August 2017 - inresto

Top 8 Reasons behind a Successful Restaurant

Posted on 31/08/2017 by inresto

The restaurant biz is quite short-term, restaurants opening up and shutting down every other month. However, there are some measures you can take with your own restaurant to ensure it is here to stay.

Location

Location, location, location! This can either make or break you in the restaurant business. The location would determine your rent, and perhaps even define the price range of your restaurant. It is important to also keep factors in mind such as foot traffic and the type of area – whether residential, professional or commercial – some getting more foot traffic that others. Opening in commercial spaces, such as a mall, would prove lucrative, however rent is oftentimes higher in such establishments.

Marketing

Many restaurants make the mistake of taking their marketing efforts lightly. Restaurants and bars are one of those few businesses that are created solely for people. Hence, identifying your audience and correctly marketing to them would be incredible beneficial. This could go beyond TV advertisements and large hoardings. Even your in-house branding and communication play a role in marketing efforts and can help in promoting your USP.

For example, Doolally’s catchy tagline, ‘Giving Great Head Since 2009,’ sets the tone of the entire brand – it is fun, young, informal and all about beer. Such an approach to communication can help you build a memorable brand and attract the audience you want. Similar considerations should be kept for the décor, ensuring the branding and marketing efforts work well together, rather than appear disconnected.

Online Presence

In the age of the internet, an online presence is an absolute must. The best place to start is a website that captures the essence of your establishment. However, in today’s social media-driven world, a mere website is not enough. A Facebook page, Zomato account and Instagram handle are necessities. Post pictures of your best dishes and offer incentives to customers willing to spread the word. In social media, engagement is everything!

Supplementary steps of actions include creating a Google Maps location to make sure your restaurant is easily discoverable. It is also wise to invest in search engine optimization to have you higher up on Google’s search engine. All these efforts will boost your reach, making more people aware of your restaurant’s existence.

Finally, encourage happy customers to leave reviews online! This can exponentially increase your fan base. Zomato and Tripadvisor accounts help in this regard.

Loyalty-Promotions

Loyalty programs are a great way to not only increase customer engagement, but also incentivize customers to return to your restaurant. There are a variety of simple ways to implement such incentive programs that will in-turn increase your number of loyal customers. A punch card that promises a free item on the purchase of a number of items is a popular incentive. Discounts for birthdays or anniversaries are also widely used, and can make your restaurant a venue for celebration. Probably the most common and versatile program, however, is that of the point system. One can earn points against a certain amount that guests spend and these points can be used to purchase a variety of dishes offered at the restaurant with no extra cost. Who wouldn’t be tempted to return for a free meal?

Inventory Management and Stock Take

The most irritating thing to a customer at your restaurant is to be told that his favorite dish is unavailable. Or that you are out of his favorite soft drink. The best way to avoid such blunders is effective inventory management. Furthermore, it is important to ensure your establishment does not waste food or money by over-ordering perishable items through efficient stock-taking. Smart restaurateurs keep a close watch on their stock levels against the demand of their dishes. A tight control of gross profit margins can make all the difference. Many successful restaurants utilize various inventory management software to keep track of their inventory stock on a daily basis, aiding them in reducing food wastage.

Menu Planning & Organising

A long, diverse menu may seem desirable at first glance, but is confusing to customers and difficult to maintain, resulting in wastage of inventory food items. Cooking different types of dishes needs a lot of prep work and takes a fair bit of time and effort. This may result in sub-par fare and dissatisfied customers. The key is to have a shorter, simpler menu consisting of dishes you can perfect. Using the same ingredients in several dishes helps save inventory and money from being wasted.

Data Analytics

With the power of big data behind us, it would be foolish not to make the most of it, whatever be the business. This is no different for a restaurant. Data analytic softwares have the power to notice patterns and predict them. These include customer preferences, ordering patterns, frequently ordered menu items and the busiest time of the day. Getting a powerful data analytic tool on board your restaurant’s backend is sure to aid the success of your restaurant.

