Imagine that the wait staff can find out if a specific food order is ready – without having to go into the kitchen. Or if a guest wonders how long it will take for the food to arrive? Then the waitress can see on her mobile plate that it has just started – and give the guest an instant answer. All this – and more – can be true with digital bong screens!
Most restaurants today use a printer that prints out table orders, “bongs”, which are hung on a line in the restaurant kitchen so that the chefs know what to prepare and in what order. When the order is ready, the chefs ring a bell or (in some cases) shout out to let the wait staff know it’s time to serve. It doesn’t necessarily have to be WRONG – but there is a better way! For the kitchen, for the wait staff and for the guest.
Fast food vs à la carte
You’ve probably noticed that many fast food places today allow you to order and pay for your food on a screen, your order is sent over to a digital bong screen inside a kitchen where the order is taken care of. When the order is ready, the kitchen highlights it on the screen and the information comes up on another screen in front of you, allowing you to retrieve your order. This is a great way to serve fast food, as guests expect it to be convenient and quick.
In an à la carte restaurant, the guest has a completely different expectation and a little more finesse is often required – but that doesn’t mean that digital bong screens won’t work. No, but instead of focusing on making it easier for the guest, as in the fast food industry, à la carte restaurants put all their focus on making it easier for the staff.
Why you should have digital bong screens in an à la carte restaurant
In an à la carte restaurant, you can have digital bong screens both in the kitchen and at the bar, instead of bong printers. This means that the entire table order from the wait staff comes directly onto the screens once they have tapped it into their mobile plates – the food order goes to the kitchen and the drink order to the bar. The chefs and bartenders can then mark the food/drink as started, finished or not started. This in turn allows the wait staff to see this directly, making it easier for them to be present among the guests, instead of running off to check on the progress of orders.
In other words, digital bong screens facilitate communication not only between the kitchen, restaurant and bar, but above all for the guests. Having wait staff who are present and able to answer questions immediately shows good service. In addition, the wait staff will have a better overview of what is happening throughout the restaurant.
As a bonus, you can also get statistics on how long it takes from the time the order is registered to the time the food and drink is on the table. A perfect way to pinpoint any gaps and find out how you can be more efficient!
With digital bong screens, your restaurant will be 5 times better:
- You create a better communication between kitchen and catering
- You get a clearer overview of the restaurant
- You have a greater presence in the restaurant and can therefore provide better service
- You create the possibility to measure the efficiency of your kitchen and bar (and find points of improvement)
- Your restaurant is perceived as innovative and smart!