click here.

BrightSign:

BrightSign state-of-the-art technology is found around the world, powering digital signage in every vertical market.  BrightSign hardware is known for ultimate reliability and an extremely robust operating system purpose-built for digital signage.  BrightSign uses a simple process from content creation to publishing - the six step process is as follows:

• Concept
• Content
• Software
• BrightSign OS
• Media Players
• Digital Signage

For more info on BrightSign, click here.

FusionPrep:

FusionPrep is a digital kitchen solution that will revolutionize your kitchen.  FusionPrep offers the following services as a part of their offering:

• Keep track of receipts and builds
• Simplify your prep process
• Fast label printing
• Simple reporting interface

For more info on FusionPrep, click here.

In addition to the specific manufacturers mentioned above, the NRA show has a dedicated Technology Innovation Hub which offered exhibitors the ability to view, test and meet with ~100 manufacturers in the technology vertical market.  During the Signature ‘18 Keynote speech, Dawn Sweeney, President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association, recognizes the need to incorporate technology into the new age restaurants across the country.

We at Newgentek are counting down the days until next year’s NRA Show - it’s scheduled to occur May 18th-21st, 2019 back at McCormick Place in Chicago.  Newgentek will be present at the show and hope to see and meet with many current and prospective clients!

Until then...Bon Appetit!

Considering Technology in the Site-Selection Process

If you’re a multi-site operator in the throes of opening a new restaurant or retail location, technology is likely not the first consideration weighing on your mind. In today’s cloud-driven business environment and with consumers increasingly demanding WiFi connectivity from the businesses they frequent, the digital infrastructure of a potential site for a hospitality business matters more than ever before. While assessing a location for compatibility with your business requires careful planning, a strategic partnership with the right vendor can make the process painless. Here are some tips for assessing site infrastructure:

• Survey Potential Locations

Begin evaluating the infrastructure of a location of interest for your new site during the earliest stages of site selection. Plan for your technology with an eye toward future growth, much as you would when choosing the size of the location. To avoid costly roadblocks to future technology initiatives, savvy operators rely on an experienced partner to conduct a site-survey to evaluate available internet service providers (ISP’s).

• Consider Bandwidth Needs

Ideally, you want to choose a location with multiple ISP’s capable of delivering the bandwidth and telecom services needed to keep complex technical systems running without a hiccup. As you adopt VOIP phones or cloud-based technology, this data connection serves as the backbone of your operation – speed and reliability are critical.

• Rethink Guest WiFi

A recent University of South Florida study determined that 70% of patrons prefer restaurants or retail locations with WiFi hotspots. The study also noted a correlation between offering WiFi and a customer’s probability of becoming a loyal customer. Even if you don’t provide WiFi for customers today, select an ISP that can scale up your bandwidth in the future as your needs grow.    

• Include IT and Development

Share the results of this survey with your IT or third-party development team to ensure the ISP meets current and future requirements. Looping in your tech team helps avoid expensive and unexpected retrofitting costs as you roll out future technology solutions. Keep in mind that most modern point-of-sale systems, especially those with built-in loyalty program management, require a reliable high-speed connection.

• Plan for Redundancy

Operators of multi-unit businesses with a high-volume of transactions should pay careful attention to redundancy and continuity plans. According to the independent technology research organization, Standish Group, every minute of POS downtime costs retailers an average of $4,700. Fortunately, modern cellular networks mean the cost of redundancy is usually affordable, even for small and mid-size operations. When conducting site surveys, we test for cellular connectivity to ensure the integrity of contingency options. Deploying redundant 4G cellular failover solutions keeps your business processing credit transactions, gift cards, and loyalty programs in the event of a network outage with the primary ISP.

The easiest way to simplify the site-selection process is to develop a detailed list of requirements, which should include network availability, bandwidth and cellular connectivity. Planning for your technology growth up-front enables you to avoid significant or costly roadblocks when it comes time to implement new technology solutions in the future. Opening a new restaurant or retail location is complex enough. That’s why it’s important to find a partner who understands the unique challenges of multi-unit brands and can help you plan for the future.

Contact us today to learn how we can help you plan and execute your IT infrastructure and technology goals.

