Thank you for updating to version 1.650.40-44
This upgrade includes:
- New voice and text communication opportunities
- New credit card deposit and invoicing options for both reservations and guest profiles
- Call list automation
- Automated reservation confirmation calling
- Automated Anniversary & Birthday promotions
- Enhanced personal dining profiles
- Enhancements to our feedback response system:
- Optional guest audio recording & transcriptions
- Manager response templates
- Manager level promotions
- Much more!
From reducing labor costs through automation, to capturing deeper levels of customer data, to driving last minute business, you may look forward to building better customer relationships by engaging in email, text and now, voice communications. New capabilities will bring 24/7 convenience to your guests while reducing your labor overhead.
Read on for full details.
Introducing the new Personal Dining Assistant:
See Section 1 for full details.
In this update:
Introducing Airia:
Automated
Interactive
Restaurant
Intelligence
Assistant
Airia protects and manages positive customer experiences by weaving state-of-the-art technologies with the traditional hospitality practices that make restaurants great:
- 24/7 outbound automation for reservation reminders, call list management, birthdays and anniversaries
- Ability to handle 80% of incoming calls
- Ability to handle up to 200 simultaneous calls
- Handles voice, text and email communication
- Manager on duty alerts
- Environmental Intelligence for dining room temperatures, lighting levels, and soon, audio levels
Voice enabled automation with speech recognition
Offer 24/7 customer service for convenience to your guests and efficiency to your team while reducing labor costs. Our “Automated Dining Assistant” will become a new member of your team by delivering communication through live speech recognition, text messaging and email.
What it provides
A dedicated phone number positioned at the “first point of contact” for guests that call or text the restaurant.
- Initiate outbound communication via email, text or voice to handle daily tasks such as:
- Reservation confirmations & reminders
- Notify guests on the call list if a spot opens up
- Automatically reach out to guests if they have an anniversary or birthday in two weeks
- Request guest feedback via phone call, text or email
- Handle inbound phone calls, depending on IVR Mode configuration:
- Provide feedback
- Lookup a reservation to confirm or cancel
- Book an new reservation or add to call ahead seating
- Listen to directions and get link to map sent as text
- Listen to restaurant information
- Transfer to person at restaurant at any time
The following parameters can be set in the Administrator module to customize your Automated Assistant’s behavior:
- The Automated Assistant’s Name: The IVR voice is female. By naming your Automated Assistant’s voice, this makes communication more personal and ensures assistant related references by your guests or team members are easy to relate to and identify.
- Work Hours: Hours allowed for outbound phone calls and text messaging
- IVR Mode:
The IVR Mode sets the options available in the tree when handling inbound phone calls:- Basic: All options without the ability to self book or put self on the call ahead seating list
- Reservations: All option with the addition of the ability to self book
- Call Ahead: All options with the addition of the ability to put self on the call ahead seating list
- Full: All options with the ability to self book and put self on the call ahead seating list
- On Hold Music: Choose from five default options or use your own mp3
- New IVR Settings in Administrator:
- Visual Representation of the different IVR Tree Modes:
- Basic:
- Reservations:
- Call Ahead:
- Full:
How the Automated Assistant decides to communicate with a guest
- When activated, the Automated Assistant icon is displayed in the lower right corner:
Because the Automated Assistant will be making live calls and texting your customers, like any staff member, work hours are assigned to prevent outbound guest communication happening during hours of the day that may be inappropriate. When the assistant is not “clocked in”, the assistant icon will go from green to gray:
- Everything the assistant does is logged and may be viewed at any time. Use the green assistant icon in the lower right corner of TableWatch or Reservationist to open the assistant window. Communication settings, communication log and a sort filter are displayed:
- In addition to assigned work hours, each guest profile can have their dining profile assigned text, email or voice vommunication options: Ability to modify guest communication preferences within RestaurantConnect
Guests can modify their communication preferences on your booking widget and…
… within their own personal dining profile:
Examples of Assistant Related Guest Communication & Automation
- Confirming next-day reservations
- Contacting guests on the call list when another reservation cancels
- Reaching out to guests after their dining experience to ask them for their feedback
- Call List Automation: When guests reservations are cancelled and other guests have been placed, or placed themselves, onto the “Call List” log, the Automated Assistant will automatically reach out to the next guest in line.
- A new “Call List Offer Expiration” gives limits the amount of time a guest has to respond.
- If the guest does not accept the call list offer within the expiration time, the offer expires and the next guest in line on the call list will be automatically notified.
- The cycle continues until the newly available slot is filled.