Food Delivery and Quality:

In today’s fast paced world, consumers expect good quality food served in the minimum time frame of 5 minutes to 15 minutes. In many restaurants, stewards utilise various kitchen order apps which help in reducing time take for food delivery by 25 per cent. Restaurants have a better chance at retaining customers by maintaining standards of quality and a minimum time for food delivery.

Do Restaurants Need Waiters?

Posted on 29/08/2017 by inrestoblog

Restaurants have always been considered to need a personal touch, where the staff must attend each visitor personally. But times are changing, and automated systems are gradually taking over the ordering system in the F&B industry and helping deliver a more personalized experience. Some might think that’s counter-intuitive, but let’s dive a little deeper to see what’s going on.

When Technology Teaches Manners

How often do you see a guest snapping his fingers or whistling while calling a waiter, while yelling “hero”, “boss” or even “oye”? If one of your waiters makes a mistake, many people don’t hesitate to reprimand them publicly, often loudly, while using demeaning language. Online ordering systems can minimize the chances of mistakes or delays when it comes to placing an order while increasing efficiency and reducing costs by reducing the number of staff needed on the floor. Furthermore, you may even gain the resources and time to train the remaining staff more thoroughly so they can handle such situations more appropriately.

Avoiding confusion with newly appointed waiters

It often happens that new hired staff take time to pick up speed and are unable to serve your customers the way they expect. For instance, remembering your guest’s name, their favourites from the menu and maybe even their preferred table has a profound impact on how your restaurant is perceived and recalled. Now, with in-restaurant technology, like inResto DineIn, you will be able to keep each diner on record and keep a tab on their preferences so that you serve them better next time.

Online Ordering and its many benefits

So many relishing and difficult-to-pronounce names on the menu, but how many waiters do you have who can can explain them all? It takes a while for the staff to memorize the menu and gain expertise in explaining it to a diner without having to go back to the manager or the chef. Imagine how convenient it would be if customers could get all the details of the dish through a picture and description, all on a tab or even their own phone? Along with this, the menu could be in multiple languages, thereby appealing to tourists and residents who speak other languages more fluently. There can even be pop-ups on the digital menu about food-pairing recommendations, deals and promotions on certain menu items or even specials for the day. No confusion, no waiting for the waiter, no more delayed orders, and no more dirty menu cards.

Preventing bad reviews on Social Media

A diner’s visit to a restaurant is incomplete without diners putting a check-in status or posting food pictures on social media. But gradually, these have become platforms for people to vent about their bad experiences. With the emergence of food bloggers and food critics, and just discerning diners, a restaurant’s reputation is always at risk. Having a system that alerts you of bad feedback immediately can save your online reputation and maybe even gain a loyal customer. And now, this has already become a reality with feedback apps giving restaurant managers real-time alerts of bad customer experiences.

Efficient Resource Management

Good staff makes for loyal customers, but what makes a good waiter? It takes a lot of time and money to train your staff to go beyond taking orders and serving, but also to be friendly with the diners and know how to make them happy. Now, you can replace personnel with ordering apps. Now, your 60 to 100 seater restaurant can actually be managed by one cashier and a couple of waiters. So why spend a fortune on training a large team, which is vulnerable to numerous variables, including human error?

Obviously, completely replacing waiters in restaurants is not feasible, but having a smaller team has many benefits. This is where technology can play an important role. Today, customers are much more accepting of technology, and you can take advantage of it by reducing manpower and human error for more efficient and effective operations. Furthermore, with the customer data you have, you can make the experience a lot more personal by offering them their favourite dishes, drinks and tables, and maybe even offer them a bit of a discount.

Let’s face it. The future of dining is here. Let’s make the most of it for the sake of our customers. inResto DineIn is one of the online menu systems that are making a huge splash in the industry. If you want to find out more about it, click here.

6 Important Lessons All New Restauranteurs Must Learn

Posted on 29/08/2017 by inrestoblog

Exploring business opportunities in the restaurant industry is a big challenge for every entrepreneur or, as we like to call them, restauranteurs. With increasing competition in the food and beverages industry, opening a restaurant can be a roller-coaster ride unless you are well prepared. It’s no surprise that a number of restaurant start-ups close down after the first few months. Why, then, would anyone even dare to start a restaurant?

