The Foodservice Technology Conference and Showcase - aka FSTEC. Chef Robert Irvine, host of Dinner Impossible and famous restaurateur was the keynote speaker this morning, opening the conference with a great talk about - what else, technology in the foodservice industry.
"How many of you have laptops, tablets, and/or smartphones? Raise your hands."
Not a single hand remained on the table.
"How many of you have all 3?" Again, almost no hands remained at their sides.
"Now, how many of you are using these in your restaurants?" ... This time almost no hands were raised. "Hmmmmm..."
"Technology requires us to change old habits," Irvine continued. "And the most common response - "We've done it this way for years and it's worked, we're not going to change." The basic human emotion here is fear. Fear of choosing the wrong provider, picking the wrong technology." The Chef's next words were some of his strongest, before he jumped into all the technologies needed today to run a successful business going into the future.
"What is technology about? Communication. Complacency can and will kill profitability."
Chef Irvine then began with online reviews and why you should not be scare of them, but in fact you should embrace them. Make sure your customers can find you online, because that's where they're looking for you. He went on to walk through technologies starting from the front of house (FOH) and moving to the back of house (BOH).
From text waitlist apps to online reservation systems, these technologies can speed up your customers' experience while removing excess customers in your waiting area, cut down on reservation no-shows, and ultimately save you money. Table management systems make life easier for your host/hostess(es) and keep your kitchen from being bombarded all at once. Paperless menus allow customers to make real time changes and give your wait staff more time to focus on serving the table, and not running back and forth with orders, as well as real time and cheaper menu and specials updates.
"It's a fact that with these systems we've cut down the time of ordering a bottle of wine and getting it to your table from 17 minutes to 3 minutes."
Cloud based POS systems that connect directly to your inventory management give you real time inventory readings and allow for greatly reduced shrinkage. Letting customers pay from the table gives them a stronger sense of security with their credit cards never leaving their site. And most importantly...
"Wireless connection is truly the brain of your business."
"With 1 negative review equaling $600-$800 lost in revenue, instant feedback is more important than ever," said the Chef. Instant feedback allows for damage control before the customer leaves. "It's not all about negative feedback either but positive feedback as well. You can then post that positive comment on your sites" (we do that).
Chef Irvine talked about the important of focusing on and controlling your social media, because "Like it or not, it's here to stay." He continued by having the crowd repeat after him... "In...The...Cloud. Repeat and say it louder. In. The. Cloud!"
The Chef went on to take questions from the crowd and to summarize everything he had previously gone over. But he left us all with one important thought...
"When thinking about technology and your restaurant, ask yourself this. What are we doing today, and where do I go from here?"
Thanks Chef! It was very inspiring to hear someone with your accreditation talk about the importance of technology in the foodservice industry. We certainly are looking forward to the rest of FSTEC and hearing how we can all start implementing these great new tools!
Follow Chef Irvine on Twitter at @robertirvine
And follow @FSTECNexGen and hashtag #FSTEC to stay up to date with what's happening at the conference. And if you're here, by all means come on by and say "hi".