Whether it's on-site, take-out or delivery, there's nothing more annoying to your customers than receiving the wrong dish, being served late or never being served at all. In addition to upsetting your customers, these embarrassing mistakes create tension in the kitchen for you and your servers.
In these situations, the paper purchase order is often involved:
- unclear or illegible order form,
- mess in the kitchen,
- too much volume,
- or a ticket that gets lost on the way.
Find out why switching to digital order forms for your restaurant will help you be more efficient and always serve the right dish at the right time.
What is a restaurant purchase order and how do I fill it out?
The order form is the link between your customer, your server and your kitchen. It guarantees that the customer has placed his order, that it has been registered and sent to the kitchen.
Today, some restaurant owners still use the good old paper order book. Nostalgia or a nod to modernity, the most important thing is that it is perfectly completed and readable to avoid any error in the kitchen and then at the service.
If you are part of this school, it is up to you to fill out at least :
- the table number or the order number (take away or delivery),
- the name of the dish or dishes,
- the number of dishes,
- supplements and/or exceptions (some people hate cilantro)
- the order of priority.
Admit it, that's a lot of information to fill in by hand (and therefore as many possible mistakes)!
Now, unlike the last 100% paper-based restaurateurs, the majority of professionals in the sector are using a digital solution:
- cashier at the counter,
- or portable tablet in the room, for the most connected.
The order can also come from the customer himself, if he goes through :
- a QR code available on the table,
- a control terminal,
- online ordering.
But where it gets complicated is when all these paper or digital tickets arrive in the kitchen or bar and come out on... a printer!
Explanations 👇
Why should I switch my restaurant's order forms to digital format?
McDonald's was one of the first restaurants to understand the importance of dematerializing the order form. To increase efficiency and productivity, every McDonald's restaurant now equips its kitchens withproduction screens (also called KDS or Kitchen Display System).
While McDonald's and all major restaurant chains have been doing this for years, find out why you shouldn't overlook this key innovation for your restaurant!
Improve communication between your room and your kitchen
No more incessant back and forth
No more need for your staff to go back and forth between the dining room, your kitchen or your bar! Whether the shifts are long or your establishment has several floors, it is as much energy saved to be more efficient in the room or at the reception.
By sending all requests instantly to the production screens:
- your servers save precious minutes that they can give to your customers,
- your chef receives immediate instructions, even in case of changes or cancellations, and can process more orders.
In the end, you serve more customers and they get served faster.
No more lost paper tickets
This is probably the worst thing that can happen to you. A lost ticket means an unhappy customer.
Prevent any risk of loss by connecting your order taking solutions with your kitchen production screens.
An order placed digitally is an order sent for sure!
No more unreadable tickets (tip for the last resisters)
Imagine: your chef wastes 3 seconds per ticket deciphering the hieroglyphics of your servers. Multiply that by the number of meals served per day. Not to mention the risk of error, that's a lot of wasted time, right?
Now, imagine your chef facing a beautiful screen where each dish is clearly displayed in order of priority. One look is enough! He will thank you, and so will your customers.
Streamline your kitchen operations
Manage all your orders, even in a rush
As a result of Covid, thousands of restaurateurs have made the choice to diversify their sales channels:
- To go
- Click and Collect
- Delivery
Is this also your case?
So you should know that the more channels there are, the more tickets multiply and must be perfectly completed and prioritized. This is even more true during peak periods.
In this particularly stressful situation, a KDS does not simply display orders in order of appearance. With the right settings, a production screen allows you to prioritize orders according to your own criteria with color codes, timers, audible and visual alerts.
Your chef and your cooks have a clear overview, which is easier to manage than vouchers that accumulate in all directions to sort by hand. It also ensures that no order is forgotten and that no dish goes wrong.
"All orders are sent directly to the production screens, which makes kitchen operations so much smoother!"
Malik, co-founder of Cot Cot(his full testimony is available here)
Optimize the organization of your kitchen
Does your restaurant have several workstations dedicated to specific dishes (e.g.: grill, fries, assembly, desserts, etc.)?
With paper tickets, it is impossible to automate the organization of your kitchen...
Customized for your kitchen, a KDS instantly dispatches preparation orders and dishes by station, saving your teams precious time.
Another advantage is that a production screen, unlike a paper alternative, aggregates all the day's data that passes through your kitchen, including the average time required to prepare each dish.
For example, the KDS will display the most efficient way to send all the requests for the same table at the same time according to the choices of each guest.
This information is therefore essential for a perfect customer experience!
Things to remember
To err is human!
During service, the manual management of purchase orders leads to numerous errors, generating dissatisfaction for your customers, stress for your teams and loss of productivity for you.
By synchronizing live order taking to your kitchens, you can rely on technology that has been proven in the world's largest restaurants and fast food outlets.
Make the KDS your best ally for :
- Collect more orders,
- Gain in productivity,
- Drastically reduce your margin of error in the kitchen and in the dining room,
- Serve your customers on time.
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You want to connect your room to your kitchen but you still have questions? You would like to have a personalized advice for your restaurant?