In this blog, we will look at some of the factors that can save an entrepreneur from facing an early closure of his restaurant business. There are various factors that are not in control of the owner, but by avoiding these common mistakes one can increase their chances of success!

Accurately estimating funding and start-up costs

It’s a real struggle to get traditional bank financing for a restaurant start-up. It has forced entrepreneurs to look for other funding sources. A proper financial analysis to budget the initial capital and operating costs is a must. It’s best to overestimate the initial costs and be prepared for higher costs than originally planned. According to Strategic Hospitality Advisor, Rifaquat Ali Khan Mirza, restaurant owners “need to have a realistic expectation of expenses and profits over time. They need to plan out their finances more specifically.”

Location!

If the real estate dealer’s mantra is “Location, location, location”, so it must be for restaurateurs as well! A restaurant’s visibility and its ability to attract the target audience highly depends on its location. Many restaurant owners settle for a location that’s slightly off the beaten path just because of lower rent and end up losing their potential customers. “Make sure your location is the ideal balance of cost effectiveness and great visibility for your target audience”, says Rifaquat.

Investing in social media

The internet is one of the most influential tools for businesses to use, especially restaurants. Research says restaurants are one of the most searched industries online. Hence, the reason to start creating a powerful online presence is quite obvious – that’s where your customers are! Running paid promotions and campaigns, addressing complaints and having conversations on social media are all tremendously important to build enduring relationships with your customers.

Keep an updated menu system

Many restaurant start-ups go through stagnant or dwindling sales in the first few months. That’s when it’s essential to check your menu for outdated dishes and understanding what’s driving your customers’ taste buds. Having a robust feedback system from the beginning will go a long way at this stage. In times like these, it’s wise to consider investing in a POS system having integrated management features to help you update your menus and inventory on a regular basis efficiently.

Focus on proper employee training

Unprofessional behaviour and questionable skills of staff members often lead to the loss of many customers and untold revenue. According to Rifaquat “giving top-notch training to all employees minimizes the chances of such problems at the very beginning. Also, give the staff a certain level of autonomy to make decisions that enhance diner experiences, like offering a free drink with compliments of the house or some other value add towards service recovery, without you having to be around.”

Keep track of your inventory and accounts

A majority of restaurant start-ups usually lack a well-organized accounting system that results in mismanagement of resources and wastage of funds. To implement a system that performs with maximum efficiency, you need to track and categorize revenues and expenses of the restaurants accurately. It’s essential to integrate all of these with your inventory and POS systems to have meaningful financial reporting mechanisms to be on top of your numbers at all times.

We all make mistakes, but it’s important to learn from them. If you are planning to open a restaurant or already have one, it’s time to consider these points as a checklist to increase your chances of success. There are a lot more points to be discussed on this topic, so watch this space for future articles.

The Wave Of Healthy Food & How Restaurants Can Be A Part of It!

Posted on 21/08/2017 by inrestoblog

There has been a sizeable spurt in Millennials opting for healthy food, which has made it essential for restaurants to reciprocate and cater to these needs. As per a PWC report, nearly 47% of people aged 18-34 have switched to a healthier diet.

The Rise Of Healthy Food

Change In Attitude

Earlier, if anybody mentioned gluten-free or lactose-free food, it was usually for people who were prone to allergies, but now the notion of eating clean isn’t related to any disease or allergy, but rather, better health. Now, these practices are no longer confined to the home, and diners are asking for palatable diet options even when they’re eating out.

Emerging Diet Trends

High on healthy fats and low on carbs, the Keto diet has become an obsession among the youth, and it’s already gaining popularity in India. Based on consuming healthy fats, it’s said that this diet boosts the metabolism and helps the dieter lose weight rapidly, while still eating plenty of meat and fat. Influential celebrities adopting this diet has been one of the major reasons for its pervasiveness.