Designing a Fail-Proof Business - Redundancy and Business Continuity

Although we live in an age where access to the internet is becoming easier and more reliable, it is never guaranteed that our internet connectivity technology will always work perfectly. Operating a business with multiple sites, whether restaurant or retail, it is one of the critical functions that you need to do business and provide a seamless experience for your customer.  Whether it be that ice storm that sweeps through the country, or your cable provider isn’t quite doing their job, you can probably expect your internet access to fail at some point in your restaurant’s lifetime. Planning ahead and having a business continuity plan is extremely important.

When something unexpected happens, if you don’t have a strategy in place to back up your current network, your operations could be in complete disarray. What does it look like when your staff’s handhelds or your point-of-sale systems suddenly don’t have that ubiquitous connectivity that they are used to? Imagine writing down credit card numbers manually on a pad for each customer order. Imagine no music for the customers and just an echo of voices flooding through your establishment. Imagine having to keep track of table vacancies and logging shifts manually.

It would be a disaster.  But luckily there are ways to support your operational systems and keep them up and running when your local network shuts down.

Running Your Business Offline

The first step is making sure as many of your critical applications are able to run offline as possible. If your company is streaming music for your customers, you may be at the mercy of the amount of bandwidth available to your network. You are also very dependant on network reliability, and we all know that some of the most reliable enterprise-grade WiFi systems go down from time to time.

But music streaming apps today have made it much easier to compile playlists for offline listening. Top music streaming applications like My Instore Radio, Spotify, Google Play, and Apple Music not only offer the ability to download custom-made playlists within seconds, but also have thousands of pre-organized playlists for you to tailor to whatever crowd you are bringing to your store or restaurant.  Having an offline music application is also one way to ensure your customers have the same experience every time.

So, as a multi-unit operator, taking inventory of the applications that you can run offline is your first step in your business continuity plan.

A Backup Plan - Have a Redundant Network

So you have moved most of your business applications offline. Great! But the reality is that you will still need internet access for some of your most critical store-operating functions in times when your main network isn’t accessible. What is a restaurant operator to do when your business is at peak operating hours, and your network goes down?  How will you run credit cards, gift and loyalty cards and keep business running smoothly?

This is where choosing the right solution for failover connectivity is crucial to your bottom line. Having a failover system implemented that automates the switch from your main network to a 4G network will not only give you 100% reliability, but it also gives you peace of mind when it comes to having stable access to the internet. It will also save you tens of thousands of dollars in revenue in the long run.  Losing sales because your internet is down isn’t an option in today’s world of intense competition.

Partner with an Experienced Vendor

The only thing left to do is to implement these systems. We work with companies like Cradlepoint that develop solutions which integrate seamlessly with your network infrastructure. We project plan, design and implement these solutions nationally for our multi-unit customers, always keeping in mind what their business goals are and how we can make life easier for them.

As a multi-unit restaurant or retail operator, there is enough stress with the nature of the business. Added stress due to unforeseen network outages can and should be avoided with a clear redundancy and business continuity plan. In order to ensure success with every store opening and with the restaurant technology and retail technology available today, are you using all of the tools that are at your disposal to have fail-proof systems? Planning ahead for worst case scenarios is how businesses keep a competitive edge and succeed, allowing your business to grow with no setbacks.

Project Planning & National Rollouts

Often times when we're working with multi-unit operators to rollout new hardware or systems, there are struggles relating to infrastructure. The successful operators we work with are growing so fast that installations and infrastructure planning are an after thought. It's much easier to standardize at four locations than it is at 30!

As brands grow and consumer demands change, the desire to roll out technology is necessary to remain competitive. Sometimes these rollouts are driven by operational requirements - things like EMV (chip) card readers, point-of-sale terminal refreshes, or kitchen display systems. Other times it's focused on the customer experience with things like digital signange, guest wireless internet access, or a bold video wall installation for a forward-thinking retailer. Typically these installations are fairly intrusive to operations, so we need to perform them outside of normal business hours.