The Personal Dining Assistant card or badge can be installed anywhere on a restaurant’s website:
Using the Assistant to help your staff work faster
While automation will reduce many hours of work manually calling guests to confirm their reservation or let another guest on the call list know that a new spot is available, there are times when the need for a confirmation may be more urgent or necessary. Your Automated Assistant can be delegated to from within the “Reservation Details” window for reservations that are not yet confirmed:
Assistant is available with the green assistant icon:
Clicking the green assistant icon will initial an outboud call with the opportunity to tell the assistant to include any message to the guest on the user’s behalf:
When “Yes” is selected by the RestaurantConnect user, the assistant will immediately initiate a phone call to the guest. When the guest answers the phone, the assistant will include the custom message and ask the guest to confirm their reservation by saying “Yes” or “No”. The guest’s response will immediately reflect their decision in the reservation log.
Same process is available if guests are on the Call List.
Requirements
- RestaurantConnect Dining Assistant Phone Number
- Texting Package Enabled
- Fees apply
Benefits
- Always available
- Consistent
- Convenient
- Reduce labor costs
Activation
- The functionality is available upon request.
New opportunities to offer more powerful “Feedback Paths” to grow your customer database and increase repeat business
The scope of this new functionality is broader than these features as how they are utilized involves operational strategies and intended guest experience. For a deeper look at how our feedback system can be positioned in your restaurant as a cornerstone for building business, please see this article: RestaurantConnect’s Feedback & Walk-In Conversion System
Configuring New Feedback Settings
The new Administrator module, includes literaly dozens of settings that are the result of our ongoing collaboration with our restaurant partners.
New Feedback Settings in the Administrator module:
- Feedback Trigger Option: Prefer to send the feedback thank you notice earlier? Change the feedback trigger a different course, or if POS integration is enabled, when the check is printed or closed.
- Feedback Delay Option: Don’t want your guests to get the feedback thank you notice right when their table is set to Finished? Enter the number of minutes here to delay.
- New Feedback Inquiry Delivery Options: Our goal is to help you get feedback from 100% of your guests regardless of how they came to the restaurant. You can now break away from the reliance on only email or the traditional printed comment form to request feedback from your guests. With the new Automated Dining Assistant and the right strategy, guest feedback can be retreived from virtually every single guest that enters the restaurant. Since there is not a single one-size-fits-all approach to getting feedback from a customer, the flexibility of RestaurantConnect’s newly improved feedback system gives you the options to create a strategy that matches your concept and expected customer experience. By utilizing a combination of email, text and voice communication, the new feedback delay and trigger options, you’ll never miss an opportunity to receive feedback from 100% of your customers:
- Traditional feedback sent via email when the guest is “Finished”
- NEW: If there is a phone number associated with the guest’s profile, the Automated Attendent can call or text the guest when they are finished dining
- If there is not a phone number or email associated with a guest, there are now 2 ways to request feedback to not only walk-ins, but all parties at the table:
- Printing the Feedback Chit and giving it to the table with the check or other appropriate opportunity:
- Printing the Feedback Chit and giving it to the table with the check or other appropriate opportunity:
- If the POS integration is activated, the feedback options can be automatically included on each bill with a unique feedback code that’s specific to each party (reservation or walk-in):
Feedback Response Form Enhancements
1. With “Fast Responses”, quickly add predefined text to save valuable time. Options could include appropriate responses to favorable or unfavorable feedback, included links to review sites in order to encourage additional online commentary from the guest. Item 1 in screenshot below.
2. In BrandManager, setup Promotions with the type “Manager” can be included to guest feedback response that will provide an easy way to incentivise a prompt return to the restaurant. Special management promotions can also be attached to their response. This is all handled via the promotion management system in BrandManager. It’s important to set these promotions to “Private” so they don’t show publicly on the booking widget or system generated emails. Item 2 in screenshot below.
3. When a manager responds to guest’s feedback, the additional emails to the other managers can be turned off. Item 3 in screenshot below.
4. For restaurants that have their Automated Dining Assistant activated, guest feedback will now include a playback option for the audio recording of the guest’s feedback, as well as the trascription.* Item 4 in screenshot below.
Email back to guest will include the fast response text and promotions, if selected:
Handling Potentially Negative Feedback
With the new “Minimum Feedback Score” setting, any overall feedback score equal to or below this setting will trigger a phone transfer or text alert to the “Manager on Duty”.
When a live call is transfered, the Automated Dining Assistant will provide the guest’s name and other details and give the Manager on Duty the opportunity to accept or reject the call. If rejected, the Automated Dining Assistant will send a text to the Manager on Duty so the manager can reach back out to the guest at their earliest convenience. The guest will be informed that the manager will be reaching out asap.
Ability to change the Manager on Duty at will in TableWatch or Reservationist:
What it does
Adds new levels of automation, customer experience protection, management efficiency and calls to action the bring your guest back to there restaurant.