Rising Awareness

Since our tech savvy generation is now well aware of what’s happening around the world, they tend to catch on global food and fitness trends. As heart diseases, obesity and diabetes are on the rise, people have realized that amending their eating habits is the need of the hour.

Targeting These Health Conscious Millennials

If you’ve been looking for ways to attract these calorie counters and fitness buffs, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Introduce Vegan & Gluten Free Options

Nobody would be comfortable with revamping their entire menu, but if you could just add a few vegan, gluten-free, low fat or lactose-free options to your menu, you’ll catch quite a few eyeballs. You can throw in some low-fat options like sugar-free desserts and freshly prepared juices to start off.

Nutritional Information

Lately, everybody uses a fitness app to track their calorie consumption or the amount of proteins, carbs, fats, cholesterol and sugar intake. So, you could attract this crowd by providing a full breakdown of what they’re eating. You should also indicate the exact calorie intake. Ideally, dishes with less than 600 calories could be put into a special healthy menu.

Promote Organic and Fresh Food

Adopting a practice of fresh and organic ingredients has also seen a surge in the restaurant industry. Restaurants serving healthy food usually source their ingredients straight from the farm. If you’ve also heard of the terms “farm-to-table” and “locally produced” food, it’s time to hop aboard that bandwagon and pay heed to where your ingredients are coming from.

Other Quick & Easy Healthy Fixes

If you’d still like to be cautious, give your diners a few easy-to-implement options. For instance, let them swap their rice, fries or mash with a salad on the side or other veggies. You could also offer smaller plate options for your larger dishes, and maybe even bunless burgers. The possibilities are endless!

You can take inspiration from restaurants like Zehen in The Manor, Delhi; Fab Cafe and Carrots in Bangalore, who’ve taken the plunge and come up with extensive healthy menus!

The Ultimate Guide: Nail Your Restaurant Business Using Customer Feedback

Posted on 16/08/2017 by inrestoblog

When a customer dines at a café or a restaurant, food is just half of the story. It’s the overall experience that counts, including the way diners are treated by your staff.

According to a recent study, 73% of diners prefer more personalized experiences, even if that means a brand uses their personal data. During the busiest hours, collecting information, managing it, and personalizing the user-experience can be difficult. With inResto Feedback, you can now get access to an all-in-one platform that can be used to give your customers a valuable and memorable dining experience.

Managing Feedback through Analytics

It is essential for any restaurant to get honest customer feedback to improve its overall service. inResto feedback takes the customer’s particulars and intelligently tracks the data points to build reports in the inResto Dashboard. These reports are then used to segment your audience and create a database. It also sends reminders to your visitors and creates personalized wishes and customized offers. In a nutshell, it helps you monitor every aspect of your restaurant from the diner’s perspective so you can optimize its performance and take preemptive steps to fix recurring issues.

Feedback for the Food Menu

Of course, understanding your customer’s perception of the taste and texture of the food, and their suggestions to help you improve the dishes you serve, and add to the restaurant’s menu, is invaluable. After all, one must consider constructive feedback from their diners, rather than working on uncertain assumptions.

Another important thing to keep a track of is food quality in real time. If a recipe goes horribly wrong, it needs to be addressed immediately before it spreads across social media. On inResto, as soon as a bad review gets entered in the food section, not only will the customer be given more options to get the details of what went wrong, but you will also get an alert so you can go to their table and remedy the situation with an offer of a free meal, a complimentary dessert, or whatever else you choose, before the news spreads to their social circles.

Feedback for Staff Performance

The ratings for each staff member in accordance with how they treated the customers, gives an idea of the staff’s performance. This leads to a better analysis of the staff performance and gives you reliable data to assist in your hiring and training decisions. You could even design reward platforms to recognize and/or incentivize your staff based on their ratings.

Feedback to fix issues as they happen

The immediate grievance redressal system lets you approach the customer at your restaurant as soon as they give a rating of 2 or less on any of the questions on the feedback form. When this happens, you are immediately alerted, so you have an opportunity to discuss the matter with the diners and try and improve their experience then and there.