When we execute a national rollout with new customers or current customers who don't engage us for managed infrastructure services, many times the core infrastructure is so fragmented that the project becomes very difficult to plan for. It's easy to quickly go over budget when, upon sending a resource onsite, we find a rats nest of cables that aren't labeled and there's no network documentation or information.

There are several things we can do during the project planning phase that can help things go smoothly. In certain cases, we will leverage our customers existing field resources to upload photos or collect information so that we can better plan and ensure we aren't sending in resources blindly. We can also perform full site audits and surveys utilizing our staff, or we can perform a full infrastructure cleanup and standardization process.

We work with our customers in a number of different ways, including acting as their complete outsourced IT department and helpdesk, where we can plan & execute these services end-to-end. In these instances we can procure, provision, and install the equipment in our customers' environments. We can also supplement the internal IT resources of your organization, being your eyes, ears, and hands on-site.

We understand that planning to roll out new technology across multiple sites is a daunting task.  Let us help you on your next project to make the process smooth and seamless!

Plan Ahead For Growth

Pay-at-the-table, mobile point of sale, digital signage. The modern restaurant and retail establishment has so much technology and complexity can grow quickly for operators. Some of the biggest challenges we see starts with not having a solid infrastructure plan as you scale. Often times operators are faced with significant challenges as they try to roll-out new technology systems and platforms if their unit-level infrastructure isn't properly planned, documented, and systematized. Our customers have had to spend significant time, effort, and money going back and retrofitting or re-configuring equipment at some of their earlier locations. Most of this could have been avoided with guidance up-front that started with a solid plan for growth.

Here are some tips for thinking about growth up-front:

• Start with the cloud - Your corporate infrastructure should start with the cloud. Hosted email (Google Apps, Office 365), collaboration tools (Dropbox, Box.net), and Voice over IP phone system can help keep you and your team productive without investing in a server. Even your back-office systems are hosted in the cloud which brings your physical IT infrastructure to almost nothing.

• Plan your growth up-front - Things like bandwidth, networking infrastructure, and even cabling should be engineered with a focus around growth. Typically the investment isn't that much more to ensure that your stores are ready to grow into the future. Spend time choosing equipment and developing standards that you can repeat at all of your stores. You will save significant time and energy in the future when you need to make a change or deploy a new system that relies on a solid infrastructure.

• Redundancy and Business Continuity - Locations that have high transaction volumes can deploy redundant and failover internet connectivity to ensure that they can continue to process credit cards, gift, and loyalty in the event their primary connection is interrupted. We handle this by a secondary traditional provider or a 4G (Cellular) connection. Also, thinking about things like offline music can ensure your guests still receive the same experience if there is a service interruption.

• Remove paper and increase efficiency and communication - Spend time thinking about systems that can help you be agile and communicate information across multiple units. A strong back-office system to handle your accounting and a system can help you build processes that will save you time and money in training and labor. When I first started working in hospitality I developed a software platform, Fusionprep, that handles back-of-house kitchen operations. It takes the paper out of the kitchen and allows operators to make changes to their recipes and build cards with the click of a button and communicate it to all of their units. It also stores and prints food safety labels for all of their prepped items ensuring that all of the items in the kitchen are labeled properly 100% of the time.

You should find a partner that has a focus on your business. IT is complex enough, when you combine that with fast-pace restaurant and retail environments it pays to have a partner that understands your unique challenges and support requirements. We work with multi-unit brands across the country to design, engineer, install, and support infrastructure and systems at some of the fastest growing hospitality brands. When we win new business from an existing provider, it's typically because they don't understand the support demands. If there is something we can help you with, feel free to reach out.

The Five Areas Where Multi-Unit Operators Are Overspending

Over the years we have worked with many operators on decreasing the upfront costs of opening new stores, lowering their support costs, and getting their technology to do what they want it to.  We’ve unfortunately seen a lot of mistakes along the way, that could have been prevented with proper planning with a strategic partner. When we meet with a potential client, one of the first things we do is a Technology Infrastructure Assessment to determine what is working and what needs to be tweaked or changed.  In doing this assessment, we’ve found there are usually five main areas that operators are overspending: labor, support, products and software, change orders, and telecom. With proper planning, these areas can be streamlined, standardized, and become very useful in growing your business, but when not implemented properly, can lead to overspending, inefficiencies, and even lost business.

