Published • 24 Jan 2025
“A Day in the Life of Dining” is a series based off fictional events that help better demonstrate the pain points of any kitchen or dining staff. While the story is fabricated, the practicality of our tools is not. We hope you enjoy this story and the many more that are to come!
A busy restaurant is the dream of many owners—having so many people wanting to eat at your establishment that there’s a line out the door and a steady stream of tickets heading to the kitchens. While this success is exciting, it does lead to growing pains.
What if we said there are tools to help you manage this success?
Instead of just telling you about these tools, we created a fictional scenario to help better illustrate the tools in action and to show how they can help your business succeed.
The Corner Table
Nestled in downtown Riverview was a quaint family-owned restaurant, "The Corner Table," favored by locals to fill their stomachs with hearty breakfasts, fresh coffee, and warmth. It was a place that had been sustained for years by its charm, loyal staff, and steady diners who came to be fed a meal prepared as if it were done so at home. But with Riverview continuing to grow, its crowd younger and more tech-savvy, the demands on "The Corner Table" began to shift.
A Morning Rush Gone Awry
On one brisk Saturday morning, the restaurant ran through what employees would later describe as "the perfect storm." By 9 am, the queue of customers looking to place their orders reached beyond the door. The staff worked hard but fell behind with the tide of orders.
Tension emerged, feet tapped the ground, watches checked with calculated sighs while some customers left discouraged and in search of quicker service.
The kitchen was overwhelmed handling in-house orders while trying to deal with a high volume of take-out requests. To add to the bedlam, there was a miscommunication on one order for a party of six, setting back service even further.
By noon, owner Sarah Bennett knew something had to give. She was watching regulars apologize as they headed out the door and new customers vowed never to return.
Later that evening, once the last customer had been served and the team came together for their usual post-shift meeting, Sarah had one simple question for her staff, "How can we make this better?"
Suggestions ranged from hiring more staff, to reconfiguring the kitchen, to changing the menu. During this discord, one voice stood out. A server named Jamie mentioned something she saw at another restaurant on a recent vacation: self-service kiosks for restaurants.
"Kiosks could let customers order at their own pace," Jamie explained. "They won't have to stand in line just to give an order. It would help take some of the pressure off of us.
It sounded impersonal and against the whole cozy, customer-first vibe "The Corner Table" had hauled into being. Yet, the practicality was undeniable.
A Life-Changing Solution
After studying various solutions, she finally came across the self-service kiosks from 365 Retail Markets. These machines were designed to offer convenience within the dining experience and help kitchen staffs. Features from these kiosks could be customized and the entire system itself integrates seamlessly within restaurant operations.
Not too long after, the kiosks went up, and in no time, customers could now order in the blink of an eye while staff attended to food preparation and customer service. These kiosks did not take away the personal touch. Instead, they added to the dining experience by putting the customer in the driver's seat of their venture.
The Result
At "The Corner Table,” Saturday mornings were quite different, no longer were there droves of customers waiting outside. In addition, the liberty to order precisely what one required was there--sit and dine or take home. The people working here have their workloads lessened without stress and once more "The Corner Table" has become friendly, inviting, and efficient.
Sarah, for one, was beaming about the change, "I never thought a bit of technology could make such a difference in how we serve our customers. Now, I just can't imagine running this place without it."
If your restaurant is ready to answer the needs of today's diners, then find out how 365Dining will help deliver a seamless experience.