Requirements
- RestaurantConnect Attendent Phone Number
- Texting Package Enabled
Benefits
- Reduces gaps between the guest’s experience and the restaurant’s typical response time
- Protects restaurant’s reputation
- Reduce negative reviews on public review sites
Activation
- The functionality is available upon request. Please use this form to activate your Automated Dining Assistant.
What it does
Adds a positive alternative to guests when attempting to book online rather than turn them away. This process ensures the guest’s data is captured for future marketing opportunities, rather than turning the guest away even if the restaurant is fully booked. The same capabilities are built into TableWatch and Reservationist.
If a requested date and time is not available, the guest will be presented with the booked times in case those are the times the guest prefers. When a “Call List” option is chosen, the reservation will be treated as an inactive reservation.
With the activation of the Automated Dining Assistant, voice, text and email communication preferences are now available to the guest. When another reservation is cancelled, the next guest on the Call List for the same date, time and slot size will be notified according to their communication preference.
When the Call List booking is complete, the reservation will be placed on the restaurant’s Call List:
The guest’s Personal Dining Profile, can easily be managed in greater detail through RestaurantConnect of Facebook. As always, all of a guest’s profile details such as contact information, dining preferences, allergies, special events and dates, will be automatically be shared with your restaurant when a guest has dines at the restaurant for the first time. When a guest’s updates their personal dining profile at RestaurantConnect or through their Facebook page, their profile in your restaurant will also always be updated.Once on the Call List, the guest will receive an email or text confirmation:
Email Example:
In TableWatch, ongoing “Call List” counts will show on the main screen:
The Call List booking will show in the “Call List” Log:
When a reservation has the same date, time and slot size, the guest will be notified that there is an opening for their party. In TableWatch, the reservation will now be displayed in the “Pending” log
Depending on their communication preference, the guest will receive either a text or an email:
When the guest clicks on the link, they’ll have the opportunity to activate their reservation:
When the guest Accepts the offer, the reservation will be automatically moved to the main reservation log. If the guest Declines, the booking will be moved to the “Declined” log for future reference:
If the offer expires, then the form will become invalid:
When a Call List Offer is sent out to the guest, a notice will also be sent to the restaurant’s email address:
When the Call List Offer is declined, an email notice will be sent to the restaurant’s email address:
When a Call List offer expires or is declined, and if there is another party on the Call List with the same date, time and slot size, another Call List offer will be sent to the next guest. This cycle will continue automatically until the slot is filled.
The following settings for Call List Notifications can be configured in the Administrator module:
Call List Nofication: On or Off. This setting activates or deactivates the Call List Notification system discussed in this section.
Call List Offer Duration: Number of hours a Call List Offer will be valid before it expires.
Requirements
- RestaurantConnect Attendent Phone Number
- Texting Package Enabled
Benefits
- Always available
- Consistent
- Convenient
- Reduce labor costs
Activation
- The functionality is available upon request. Please use this form to activate your Automated Dining Assistant.
What it doeson to a guest with an anniversary or birthday date associated with their personal dining profile two weeks before the event date.
Guest profile with event date in TableWatch and Public Personal Dining Profiles at RestaurantConnect and Facebook:
Automatic Birthday and Anniversary Notices
System will check everyday at 10:05 restaurant local time for any guests that have a birthday or anniversary associated with their profile two weeks from the current date.
- Guest will receive a special email, text of phone call* inviting them to make a reservation at the restaurant
- Text Notice from Automated Dining Assistant to the Guest
- Voice Notice from Automated Dining Assistant to the Guest
- Email Notice from Automated Dining Assistant to the Guest
- If a promotion type of “birthday” or “anniversary” is setup, system will attach the promotion to the guest’s communication
- The booking widget, when accessed from an email or the promotional link* will load the special promotion
- The restaurant will see the promotion booked with the reservation details:
If a chit printer is attached to the host stand computer, the promotion details will be included on the chit when the guest is seated.
- If activated, POS Integration will carry the promotion to the POS System and update the guest check as necessary. See Section 14 for more details.
Requirements
- RestaurantConnect Attendent Phone Number
- Texting Package Enabled
Benefits
- Never miss a marketing opportunity that’s both thoughtful and proactive
- Consistent
- Convenient
- Reduce labor & marketing costs
Activation
- The functionality is available upon request. Automated Dining Assistant activation required.