Labor
Paying for skilled labor in the opening process of a store or restaurant is one of the most costly pieces of the infrastructure process.  This is partly due to the fact that training takes time, effort, and collaboration. Training employees properly is one of the most important factors in a smooth opening, where understanding and using the technology to deliver a smooth customer experience can determine whether or not they return to your restaurant.  Training on software and technology is complex and can be difficult for internal trainers to cover all topics in detail before a store opens. This is where you should ask yourself if your current vendor acts as a strategic partner. A technology vendor who provides training support before a store opening is key. Sending internal trainers to each store opening to train employees on equipment and software is costly and in most cases inefficient.  Your IT partner should offer training services and should deploy an onsite technical support person for your store openings to train your employees, answer questions, and handle any issues pre-opening. They should also be available to “train the trainers” and get them up to speed before store openings.

Support
Many times when we evaluate the current support provider during our assessment, there are redundancies or inefficiencies.  Do you have internal technicians employed for support services and break-fix problems? Paying salaries plus benefits for a whole IT department can be much more costly than outsourcing your IT department.  The ideal program would come from a consolidated vendor with an experienced support team who can support your business on an as-needed basis, with the costs built into the contract. If an internal IT support program is part of your corporate structure, many times outsourcing IT can not only decrease the need for multiple internal technicians, but it can also free up time for the internal IT department to focus on more strategic technology planning and initiatives.

Products and Software
The cost of your products are directly related to the engineering, design, and type of products you’re using in your store.  When we evaluate potential customers’ infrastructure, we find the cost of products to be much higher than they need to be. The systems and products are over-engineered, do not help the customer meet the objectives of the business, or they are causing inefficiencies.  Sometimes it is just a matter of working with a vendor who knows and understands the restaurant industry and what technology you need to operate your locations with ease. Do you need Mobile Device Management implemented so you can have visibility to all of the Ipads at your hostess stations across the country?  Do you have different products at all of your different locations? Just standardizing products across your brand can help tremendously with the cost of training, support, and installation. If your current vendors aren’t asking you what your business goals are before they are customizing your product setup, then chances are you’re overpaying for something that isn’t doing what you need it to do.

Change Orders
The hospitality and retail industries are ever-changing.  And so are the needs of the next generation customer. With that in mind, we set out to determine how operators could avoid the cost of change orders and re-configuring devices with every store opening.  Anticipating and planning for growth is one of the most important strategies to help with the costs of growing pains.  Having a clear developmental roadmap with clear plans for things like bandwidth, networking, and even cabling is a great strategy to save money.  Do you have enough bandwidth to support your growing brand, or will it become a problem later when your customer base grows? Do you have failover internet solutions in all of your high-volume locations so credit card, gift and loyalty processing can continue in the event of an internet outage, or will you have to go back later to install after problems arise? Costly change orders can be prevented in the early planning stages.  Standardizing your infrastructure across the brand, keeping equipment the same, and getting franchisees on the same page with your corporate technology initiatives are key to keeping costs down throughout your business’ growth.

Telecom
Finding ways to save money on telecom services goes beyond just what provider you’re using.  You may be paying for phone services with features that you don’t need or don’t know how to use.  Sometimes we find that the current phone system is not even working properly, causing latency issues, missed phone calls, and ultimately lost business.  Working with a technology vendor that offers training and support for your telecom needs is a must. They should be able to offer product knowledge on features that will help drive your business forward.  As the size of your organization changes, so do your telecom and data needs. Your technology vendor should also be holding annual (at the very least) reviews of your telecom usage to discover inefficiencies and problems.

When you’re running and growing a multi-unit business with tight margins, changing customer demands, and growing competition, it’s important to work with a vendor who understands your industry, has product knowledge and expertise, and is available to support your business from concept to implementation, all with the goal of driving efficiencies and lowering your costs.  This should start in the pre-planning process, but continue through the growth of your brand, with normal check-ins to evaluate the health and stability of your technology infrastructure. If you think you might need our services, contact us for a Technology Infrastructure Assessment, where we can establish a baseline for what’s working and what’s not for your business!