Fine Dining and Pagers
When was the last time you went to eat at a large restaurant? If you visited one of the many large chains across the USA (and increasingly, all over the world), then odds are you might have been issued a pager to alert you to when a table became available for you. But why are so many restaurants deciding to use paging systems to alert hungry customers when tables are free, and what makes pagers so useful in enhancing the dining experience? Conventional wisdom might dictate that you never want to look inside the kitchen of your favourite restaurant – but you can certainly take a closer look at their pagers.
Paging the Staff
The days of chefs ringing a bell from the kitchen might not be quite over in some smaller restaurants, but many larger, or even just noisier, establishments can’t rely on the waiting staff hearing any signal when it comes to knowing when to make a quick trip back to the kitchens to collect an order. With paging systems in the kitchen, a chef can press a button that sends a message to a specific pager, alerting the waiter who holds the pager quietly and discreetly to come and collect the order. Some high-tech paging systems even have an automatic recall function which can alert the waiter if the food isn’t picked up.
Staff paging systems can help waiters and waitresses collect their own food from the kitchen, but ensure they can spend as much time on the restaurant floor as possible until paged, enabling guests to get the attention that they expect! It also allows staff numbers to be kept down, as staff only need to leave the restaurant floor when necessary.
Paging the Customers
Paging systems can also be used to help manage queues and waiting times for customers arriving at a restaurant. It’s essential for restaurants to make tables ready for customers quickly during busy periods, and also to ensure customers are ready to sit down and begin their meal! Offering customers a pager so they can enjoy a drink at the bar or in a patio area is a perfect solution, allowing for ease of preparing a table, and a happier customer sitting down to dinner. To call the customer once their table is ready, all it takes is the press of a button.
Pagers On The Table
One lesser-used option among the many for implementing paging systems in restaurants is having a tabletop pager the customer can use themselves. A small, discreet button is set into the restaurant’s tables, and customers can push the button when they require service. While some restaurant owners may feel that this makes their staff reactive rather than proactive, it can be an effective way of operating a restaurant with lower staff numbers. We’ve all tried and failed to attract the attention of waiting staff in the past, only to give up and leave instead of ordering another drink or a dessert! A simple press of a button on the table can even display the number of the table requesting attention.
Kelly Atkinson is the Marketing Executive for Multitone Systems, a tele communications strategies company that has provided paging systems and pagers for organisations in the public and private sector for many years.
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