What it does
When activated, each day, 24 hours before each reservation, the Automated Dining Assistant will reach out to guests according to their communication preferences in the following order of priority:
- Voice first, if a mobile phone number exists and within the configured hours of operation
- Text second, if a mobile phone number exists and within the configured hours of operation
- Email third, providing and email address is associated with the guest’s profile
If “Reservation Reminders” and a text messaging package are active, a guest can receive their reservation reminder as a text or a phone call. Reservation Reminders are sent out 24 hours in advance. The guest will have the opportunity to Confirm or Cancel their reservation directly from the text message:
When the guest replies with a “Y” to confirm, they will now receive a text response with the confirmation number:
If the guest replies with an “N” at anytime, the reservation will be cancelled and a reservation link to easily book their next table is included:
If at anytime the guest tries to confirm a reservation that has been cancelled, they will receive a notice to contact the restaurant:
Enhance Your Brand with Dozens of New Settings
- Custom footer on system generated booking page and other guest communication
Be sure to promote your brand as much as possible by including your social media pages. All Reservation Widget settings are found in the Admistrator module under Settings -> Reservation Widget. There are two tabs: 1 for general restaurant information and another for how the reservation booking widget should handle various actions:
Social Media Pages on the Restaurant Information settings page:
Creates your social media icons on guest communication- dynamic booking pages and email communication:
More settings to control guest options & communication:
- Custom Booking Widget Colors:
Customizable colors for booking widget via the Administrator module. These four colors will override the default “Mobile Widget Style” to provide a fully branded color scheme for your booking widget:
When a restaurant has an active IVR messaging account, the guest will have the ability to set their communication preference from their own Facebook page, or their personal dining profile page at RestaurantConnect.com:
https://apps.facebook.com/restaurantconnect
https://secure.restaurantconnect.com/reserve
Any changes to their personal dining profile automatically update the restaurant’s customer database- keeping your guests fully connected wherever they go:
Guest invitations directly from their own Facebook Page along with the ability to view all future and past reservations:
Any News items or Promotions from your restaurant will also show up in the personal dining profile “Dashboard”:
- Guests may choose communication preference between email, text and voice. If either text and/or voice is selected, the restaurant must have an active IVR messaging package.
- Guest can save their own language preference.
- The “Book Now” button in promotions launches the booking widget with the promotion preloaded for fast booking:
- In TableWatch & Reservationist, wait list texting now includes mobile number validation:
- New Guest Notes “Pin” Option in TableWatch:
- Guest Feedback/Thank You sent via email or text. With an active text messaging account, all guests with a mobile number can now receive a thank you text (no email required). This text includes the link to profile their feedback.
- Walk-In form includes guest communication preference options for text, email and voice. With an active IVR messaging account, all guests with a mobile number can now receive a feedback request phone call or text (no email required) from the automated attendant.
- Guest “Thank You” Feedback Delay
If greater than zero, system will wait however many minutes to send out the thank you notice*
- Automatic Expiration of Pending Call List Offers
If a guest does not accept or decline an offer to activate a pending call list offer, system will automatically decline the offer at the time of expiration.- If a pending call list offer is expired, a check will also be made to see if another guest is next on the call list (for same time, party size and slot size), and send out another offer so the next guest may choose to activate their pending reservation.
- Reservation Reminders/Automatic Confirmations
Reminds guest about their reservation every 24 hours. If text or voice is enabled, system will choice these first if reservation is within the start and end times for text/voice.- If guest cancels, system will look for guests on the call list and send out a call list offer
- Guest “Thank You” & Finished Table Check
If guests are not cleared from the table, RestaurantConnect will send a thank you* to all unfinished parties that are still seated at a table from the day/night before. The tables will not be givien a “Finished” time as this would affect turn time reporting.Voice thank you/guest feedback now includes a phone call and the ability for the guest record their message instead of typing it. System will transcribe the guest’s response into text and automatically save it into the guest’s review. Management can both read and/or listen to the guests review. - Birthday and Anniversary Promotions
See Section 4 for more details.
- Billing profiles have been enhanced with AVS and CVV verification options to help improve fraud detection
More details here: https://articles.braintreepayments.com/guides/fraud-tools/basic/avs-cvv-rules - To assign a deposit or invoice to an existing reservation:
- Open an existing reservation for editing and select the $ icon:
- In the “Billing Profile” window, use the new “Billing” option to open the “Billing Activity Manager”:
- Deposits or Invoices may now be created:
- Choose either the “Deposits” or “Invoices” tab and then select the “Create” option. In the form that opens, fill out the required fields and select “Save”:
For online payments, be sure to select the Payment Type “Braintree Credit Card”. This will activate the form for the recipient to directly enter their credit card into any corresponding communication.
- When saved, if the “Send deposit payment request to the above email address” is selected, the recipient will receive an email to complete the requested transaction:
- The online form to submit the required billing information:
- Payment Completed:
- Email to the restaurant confirming payment:
- Guest’s billing details updated in the “Billing Activity Manager”:
- The reservation will now display a blue $ icon:
This indicates that a credit card & payment have been applied to the reservation. - During service, a chit can now be printed to provide servers or management details about the transaction. To do this, select the blue $ icon to open the “Billing Activity Manager” and select the printer icon:
- The payment details for the selected reservation will be generated:
- Open an existing reservation for editing and select the $ icon:
- Open a guest’s profile with any of the blue profile icons:
- In the guest profile window, select the $ icon:
- The “Billing Profile” window will open:
- Choose the “Billing” option. All billing & transaction activity will be loaded for this guest:
This may be particularly helpful in situations where people may be conducting transactions for reservations that may be associated with other guests.
