Delivering an exceptional customer experience is now key to a restaurant’s success. Indeed, we recently spoke with Sam Oches, editor of QSR Magazine, about how mobile technology is changing the restaurant industry. He said “great food no longer guarantees the success of a company. Great food along with a great brand experience — getting in front of, and interacting with, the customers — is what does the trick these days.”

Driving greater efficiency and providing staff with more time to focus on your customers can reap you raving customer reviews, loyalty and financial reward.

You can hold the key to these benefits in the palm of your hand with NCR’s Orderman – a handheld device that enables servers to take orders at the tableside. These orders are communicated instantaneously to the point-of-sale (POS) and kitchen and bar. Getting rid of the need for staff to translate their scribbles from pad to computer, the chef has started preparing the food before the waiter has left the table. What’s more, fully interfaced with the POS system, there’s no room for errors.

Handhelds can make a massive impact for quick service restaurants too, where they can help queue bust at busy times, reducing waiting times and congestion at the till.

By building Orderman into a wider mobile strategy, restaurateurs have some powerful tools at their disposal. From online ordering and loyalty apps, mobility truly is the future for the hospitality industry.

Choosing the right device can be a complex decision. While there are many consumer technologies on the market that can be used in the corporate world, they’re not designed to do so. Coupled with the fact they are consumer focused, they are highly attractive to thieves or accidently making their way home with staff who forgot to put them back, plus we all know how easy it is to drop an Apple product for instance and smash the screen…

With NCR’s Orderman you don’t face these problems. Designed to face the rigors of the hospitality industry, Orderman is a purpose-built, highly durable piece of hardware which has been thoroughly tested to be as robust as is technologically possible. Indeed, these tests involve it going through at least one dishwasher cycle.

Ergonomics, design and robustness make Orderman devices what they are: professional tools for professional restaurateurs.

But wait, there’s more:

• Increased turnover – using Orderman handhelds allows your staff more time building those relationships with your customers and this ultimately provides the opportunity to increase the level of upselling. Sure you don’t want fries? We’ve seen some of our customers enjoy up to 25% increase on check values after introducing the Orderman.
• Improved range – Orderman’s unique secure radio frequency offers unparalleled security, stability and range when compared to standard wifi. As a result, Orderman can operate in large restaurants or patio areas without the need for staff to move to gain reception and there is no risk of wifi drop out.

• Easy integration – Orderman offers a platform that not only works with NCR’s renowned Aloha software, it has the ability to be integrated to a wide range of POS systems. With this flexibility, restaurants can add Orderman to their technology portfolio with no costly integration or upgrade requirements.

• Reduced waiting times – More time can be saved with wearable belt printers meaning receipts can be produced tableside too.

• Long-life rechargeable batteries – Orderman’s rechargeable battery units mean the device is never out of action or requires hard wired charging. Furthermore, its battery life is approximately 8 hours and batteries can be changed in seconds.

• Increased warranty – Orderman comes with extended warranty of up to 5-years. Using technology to drive efficiency across your business makes perfect sense. Designed for this demanding industry, Orderman delivers fast ROI against its competitors and enables significant check uplift instantly.

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what some of our customers have to say:

Katalin Pintér, CEO at Gerbeaud Confectionary in Hungary, said. “Our servers love the handhelds. They no longer have to travel long distances between the kitchen and the patio. Just a press of a button is all it takes. The chefs and bakers also like it because they get the orders immediately and can work at a steady, stress-free pace. This is good for the team‘s morale.”

Harry Niazy, Olley’s Fish Experience in the UK said: “At first sight, the purchase of the handhelds was a major investment – but it already paid for itself within a year. I can only recommend Orderman to everyone; at any rate, I wouldn’t want to do without it ever again!”

Francis Scholl, Gartencenter Dehner in Germany said: “I’m definitely saving on personnel costs – I couldn’t do that with a normal touch-screen terminal. Servers can stay amongst the guests. When servers arrive at the bar, their drinks are already waiting for them. Controlling is totally optimised; the whole system pays for itself in a short time just through the extra 5 or 6 beers that wouldn’t normally have been sold. Guests notice the remarkably better customer service and higher revenue is the reward!”