This information extracted from the customer feedback can be used in a constructive manner to build loyalty programs and campaign ideas to recognize, re-engage and connect with your customers.

Conclusion

You have spent a fortune on building and developing your dream of a restaurant. So why take a chance on guessing what your diners think when you can track everything easily with technology. Get inResto for your restaurant and manage every aspect without a hassle. Especially with inResto Feedback, cold, hard data can make your customers’ dining experiences feel more warm and caring.

Deconstructing the GST: Is Your Restaurant Charging Correctly?

Posted on 11/08/2017 by inresto

Restaurant GST

Touted as one of the unparalleled tax reforms of our economic history, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has subsumed a number of indirect taxes, impacting the billing experience of every aam aadmi in the country. Restaurant bills that were earlier riddled with VAT, Service Tax, Krishi Kalyan Cess and Swachh Bharat Cess are now simply required to levy the GST.

In the GST regime, restaurants are broadly divided into AC and non-AC, levying GST accordingly. The tax on dining is at a fixed rate of 18 per cent for AC restaurants and 12 per cent for non-AC.

But is the GST levied on restaurants really so black and white?

One Nation, One Tax – In Two Parts

To know whether you are charging, or being charged, the correct GST on your restaurant bill, you must know what the GST comprises of.

Ironically, our ‘One Nation, One Tax’ actually comprises two parts – Central GST and State GST. What’s more, if you happen to be enjoying a meal at a restaurant in Puducherry, you’ll be charged a UTGST – Union Territory GST. Whether you come under the 12 per cent bracket or the 18 per cent, you will be paying an equal share of tax to the State or Union Territory you are in, as well as to the Central Government.

Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) introduces yet another dimension to this tax. At a flat rate of 18 per cent, IGST is the tax collected by the Centre on inter-state supply of goods and services, and is also applicable on imports. As GST is a consumption based tax, IGST is intended to ensure a smooth passage for input tax from state to state. Each state must deal with the Central Government to settle tax amounts instead of other states, making the entire process easier.

AC, non-AC and Everything in Between

Restaurants under the GST Regime are loosely divided between AC and non-AC. Seems simple enough, barring one subtle misinterpretation. AC restaurants must charge a flat GST of 18 per cent on all sections of the eatery, that is AC, non-AC, delivery and takeaway. Currently, however, many restaurants are charging 18 percent for the AC sections and 12 per cent for their non-AC sections, home delivery and takeaway. As it happens, only restaurants who do not have an AC section and who do not serve alcohol are allowed to levy a GST of 12 per cent. 12 per cent is also applicable to pre-cooked and pre-packaged namkeens bought at any restaurant, whether AC or non-AC. Earlier the GST applied on restaurants in five-star and luxury hotels was 28 percent but lately it has been reduced to 18 percent, bringing it par with the standalone air-conditioned restaurants.

Nonetheless, due to a lack of awareness, many partially air-conditioned restaurants are levying two separate amounts in taxes – 12 per cent for their non-AC sections and 18 per cent for the AC sections. Such discrepancies would mean a fair bit of problems for restaurant owners while filing income tax returns. Not only would they unknowingly be in breach of the law, they would be required to pay the balance 6 per cent of their GST and any penalties from their own pockets.

A Short Note on VAT and Service Charge

Although the serving of alcohol determines the amount of GST levied at a particular restaurant, liquor finds itself outside the purview of the Goods and Services Tax. Value Added Tax (VAT) is still applicable on liquor, however, only on the liquor portion of the bill. The GST is only applicable to the food portion, and the VAT and GST can never be levied on each other.

Service charge is still levied on restaurant bills in the era of the GST as it is not a tax, rather an income for the restaurant as a gratuity paid by the customer. However, what what many diners and restaurant owners don’t know is that diners can refuse to pay this component of the bill as well, if they choose.

In Conclusion

The GST seems to be a constructive shift in India’s tax reforms, however, would be a success only if citizens understand it completely. Hopefully, the GST for Restaurants will bring ease rather than complications to restaurant-owners and consumers alike. In a situation like this, knowledge is truly wealth.