Ensure the whole team is on the same page when it comes to telling how long the expected wait is. The “Easy Wait Quote” setting will broadcast this number to all active devices.
Wait Quote
Changing the Wait Quote
Updated to all connected devices:
Walk-in form also displays the Easy Wait Quote for quick reference:
It can also be changed here:
NOTE: Text messaging package is required for Valet Notifications.
To add a person to the list of Valet options, simple assign the “Valet” position to any staff profile in the Administrator module:
Also make sure a mobile phone number is entered into the profile:
The Valet on Duty is displayed at the bottom of TableWatch:
Clicking on the “VALET” will open the preferences so the Valet on Duty can be easily changed to reflect current schedules:
In the main settings setup, the course must be set in order to tell RestaurantConnect when the text should be sent to the valet. This would typically be when the check is printed or set to closed:
[VALET SETTING FROM ADMIN SETTINGS HERE]When the guest arrives, input their valet check # in the “Quick Edit” form for existing reservations:
For Walk-Ins, include the guest’s Valet Check# in the New Arrival form:
During service, when the guest’s dining status is updated to the predefined Valet Trigger, the text will be send to Valet:
Settting a guest to the Valet Notice Status, will trigger the text message to the Valet on Duty with the number of the check on the guest’s valet ticket:
For POS integrations, a special “Valet” key can be setup so that the server can manually text the valet from the POS terminal(see Valet Key section in section 14 below for more details):
Deeper Operational Integration, Automation and Communication
Our POSitouch integration provides detailed information transfer to encourage the best possible, detailed guest experience. From name recognition to automated marketing to personalized promotions, moving reservation & walk-in information to restaurants that utilized the POSitouch POS system.
- Guest Check Customization
- Viewing Checks and Check Totals in TableWatch
- Pushing automated, online and other marketing promotion from the reservation to the guest’s check
For full details regarding required modules and configuration, please contact your POSitouch dealer.
In this Section:
- Real-Time Guest Check Availability in TableWatch & TableConnect (mobile)
- Guest Check Personalization
- Promotions & Discounts
- Guest Check Feedback Path
- Improved POS Server ID Updating
- Valet Feature
- XML File Samples – Adding a Promotional Item to the Guest’s Check
Real-Time Guest Check Availability in TableWatch & TableConnect (mobile)
View guest check details and totals along with the “other side” of the guest dining experience to get the full picture: The guest’s dining profile, special notes, preferences along with current dining stats such as arrival time, wait time, party communication, etc.
Guest Check Access in Res Info or Table Details Window
Guest Check Total in Reservation Details Window
Link TextGuest Check Personalization
There are now multiple opportunities to push critical guest information from RestaurantConnect’s powerful guest management system directly onto the guest’s check. This ensures important information such as allergies, VIP status or other important details that may have been gathered during the booking or arrival process available to servers, management and the kitchen.
The three main areas of setup in this section will cover:
- Guest Name on the Guest Check and Server Terminal
- Guest Dining Preferences related to Food, Dish and Note Types
- Guest VIP (XXP & XXPM) Codes
In POSitouch Back Office Setup, use the following guidelines.
- Guest Name:
To include the guest’s name on the server screen and kitchen chit, setup NAME/NAME:
- Guest Dining Preferences, Notes and VIP (XXP & XXPM) Codes
To include guest dining preferences with a preference type of food, dish or note and also VIP codes on the server screen and kitchen chit, setup Guest Memo prep category and buttons:
Promotions & Discounts
Overview: A variety of promotions can be setup for automated marketing to guests with birthdays and anniversarys, for general marketing, and management level response to guest feedback where a specific call to action is desired.
Please review the promotion setup section here. This section extends the base promotion functionality to ensure that a promotion associated with a guest’s reservation is automatically distributed to the guest’s check. Additional modules and fees may be required. Please consult your POSitouch dealer for more information.
The three primary promtional types that will affect how a guest’s check is modified:
- Percentage Discounts: Apply a specific percent discount to the entire check.
- Dollar Discounts: Apply a specific dollar discount to the entire check.
