Orderman – Product review feature

Lets take a closer look at the benefits:

More turnover

Do you know how many orders are missed or wasted, because waiting staff are just too busy to notice or write legibly? It's a very uncomfortable figure believe me. Having the time to enter the correct order or pay more attention to guests' requirements means that the kitchen won't waste food and staff will pick up on all the little extra orders that added together create a lot more turnover. That extra side order, top up of wine or end of meal coffee will really make a difference to your revenue. In fact, Orderman reports that projected over the year, individual diners having an extra item increases sales by at least 10 percent.

More customer satisfaction

The next benefit is an easy one, more customer satisfaction. Guests come to a restaurant to enjoy good food, good drinks and excellent service in their company, and that's what Orderman strives to achieve. Orders are taken and served quickly, there's no waiting for the bill, because it is printed directly at the table from an Orderman hip printer, and it can be split as many ways as necessary. Orderman also reports that walking is reduced by up to 40%, which means sales staff can serve 25% more guests on average.

Mr Harry Niazi, owner of Olleys Fish Experience, London tells how he improved customer service with Orderman, "In the past, the waiters took the orders and then queued for ages at the cash registers while other customers had to wait for service. It was ridiculous so much valuable time was lost like this. Today we use Orderman, which makes the entire procedure much more flexible and effective. At first sight, the purchase of the handhelds was a major investment – but it paid for itself within a year."

More convenient design

Now let's look at the simple benefit of replacing a hand written order pad with the more convenient design of Orderman. A spilt drink, wet surface or hand dirtied by food generally leads to smudged orders. Combine this with a busy service and not only do you have aching wrists from constant scribbling, but also unreadable orders and the potential for mistakes. Orderman devices are specifically designed for the hospitality industry so they are light, easy to use, robust and work in or outside.

More communication

Our final thumbs-up is more communication between sales and service staff, and the kitchen, creating faster service. Whereas traditional EPOS methods require waiting staff to return to the till to input orders, with Orderman the order is sent directly to the kitchen with no time wasted. According to Orderman, the continual flow of incoming and clear orders gives the kitchen a time benefit of around 6–10 minutes compared to conventional fixed tills. With queues of orders in the kitchen avoided, guests get their meals quicker and even have time to order more.

As part of our review, we have found out some must know advantages and disadvantages of Orderman.

Advantages:

• Runs via a purpose built, highly reliable radio system.
• Hardware comes with an all inclusive 2 year warranty, with an optional 5 year upgrade.
• High durability that can handle split drinks and being dropped 30 times or more.
• Long battery life that gives 18 hours uninterrupted service plus additional batteries can be purchased for no interruption of service.
• Handy belt printer prints bills and receipts at the table so the waiting staff can stay with the guests.
• Benefits any size business, improving standards whether there are 5 or 50 employees.

Disadvantages:

• The initial outlay for Orderman is quite expensive when you add up the cost of hardware, installation and software. However, with a decent amount of footfall in your restaurant the Orderman can easily pay for itself within the first year.
• Some customers are said to view handhelds as impersonal, however Orderman reports that in their study 90% of people found the handheld to look professional. The 10% of customers with a negative view of handheld may also go on to notice the improved service and change their minds.
• Unlike a smart phone or ipad, you can't use the handhelds for anything other than business operations, which is actually quite good for preventing waiting staff from getting distracted by social media.
• Installation of the Orderman needs to be done by the provider's specialist installation team, as it requires finding the right spot for the antennae. This is a simple task for such experts though.
• The arrival of Orderman might require some reorganisation of your business procedures and a bit of in-house training, however the positive outcomes should make this worthwhile. Management will also have to buy-in and manage the transition of using the new handheld device.