- Line Item Discounts: Order and then comp a specific inventory item
How it Works
- Guest is seated via TableWatch
- TableLink receives seated details for new table
- TableLink creates the guest check with guest name, notes, etc (XML INORDER)
- If promotion exists with special item, the item is also added to the check
- TableLink waits for XML file to confirm the check has been created (XML_CONFIRM)
- TableLink updates the party with the new check number
- TableLink sends check request xml (XML_IN)
- TableLink searches check for the promotional item’s SerialNumber (XML_OUT)
- TableLink updates check to ensure the promotional item is comped (XML IN)
- Percentage Discounts
Apply a specified discount as a percentage of the entire check
- Dollar Discounts
Apply a specified discount as a doller amount of the entire check
- Line Item Discounts
Pre-order and comp a specific item from a guest’s check. Because a specific item is being ordered, the setup requires specific items to be added to POSitouch. The inventory and comp numbers then need to be added to the specific promotion setup in BrandManager.
Guest Check Feedback Path
Overview: The new restaurant IVR system includes a dedicated restaurant phone number that provides 24/7 customer service capability. When the IVR is called by a guest, they can provide a feedback code to include their review. The IVR number and the feedback code can automtically be included in the guest’s check
How it Works
- Guest is seated in TableWatch and the check in POSitouch is created.
- When the guest’s table is set to the desired service step, or “Feedback Trigger”, the thank you notice will automatically be generated and send to the guest according to their communication preference.
- For maximum timing and deliver, additional settings such as the Feedback Delay, Feedback Score Alert, and Manager on Duty should be configured.
Setup in both the Administrator module and POSitouch is required:
- Feedback Trigger
In the Administrator module, select the course to send the feedback request to the guest:
- Feedback Buttons
In POSitouch Menu Screens -> Edit An Order Screen, setup the Feedback Code and Feedback Number buttons. TableLink will use XML Ordering to add a Guest Feedback Path directly to the printed check.
- Hardware Setup
In POSitouch setup, go to Hardware -> Guest Check Headings – > Headings 1,2 or 3 to add your custom footer text. Be sure to include the Automated Dining Assistant phone number as shown below. The ‘~^MEMO’ text will display the unique ten digit feedback code.
Feedback Path Applied to Guest Check
Improved POS Server ID Updating
With the ability to open and close checks via TableWatch, updating the server user id ensures consistent communication between systems. The “Staff Details” window in TableWath has been updated to make it easier to add & edit POSitouch employee ID numbers.
Valet Feature
The new “Valet” feature allows two ways for the restaurant to communicate with the valet team when a guest may be leaving.
- Manually by using a “Valet Notify” button in a POSitouch terminal
- Automatically through a course trigger such as when the check is closed or paid
To setup the valent notification feature, please follow these steps:
- Add the Valet team to your staff setup. This will provide a way to designate who, on a daily basis, the valet notice should be sent to:
- In the Administrator modoule, create or modify a staff profile to ensuer that a “Valet” position is assigned:
- In the staff profile, add a mobile number to receive the text notifications:
- In the Administrator modoule, create or modify a staff profile to ensuer that a “Valet” position is assigned:
- Setup POSitouch Valet Button for Manual Notication
- Create the Prep Printer Category
- Add the Valet Notify Button
- Create the Prep Printer Category
- Automatic Notification
Usage:
- In TableWatch’s Preferences section, set the “Valet on Duty” to designate the active mobile number to text to:
- The “Valet on Duty” will be visible TableWatch near the bottom center of the screen:
- During service, enter the Valet Number from the guest’s valet check into the Walk-In form or Quick Edit form:
- In this setup example, when either the “Valet Notify” button is pressed for the guest’s table or the “Check Paid” course is selected
- A text notice will be sent to the Valet on Duty:
XML File Samples – Adding a Promotional Item to the Guest’s Check
New Order (TableLink)
<Orders> <NewOrder> <Function>1</Function> <ErrorLevel>2</ErrorLevel> <ReferenceNumber>218727</ReferenceNumber> <Check> <CheckHeader> <TableNumber>65</TableNumber> <ServerNumber>142</ServerNumber> <NumberInParty>4</NumberInParty> </CheckHeader> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>2001</ItemNumber> <Quantity>1</Quantity> <ItemName>NAME</ItemName> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>2002</ItemNumber> <Quantity>1</Quantity> <ItemName>NAME</ItemName> <Memo>Nancy Smith</Memo> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>1998</ItemNumber> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>1995</ItemNumber> <Memo>Pref: Food: Shellfish Allergy</Memo> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>1995</ItemNumber> <Memo>Notes: ACB: CC NOTE 1; RC: Not by the kitchen!</Memo> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>1995</ItemNumber> <Memo>XXPM: ACB</Memo> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>1995</ItemNumber> <Memo>XXP: JENN</Memo> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>11001</ItemNumber> </ItemDetail> </Check> </NewOrder> </Orders>
XML Confirmation (POSitouch)
<OrderConfirmation> <Transaction> <ResponseCode>0</ResponseCode> <ReferenceNumber>218727</ReferenceNumber> <CheckNumber>3</CheckNumber> <CheckSubTotal>6.21</CheckSubTotal> <CheckDiscount>0.00</CheckDiscount> <CheckServiceCharge>0.00</CheckServiceCharge> <CheckTax1>0.46</CheckTax1> <CheckTax2>0.00</CheckTax2> <CheckTax3>0.00</CheckTax3> <CheckTax4>0.00</CheckTax4> <CheckGratuity>0.00</CheckGratuity> </Transaction> </OrderConfirmation>
XML Open Check Request (TableLink)
<OpenChecksRequest> <ResponseFileName>218727</ResponseFileName> <Check>3</Check> </OpenChecksRequest>
XML OpenCheck (POSitouch)
<OpenChecks> <StoreNumber>9997</StoreNumber> <BusinessDate>02/18/2017</BusinessDate> <TransactionDate>02/18/2017</TransactionDate> <TransactionTime>12:50:20</TransactionTime> <FileTime>12:50:20</FileTime> <Check> <CheckHeader> <CheckNumber>3</CheckNumber> <CheckOpenDate>02/18/2017</CheckOpenDate> <CheckOpenTime>12:32:39</CheckOpenTime> <CheckPrintTime>12:32:00</CheckPrintTime> <TerminalNumber>1</TerminalNumber> <TerminalName>KITCHN LFT POSDRVR</TerminalName> <TableNumber>65</TableNumber> <CostCenter>0</CostCenter> <CostCenterName/> <StationNumber>0</StationNumber> <ServerNumber>142</ServerNumber> <ServerName>ALBERTO ALBERTO</ServerName> <ServerCheckNumber>3</ServerCheckNumber> <NumberInParty>4</NumberInParty> <CheckTotal>6.21</CheckTotal> <Tax1>0.46</Tax1> <Tax2>0.00</Tax2> <Tax3>0.00</Tax3> <Tax4>0.00</Tax4> <TaxTotal>0.46</TaxTotal> </CheckHeader> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>2001</ItemNumber> <ItemName>NAME</ItemName> <CellName>NAME</CellName> <ExcludeFromCheck>Y</ExcludeFromCheck> <MajorName>OTHER SALES</MajorName> <MajorNumber>8</MajorNumber> <MinorName>OTHER SALES</MinorName> <MinorNumber>1</MinorNumber> <ScreenNumber>10</ScreenNumber> <CellNumber>7</CellNumber> <NetPrice>0.00</NetPrice> <PriceLevel>1</PriceLevel> <SerialNumber>5</SerialNumber> <PrepSequence>8</PrepSequence> <PrepSequenceName>MOD</PrepSequenceName> <Option> <ItemNumber>2002</ItemNumber> <ItemName>NAME</ItemName> <CellName>NAME</CellName> <Memo>Nancy Smith</Memo> <MajorName>OTHER SALES</MajorName> <MajorNumber>8</MajorNumber> <MinorName>OTHER SALES</MinorName> <MinorNumber>1</MinorNumber> <ScreenNumber>10</ScreenNumber> <CellNumber>8</CellNumber> <ExcludeFromCheck>Y</ExcludeFromCheck> </Option> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <ItemNumber>1998</ItemNumber> <ItemName>Guest Memo</ItemName> <CellName>Guest Memo</CellName> <ExcludeFromCheck>Y</ExcludeFromCheck> <MajorName>OTHER SALES</MajorName> <MajorNumber>8</MajorNumber> <MinorName>OTHER SALES</MinorName> <MinorNumber>1</MinorNumber> <ScreenNumber>10</ScreenNumber> <CellNumber>4</CellNumber> <NetPrice>0.00</NetPrice> <PriceLevel>1</PriceLevel> <SerialNumber>6</SerialNumber> <PrepSequence>8</PrepSequence> <PrepSequenceName>MOD</PrepSequenceName> <Option> <ItemNumber>1995</ItemNumber> <ItemName>Guest Notes</ItemName> <CellName>Guest Notes</CellName> <Memo>Pref: Food: Shellfish Al</Memo> <MajorName>FOOD</MajorName> <MajorNumber>1</MajorNumber> <MinorName>ENTREES</MinorName> <MinorNumber>4</MinorNumber> <ScreenNumber>10</ScreenNumber> <CellNumber>5</CellNumber> <ExcludeFromCheck>Y</ExcludeFromCheck> </Option> <Option> <ItemNumber>1995</ItemNumber> <ItemName>Guest Notes</ItemName> <CellName>Guest Notes</CellName> <Memo>Notes: ACB: CC NOTE 1; R</Memo> <MajorName>FOOD</MajorName> <MajorNumber>1</MajorNumber> <MinorName>ENTREES</MinorName> <MinorNumber>4</MinorNumber> <ScreenNumber>10</ScreenNumber> <CellNumber>5</CellNumber> <ExcludeFromCheck>Y</ExcludeFromCheck> </Option> <Option> <ItemNumber>1995</ItemNumber> <ItemName>Guest Notes</ItemName> <CellName>Guest Notes</CellName> <Memo>XXPM: ACB</Memo> <MajorName>FOOD</MajorName> <MajorNumber>1</MajorNumber> <MinorName>ENTREES</MinorName> <MinorNumber>4</MinorNumber> <ScreenNumber>10</ScreenNumber> <CellNumber>5</CellNumber> <ExcludeFromCheck>Y</ExcludeFromCheck> </Option> <Option> <ItemNumber>1995</ItemNumber> <ItemName>Guest Notes</ItemName> <CellName>Guest Notes</CellName> <Memo>XXP: JENN</Memo> <MajorName>FOOD</MajorName> <MajorNumber>1</MajorNumber> <MinorName>ENTREES</MinorName> <MinorNumber>4</MinorNumber> <ScreenNumber>10</ScreenNumber> <CellNumber>5</CellNumber> <ExcludeFromCheck>Y</ExcludeFromCheck> </Option> </ItemDetail> <ItemDetail> <Points>1.00</Points> <ItemNumber>11001</ItemNumber> <ItemName>THUNDER</ItemName> <CellName>THUNDER</CellName> <MajorName>TEST</MajorName> <MajorNumber>7</MajorNumber> <MinorName>FOOD</MinorName> <MinorNumber>1</MinorNumber> <ScreenNumber>34</ScreenNumber> <CellNumber>1</CellNumber> <FullPrice>5.75</FullPrice> <NetPrice>5.75</NetPrice> <PriceLevel>1</PriceLevel> <SerialNumber>7</SerialNumber> <PrepSequence>10</PrepSequence> <PrepSequenceName>DESSERT</PrepSequenceName> </ItemDetail> </Check> </OpenChecks>
XML Update Order (TableLink)
<Orders> <UpdateOrder> <ReferenceNumber>218727</ReferenceNumber> <Function>1</Function> <ErrorLevel>2</ErrorLevel> <CheckNumber>3</CheckNumber> <Check> <CheckHeader/> <CompItem> <ItemNumber>5078</ItemNumber> <CompSerialNumber>7</CompSerialNumber> </CompItem> </Check> </UpdateOrder> </Orders>
- Reservation Log
- Reservation Details Window
- Table Information Window
- Printed version of the reservation log
Additionally, in TableWatch, if a guest chit is printed when seated, the chit will now include “FIRST TIME GUEST” notice:
First time guest information will also be used in reporting and analytics.
Detecting and addressing guests that may require immediate assistance is a crucial part of reputation management.
When a guest alert is issued, the following events will occur*:
- A text with a description of the issue is sent to the Manager on Duty with guest and table details
- Can be sent from the host stand via TableWatch
- Can be sent from a text to Airia** by the guest
- The alert start time is logged
- The table (in TableWatch) goes into alert mode
- The alert can only be removed (in TableWatch) by a manager’s credentials
- When removing the guest issue alert, the manager can enter what was done to resolve the issue
1. Alerts are denoted by the “Guest Alert” icon:
2. Select table to view status options
3. Select the “Guest Alert” icon to issue the alert:
4. A text with details will be sent to the Manager on Duty:
5. The guest’s status is set to “Issue”, which displays the Guest Alert icon:
- At the table:
- In the reservation log:
6. To remove the guest alert, select the table with the alert:
7. Once the issue is resolved, the manager documents the resolution and lifts the alert:
8. Select the “Guest Alert” icon. Manager input will be required:
9. Complete the form:
10. Guest status returned to normal:
The sequence of alert events will be logged and included in guest reports.
* Texting package required
** Airia activation required
Coming Soon!
If you’re looking for a way to sell tickets or items that require an upfront fee, our new ticketing module can be embeded into any web page. It’s built on top of our reservation system, so when a guest purchases their ticket, a reservation is made at the same time.
Tickets can be associated with a regular meal period such as lunch or dinner, or have their own special meal period with unique hours, date(s) and seating capacity.
- Payments are handled with our Braintree integration to enusre PCI compliance
- Invite Friends via Facebook, Text or Email
- Full event calendar display or specific event display
- Fully integrated to the main reservation system CRM and inventory
Preview:
List of available tickets for a date
Ticket for a date ready to be booked
Seemless PCI Compliant Braintree Integration for safe & easy billing
Ticket details sent to guest after purchase
Purchase details in TableWatch
Contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about our new ticketing solution!
*System communication will be email, text or voice depending on guest profile
communication settings and the restaurant’s communication settings.
Additional fees apply for text and voice communications.